Podcasts about Mediterranean Sea

A viral underwater video of a great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea recently captured the attention of people around the world. For many viewers, the footage seemed to show a shark appearing in a place where it shouldn't be. But the truth is much more interesting. Great white sharks have been documented in the Mediterranean for decades, yet they remain one of the most mysterious and least understood apex predators in the region. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, Andrew breaks down why this sighting matters and what the public often gets wrong about stories like this. The shark was filmed by divers working with Healthy Seas while removing abandoned fishing gear from the seafloor. While the footage itself is remarkable, the bigger story is what it tells us about the challenges facing large predators in one of the busiest and most heavily used seas on Earth. From fishing pressure and habitat degradation to gaps in scientific knowledge, the Mediterranean remains a challenging place for sharks to survive. You'll also learn why conservationists were excited about the video for reasons that had nothing to do with discovering a new population. Andrew explores the concept of shifting baselines, how viral wildlife stories can sometimes distort public understanding, and why rare observations like this are still incredibly valuable for conservation. The episode highlights the importance of documenting marine life, supporting scientific research, and continuing efforts to reduce threats such as ghost fishing gear. By the end of the episode, you'll see that the shark wasn't really the story. The real story is how much we still don't know about some of the ocean's most iconic animals, even in regions that humans have studied and used for thousands of years. Sometimes a single video can remind us that the ocean still holds mysteries worth exploring, understanding, and protecting. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube  

In Arteetude 338 – The Law of Acceleration, Part One, Detlef Schlich and Sophia, his AI Co-Host, begin a two-part philosophical journey into acceleration, artistic exhaustion, media pressure, and the fragile search for resonance in the technological age.Following the reflections of Arteetude 336 and 337 — from Heidegger, Kurzweil, AI image floods, The Collapse of Wonder, and Ilen's Hopium — this new episode asks why artistic life today feels so permanently accelerated. Even a three-month release rhythm can feel like constant pressure when writing, producing, editing, uploading, promoting, and reflecting never truly stop.The episode brings together two major thinkers of speed and modernity. Paul Virilio — born in Paris in 1932 and deeply shaped by war, urban destruction, architecture, technology, and military acceleration — developed the idea of dromology, the logic of speed, and famously argued that every invention also invents its own accident.Hartmut Rosa — born in Lörrach, Germany, in 1965 — offers a later sociological diagnosis of modern life through his theories of social acceleration, alienation, and resonance. His work asks what happens when not only machines, but social expectations, communication, production, and everyday life itself accelerate.For Detlef, this is not only theory. It becomes a personal reflection on ageing as an artist, on WAW, Arteetude, AI images, podcast production, music videos, social media, and the strange condition of the independent artist who has gained freedom — only to discover that freedom can become infrastructure.At the heart of the episode is Detlef's 1990s song “Zeitrebell”, whose refrain becomes a poetic counter-gesture to acceleration:Ich bin ein Zeitrebell,und wenn es mir zu schnell wird,stelle ich mich auf den Schatten meiner Sonnenuhr.In this episode, the old Zeitrebell returns — not as nostalgia, but as a living message from Detlef's younger self to the ageing artist of today.The episode closes with a new musical reflection by Los Inorgánicos:“Zeitrebell — The Shadow of the Sundial.”Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandFrom the forthcoming WAW albumThe Stories of Nil YoungTwo songs from WAW's developing album project The Stories of Nil Young — a mythopoetic journey along the Nile, where river, memory, loss, cooperation and hope flow into music.AfricaSmileAfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources to the Mediterranean Sea — a river of memory, movement, rhythm and myth.The song turns the meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile into a fragile image of cooperation. It is not a naïve peace anthem, but a wounded musical hope: two different currents meeting, listening, and still moving forward together.The Niles Bittersweet SongThe Nile's Bittersweet Song is the first official single by WAW / Wild Atlantic Way — Detlef Schlich and Dirk Schlömer.The song follows the Nile as a river of memory, beauty, loss and contradiction: a life-giver, but also a force that can take away what it once nourished. Through the story of Kamau, it becomes a poetic reflection on childhood, fragile hope, and the emotional landscape carried by a river that is both kind and cruel.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/exclusive-content

IMS DEEP IN THE BASEMENT PREVIEW Show: Come On A Journey With Me Artist: Afro-Licious Mumma Air Date: 10 June 2026 Genre: Deep House Come On A Journey With Me – IMS Ibiza: Deep In The Basement Preview Edition Join AfroLicious Mumma for a special edition of Come On A Journey With Me, recorded live from the beautiful shores of Santa Eulària Beach, Ibiza. Broadcasting from the heart of IMS Ibiza week, this Deep In The Basement Preview Edition takes listeners on a musical journey through the deeper sounds shaping dance floors and wellness spaces across the globe. Expect a carefully curated selection of Deep House, soulful rhythms, and underground gems inspired by the energy, creativity, and connection that make Ibiza a global home for electronic music culture. With the Mediterranean Sea as the backdrop and the spirit of IMS flowing through every track, AfroLicious Mumma shares music, reflections, and vibrations designed to uplift, inspire, and transport you. Whether you're tuning in from the beach, the city, or somewhere in between, this is your invitation to pause, connect, and journey through sound. Recorded on Santa Eulària Beach, Ibiza. Welcome to the IMS Ibiza: Deep In The Basement Preview Edition. This is the AfroLicious Mumma Come on a journey with me. Tracklist: Data Transmission show Don't let me Down Pando g Who Heals the healer Ode to Afro Fairy (AfroLicious Edit) Sweet Soul (Soulful Mix) by Msindo De Serenade Dear God In Heaven (feat. Aion) [Djexpo Sa Remix] by QuestarCafe Love 101 (Vocal Mix) by Music Roots Benevolence by Siz & Lazy K SA Calling by Mr Mluu & Mk Da Soul The Music (Tiyani Remix) by Deep Da Souljar & Msindo De Serenade African Meditation (1060 Sounds) by Mr Shane SA & Earful Soul Come On a Journey With Me (Spanish version) by Mr A Jones & AfroLicious Mumma Bayamemeza (Elementic Soul Signature Mix) by Artistic Rhythmz Make Love To My Mind (feat. Mr Mercedes) by AfroLicious Mumma The Name Of Jesus (Prayer Mix) by AndileAndy Lotta Luv (Radio Edit) by Arol $kinzie & TimAdeep Fallen Legends by Avenue Deep I Want U (feat. Mr Shane SA) by Artwork Sounds & DJ Kent Covenant Keeping God (feat. Aion) by Gusto Jazz & Spin Worx MATAMBO (Bones of my Bones) by Mr Mercedes Silly Cat (Nostalgic Mix) by Itshu Prince & The Godfathers Of Deep House SA Originally broadcast on Data Transmission Radio. Listen live and explore the archive: https://radio.datatransmission.co

Episode Synopsis:When Paul writes his letter to the church in Rome, he is still in Corinth, having made a difficult visit there to deal with the ongoing problems in the Corinthian church, which we addressed in Season Four (when we covered 2 Corinthians).  But things have improved in Corinth to the point that Paul is making plans to continue his Gentile mission.  Before that can happen, Paul must make the journey to Jerusalem to deliver the offering collected from the churches in Greece.  Having done that, Paul hopes to go on to Spain (at the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea).  The midpoint between Jerusalem and Spain is the Italian peninsula and the city of Rome.  So Paul writes a letter of introduction to the church there, a letter which we now know as Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Paul is unquestionably the author of Romans.  His epistle was sent by messenger – a woman named Phoebe – from Corinth to Rome early in 57 CE.  In this letter, the apostle addresses a number of matters which we will discuss in great detail in future episodes.  But if we are to boil down the contents of Romans to a single word, that word would be “gospel.”  Paul does not say much about the church to which he is writing–he's never been there.  But we do know from the contents of this letter that like other churches of the Gentile mission, the Roman church was predominantly Gentile, though a number of Jews in Rome had come to faith in Jesus Christ.  And so Paul must explain how these two groups fit in God's larger plan and how they are to get along with each other despite their cultural and religious differences.  Paul does this by stressing that both Jews and Gentiles are reckoned righteous, reconciled to the same God through the work of the same Savior in the power of the Holy Spirit, and this through the preaching of the one gospel. Many Christians are familiar with the Book of Romans, but are likely far less familiar with the city, the situation there, and the recipients of this letter.  What was Rome like in the days of Paul?  What was it like to be an inhabitant of the city?  How did you live, and under what circumstances?  Where did you eat or work?  What was it like to live under the reign of Nero?  Life was brutal and cruel for many of the city's inhabitants, but luxurious by first-century standards for others.  Why were the Jews expelled twice from the city?  And how did the gospel first arrive in the capital of this powerful pagan empire?  It is an interesting story and I'll do my best to tell it.For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here:  https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Welcome back to the archive. In this special dual transmission, we turn our forensic radar toward a tiny, sun-bleached rock sitting in the literal centre of the Mediterranean Sea: the island of Malta.Built entirely out of soft, honey-coloured Globigerina limestone, Malta's hyper-dense historic cities are marvels of defensive architecture. In a space so profoundly compressed, where secrets are supposed to be impossible to keep, two completely different killers attempted to use the physical environment to construct the perfect cryptographic mystery.This week, we open two distinct historical drawers to execute a parallel forensic audit, proving that no matter how deep the water or how thick the limestone walls, the material signature of a crime can never be completely erased from the ledger.The Case Files Act I: The Marsamxett Harbor Torso Murder (1955) We descend into the post-WWII soot, coal grime, and severe economic desperation of the Valletta dockyards. When local fishermen haul up waterlogged burlap sacks from the silent depths of Marsamxett Harbour, they discover the cleanly dismembered torso of a missing dockyard clerk. The head and hands are entirely missing—a calculated tactical void designed to strip the victim of his biological identity. We trace the parallel micro-grooves of an industrial bone saw, a rare maritime double-hitch knot, and a single, crumpled scrap of local newspaper caught in a printing-press registration error that collapsed the dragnet directly onto a brutal domestic conspiracy.WHO was killed, and WHO killed them?? Act II: The Strait Street Locked-Room Inquest (1843) We slide the chronological grid back more than a century, climbing the steep stone steps into the dark, elite world of faded aristocracy along the infamous, vice-ridden corridor of Strada Stretta. A wealthy noblewoman is found smothered in her grand four-poster bed. The room is an airtight box: windows barred from within, the heavy oak door locked from the inside, and the key still resting firmly in the interior cylinder. Across the room, her private safe sits completely gutted. This wasn't a supernatural evasion—it was a masterful, low-fidelity mechanical deception. We dissect the material relics that unravelled the plot: an English gold pocket watch intentionally fractured to freeze the time at 3:14 AM, microscopic traces of white beeswax left deep inside a lock, and a simple silk thread trick that shattered an ironclad alibi.How....on earth did the key to the lock....remain stuck on the inside of the door opposed to the outside? In This Episode, We Explore: How hyper-compressed living spaces dictate the logistics of criminal concealment. The mechanical signatures left by industrial tools on bone structure. The physics of the classic "silk thread" locked-room exploit. How microscopic anomalies in everyday objects—from ink alignment to fractured brass gears—become permanent investigative anchors. Thank you so much for your support as always legend and have a FANTASTIC week ahead mates!!!

In Arteetude 337 – Ilens Hopium, Detlef Schlich and Sophia, his AI Co-Host, continue the philosophical journey begun in Arteetude 336, The Collapse of Wonder. After exploring the flood of AI-generated images, Heidegger's question concerning technology, and Ray Kurzweil's vision of technological acceleration, this episode moves closer to the river — not as a simple metaphor, but as a living method of thought.From the Nile of AfricaSmile to the River Ilen in West Cork, Detlef reflects on how rivers carry memory, sediment, wounds, names, and fragile possibilities of hope. The River Ilen becomes more than landscape: it becomes biography, artistic method, local presence, and a counter-image to technological acceleration.The episode explores the origin of the word Hopium, first used playfully by Dirk in relation to the emerging WAW song idea Ilens Hopium. What began as a joke opens into a deeper philosophical space: She — the River Ilen — is hoping for hope. Through Heidegger's lens, Hopium becomes a word that reveals contradiction: hope and suspicion, medicine and poison, survival and self-deception. Through Kurzweil's lens, the river offers another kind of intelligence — not singularity, but plurality; not acceleration, but return; not one final answer, but bend after bend, name after name.The episode closes with a new Los Inorgánicos piece titled “First Mist from the Ilen — Every Bend a Hope / Before the Song Appears.” This is not intended to replace the future WAW single Ilens Hopium, which Detlef and Dirk hope to release later this year. Instead, it functions as a philosophical companion in the universe of multilayerism — a sonic sketch, a small ritual support, and a first mist rising from the River Ilen before the full song appears.Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandFrom the forthcoming WAW albumThe Stories of Nil YoungTwo songs from WAW's developing album project The Stories of Nil Young — a mythopoetic journey along the Nile, where river, memory, loss, cooperation and hope flow into music.AfricaSmileAfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources to the Mediterranean Sea — a river of memory, movement, rhythm and myth.The song turns the meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile into a fragile image of cooperation. It is not a naïve peace anthem, but a wounded musical hope: two different currents meeting, listening, and still moving forward together.The Niles Bittersweet SongThe Nile's Bittersweet Song is the first official single by WAW / Wild Atlantic Way — Detlef Schlich and Dirk Schlömer.The song follows the Nile as a river of memory, beauty, loss and contradiction: a life-giver, but also a force that can take away what it once nourished. Through the story of Kamau, it becomes a poetic reflection on childhood, fragile hope, and the emotional landscape carried by a river that is both kind and cruel.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/exclusive-content

Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: Unraveling Jaffa's Secrets: A Shavuot Journey into the Past Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/he/episode/2026-06-06-22-34-02-he Story Transcript:He: בוקר אביבי מלא שמש נפרש מעל יפו העתיקה.En: A spring morning full of sunshine spread over Jaffa the ancient.He: רוח נעימה נשבה מכיוון הים התיכון, כשהיא מביאה איתה את ריח המלח והפריחה.En: A pleasant wind blew from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, bringing with it the scent of salt and blooming flowers.He: העיר הייתה מלאה אנשים שחגגו את חג השבועות, הרחובות היו צרות ומרוצפות באבנים כהות, והבתים עשויי אבן ניצבו בגאווה בצדדים, מספרים בלית ברירה את סיפוריהם ממחזורים עברו.En: The city was filled with people celebrating the holiday of Shavuot, the streets were narrow and paved with dark stones, and the stone houses stood proudly on the sides, unwillingly telling their stories from past cycles.He: באחת המרפסות המאובקות של דירה קטנה, ישבה איליאנה.En: On one of the dusty balconies of a small apartment, sat Ileana.He: מכתב מוזר שהגיע אתמול בערב היה במרכז תשומת ליבה.En: A strange letter that arrived last night was at the center of her attention.He: "דב, תראה מה שלחו לי," קראה בקול גבוה אל בן־דודהּ, שהיה שקוע בקריאה בעיתון.En: "Dov, look what they sent me," she called out in a high voice to her cousin, who was engrossed in reading a newspaper.He: "איליאנה, אולי זו מתיחה?En: "Ileana, maybe it's a prank?He: צריך להיות זהירים," השיב דב בנימה ספקנית.En: We need to be cautious," replied Dov in a skeptical tone.He: תמיד היה זהיר, אולי יותר מדי.En: He was always cautious, perhaps too much.He: איליאנה הביטה בו בעיניים נוצצות.En: Ileana looked at him with sparkling eyes.He: "אבל מה אם זה לא?En: "But what if it isn't?He: מה אם יש כאן תגלית היסטורית?En: What if there is a historical discovery here?"He: ""היום זה שבועות," המשיכה איליאנה בהתלהבות.En: "Today is Shavuot," Ileana continued enthusiastically.He: "מה אם יש קשר לחג?En: "What if there is a connection to the holiday?"He: "כשהיא אוחזת בידו של דב, הם יצאו לרחובות, בהנחייתה של רמז ראשון.En: Holding Dov's hand, they set out to the streets, guided by the first clue.He: רמז שנתן להם כיוון - לרדת לכיוון השוק.En: A hint that directed them - to head towards the market.He: "רבקה!En: "Rebecca!"He: " קראה איליאנה כאשר ראו את חברתם משדרת האומנות המקומית.En: Ileana called when they saw their friend from the local art avenue.He: רבקה, שהרבה ידעה על האמן המקומי ועל ההיסטוריה של יפו, הצטרפה אליהם מיד.En: Rebecca, who knew much about the local artist and the history of Jaffa, joined them immediately.He: הרמזים הבאים הובילו אותם דרך סמטאות צרות, חלונות צבעוניים, וגרמי מדרגות חומים ושחוקים.En: The next clues led them through narrow alleys, colorful windows, and brown worn-out staircases.He: בקצה הרחוב, מלא באורות ושירים מחגיגת שבועות גדולה, הגיעו לשער אבנים עתיק.En: At the end of the street, full of lights and songs from a grand Shavuot celebration, they arrived at an ancient stone gate.He: "זה כאן," לחשה רבקה כשהתרגשות במבטה.En: "This is it," whispered Rebecca, excitement in her eyes.He: עם כל צעידתם זה היה כאילו מסע אל עברם של כובשים והיסטוריונים שנשכחו.En: With every step, it was as if they were journeying into the past of forgotten conquerors and historians.He: בחצות הליל, בשקט של ההתכנסות הגדולה לחג השבועות, הם גילו את המעבר הסודי.En: At midnight, in the silence of the great gathering for Shavuot, they discovered the secret passage.He: הוא הוביל אותם לתוך חדר של חפצים ואגרות עתיקים, כתובים בשפות ישנות.En: It led them into a room of ancient objects and letters, written in old languages.He: כל מכתב וכל פריט היה עדות לקיום של אנשים, שבמשך דורות ניסו לשמר את המורשת שלהם.En: Every letter and item was a testament to the existence of people who, for generations, tried to preserve their heritage.He: איליאנה הסתכלה על המכתב האחרון.En: Ileana looked at the last letter.He: דמעות הופיעו בעיניה כשהבינה את משמעות הממצא.En: Tears welled up in her eyes as she understood the significance of the find.He: "זה ממישהו ממוצא משפחתי!En: "It's from someone of family descent!"He: " קראה, מבט של גילוי במבטה.En: she exclaimed, a look of revelation in her eyes.He: בזכות המסע הזה, היא למדה את החובה לשמר את ההיסטוריה מבלי לשכוח את המשפחה והמסורת.En: Thanks to this journey, she learned the obligation to preserve history without forgetting family and tradition.He: גם דב, לראשונה, הרגיש את רוח ההרפתקה והשימור של העבר.En: Even Dov, for the first time, felt the spirit of adventure and preservation of the past.He: והשניים יצאו מהמעבר, הקשובים יותר, ומלאים בגאווה על מה שגילו במעמקי העיר העתיקה יפו.En: And the two emerged from the passage, more attentive, and filled with pride for what they discovered in the depths of the ancient city of Jaffa.He: רחובות העיר הזמרו בחגיגות, בעוד ים מסמא אל האופק, מזמן אותם לחיבוקים של עבר ועבר קרביים משולבים בזרועות הווה.En: The city's streets sang with celebrations, while the sea dazzled to the horizon, inviting them to the embrace of intertwined pasts and present arms. Vocabulary Words:spring: אביביmorning: בוקרsunshine: שמשbreezy: רוח נעימהblooming: פריחהnarrow: צרותpaved: מרוצפותworn-out: שחוקיםgathering: התכנסותstone gate: שער אבניםheritage: מורשתdescent: מוצא משפחתיobligation: חובהdiscovery: תגליתadventure: הרפתקהpassage: מעברconquerors: כובשיםartists: אמןatriums: מרפסותbalconies: מרפסותdusty: מאובקותskeptical: ספקניתtestament: עדותsignificance: משמעותglimmering: נוצצותclue: רמזavenue: שדרותrevelation: גילויpride: גאווהintertwined: משולביםBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.

Bon jour, and welcome to the show. It's another annual tradition on Time Sensitive where we take you to the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea and recap the world's most prominent and lavish film festival. In fact, this is our eighth Cannes recap on Time Sensitive.The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which ran from May 12 - 23, 2026, just closed with a controversial Palme d'Or winner, divided critical reception, and an industry increasingly grappling with AI's future.Check us out on...Twitter @TSMoviePodFacebook: Time SensitiveInstagram: @timesensitivepodcastGrab some Merch at TeePublicBig Heads Media  

Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: Amit's Shavuot: A Maritime Tale of Leadership and Unity Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/he/episode/2026-06-03-22-34-02-he Story Transcript:He: בחוף הצפוני של חיפה, בסיס חיל הים היה מלא חיים.En: On the northern shore of Haifa, the navy base was full of life.He: גלי הים התיכון פגעו ברכות על הסלעים, והרוח נשאה את ריח האביב המתוק.En: The waves of the Mediterranean Sea softly hit the rocks, and the wind carried the sweet scent of spring.He: התקופה היתה חג השבועות, והבוקר היה מרוכז בפעילות בהכנות לחג.En: It was the period of Shavuot, and the morning was filled with activity in preparations for the holiday.He: עבור אֲמִית, זו הייתה תקופה גורלית.En: For Amit, it was a crucial period.He: אֲמִית, קצין מסור עם תשוקה לאסטרטגיה ימית, חלם על התוכנית הבינלאומית להכשרה ימית.En: Amit, a dedicated officer with a passion for maritime strategy, dreamed of the international maritime training program.He: זה היה הזמן שלו להראות את כישוריו, אך הצל שלו היה אלְעָזָר - קצין אחר, מוכשר ובטוח בעצמו.En: This was his time to showcase his skills, but his shadow was Elazar - another officer, talented and self-assured.He: רִבְקָה, המנטורית שלו, הביטה אליו בעיניים טובות.En: Rivka, his mentor, looked at him with kind eyes.He: "אתה צריך להאמין בעצמך," היא אמרה.En: "You need to believe in yourself," she said.He: "יש בך פוטנציאל עצום.En: "You have immense potential.He: תתמקד ולא תתן לפחדך להרתיע אותך.En: Stay focused and don't let your fears deter you."He: "ביום שלפני החג, אֲמִית ביקש מרִבְקָה עזרה.En: On the day before the holiday, Amit asked Rivka for help.He: "אני מרגיש לחוץ, רִבְקָה.En: "I'm feeling stressed, Rivka.He: אלְעָזָר כל כך טוב בטבעיות.En: Elazar is so naturally good.He: מה אם לא אצליח?En: What if I don't succeed?"He: "רִבְקָה חייכה.En: Rivka smiled.He: "תזכור שזו גם החגיגה של תורה והתבוננות פנימית.En: "Remember, this is also the celebration of learning and inner reflection.He: שבועות הוא זמן לחשוב וללמוד.En: Shavuot is a time to think and learn.He: תלמד איך לנצח את עצמך.En: Learn how to overcome yourself."He: "ביום המבחן, השמש היתה גבוהה והפלגה ניסיונית החלה.En: On the day of the test, the sun was high, and the trial sail began.He: אֲמִית היה רגוע כשפתאום נשמע קריאה.En: Amit was calm when suddenly a call was heard.He: אלְעָזָר עשה טעות בניווט והספינה שלו סטתה.En: Elazar made a mistake in navigation, and his ship veered off course.He: אֲמִית ידע שזה הרגע שלו - האם להמשיך בדרך שלו או לעזור?En: Amit knew this was his moment—should he continue on his path or offer help?He: בעוצמה פנימית והחלטה ברורה, אֲמִית כיוון את ספינתו לעזור לאלְעָזָר.En: With inner strength and clear decision, Amit directed his ship to help Elazar.He: הם together שלטים את הנעימה וניצלו את המצב.En: Together, they took control of the situation and turned it around.He: הבחירה הייתה ברורה - מנהיגות ועבודת צוות.En: The choice was clear - leadership and teamwork.He: החזרה לבסיס התחושה הייתה טובה יותר מטבעת זהב.En: Returning to the base felt better than a golden ring.He: הוועדה שהייתה צופה, התרשמה מהבחירה של אֲמִית.En: The committee that was observing was impressed by Amit's choice.He: מעבר להישג הטכני, הוא הראה ערכים חשובים לא פחות - שיתוף פעולה ואינטגריטי.En: Beyond the technical achievement, he demonstrated values that were just as important - collaboration and integrity.He: בסוף היום, כשהערב ירד, והאורות נדלקו עבור ליל שבועות, אֲמִית חש תחושת גאווה פנימית שקטה.En: At the end of the day, as evening fell and the lights were turned on for the night of Shavuot, Amit felt a quiet sense of inner pride.He: הוא הבין שמעבר להצלחה האישית, החשיבות הגדולה היא בעשייה למען הקבוצה והעולם.En: He realized that beyond personal success, the great importance lies in doing for the group and the world.He: כך, החדשות על קבלתו לתוכנית התארכמו את שמחת החג.En: Thus, the news of his acceptance into the program added to the joy of the holiday.He: היכן שהתחילה היה זה סיפור על ספקות, הפכה הייתה מסע בנשמה לעוצמה משותפת.En: What began as a story of doubts had become a journey in the soul to shared strength.He: אֲמִית מצא לא רק את מקומו בתוכנית אלא גם את ליבו החזק.En: Amit found not only his place in the program but also his strong heart. Vocabulary Words:shore: חוףnavy base: בסיס חיל היםlif: חייםrocks: סלעיםscent: ריחspring: אביבcrucial: גורליתdedicated: מסורshowcase: להראותshadow: צלself-assured: בטוח בעצמוmentor: מנטוריתpotential: פוטנציאלdeter: להרתיעreflect: התבוננותcalm: רגועnavigate: ניווטveer: סטתהinner strength: עוצמה פנימיתdecision: החלטהintegrity: אינטגריטיpride: גאווהachievement: הישגcollaboration: שיתוף פעולהacceptance: קבלתוjoy: שמחתdoubts: ספקותjourney: מסעsoul: נשמהstrength: עוצמהBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.

Content warning: This episode of Doin' Time contains audio descriptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died, graphic discussions of deaths in custody, massacres and torture.  Ethan Floyd along with other Australians and people from other countries were intercepted at gunpoint in international waters, 1,200 km from Gaza, while trying to deliver life-saving aid to starving civilians in Gaza. After more than 30 hours in detention, Ethan and his fellow humanitarians are free from the genocidal state. However, tens of thousands of Palestinians subjected to systematic abuse and torture remain in these detention facilities. Ethan Floyd joined Marisa for the entire Doin' Time show to talk about the Flotilla. Ethan discussed his participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla of more than 100 boats that were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea attempting to breach the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The Wiradjuri, Wailwan activist spoke in detail about being tortured by the Israeli authorities. Listeners may find this distressing. Then Jeanette joined the show. Jeanette is a student activist and member of Students Against War, who's been involved in organising for palestine on campus. Jeanette and Ethan talked about disciplinary procedings by Sydney University, and the university management's disciplinary threats to Students for their "No Exchange with Israeli Apartheid" poster. This was against two students over a Palestine solidarity poster calling for "No Exchange with Israeli Apartheid." The proceedings have just been dropped. Jeanette, Ethan and Marisa also sent Solidarity messages to all the flotilla activists. Marisa spoke quite briefly about the Myall Creek Memorial event happening over the long Weekend. Please refer to the Myall Creek website for more information.

In Arteetude 336 – The Collapse of Wonder, Detlef Schlich and Sophia, his AI Co-Host, enter the philosophical afterglow of the creative process behind the AfricaSmile music video.What began as an AI-assisted editing process became a deeper question: what happens when the world becomes endlessly imageable? When every vision can be generated, corrected, beautified, animated, and replaced, does art gain new freedom — or does wonder begin to collapse under the pressure of too much availability?Through the lens of Martin Heidegger's The Question Concerning Technology and Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Nearer, Detlef reflects on AI not simply as a tool, but as a new mode of revealing the world. Heidegger warns that modern technology turns nature into “standing-reserve” — material waiting to be used. Kurzweil, by contrast, sees technological acceleration as part of evolution, moving toward the merging of human and machine intelligence.Between these two poles, Detlef asks: is AI helping us discover deeper secrets, or are we consuming revelation too quickly? From the Nile of AfricaSmile to the River Ilen of the upcoming Illens Hopium, this episode explores the river as a counter-image to machine speed — a slower force of memory, erosion, sediment, and hope.The episode closes with the new Los Inorgánicos song “Slow the River Down”, a dark, poetic reflection on image overload, artistic dignity, and the need to let mystery breathe.Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandFrom the forthcoming WAW albumThe Stories of Nil YoungTwo songs from WAW's developing album project The Stories of Nil Young — a mythopoetic journey along the Nile, where river, memory, loss, cooperation and hope flow into music.AfricaSmileAfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources to the Mediterranean Sea — a river of memory, movement, rhythm and myth.The song turns the meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile into a fragile image of cooperation. It is not a naïve peace anthem, but a wounded musical hope: two different currents meeting, listening, and still moving forward together.The Niles Bittersweet SongThe Nile's Bittersweet Song is the first official single by WAW / Wild Atlantic Way — Detlef Schlich and Dirk Schlömer.The song follows the Nile as a river of memory, beauty, loss and contradiction: a life-giver, but also a force that can take away what it once nourished. Through the story of Kamau, it becomes a poetic reflection on childhood, fragile hope, and the emotional landscape carried by a river that is both kind and cruel.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/exclusive-content

In Arteetude 335, Detlef Schlich and his AI Co-Host take listeners deep inside the making of the upcoming AfricaSmile video by WAW — not simply as a music video, but as a fragile negotiation between image, friendship, artistic responsibility and technological imagination.What began as a “quick visual accompaniment” slowly transformed into an unexpectedly emotional and philosophical journey. The episode explores the creative tensions between Detlef and Dirk Schlömer, the symbolic worlds of the White Nile and Blue Nile, the controversial removal of the original AI-generated “mythological beauty” figure, and the emergence of a new visual language built from floating tull fabrics, sediments, ritual movement and dissolving landscapes.At the centre lies the mysterious “zero” — the final number in the river countdown system running through the video from source to delta. Initially beautiful, later deconstructed, the zero becomes a symbol for disappearance, convergence, incompleteness and transformation.Detlef also reflects on his ritualistic nighttime working process as a “digital shaman”: candlelight, headphones, darkness and listening “between the lines” of the music in order to discover hidden emotional frequencies.Arteetude 335 becomes a meditation on:artistic friction,friendship,AI aesthetics,visual ethics,mythopoetic filmmaking,and the fragile possibility of hope inside a wounded world.The episode concludes with the video version of AfricaSmile — beginning not with the trumpet intro of the single version, but with the bubbling source of the White Nile itself.Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandFrom the forthcoming WAW albumThe Stories of Nil YoungTwo songs from WAW's developing album project The Stories of Nil Young — a mythopoetic journey along the Nile, where river, memory, loss, cooperation and hope flow into music.AfricaSmileAfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources to the Mediterranean Sea — a river of memory, movement, rhythm and myth.The song turns the meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile into a fragile image of cooperation. It is not a naïve peace anthem, but a wounded musical hope: two different currents meeting, listening, and still moving forward together.The Niles Bittersweet SongThe Nile's Bittersweet Song is the first official single by WAW / Wild Atlantic Way — Detlef Schlich and Dirk Schlömer.The song follows the Nile as a river of memory, beauty, loss and contradiction: a life-giver, but also a force that can take away what it once nourished. Through the story of Kamau, it becomes a poetic reflection on childhood, fragile hope, and the emotional landscape carried by a river that is both kind and cruel.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/exclusive-content

Among the most intriguing cases emerging from the Pentagon's newly launched PURSUE transparency initiative is a 2023 incident involving infrared footage captured by a U.S. military platform operating near the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. The case, which reportedly involved an object making abrupt "90-degree turns" at roughly 80 miles per hour, has sparked renewed debate about what military sensor systems are actually detecting—and how much the public is truly being shown. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we break down newly released mission reports, apparent discrepancies between separate witness accounts, and the sophisticated sensor systems involved in the observation, including references to mesh-networked battlefield surveillance technologies and full-motion video tracking systems commonly used in modern ISR operations. Then we shift our attention over to NASA's inclusion of historic Apollo and Skylab "UAP" materials in the recent release, including astronaut reports of mysterious flashes and anomalous lights in orbit—many of which have a likely explanation, and potentially offering a clearer picture of how the U.S. government is now approaching the long-running mystery of unidentified anomalous phenomena. Want to advertise/sponsor The Micah Hanks Program? We have partnered with the AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. If you would like to advertise with The Micah Hanks Program, all you have to do is click the link below to get started: AdvertiseCast: Advertise with The Micah Hanks Program Show Notes Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode: NEWS: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna endorses AARO Director Jon Kosloski  PENTAGON UFOs: Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters THE "GREEK FLYER": Full Mission Report Document HERE Second Mission Report on Mediterranian Sighting, October 2023  NASA's UAP: References to "Sky Flashes" in this report involving a Skylab Technical Crew Debriefing  SKYLAB SIGHTINGS: Some additional information on the "red satellite" observed by the Skylab III crew ODDS AND ENDS: "Thoughts on the Space Alien Race Question"  The Samford Memo (July 28, 1952)  AUDIO: Maj. Gen. John A. Samford's Statement on "Flying Saucers", Washington, DC, 07/31/1952 BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS. Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as "classic" episodes, weekly "additional editions" of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more. Like us on Facebook Follow @MicahHanks on X. Keep up with Micah and his work at micahhanks.com.

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In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will take a look at Rebekah.Rebecca – We can say that she is Ambitious Rebecca was the much-loved wife of Isaac. A woman of Godly character, but not without her human weaknesses. She had twin sons Esau and Jacob. Esau, born first, should have inherited the role of leader of the tribe, but Rebecca judged that Jacob would be better than his brother, so she and Jacob tricked the old man into giving the leadership to Jacob.Names in the Bible often says something about the person:Rebecca means 'ensnarer'Isaac means 'laughter', perhaps a reference to his mother Sarah's laughter when she heard she was to become pregnant in her old ageJacob means 'heel catcher' - either his brother's heel at the moment of birth, or his brother's inheritance later onEsau was nicknamed Edom, which meant 'red'; he was born with a ruddy complexion then spent most of his time outdoors in the sun, so his face and skin may have been unusually red. What her story is aboutThis story shows the gradual fulfillment of the promise made by Yahweh, that Sarah and Abraham would have many descendents, enough to become a nation.The story of Rebecca contains three different episodes: 1 the engagement and marriage of Rebecca(Genesis 24). Rebecca is introduced as a brave and resourceful young woman; she impressed all the people who met her. She was a good match for Isaac.      2 the birth and youth of Esau and Jacob(Genesis 25:19-34). Rebecca gave birth to two sons with very different temperaments. The conflict between them would be the basis for conflict between later generations and nations.3 Rebecca and the blessing of Isaac(Genesis 27). Rebecca manipulated the situation so that the tribe would be led by an intelligent man rather than a popular but shallow man, so that decisions for the tribe would be based on wisdom rather than impulse or emotion.Now we come to Part 2 of the story, The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob In our last study we read the story of Rebekah as Abrahams servant (Eliezer) went back to the homeland of Abraham to bring back a wife for his son Isaac. Now we continue with her story as she is barren and we see Isaac seeking out Yahweh on this issue of Rebekah barrenness.Just as Sarah and Abraham, this was true of Isaac and Rebekah. Rebekah was barren and Isaac prayed for her and Yahweh heard his prayer (Genesis 25:21). Couples need to lift each other up in prayer. There are times when it is your prayers that will help your partner. Rebekah was a woman of prayer and had no less access to Yahweh than Isaac did. Indeed we see her seeking Yahweh over the issue of her children and getting a clear answer (Genesis 25: 22-25). Maybe she had gained her confidence back after becoming pregnant.23.          Two nations are in your womb = What Yahweh said was simple. Rebekah would give birth to twins. The twins would each be ancestors of nations. One of the sons and nations would be greater than the other. The younger son and the nation descended from him would be greater than the older son and his descendants.And the older shall serve the younger = Yahweh commanded that in the case of these twin sons, the long-established practice of privilege for the firstborn be set aside and the younger son be considered as privileged over his older brother. In normal cases, Yahweh recognized the custom of preference for the firstborn and older. Yet Yahweh may upset normal customs and hierarchies to advance His plan and purpose.Despite her beauty, and despite Isaac's love for her, Rebecca did not an easy time of it. She did not conceive for quite some years, and this was considered both a personal misfortune and a sign that she was not favored by Yahweh. Eventually however she became pregnant, but even then it was not plain sailing. She had a difficult pregnancy, since the two babies inside her were constantly moving, so that she had no peace. Like many women before and since, she wondered what she had got herself into.   So she 'went to enquire of Yahweh'. Rebecca was the first woman we hear of who sought Yahweh out and asked Him for some explanation of her condition. This shows her initiative and self-confidence. The method she used to speak with Yahweh is not explained, but a common practice in the ancient world was to consult a prophet or oracle. Rebecca may have followed this practice or, as in Numbers 12:6, the message may have come to her in a dream.   Yahweh told her that'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.' Couples need to support one another. Taking support from your partner is not a sign of weakness. Rebekah could certainly hear from Yahweh directly, nevertheless she still allowed Isaac to do it when it regarded child birth. My guess is that they had both been praying for children together and as discouragement set in Isaac took it up more aggressively. The next chapter involves Rebecca and King Abimelech in Gerar.The episode is really about water rights in the area, essential to a nomadic people. In the section involving Rebecca (26:1-11), all Rebecca's actions suggest that she was active, not passive, a planner and doer, not a victim. So the episode with Abimelech is likely to have resulted from co-operation between her and Isaac. Indeed, judging from other events in her life, the plan may have originated with her. There was a famine in the land = Though Isaac lived in the land Yahweh promised to his father Abraham and his descendants, it did not mean that life in the land would be without trouble or challenge. As there was a famine in the days of Abram (Genesis 12:10), so there was a famine in Isaac's day.Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar = Isaac began to go south towards Egypt, as Abram did in famine (Genesis 12:10). It seems that Isaac thought to travel along the famous road between Egypt and Canaan that went along the Mediterranean Sea. Gerar was the same place where Isaac's father Abraham met another Abimelech and almost compromised his wife (Genesis 20:1-18). A similar story, comparable in the actions of Yahweh and men, would play out with Abraham's son.The ruler of Gerar was called Abimelech as a title, not as a personal name. This is why both Abraham and Isaac dealt with Abimelech (Genesis 20, Genesis 26). Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh!Have any questions? Feel free to email me; keitner2024@outlook.com

In this profound exploration of Matthew 21:40-46, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb unpack the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and its devastating indictment of Israel's religious leadership. The hosts navigate the complex theological terrain of kingdom transfer, covenant faithfulness, and the identity of God's people across redemptive history. With careful attention to the text's original context and its implications for the church today, they examine how Christ presents himself as the rejected cornerstone—the one upon whom people either fall in repentance or are crushed in judgment. This episode offers rich insights into supersessionism, the remnant theology of Romans 11, and the practical call for Christians to examine whether they're submitting to Christ as the true cornerstone or attempting to usurp his rightful place. Key Takeaways The Self-Condemning Verdict: The chief priests and Pharisees unknowingly pronounce judgment upon themselves when they declare the wicked tenants deserve destruction, demonstrating how the natural conscience can discern God's justice even when blind to personal complicity. Kingdom Transfer as Covenant Transition: The "taking away" of the kingdom represents not the abandonment of God's elect remnant but the historical-redemptive transition from the typological Old Covenant administration to the New Covenant church gathered from all nations. The Cornerstone's Double Judgment: Christ as the cornerstone presents two modes of encounter—those who fall upon him in repentance are broken but healed; those upon whom he falls in final judgment are ground to powder with no remedy. Visible vs. Invisible Church Distinction: The visible identification of God's people shifted from the geopolitical nation of Israel to the universal church, while the invisible elect have always been saved by grace through faith in the coming Messiah. Fear of Man vs. Fear of God: The Pharisees' restraint from seizing Jesus due to fear of the crowds (rather than fear of God) exemplifies how the wicked are dominated by human opinion rather than divine accountability. Infant Baptism and Covenant Community: The joyful inclusion of children in the visible covenant community through baptism reflects God's gracious promise sealed to those who contribute nothing to their own covenant status. Fruit-Bearing as Evidence: The "new tenants" are characterized not by works-righteousness but by evidential fruit—the genuine works that flow from "true and lively faith" worked by the Holy Spirit. Key Concepts The Irony of Self-Condemnation The theological and pastoral power of this parable reaches its climax when the religious leaders, failing to perceive themselves as the wicked tenants in Jesus's story, pronounce harsh judgment upon the hypothetical villains: "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end." This moment mirrors Nathan's confrontation of David after the Bathsheba affair, yet with a tragic difference—these leaders never experience David's repentance. Calvin observes that the natural conscience, even when blind to personal guilt, retains an "hidden impulse to identify with justice." The Pharisees demonstrate total depravity in high definition: they possess enough moral clarity to recognize egregious covenant-breaking in the abstract, yet remain entirely blind to their own embodiment of that very wickedness. This irony serves as both judgment and warning—we all possess an uncanny ability to see sin clearly everywhere except in the mirror. Kingdom Transfer: Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity The phrase "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit" requires careful theological handling to avoid both replacement theology (in its pejorative sense) and dispensational fragmentation. The Reformed understanding maintains covenant continuity: there has always been one people of God, defined not ethnically but by faith in the Messiah. What changes is the visible administration of the covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the visible church was largely coterminous with ethnic Israel—a geopolitical reality with boundaries, a zip code, and national identity. Under the New Covenant, the visible church explodes these ethnic and geographic boundaries, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham that "in your seed all nations will be blessed." This is not Plan B; it's the eschatological unveiling of what was always intended. The "breaking off of natural branches" (Romans 11) refers to covenant unfaithfulness resulting in exclusion from visible covenant privileges, while the faithful Jewish remnant—the apostles, early believers, and the ongoing elect from Israel—remain fully incorporated into the church. The vineyard hasn't been abandoned; it's been opened to "other tenants" who will render the proper fruit: Gentiles grafted in alongside believing Jews into the one olive tree of God's redemptive purposes. The Cornerstone: Salvation or Destruction Christ's invocation of Psalm 118:22—"the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone"—followed by his dual judgment ("whoever falls on this stone will be broken...on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust") presents two exhaustive options for relating to Jesus. The cornerstone in ancient construction was the foundational stone by which all other stones found their proper alignment and orientation. To fall upon this stone willingly—in repentance, faith, and self-abandonment—is painful. It shatters pride, self-righteousness, and autonomy. But this breaking leads to healing, to being properly "squared" and aligned with reality as God has constructed it. The alternative is catastrophic: to have the cornerstone fall upon you in final eschatological judgment is to experience irreversible, total destruction—being "ground to powder" with no possibility of remedy. The practical application is urgent: we must examine ourselves continually to ensure we're not attempting to be our own cornerstone, measuring righteousness by our own standards, aligning the universe to ourselves rather than submitting to Christ as the measure of all things. Memorable Quotes "There's never a time where that righteousness is removed or unapplied, but we are constantly faced with a choice as to whether we want to be the kind of people who render our fruit unto the Lord, as the faithful tenants when the unfaithful tenants are replaced. Or do we wanna be the people that reap wicked fruit and keep for ourselves?" — Tony Arsenal "The vineyard of God is still let out, the fruit is still demanded, the cornerstone is still laid. Blessed are they who receive him—and also get those babies into church." — Jesse Schwamb "This is not a wall you're gonna run through. Like you're gonna smash into this wall and it's gonna crush you. And if you are not properly assigning the cornerstone its place... the whole thing is gonna crush you." — Tony Arsenal Full Episode Transcript [00:01:05] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 492 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  [00:01:14] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother.  [00:01:18] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother.  [00:01:19] Parable Recap [00:01:19] Jesse Schwamb: Well, the time has finally come for us to close out our discussion in Matthew 21. This is the Parable of the Vine growers, and everybody should just go back and list everything we said so far, but I think here's how we could sum it up. Jesus's authority gets challenged and he sets a trap so beautiful that we should put it into a museum. He tells basically the religious bigwigs, this whole story where tenants speed up servants, they kill the air. They generally behave like it's an HOA literally run by the devil. And then he asks them this question, so what should the owner of the vineyard do And the chief priest. Chest puffed up. Basically shout out the answers to their own indictment. Smoke 'em. Give the vineyard to somebody who isn't garbage. Listen fellas, you just preached your own funeral. So in this we get to see this total depravity in 4K. Sovereign grace skips the credential gatekeepers and it lands on the tax collectors and the gentiles. They elect the vineyard, the self-righteous, get the rock. And we're gonna close out what all of that means, including probably not a small amount of talk about the kingdom being transferred, whatever that means, and maybe a little engrafting. Aah, Romans 11 style. It's all there for us. And that is what is coming up. [00:02:34] Affirmations Setup [00:02:34] Jesse Schwamb: Of course before we can do any of that, we can't even get there. Tony, before we do affirmations, denials, you and I both know it's our contractual obligation. It's what the people want all over the world. If we skip this, there will be some kind of riot revolt. So we gotta start there. Let's not get too excited yet. So I'm curious as always, are you affirming with something or you not against something for this episode?  [00:02:58] Tony Arsenal: I am, I'm affirming, uh, this is gonna be like people are gonna grow and roll their eyes a little bit.  [00:03:04] Infant Baptism Joy [00:03:04] Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming infant baptism today. We had a lovely infant baptism at church, um, and a couple recently had a child. Um, there's been, this was a kind of a particularly, um, poignant baptism. Um, the, the mother was in the hospital for several weeks before the baby was born, um, with some medical challenges, so was in. In the hospital. In the hospital for like, I want to say probably four weeks, which is a long time. Um, they have several other children, which makes it even harder. Um, and then, uh, then the baby was in the hospital for quite some time. He came a little early and then had some other issues. Um, and so this family was out of church for quite some time dealing with these health issues, and we, we all miss them very much. So it was a very sweet moment. Um, and it's just a, a good reminder, right? And, and the way our church does it is, you know, the pastor, the family comes up, they do vows, they do the baptism, but he calls all the children forward and the children come and sit, uh, right in the front row and they watch this all happen. Um. Which is, is very sweet. And you know, I, I went up there with Augie, and Augie was sitting on my lap and he was very, he was like super locked into this, this whole thing, which is, uh, which was nice to see. So I'm affirming infant baptism. It's a beautiful, beautiful picture of the gospel. Um, it's, it's God's promise being sealed to someone who contributes nothing to, um, to that promise contributes nothing to, uh, their own, um, position in the church or status in the church. They contribute nothing. Um, in most cases they're not even aware of what's going on. So I know not all of our listeners are, uh, are covenant infant Baptists, uh, type people. Um, so yes, I get it. You disagree, but there is something just sweet and beautiful, uh, even I think even for people who aren't quite sold on infant baptism. Um, and I think even sometimes for people who are kind of opposed to infant baptism, I think we've commented in the PA past that there's kind of this impulse that I think all Christian parents have that their children should be. Treated in a certain way that's different than how a non-Christian family treats their children. Right. Um, so there is kind of this instinct that the, there's, whether it's a formal status or just sort of a, a way of thinking about things, there is this impulse that the children of believers are somehow set apart in different, and of course, the, the Presbyterian Covenant Baptist, um, position would, would formalize that through the rite of baptism, uh, at least in part. So I'm affirming infant baptism, both theologically, but also just experimentally today. Like it was just, it was just a balm to my soul to see this, um. And like I said, the congregation has been praying for a long time for the health, uh, and the, the welfare of this family, um, and been, you know, doing meal trains and all the stuff that churches do. But it was, it was a very sweet moment, um, to see the pastor scoop this little baby up in his arms and be able to sort of introduce him to the church as the newest covenant member of the congregation. Uh, it was just a very nice moment. [00:05:59] Baptism Dedication Common Ground [00:05:59] Jesse Schwamb: I think you're right. We can all agree that there's something really beautiful about God growing his church, at least the visible church, through just the multiplicative effect of. People having children, there's something beautiful about that, and then welcoming them in an official way into your congregation, into your midst. Interestingly, in my church, there was a baby dedication today and I was also equally moved though like I would say the promises that were invoked during that time, the equipment's made are very different than what you might hear during kind of pedo infant baptism. You're right in that the spirit of this that is like a representation kind of bringing forward of the child to say he or she is part of us and we're making a commitment to raise them in admonition of the Lord is a really lovely thing. It's like a public recognition that God is providing a manifest blessing in our midst, and that he is growing and working out his church and he's doing it by just bringing new people into it who are being, who are the subjects of procreation. Creation itself, but procreation and how can you not be like, just excited about that. And, and also a little bit like it's also, and I'm not trying to denigrate any practice here, but also just on the face also super adorable. Like when you, when you see a pastor scoop up, like you said, a little child, whether that's to pray with them and dedication or to baptize them. Either way, it's super just like lovely and just pulls in your heartstrings. Yeah. In like this very spiritual way, not just in kind of an emotional kind of way.  [00:07:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, I don't, I think, um, when I think back, you know, Augie's, obviously you know this, but Augie was dedicated, um, Addie was not. Um, but when I think back to the vows we took, when we dedicated Augie, there are some differences, but there's also a lot that's not different like the sure close to like, raise up your child in the church and to like, pray for them and set a good example. And then, and then the sort of reciprocal vows that the congregation typically takes, that the congregation will do what they can to support the family as they, they raise this child and the Lord. Um, you know, even in, even in a lot of contexts, like in the Presbyterian church, I'm in like prayers that this, this child would come to know Jesus and would, would come to confess the faith for themselves and become a full, you know, full communicate member of the church. Like, those things are all present. So as much as I think, um. As much as I wanna acknowledge that infant baptism or, or covenant, I, I say covenant baptism versus, um, sort of like baptist theology writ, large credo Baptist theology, which is covenantal, but differently covenantal in most cases. Right. Um, even though that is a dividing line, and I think like it's a real dividing line. There's a real division that exists and that there's good theological historical reasons why those divisions exist. There still is so much that is the same. Um, in terms of how Baptists and, and Presbyterians or however formed, you know, PR Christians, um, re reflect on and think about their children. There's some differences, but in terms of like. We all want our children to come to know Jesus. We all want their first memory to be worshiping in the church and loving the Lord. We, we don't want them to ever remember a time where the name of Christ was not on their lips as their savior. Um, all those things are the same and even the, the way we promise before God and, and primarily before God, but before others, even the way we promise to nourish them in, in right doctrine and nourish them in good teaching and bring them into the church and, and set a faithful example. All of those things are the same. So I I I, I never want to diminish the fact that there are differences 'cause there are real differences and there are important differences. But I also think we often sort of like. I think because we've talked about this before, like Reformed Baptists and Presbyterians are so close that we have to bicker over the things that are different. It's like you're, it's like when you fight with your brother on whose side of the room it's on. Like you're so close that you have to find the little things to really bicker about and then you really, really bicker about them. And I think that kind of like describes the, the Presbyterian Baptist divide in a lot of ways. I know there's a lot of people that would say like, Lutherans are closer to Presbyterians and those people are just, I dunno, they're just wrong. Um, on, on, maybe on baptism, they're, they're not wrong. But in terms of general theological principles, like, you know, Westminster Confession, London Baptists, confession, like, it, it's 95% the same content. Sure. Um, and 95% like the same confession, not just the same like words, but the same meaning of the words. And, um, so yeah. Anyway, that's my affirmation. Infant baptism. It was a joy. I was happy to see it. Um, uh, we have a ton of little, little babies in the, the church. It's funny 'cause another, another, um. A couple announced today that they were expecting, and we've, we've had basically pregnant women in the church for, you know, obviously like at least nine months if someone is still pregnant. But like we've had, we've had this like rotation of, of women delivering babies for like, at least, probably, at least 16, 18 months of, of constantly having people who are, are expecting, which is really a great joy to see. So I, I love it. I love the church. I love the Presbyterian church. Um, and this was just another great example of, of the beauty of, uh, a robust confessionalism and a robust presbyterianism. [00:11:08] Jesse Schwamb: The way in which you said that made it sound like you're about to make like a grand historical statement. Like, we've had pregnant people in the church since the first century.  [00:11:18] Tony Arsenal: Well, I mean that's probably true, but  [00:11:19] Jesse Schwamb: yeah, it definitely  [00:11:20] Tony Arsenal: true. Not, not our church. Our church has only been around, our particular church has only been around for like 10 years, so I'm sure there have been times during that period where there were not pregnant people  [00:11:29] Jesse Schwamb: pregnant. It just sounded like we were going all the way back as if like to, again emphasize and maybe this isn't, this is as fair statement, like how faithful God has been like from the beginning. There's always been. Pregnant lady Church. Look, look at how faithful God is.  [00:11:42] Mic Grabbing Babies [00:11:42] Jesse Schwamb: And, and this is true, I like to play this game when there is a baby dedication. I'm not sure what the sound system is like in your church, but often our, our pastors wear like the tiny little like Backstreet Boys style. It's probably outdated reference, but microphone that comes over the ear and to the mouth and it's very discreet. But the game I like to play is like once, once he takes the child for a time of dedication or specifically prayer, the, the goal is to see like how long before that baby goes for the mic. Because as soon as like a baby sees a mic right there, it's like, oh yeah, this is the best thing that's happened to me in my tiny little life.  [00:12:20] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it's like an angler fish is really what it is. Yes. It's like that glowing bulb that just sits in front of its face and it's, the baby's just gotta grab it. [00:12:27] Jesse Schwamb: It's just too tempting. It's just too tempting. And I, and I love, you can tell like our pastors are really adept at being able to keep the prayer going and like discreetly maneuver the child, keep the child happy. It's, it's really an amazing thing. So altogether, I'm totally with you on so many levels. It's so good to see that happen in the church. And I'm with you on that. We gotta take joy in that For sure.  [00:12:48] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse, what do you got for us tonight?  [00:12:50] Book Breath Pick [00:12:50] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, something that's entirely unlike everything you just said. Certainly. Well, maybe, I guess there is a large spiritual component to this, but it's, I would say, for me, totally unexpected book recommendation and I came across this 'cause it was recommended to me and a while back, the keen or the listener who's been with us for a really long time, or a member that we talked about the book or why we sleep, this book became for me, like the equivalent of that in a totally different kind of topic or genre. It's called breath. The New Signs of a Lost Art by James Nestor and it explores how the way that humans breathe profoundly affects our health, our performance, our longevity. It's a book that is filled with both science and pseudoscience, which the author is really good at distinguishing and calling you to think about those things. But it's really totally changed how I understand like this little pattern in Habits of breathing. And it's a really interesting book of course. Like he draws from a lot of like religious influences, including of course the Judeo-Christian one. And I think that it even drew me back to understanding how God created us. And he did in a very specific way that text's giving some great description to the breadth that he gives us and how he gives us that breath. So if you're looking, I guess, for a little bit of a read, so that might surprise you about something that you might thought was automatic and simple in life and also that might. Be able to bring you some recommendations on how to better your health. Again, we're not doctors, but we are routinely considered among the top 50 healthcare podcasts. Then I would say this would be an interesting book for you to check out.  [00:14:19] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I haven't read it, but it's been recommended to me and one of the, one of the takeaways, actually, I think it might have been my doctor, my my PCP who mentioned this to me is like, if you wanna improve your health drastically, like just make it a practice of breathing through your nose. Yes. Like something that simple and straightforward has pretty significant health impacts of like. Like the way that your brain processes breath when it comes through your nose, the way that like, there's more filtering that happens with breath, so the air that gets to your lungs is cleaner. There's just a lot of, um, I haven't read it. I've, I think I actually have it somewhere, but I have not read it yet. Um, I, I should, I should take a look at it. I, I've heard good things about it.  [00:15:01] Jesse Schwamb: At the very least, if you're a Christian, it'll cause you to marvel again. That's how beautifully complex God has made the human body and how it seems entirely impossible that anyone could even logically reasonably conclude that somehow we are just time plus matter, plus chance, and that all these things got worked out. I don't wanna spoil some of the punchline. A part of the book is about this. Breathe through your nose, which you might think was just kind of an innocuous decision. Breathe through your nose, breathe your mouth. How, how different could it be? They actually do an experiment where they plug their noses, the author and somebody else for, uh, several, like 10 days straight. And do all these these things under medical supervision to see what the impact is. And I'll leave you to read it so you can hear that. There's also something fascinating, absolutely fascinating about carbon dioxide and a study that's done where they actually have people inhale a little bit of carbon dioxide and what it does to the body. In other words, like the system that God has put into play to ensure that the body gets the kind of right amount of oxygen that it needs and how it functions when it's given the warning side of carbon dioxide, even when. Your lung capacity and your oxygen, your blood doesn't change. There's a fascinating section on that. So I didn't expect to be this interested in the book and generally I take a little time before I recommend a book. I finished this a couple weeks ago and I'm still thinking about it. So, and I'm trying to put some things into practice, including I try to do some running and for the longest time I just thought, well, when you run, like even at any like moderate speed, like you have to breathe through your mouth, this book challenges some of that. So lo and behold, I went out and started to try just a little bit to see if I could just breathe through my nose. It turns out it's totally possible, like all this time I just thought that was impossible, like God didn't make us that way, and it's actually improving how I feel when I run and the running that I'm able to do. So I am surprised, I, I'm shocked by all this, and it's just as simple as understanding breath. Who would've guessed.  [00:16:56] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I mean, I've heard it's a great book. I, I, I. It never ceases to amaze that the, the more we look at the human body, the more we look at God's creation, the more we see the fingerprints of our creators. So not, not  [00:17:07] Jesse Schwamb: right.  [00:17:07] Tony Arsenal: Sounds like a great book. I can't recommend it from personal experience, uh, although I've heard very good things.  [00:17:12] Reading Matthew 21 [00:17:12] Tony Arsenal: So, Jesse, I think we should probably just get into it because this is now week three of, uh, one week episode and, uh, we want to wanna dig in and we wanna wrap it up so we can move on to the next best thing out there, which is of course, the parables of Christ. [00:17:26] Jesse Schwamb: Let's get some. So I'm gonna read for us starting in verse 40 because if you've been tracking then you've already been with us through the first part of this parable, and it's notoriously or variously called parable the vine growers, or I kinda like the husband men, just because that's fun to say, and you don't get to drop husband men like very often. But vine dressers, vine growers, vine workers, it's all the same. But here's starting in verse 40. This is after Jesus has already explained the parable. He set it up for them and he's gonna bring for the indictment. So Jesus says, and therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these vine growers? They said to him, he will bring those wretches to a wretched end and he will rent out the vineyard to other vine growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons. Jesus said to them, did you never read in the scriptures the stone, which the builders rejected? This has become the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord in his, marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to seize him, they feared the crowds because they were guarding him to be a prophet.  [00:18:48] Irony Blind Leaders [00:18:48] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, that, that last little section here is just such, it's like dripping with such irony,  [00:18:53] Jesse Schwamb: so good  [00:18:54] Tony Arsenal: that like they, they are so blinded by their own, um, I dunno, ambition isn't, maybe isn't even the right word, but something in that, that neighborhood, they're so blinded by their desire to. Maintain their own status quo, their own uh, their own status. That they fear the crowds because the crowds hold them to be a prophet,  [00:19:15] Jesse Schwamb: right?  [00:19:16] Tony Arsenal: When in reality, like there is a prophet in their midst and much more than a prophet, uh, and they can't see it because of their own blindness. So I'm stoked to get into it. This is such, like we said, this is such a, like on the nose, paril, it's crazy. This is so much like, you know, Nathan's, you are the man kind of parable. Like yes, that's right, except there never is a, you are the man moment for them. They never get it, which is. Stunning. Like I, I, it just sort of is like, I don't even know what to make of that. [00:19:41] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. There is like a wild blindness. I've been thinking about that a lot in our past conversations, but it culminates here. These chief priests and elders, I would say strangely, but I think that this is probably true of all of us, and maybe especially me, perhaps not yet, like perceiving themselves to be the vine growers here in view, they render this verdict of severe justice. It seems like you, you wanna say to them? Like, guys, guys, pull up, hold up a second. Yeah. Take a step back before you overreact here, because you're about to condemn yourselves and in the Greek here, this expression like, miserably destroy these wicked men. Or it gets like this double wretched in our translations. Mostly he will bring those wretches to a wretched end. It's this rhetorical intensification. It's incredible. And I, I think there's at least like two truths here. That come to my mind. One is, we've talked about before, but is in line with what you're saying, that the natural conscience, when not even aware of its own complicity, can still discern the justice of God's judgments. So here are these men who are so prone almost, I think what Calvin says elsewhere, like that we have this hidden impulse to identify with justice. Even when we can't see that we are the ones perpetrating something of injustice, still we can't help but cry out. We can't even help but identify it. And here they. Accurately identify it. And even though they're putting themselves exactly in the cross here, they cannot help but basically cry out that how egregious this behavior is of these vine growers that Jesus has basically, you know, created in this hypothetical environment, even still there, they're filled with rage and the rage gets turned on them. So the Pharisees here, of course, function as this unwitting witness to the righteousness of God's wrath against covenant breakers, even though they, they don't see it.  [00:21:29] Kingdom Transfer Talk [00:21:29] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, the second thing I think that comes to my mind, and maybe this is like more to the point, is that. The verse foreshadows this transfer of the kingdom from the Jewish nation to a new people that would bring forth its fruits, which I realize if I bring that up right now, that we've just committed to like six episodes just on that topic probably. But yeah, but like, we're gonna have to come to it because there's so much here. And the phrase of this, like, let out his vineyard unto other vine growers or husbandman, it does to me like anticipate this calling of the Gentiles and the formation of the Christian Church and in, in this way. It's not to me. The abandonment of the elect, remnant of Israel, but it is like the breaking off of the natural branches and then this engrafting of the wild olive shoots that come through like Allah, Romans 11. So it's, it's not like from one nation to another simply, but from like the carnal seed to a spiritual seed gathered out of all the nations, that that's wild. Right? I, I think that's all in view here. And it's like a kind of a crazy thing to say. It's certainly like a wild thing to say, no pun intended. And I imagine like, unexpected thing to say.  [00:22:38] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:22:40] Supersessionism Clarified [00:22:40] Tony Arsenal: Let's think about that a little bit because I think too, there's, there's almost an element of, um. Man, I'm gonna get a lot of flack for saying this. You're, there's almost like a legitimate replacement theology here, right? Like replacement theology. I got covenant theology, you know, reformed, um, reformed theology often gets slandered as, you know, supersessionism or replacement theology, uh, with this idea that like, it's, it's interest. Uh, you have to have dispensational presuppositions for that phrase to even make sense because like the reformed paradigm is that there is one people of God full stop. And yes, like the identity of the one people of God seems to sort of like morph from the Jewish national people to now like Jews and Gentiles and actually predominantly Gentiles in the scope of like the whole history of the church. But what I mean by this is like, there's a visible church in the Old Testament, in the old, under the old Covenant, and the visible church under the old covenant is the national people of, of Israel. Right. By and large. Right. Um, and there are, there are sort of like Gentile, um, Clingons, not like the Star Trek people, but like gentile, like attachments to that throughout the history of, of Old Testament, um, theology. Um. That visible, that visible identification of this is the people of God being the Jewish people. Uh, these are the people that are the vineyard, the, they're the, the owner or the tenants of the vineyard or the, the visible Jewish people of the geopolitical nation of Israel under the old covenant that does sort of like get superseded by the church in the church age, in the new covenant,  right?  [00:24:24] Tony Arsenal: But where, where Supersessionism or the accusation of Supersessionism goes wrong is that there is this distinction between the visible and invisible church. And that distinction is what prevents us from being like, sort of like true replacement theologians in the way that the, the dispensationalist wanna paint us. So I, I think you're right that there is a lot to say here about the fact that, um, and, and this is where it gets, um. We have to be careful systematically. Right. God, God doesn't have to pivot. He doesn't have like a plan B. It's not like the Gentiles are the plan B, but there is a sense in almost in which the way that this is presented, the way that it appears in the scriptures is actually, yeah, there is almost like this plan B, like there is the geopolitical ethnic people of, of Israel, the Jewish people under the old covenant. And, and they don't do what they're supposed to do. They don't follow the terms of their covenant. They don't accept the kingdom that is bequeathed to them under the terms of the old covenant. And they, they reject that kingdom because of a disobedience. And, and I think what Christ here is narrowing in on is it's not just disobedience, right? It's not sort of like, um, accidental ancillary disobedience. It's not generalized disobedience. It is this sort of like usurpation of God's rightful status as the ruler and king of the nation. That's right. The the people, the, the Pharisees. And the chief priests and the scribes and the Sadducees, they want to be the rulers of the nation. They want to, they, they seem to wanna take the place of God, at least as far as Christ is presenting it. In this, they wanna usurp the kingdom. They want to take the heirs, uh, rightful inheritance, and they want to claim it for themselves. That is not a generalized disobedience, it's a special t type of covenant unfaithfulness that causes God to causes and kind of air quotes that causes God to hand over the kingdom to another people. Right. Partially, I think, uh, we don't need to get into Romans, the Romans 11 stuff, but partially I think because that's actually the way that he's going to ultimately save the Jewish people, right, is by sort of making, making them jealous of the Gentiles. Like there's a, there's a real element of that, that the salvation of the Gentiles is actually for, in some sense is for or unto the salvation of the Jewish people or the, the faithful Jewish remnant that's all here. And, and you can't really get past that in this parable. Um, this is why I think a, a lot of dispensationalist, um, uh, some of the classic dispensational sources would actually see like this, this is not for the Jewish church. This, this is for the Gentiles. This is actually part of the parentheses, um. You know, and, and again, dispensationalist divide all that stuff up differently, but this is a really interesting section for us to talk about that we can't, we can't just gloss over that. [00:27:11] Jesse Schwamb: I certainly don't mean to imply that it's wild because it's unexpected. I think it's wild because interestingly, the Pharisees, the teachers here, they challenge Jesus authority and his response to that is to challenge their covenant faithfulness.  [00:27:24] Tony Arsenal: Right?  [00:27:25] Jesse Schwamb: So it's not just if he turns it around, he uses this opportunity to explain what's going to happen to them as those who are, like you said, were supposed to be representative. And I think critically like the qualifying phrase. That that's using the text here, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. That's like really important because these new vine growers are characterized by their fruitfulness. So this is not like a doctrine of works righteousness, but it's evidential fruit. And that's why, and I had to look this up and the Westminster Confession confession, chapter 16, good works are quote the fruits and evidences of true and lively faith, which I love. I was trying to find that language true and lively faith. So the visible church under that new administration is identified by the fruits of repentance, faith, and obedience worked out by the Holy Spirit. Again, I think that's all that is in view here, that that's a lot to say. But you know, famously, like you've kind of intimated, when we go back to the Old Testament, even we find when the Israelites leave triumphantly from Egypt, that they're accompanied by those outside of Israel. We find that other characters like Grh who continually want to identify with a Yahweh whom God is saving and drawing onto himself and here is kind. Him, Jesus, at least representing as the son of God. That kind of cli climactic view. Speaking from the prophet register again saying, this is what I was saying to Abraham. I said, like from your seed, all these nations in this spiritual sense will be gathered out. So there'll be a single nation as it were in Christ. And even now, I'm telling you, I'm breaking down those boundaries. But I think to your point, importantly Tony, in part because you have failed in the covenant promises and you who were to represent and to heed and to lead, have fallen down. And so now you're gonna trip over this stone and it's going to crush you. And as a result of that, the vine, the vine growers will be, or the vineyard itself will be turned over to those who bear this true and lively fruit.  [00:29:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:29:23] Israel Failure Remnant [00:29:23] Tony Arsenal: There's an interesting, um. There's an interesting dynamic here that actually strikes me as kind of similar. It's a little bit more opaque, but similar to, uh, like Joseph in, uh, in Egypt, right when his brothers come and he says, you meant this for evil, but God meant it for good. Mm-hmm. There's a, there's an element of here, we've talked about the parables. That's sort of like systematic theology in story form. Um, there's a reality here that it's both true, that God always intended for the kingdom to be expansive and, and to expand beyond the nation of Israel. To be this universal, global lowercase c Catholic, universal church universal in the sense that it's not bound by any particular nation, by any particular geopolitical reality. Um. That's true, but it's also true that the reason, uh, on a sort of like horizontal level that that's true is that Israel failed. Right? It so God always intended for Israel to fail, yet Israel is responsible for the fact that they failed. Yes, that's right. Um, and, and, and again, we, we, we sort of commented on this before, like there are some in our broader reformed circles that turn this into a sort of antisemitism, like a sort of hatred for the Jewish people. And I don't think, I don't think that there's any warrant in scripture for that. In fact, I think scripture speaks strongly against that. Is that, um. Not necessarily because there's any particular unique special affection that God has for Israel, like, like the modern Jewish people, but, but that, like racism in general is prohibited by the Bible. But I think where we do need to be clear though, is that there is a real failure. It's a true, genuine failure on the part of the first century Jewish. Leaders and people, um, with a faithful remnant. Right? There was, um, we're, we're getting, you know, we're in the springtime and we've already had, uh, we've already had discussions about this. We've already done Easter, but like there is always conversations around Palm Sunday of like, are the crowds that are following Jesus into, into town screaming, you know, yelling, Hosanna? Is that the same crowds that are yelling crucify him a couple days later? Um, I tend to think like, no, like actually, like the people who are saying crucified, crucify Christ are probably like the Jews who live in Jerusalem or like the, primarily the religious leaders. There's a whole host of Jewish believers and kind of the hoy pallo, the, the people out in the country that absolutely follow Jesus. Like they follow him as the Messiah. They, they confess him in many cases. They convince him to be, um, they confess him to be God, to to be the savior, to be the, the figure from Daniel seven, the son of man. Um. There's a reality in which the Jewish remnant absolutely recognize Christ and they persist in the church, right? The earliest Christians were all Jews, and you know, there was a few Gentiles along the way, you know, and maybe not even Gentiles like Samaritans. I don't even know if you would call them gentiles. They're kind of this midway point, but in Jewish gentil. But there are people throughout Christ's ministry, right? Cornelius or not Cornelius, the Centurion recognizes that this is the son of God. Like there are people, the s Phoenician woman, there are people who are not part of Israel proper, who even in the, in the midst of Christ's ministry are recognizing him as God and as Messiah and as the savior of the world. But, but by and large, the earliest Christian movement was Jewish people. It was the faithful remnant of, of Israel who recognized that their Messiah had come. That is true. And at the same time. The, probably the majority, and especially the rulers and the leaders of the Israel, you know, the Jewish faith in the first century absolutely rejected him. And this is what I, this is what I think is wild, is I think sometimes we think that, um, the prophecies and the understanding of Christ and what the messiah, who the Messiah was to be and what to expect, we think of those as like super obscured and super hidden until Christ comes and then all of a sudden they're really obvious. Christ doesn't seem to treat them that way. Right? Right. He tells this parable and they rightly identify that, and this is a, this is such a thinly veiled parable. Like this is like, you killed the prophets. You're going to kill me. And there's going to be consequences. Like he practically says that outright. Um. He treats that as like they should obviously know this, right? The, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone, the builder rejected has become the cornerstone, right? This was the lord's doing. It is, and it is marvelous in their eyes that have you never read?  [00:34:06] Decree in Rejection [00:34:06] Tony Arsenal: That is a, that's a rhetorical question with the implied answer of, of course, you've read exactly like he's not, he's not teaching them something that he anticipated is new to them. He maybe is teaching them something that he anticipated they maybe you didn't recognize. But actually I think probably like, uh, there probably were many among them that were like, oh yeah, we are doing this. But then almost like we're powerless to stop themselves from moving forward in that.  [00:34:32] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:34:32] Tony Arsenal: Sort of like wicked plan. [00:34:34] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Yeah. And I think we could extend that as well to say that this rejection of Christ by this Jewish leadership, which of course was a incredible failure, like you're saying, it wasn't an accident, it wasn't an unforeseen tragedy. So just like interestingly in Acts four in his sermon where Peter quotes from the same Old Testament passage about Christ being the cornerstone, you know, it was prophesied long before. And so the doctrine of God's eternal decree, I think finds v vivid illustration even here. This is all the Lord's doing. Yeah. And even the wicked rejection of the Messiah is serving this purpose, this sovereign purpose of God's great exaltation. And so it's fascinating, and we should marvel at the fact that, again, like God means what he says when he says like He uses what is weak to overcome that which is strong, or to embarrass the strong, he uses that which seems foolish. To make the wise themselves, the ones who are actually foolish in the same way.  [00:35:29] Cornerstone Unites Church [00:35:29] Jesse Schwamb: This very stone, which men in their malice cast aside on that day. God is in his wisdom setting as this chief cornerstone. And I love like that idea of this phrase, this head of the corner denoting that amazing preeminence of Christ, that Christ is not merely included in the building of the new Covenant church. He is its chief and constituent stone that joining together both like the Jew and the Gentile, finally into one structure. And that's really, I think to your point, that's the great mystery of the hidden ages from the past. That that's the thing which Christ is bringing to like this grand display, like out on the stage in the open, in front of everybody. He's drawing it up, he's calling it to account. And so in that way, the same Jesus that was rejected by men is in God's account of inestimable value. And that should be like, I think, familiar to most of us because like there a form tradition has always insisted that. The true theology always issues in doxology and the cross and exaltation of Christ are not merely these facts, which we give these intellectual ascent, but we, we confess them as mysteries which provoke us to adoration of who God is. It's the excellency of Christ expounding at length, like the wondrous conjunction of Christ's humiliation and his exaltation, which finds its pattern here, rejected by men, glorified by God.  [00:36:50] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:36:52] Works Covenant Failures [00:36:52] Tony Arsenal: And, and this is, um, we, we commented in our first, uh, episode on this par ball. This is not isolated to just the rulers of Israel at the time of Christ, right? This is in reality, kind of like a reflection of every failure of the covenant of works. In some sense, every failure to hold the covenant of works boils down to an attempt to make oneself, God. Right. This was Adam's failure in the garden. Um, Eve, Eve was the first person to eat the fruit, but Adam, Adam was responsible for that and he, he also ate the fruit and they, they did so in part because they thought it was useful to make them like God and, and in an illegitimate fashion. And they knew it was an illegitimate fashion. It's not as though Adam and Eve suddenly were like, maybe we can eat the fruit. Maybe like we actually are fine to do it. Like they knew it was still forbidden. Right. They did it anyways. And the Pharisees here, um, are in a real attempt. Um, they are trying to take the role of Messiah for the people. They're trying to be the savior of the people in sort of shepherding and guiding them into this like. Ultra legalistic Puritan, like puritanical in the worst sense, um, kind of approach to the law. Um, this is the, the story of Old Testament Israel, right? What is the first thing that the Israelites do? Um, at Mount Sinai? The first thing they do is try to fashion gods so that they have a tame God that they can control and that they can actually be God's over. So I think this is really key and, and this is where it becomes practical for us, is that. I think we always are faced with a choice, right? There's, there's obviously those who are Christ, who the son is set free. He's set free indeed, and they will never not be his people. Like you never become not justified. If you were justified, you always forever more are justified. Justified is a final. It's, it's the future judgment of God's people dragged and dropped into the present and applied. It's the righteousness of Christ applied. So there, there's never a time where that righteousness is like removed or unapplied, but we are constantly faced with a choice as to whether we want to be the kind of people who render our fruit unto the Lord, uh, as the faithful, the sort of the implied faithful tenants that are going to be brought forward when the, the unfaithful tenants are replaced. Or do we wanna be the people that reap wicked fruit and keep for ourselves? And I think that's, that's really the thing. Like we're either gonna rep. Fruit of wickedness, or we're gonna reap fruit of righteousness. And the only thing to do with fruit of righteousness is surrender it to the Lord. But we often are faced with that choice, like, are we gonna reap our own wicked fruit and keep it all to ourselves right, uh, to our own detriment? Or are we gonna go ahead and be the faithful tenants that give the Lord what he deserves?  [00:39:46] Kingdom Transfer Explained [00:39:46] Jesse Schwamb: We're seeing so much of the simplicity of God here that like you and I have said so many times before that his loving kindness, his long suffering ness is his righteousness, is his justice, is his wrath. And so I think it's helpful, again, to remind ourselves that we're, we are talking, or he specifically is speaking of the kingdom of God here. And again referring to this visible administration of the covenant of grace, not to the inward and invisible kingdom of saving grace, which as you just said, can never be lost from those who possess it, which by the way is a really important distinctive of reform theology. There are many that would disagree with that statement, and I think really much to their harm in, in disagreement with the scriptures themselves, this one in particular, but it is this external administration, the privileges, the ordinances, the oracles of God. That is being transferred from the Jewish nation as a corporate body to a new and broader people of God. And because I know that sounds very extreme, I did look up Calvin and his commentary on this and let me read what he says because this is interesting. I think even this could possibly mis be misunderstood. But here's Calvin who can say it better than I. He says, quote by these words, he means that God would deprive the Jews of the honor and the privilege of being his peculiar people and would call the Gentiles that out of them he might form a church end quote. And going back to what you said earlier, I'm with you. I, I. I mean, this is not, I think as some have wrongly concluded, like replacement theology in like a wooden sense. I, I see this still as like this historical redemptive transition from the typological administration of the old covenant to the eschatological fulfillment of the new. And the elect remnant of Israel is not cast off, but the national like typological privileges are being transferred to the Catholic church, gathered from all nations. And in that, I really do see this wonderful confluence of God's loving kindness, his, his fidelity to the promises that he's made and his wrath being manifested all at once. And somehow Jesus, of course, in complete perfection, can bring that all to bear in this tiny little story.  [00:41:51] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And and isn't it just like the master teacher to like, put all of this baked into this? I mean, that's right. We think of this as like a long parable, like I think,  [00:42:02] Jesse Schwamb: right?  [00:42:02] Tony Arsenal: I think like it's, it's amazing how we think of parables as, you know, like this is a short one. A short one is a couple sentences, a long one is like a half a dozen sentences. Like, and of course like Christ is teaching broader than this. He's teaching more than this. Just, this is what's recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is what Matthews preserved for us.  [00:42:22] Stone Breaks or Crushes [00:42:22] Tony Arsenal: But you're right, there's so much baked into this little parable and I think, um, there's something to be said about this idea of like. Not only do those who smash against the, the rock, the, the cornerstone, those who smash against the rock, like those who who fall on the rock are broken to pieces, but also the rock falls on others and smashes them to pieces. Right? And, and there's something to be said about the fact that, and I'm not exactly sure how I wanna articulate this, but it's only those who like recognize the proper place of the rock and don't either let it fall on them or don't smash themselves against it. You know, we always joke about like running through a wall. Like this is not a wall you're gonna run through. Like you're gonna smash into this wall and it's gonna crush you. And if you are, if you're not properly assigning the cornerstone it's placed, right? The cornerstone is, is the stone that's placed in the foundation of a building that all the other stones find their orientation and their proper alignment based on. [00:43:26] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:43:26] Tony Arsenal: You might think of this sometimes. I've heard this articulated as like the, the arch stone. I think it's a little bit different than that. Um, but it, the, the idea is the same, right? Like there's a stone in an arch. If you think of like a classic Roman arch, you have these piles of stones until you put the final arch stone in. That, in that stone is what makes the arch stable. Until that point, either side can fall, but if you don't properly set that arch stone where it's supposed to be, then the whole thing is gonna crush you. It's gonna fall down on top of you at some point. I think this is a little different. This is the cornerstone of a, this is more like the cornerstone of a building. This is the stone that the rest of the building, building is oriented against and is aligned with. If you get that wrong, then you have a, you have like a crooked wall, a wall that's not set, that's not straight. It's not stable. What this is saying and what this, this prophecy right from, from Psalm one 10, I think I should probably look it up, but I haven't yet. But this prophecy that Christ is referring to this, this prophetic statement in the Psalms that he's assuming the audience is familiar with, right? I think that's a really important point. Like he's not only assuming that they're familiar with it, there's rhetorical force of kind of like, of course you understand this principle that there is a cornerstone coming. There is something or someone who is coming that all other things will be measured against. And if you're either in alignment with this, with this person who is coming or you're out of alignment with reality, this thing is understood by them. It just is so critical and I think like the, the, a lot of the parables don't have explanations built into them. Some of them do. We've talked about some of them. A lot of them don't, this one does, but it's kind of like a really surprising way to explain it. And there's so much, um, the more that I look at this, the more we talk about it, this really is so similar to David and Nathan, right? Right. When with the, the affair with Bathsheba, he is saying to the Pharisees, look, you're the man. Like, you're the one here. You're the guy. You guys are the wicked tenants that are gonna, you've killed the prophets. Right? Um, I'm losing my, my timeline a little bit, but John the Baptist either had been executed or would be executed shortly at this point, right? So like the, the most recent prophet either was already killed or, or Christ knew of course he was going to be killed. Um, he's saying, look, you guys are the ones that are doing this and you're going to kill me. Right. And this is obviously what the prophecy is, that you think you're going to come against the cornerstone, but in reality you're going to shatter yourself upon me. You think you're gonna come against me, I'm going to crush you. And rather than say, you know, as ba, you know, as David does, where he repents, he, he fasts and he, he refuses to eat. He's, he's in mourning over both the loss of his infant, but, but more so over his own sin, I think is the picture the text gives us. Um, he's mourning trying to uh, sort of like reverse God's decision, but there's a genuine repentance to it, right? That's where we get Psalm 51, like creating, clean me a clean heart, oh God, renew a right spirit in me. There's none of that for the Pharisees, there's none of that for the sadist of the chief priests. They just continue to smash themselves against this rock, not recognizing that it's actually the rock that is crushing them. [00:47:05] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it's, it's a bit like, I'm gonna speak like a little maybe beyond my depth here, but there's a little bit of like that Nathan, like Strategem, and then this is where I'm outside my own experience. And then a little bit like maybe like WWE the rock in terms of like. If you want some come and get some, right? It's a little of both. And of course the passage ends very tragically, well ends humorously by them, you know, saying that at some point they were like, they understood in these parables, again, this is one of three of the same kind of topic of variety, but that Jesus was referring to them, which is funny. You wanna be like, yeah, it took a, took a long enough, I guess, guys, but you finally got it. But then that last sentence of like, they still sought to kill him. So to your point, even after all of this, there wasn't repentance. And we do get these, I think, two very distinct judgements that are depicted here, which you've already kinda led us into this first, like, whoever shall fall on the stone shall be broken. You know, to me, I think that's invoking this idea that in this life, there we are, we can be brought to brokenness through the gospel and to fall upon Christ. And repentance. And faith is to be broken in self, in pride and self-righteous. It's a breaking that does lead to healing. But this second judgment, you know the one, but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, grind him to dust, I mean. Man, think about what a vivid image that is. I mean, that's like the more terrible of the two. That that's like the, yeah. Final Es logical judgment of those who persist in unbelief and it, it admits there's like no remedy. So there are only two ways to relate to Christ. You either fall upon him willingly in faith and repentance, which is painful, but it is saving, you know, to have him fall upon us in judgment is final in damning, and so that's what Christ presents here. [00:48:48] Psalm 118 in Context [00:48:48] Jesse Schwamb: It's, it's both of these things and you're right, it is brilliant that he goes to Psalm one 18 even that as a setup, because as you've kind of already said, I love to think, of course that's, can you manner the tone in which this was said to these scribes and Pharisees? Because of course the, the secondary indictment here is like, listen, you guys who like your great pride is that, you know, the scriptures really well. Have you read this part is familiar to you. Yeah. Can you tell me where that is? So like, we, we should go there just, just quickly. This is Psalm one 18 because I think that here again is, as I'm hearing it in context. There are some verses surrounding this that I think we might be surprised that they come right on the heels of this idea of the stone. So just a couple verses. In Psalm one 18 being in verse 22, the stone, which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone. This is from Yahweh. It is marvelous in our eyes. Here's the verses that we might not recognize. Come right after it. This is the day which Yahweh has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Oh, Yahweh, save. Oh, Yahweh, succeed. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh. We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh. Yahweh is God, and he has given us light by the festival sacrifice with corns to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to you. You are my God, and I exalt you. Give thanks to Yahweh for his good, for his loving kindness endures forever. And so this idea that there's rejoicing in which day, I mean, usually we kinda say that it's like, well, it's a beautiful day out. It's the Lord's day. This is the day that Yahweh is like that. That's true. But also here in particular, it is this blessed day of Yahweh giving the stone, which the builders reject and which has become the chief cornerstone. And that stone is some will run headlong into and shipwreck their lives and others will be crushed underneath it. And guess what? This is the day which Yahweh has made and we're gonna rejoice and be glad in that.  [00:50:41] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:50:43] Mark's Angle on Fear [00:50:43] Tony Arsenal: The other thing I think, you know, we. Should, um, maybe not spend any time on, 'cause we're at like, out, like minute 50 of a 60 minute podcast. But just going to, to Mark's version of this parable real quick. Um, starting in verse, uh, this is chapter 12, verse 12. It says, and they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the people for, they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. And the, the main difference here, the reason I'm reading this is Mark chooses a d. Concerning them. The verb is, or the preposition is Perry. So it's kind of like this idea that he was, he was sort of speaking around them. He was talking about them. Mark uses the, the preposition, proce, which is not, um, not against, in like the same, uh, direct sense. We might use the word against. That would be something like Kada. Um, but he's, he's speaking this parable towards them or to them, um, against them. He's, he's directing the parable at them. And this is, this is, we, we commented on this a little bit in the, the first episode here. Um, he is speaking to the crowds. But he's telling the parable about or against or concerning the Pharisees and the scribes, and they perceive this, right. The, the gospels here don't say that the crowds perceive this. Right. And I think that's key. Like the Pharisees basically look at this and say, uh, we better get this under control because he's talking about us. Right, right. Like, I'm just picturing Paul Washer's. I'm not trying to say Paul Washer is a Pharisee, although some people would probably make that connection. But like I'm, I'm just hearing Paul Washer's voice saying like, I don't know why you're clapping. I'm talking about you. He's speaking to the Pharisees here. And it's interesting because Matthew associates the, the, uh, Pharisees. Cowardice in acting against Christ, uh, because they fear the crowds and because the crowds believe Christ is a parable or is a prophet Mark associates. And again, both of these things are true, right? This is holy scripture. This is inspired, these are not contradictory accounts. This is facets of the same diamond. Mark associates this with, they fear the crowds. Um, because they had taken him. They, they understood that the parable was being spoken against them, right? So there's this element that the Pharisees are not only understanding that the, the parable is about them, they feared them because the crowds believe that Christ is a prophet and that prophet is speaking this parable against them, right? So like they're, they're recognizing full on that it's only a matter of time before the, the general population, the general people that are listening to Christ recognize that he's overturning. Not only the Pharisees, the entire geopolitical nation of Israel, he's overturning the ethnic based reality, the geopolitical based reality, that God's people have a zip code and that zip code is Jerusalem. That zip code is this little si, this little tract of land the size of like Vermont and New Hampshire in the Mediterranean, like off the Mediterranean Sea. He's overturning that. And the, the Pharisees, the educated people, the, the Sadducees, the chief priests, the rulers, they recognize it's only a matter of time before the people understand what Christ is doing. They, they follow him as a prophet and this is what he's prophesying. And

A podcast before a cruise? Oh you know it had to be done! Bryan and Mario give you all another rousing episode before the high seas call our Argentinean man to the shores of south Europe.Mario can't go on his first European excursion without giving us a story on how he witnessed a near-death situation on the road, and how he was having an internal discussion with himself about whether or not that high school girl kind of deserved what happened when you try to beat traffic crossing the street.The guys are also recommended to check out some video games that are so off the wall and crazy, that city governments banned them! Will they still search for them to add to their collections? It may not be a zero percent chance.Plus, Forza Horizon 6 is finally making it to the public, where the dreams of driving and drifting your way through Japan are realized. Just how many hours will be logged until GTA 6 is released?There was some utterly jaw-dropping moments in English lower league soccer, teaching a new follower the ways of our sound effects, and Bryan providing us with some low frame rate action on camera.All this and more from a podcast going on a short break while cruising across the Mediterranean Sea!

What begins as a simple story about a local playlist becomes a deeper meditation on independent music, visibility, community, and the emotional labour of self-promotion. Detlef looks back at the old DIY days of band promotion — photocopied flyers, cut-and-paste posters, pubs, record shops, and paper under car windscreens — and compares them with today's digital rituals of links, WhatsApp messages, Instagram stories, Spotify streams, and online voting.At the centre of the episode is The Cork Playlist, created and curated by Neil Quinn, as an important cultural platform for Cork music. Detlef considers how such local initiatives interrupt the disappearance of music in the endless streaming machine and create a space where artists can be heard, compared, supported, and discovered.The episode also tells the dramatic and slightly comic story of WAW's three-day voting campaign: the excitement, the constant refreshing, the stress, the WhatsApp group mistake, the quick lesson in digital boundaries, and the realisation that promotion must remain an invitation — not an invasion.WAW reached second place with 465 votes, while Stacey Dineen deservedly won first place with her beautiful song “Stay.” Rather than framing this as defeat, Detlef and Sophia explore second place as evidence of resonance: a sign that Africa Smile moved through people, networks, friends, strangers, Cork, West Cork, Germany, and beyond.The episode closes with gratitude to everyone who voted, shared, listened, added the song to playlists, and carried it further — before playing “Africa Smile” once more as the end-song.Two rivers meet.Two artists listen.One wounded hope keeps moving.Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandFrom the forthcoming WAW albumThe Stories of Nil YoungTwo songs from WAW's developing album project The Stories of Nil Young — a mythopoetic journey along the Nile, where river, memory, loss, cooperation and hope flow into music.AfricaSmileAfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources to the Mediterranean Sea — a river of memory, movement, rhythm and myth.The song turns the meeting of the White Nile and the Blue Nile into a fragile image of cooperation. It is not a naïve peace anthem, but a wounded musical hope: two different currents meeting, listening, and still moving forward together.The Niles Bittersweet SongThe Nile's Bittersweet Song is the first official single by WAW / Wild Atlantic Way — Detlef Schlich and Dirk Schlömer.The song follows the Nile as a river of memory, beauty, loss and contradiction: a life-giver, but also a force that can take away what it once nourished. Through the story of Kamau, it becomes a poetic reflection on childhood, fragile hope, and the emotional landscape carried by a river that is both kind and cruel.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.Inspired by East African storytelling traditions and shaped along the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork, The Nile's Bittersweet Song is a mythopoetic musical journey about water, grief, resilience, and the deep human longing to keep moving with the current.WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/donations

Trade, Taiwan, and Tehran high on agenda for Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. BC Supreme Court to deliver verdict in trial of former RCMP officer accused of colluding with China. Sea-Watch says the Libyan Coast Guard shot at its members trying to save migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Australia scales back tax breaks for property investors in effort to help young people enter housing market. Dunkin Donuts takes another shot at entering the Canadian coffee market. Crew of Artemis II space mission in Canada meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and schoolchildren.

For this episode, Sophia steps aside. No AI Co-Host, no mediated interview frame — just a direct artist-to-artist dialogue about the long journey of a song that began with early vocal recordings in West Cork, travelled back and forth between Kilcrohane, Adrigole and Berlin, and slowly found its final shape through musical exchange, disagreement, patience, trust and shared imagination.AfricaSmile follows the Nile as an imagined journey from its sources towards the Mediterranean Sea in less than five minutes. But the Nile is never only water. It is memory, geography, myth, rhythm, history and movement. In the song, the White Nile and the Blue Nile become a powerful image of cooperation: two different currents meeting, continuing together and becoming one force.That image is beautiful — but also painful. The two Niles meet in Khartoum, a city marked today by war, destruction and human suffering. For Detlef and Dirk, AfricaSmile is therefore not a naïve peace anthem and not a political analysis. It is a wounded image of hope: a musical gesture that asks whether cooperation can still become stronger than violence.The conversation moves through the realities of twenty-first-century music-making: remote collaboration, home recording, vocal layering, technical obstacles, earworms, old tape machines, digital plug-ins, live performance memories and the strange exhaustion of trying to bring a song from ninety percent to ninety-five percent. Along the way, Detlef and Dirk reflect on how artistic work grows through persistence, humour and the willingness to listen to one another.The episode ends with the new WAW single AfricaSmile — a song about rivers, rhythm, cooperation and the fragile possibility that the Nile may still carry the memory of a smile.Detlef Schlich is a rock musician, podcaster, visual artist, filmmaker,ritual designer, and media archaeologist based in West Cork. He is recognised for his seminal work, including a scholarly examination of the intersections between shamanism, art, and digital culture, and his acclaimed video installation, Transodin's Tragedy. He primarily works in performance, photography, painting, sound, installations, and film. In his work, he reflects on the human condition and uses the digital shaman's methodology as an alter ego to create artwork. His media archaeology is a conceptual and practical exercise in uncovering the unique aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of media in culture.WEBSITE LINKS WAW Official YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@WAWBandAfricaSmile"The Niles Bittersweet Song" WAW BandcampSilent NightIn a world shadowed by conflict and unrest, we, Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlich, felt compelled to reinterpret 'Silent Night' to reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern life.https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nightWild Atlantic WayThis results from a trip to West Cork, Ireland, where the beautiful Coastal "Wild Atlantic Way" reaches along the whole west coast!https://studiomuskau.bandcamp.com/track/wild-atlantic-wayYOU TUBE*Silent Night Reimagined* A Multilayered Avant-Garde Journey by WAW aka Dirk Schlömer & Detlef Schlichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbytLSfgCwDetlef SchlichInstagramDetlef Schlich ArTEEtude I love West Cork Artists FacebookDetlef Schlich I love West Cork Artists Group ArTEEtudeYouTube Channelsvisual PodcastArTEEtudeCute Alien TV official WebsiteArTEEtude Detlef Schlich Det Design Tribal Loop Download here for free Detlef Schlich´s Essay about the Cause and Effect of Shamanism, Art and Digital Culturehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/303749640_Shamanism_Art_and_Digital_Culture_Cause_and_EffectSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/arteetude-a-podcast-with-artists-by-detlef-schlich/donations

Fluent Fiction - French: Serendipity in Nice: How a Pain au Chocolat Sparked Creativity Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/fr/episode/2026-05-09-22-34-02-fr Story Transcript:Fr: Le soleil se levait doucement sur Nice, inondant le café du matin d'une lumière dorée.En: The sun was rising gently over Nice, flooding the morning cafe with golden light.Fr: Les parasols rouges sur la terrasse s'alignaient face à la mer Méditerranée, offrant un coin de tranquillité aux habitants et aux visiteurs.En: The red umbrellas on the terrace were lined up facing the Mediterranean Sea, offering a tranquil corner to the locals and visitors.Fr: L'air frais de printemps caressait doucement les visages des passants, emportant avec lui le parfum sucré des viennoiseries.En: The fresh spring air gently caressed the faces of passersby, carrying with it the sweet scent of pastries.Fr: Élodie, une jeune étudiante en art, s'attarda un moment devant la vitrine du café.En: Élodie, a young art student, lingered for a moment in front of the cafe window.Fr: Elle cherchait une douceur pour accompagner son thé, espérant trouver un moment d'inspiration au cœur de cette matinée calme.En: She was looking for something sweet to accompany her tea, hoping to find a moment of inspiration at the heart of this calm morning.Fr: Mais lorsqu'elle se dirigea vers le comptoir, elle trouva Mathieu devant elle, sa main tendue vers le dernier pain au chocolat précisément convoité.En: But when she headed to the counter, she found Mathieu in front of her, his hand reaching for the last pain au chocolat she had precisely coveted.Fr: Leurs regards se croisèrent et ils sourirent, pris par surprise par cette petite coïncidence.En: Their eyes met, and they smiled, taken by surprise by this small coincidence.Fr: Élodie rit nerveusement.En: Élodie laughed nervously.Fr: "Il semble que nous ayons les mêmes goûts !"En: "It seems we have the same tastes!"Fr: dit-elle, brisant la glace.En: she said, breaking the ice.Fr: Mathieu, un peu timide, hocha la tête.En: Mathieu, a bit shy, nodded.Fr: "Oui, c'est mon préféré," répondit-il doucement.En: "Yes, it's my favorite," he replied softly.Fr: "Mais je vous le laisse si vous voulez."En: "But I'll let you have it if you want."Fr: Élodie secoua la tête.En: Élodie shook her head.Fr: "Partageons-le, voulez-vous ?En: "Why don't we share it?Fr: Vous pouvez m'aider à trouver l'inspiration en échange."En: You can help me find inspiration in exchange."Fr: Curieux, Mathieu accepta et ils s'assirent ensemble à une table en terrasse, face à la mer.En: Curious, Mathieu agreed and they sat together at a table on the terrace, facing the sea.Fr: Élodie parla de sa passion pour l'art, de la manière dont elle était venue ici à la recherche d'une nouvelle muse.En: Élodie talked about her passion for art, how she had come here searching for a new muse.Fr: Elle expliqua son sentiment d'être bloquée, de ne pas savoir où trouver la beauté qu'elle désirait peindre.En: She explained her feeling of being stuck, not knowing where to find the beauty she wanted to paint.Fr: Mathieu écouta attentivement, inspiré par sa quête.En: Mathieu listened attentively, inspired by her quest.Fr: Il regarda autour de lui avec un regard renouvelé, cherchant des moments magiques à capturer avec son appareil photo.En: He looked around him with a renewed perspective, seeking magical moments to capture with his camera.Fr: "Peut-être puis-je vous montrer Nice au travers de mes yeux," proposa-t-il.En: "Perhaps I can show you Nice through my eyes," he suggested.Fr: Ainsi, ils commencèrent une promenade le long de la Promenade des Anglais, l'appareil photo de Mathieu à portée de main.En: Thus, they began a walk along the Promenade des Anglais, Mathieu's camera at hand.Fr: Leurs conversations animées et rires ponctuaient le bruit des vagues.En: Their lively conversations and laughter punctuated the sound of the waves.Fr: À un moment donné, alors qu'Élodie riait de bon cœur à une anecdote, Mathieu saisit l'instant et prit une photo.En: At one point, as Élodie laughed heartily at an anecdote, Mathieu seized the moment and took a photo.Fr: Il savait, à cet instant précis, qu'il avait capturé quelque chose de spécial.En: He knew, at that precise moment, that he had captured something special.Fr: Avec le cliché en main, Élodie se sentit transportée.En: With the snapshot in hand, Élodie felt transported.Fr: Elle y vit la spontanéité et la joie qu'elle avait cherchées.En: She saw in it the spontaneity and joy she had been searching for.Fr: Cette image devint le catalyseur d'une série de peintures qu'elle se mit à créer, chaque toile vibrant de l'énergie de leur rencontre.En: This image became the catalyst for a series of paintings she began to create, each canvas vibrating with the energy of their encounter.Fr: De son côté, Mathieu trouva en Élodie une muse inattendue.En: For his part, Mathieu found an unexpected muse in Élodie.Fr: Il créa une série de photographies sur les rencontres fortuites, les moments volés de la vie quotidienne qui deviennent extraordinaires par leur simplicité.En: He created a series of photographs on serendipitous encounters, the stolen moments of everyday life that become extraordinary in their simplicity.Fr: Au fil des jours passés ensemble, Élodie et Mathieu développèrent une connexion profonde.En: Over the days spent together, Élodie and Mathieu developed a deep connection.Fr: Élodie redécouvrit sa confiance, capable de trouver l'art dans l'instant présent.En: Élodie rediscovered her confidence, able to find art in the present moment.Fr: Mathieu, lui, surmonta sa timidité, enrichi par cette nouvelle amitié.En: Mathieu, in turn, overcame his shyness, enriched by this new friendship.Fr: La magie de Nice avait fait son œuvre.En: The magic of Nice had worked its charm.Fr: Dans ce café au bord de la mer, deux âmes en quête d'inspiration s'étaient trouvées, unies par un simple pain au chocolat qui marqua le début d'une aventure partagée.En: In this cafe by the sea, two souls in search of inspiration had found each other, united by a simple pain au chocolat that marked the beginning of a shared adventure. Vocabulary Words:the sunrise: le lever du soleilthe cafe: le caféthe terrace: la terrassethe locals: les habitantsthe passersby: les passantsthe scent: le parfumthe pastry: la viennoiseriethe art student: l'étudiante en artthe coincidence: la coïncidencethe inspiration: l'inspirationthe counter: le comptoirthe taste: le goûtthe muse: la musethe quest: la quêtethe perspective: le regardthe camera: l'appareil photothe anecdote: l'anecdotethe snapshot: le clichéthe catalyst: le catalyseurthe painting: la peinturethe series: la sériethe canvas: la toilethe encounter: la rencontrethe simplicity: la simplicitéthe shyness: la timiditéthe charm: le charmethe soul: l'âmethe adventure: l'aventurethe promenade: la promenadethe wave: la vague

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah takes on one of the most circular, exhausting debates in modern politics: how we talk about Israel and Palestine—and why the conversation keeps going nowhere.Using the comparison between Pakistan and Israel, this episode reframes the discussion away from slogans and toward something more useful: treating countries like countries, not symbols.From the legacy of Partition in 1947 to the ongoing realities of Gaza, the West Bank, and global politics, Sami explores why some states are criticised for their actions, while others are endlessly debated for their right to exist.Plus: what the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 can teach us about Palestine, the limits of American protection, and why “impossible” states have a habit of becoming real.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

fWotD Episode 3286: Maurice Suckling Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Monday, 4 May 2026, is Maurice Suckling.Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 [O. S. 23 April 1726] – 14 July 1778) was a Royal Navy officer and politician best known for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until his death. Suckling joined the Royal Navy in 1739 and saw service in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea during the War of the Austrian Succession. With the support of relatives including Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, Suckling was promoted quickly and received his first command in 1754. At the start of the Seven Years' War in 1756 he was promoted to captain and given a command on the Jamaica Station. There he played a major part in the Battle of Cap-Français in 1757 and fought an inconclusive skirmish against the French ship Palmier in 1758 before returning to Britain in 1760.Suckling was employed in the aftermath of the capture of Belle Île in 1761, destroying French fortifications on the Île-d'Aix, and went on half pay at the end of the war in 1763. He was given his next command during the Falklands Crisis of 1770, and took his nephew Nelson with him. Despite having misgivings over Nelson's suitability for the navy, Suckling supported him and saw him translated into several more active ships to further his naval education when Suckling himself moved to command a guard ship. Suckling left his ship in 1773 and was initially rebuffed in his attempts to gain fresh employment with the navy because of the ongoing peace, but in 1775 John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, appointed him Comptroller of the Navy.Suckling oversaw the Royal Navy's mobilisation when the American Revolutionary War began. In 1776 he was also elected Member of Parliament for Portsmouth. Suckling was able to use his powerful position to again assist Nelson, forming part of the board that passed him for promotion to lieutenant in 1777. Suckling continued throughout the period to assiduously attend meetings of the Navy Board, but was increasingly hampered by a long-term illness that caused him considerable pain. He died unexpectedly on 14 July 1778.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:04 UTC on Monday, 4 May 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Maurice Suckling on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Matthew.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Environmental reporter Sue Surkes joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode. We open the episode with a recent annual national monitoring report, carried out on behalf of the Energy and Environmental Protection ministries, on the state of the Mediterranean Sea. Surkes describes how the sea is growing saltier, warmer and more polluted, and why it has become a home to invasive tropical fish. We discuss what that means for beachgoers and fish eaters as we head into the summer season. We then move on to the latest updates in an unusual court case: The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday ordered the Interior Ministry to grant temporary Israeli status to a Syrian-born woman, the wife of a disabled IDF veteran, who converted to Judaism. The Syrian Alawite woman and her husband have faced a series of legal hurdles as they seek to build a life together in Israel. We hear about their saga. In the second half of the program, Surkes walks through her recent op-ed on Israeli energy policy, which she describes as a growing security risk. We end off the program with an account of her recent visit to the orangutans at the Jerusalem Zoo, who, 10 days ago, welcomed a new baby to their troop. This is not the first orangutan to be born in Israel, but it’s the first at the biblical zoo, and an important addition to the world’s shrinking orangutan population. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: The Mediterranean: Warmer, saltier, more acidic, and rising fast — report After years in limbo, court lets Syrian convert live in Israel with husband, a disabled vet True independence must include the air we breathe Great excitement as first orangutan is born at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I arrived in Valencia one day before the conference I was attending, so I decided to record some calming sounds of the sea, waves and the general beach and chill atmosphere. Recorded in Valencia, Spain by Tomasz Buga.

Amos 9:13-15 NIV“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.[a]“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.Galatians 5:25 NIVSince we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.Ezekiel 47:1-3 NIVThe man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits[a] and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.POINT 1: New Pace & Process - FROM SHIN TO SWIMEzekiel 47:3-6 NIVIsaiah 43:19 NIVSee, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.POINT 2: New Pace & Process - FROM FRICTION TO FLOWEzekiel 47:7-11 NIVWhen I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah,[a] where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.Vs 11-12But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”MSG"He told me, “This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. Fishermen will stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore from En Gedi all the way north to En-eglaim, casting their nets. The sea will teem with fish of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Mediterranean.POINT 3:New Pace & Process - FROM ENOUGH TO MORE THAN ENOUGHJoshua 15:19 NIV"She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.Jeremiah 12:5 MSG“So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can't keep your wits during times of calm, what's going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of maritime raiding. From the Atlantic basin to the western Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia and China, imperial powers claimed that progress was being held back by the barbarity and greed of pirates, who repeatedly attacked imperial vessels. The suppression of piracy, justified under the banner of spreading civilization and free trade and abolishing slavery and the slave trade, provided both western and non-western powers with a back door for territorial expansion and the enforcement of imperialist agendas. In Pirate Imperialism: Trade, Abolition, and Global Suppression of Maritime Raiding, 1825–1870 (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Manuel Barcia tells the story of these conflicts, showing how imperialist powers frequently used anti–maritime raiding efforts as excuses to cement western supremacy in various parts of the world, while simultaneously resorting to violent means that were indistinguishable from the methods of those they accused of being pirates. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of maritime raiding. From the Atlantic basin to the western Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia and China, imperial powers claimed that progress was being held back by the barbarity and greed of pirates, who repeatedly attacked imperial vessels. The suppression of piracy, justified under the banner of spreading civilization and free trade and abolishing slavery and the slave trade, provided both western and non-western powers with a back door for territorial expansion and the enforcement of imperialist agendas. In Pirate Imperialism: Trade, Abolition, and Global Suppression of Maritime Raiding, 1825–1870 (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Manuel Barcia tells the story of these conflicts, showing how imperialist powers frequently used anti–maritime raiding efforts as excuses to cement western supremacy in various parts of the world, while simultaneously resorting to violent means that were indistinguishable from the methods of those they accused of being pirates. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of maritime raiding. From the Atlantic basin to the western Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia and China, imperial powers claimed that progress was being held back by the barbarity and greed of pirates, who repeatedly attacked imperial vessels. The suppression of piracy, justified under the banner of spreading civilization and free trade and abolishing slavery and the slave trade, provided both western and non-western powers with a back door for territorial expansion and the enforcement of imperialist agendas. In Pirate Imperialism: Trade, Abolition, and Global Suppression of Maritime Raiding, 1825–1870 (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Manuel Barcia tells the story of these conflicts, showing how imperialist powers frequently used anti–maritime raiding efforts as excuses to cement western supremacy in various parts of the world, while simultaneously resorting to violent means that were indistinguishable from the methods of those they accused of being pirates. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of maritime raiding. From the Atlantic basin to the western Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia and China, imperial powers claimed that progress was being held back by the barbarity and greed of pirates, who repeatedly attacked imperial vessels. The suppression of piracy, justified under the banner of spreading civilization and free trade and abolishing slavery and the slave trade, provided both western and non-western powers with a back door for territorial expansion and the enforcement of imperialist agendas. In Pirate Imperialism: Trade, Abolition, and Global Suppression of Maritime Raiding, 1825–1870 (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Manuel Barcia tells the story of these conflicts, showing how imperialist powers frequently used anti–maritime raiding efforts as excuses to cement western supremacy in various parts of the world, while simultaneously resorting to violent means that were indistinguishable from the methods of those they accused of being pirates. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of maritime raiding. From the Atlantic basin to the western Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia and China, imperial powers claimed that progress was being held back by the barbarity and greed of pirates, who repeatedly attacked imperial vessels. The suppression of piracy, justified under the banner of spreading civilization and free trade and abolishing slavery and the slave trade, provided both western and non-western powers with a back door for territorial expansion and the enforcement of imperialist agendas. In Pirate Imperialism: Trade, Abolition, and Global Suppression of Maritime Raiding, 1825–1870 (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Manuel Barcia tells the story of these conflicts, showing how imperialist powers frequently used anti–maritime raiding efforts as excuses to cement western supremacy in various parts of the world, while simultaneously resorting to violent means that were indistinguishable from the methods of those they accused of being pirates. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

For anyone who's ever had a cold, the flu, or any other illness caused by a virus, getting rid of viruses might sound like a good idea. But many viruses play important roles in the environment. That includes marine viruses. They recycle nutrients, and can help control other microscopic organisms. So it's good to keep them around. But in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, viruses are disappearing in a hurry. The drop corresponds to changes in the sea caused by Earth's warming climate. Marine scientists have been keeping tabs on Blanes Bay since the early two-thousands. It's on the coast of Spain, about 40 miles from Barcelona. An observatory there monitors the temperature, salinity, and clarity of the water. And it samples the water once a month. Lab work reveals the amounts of nutrients and other compounds in the water, along with the populations of bacteria and viruses. Scientists recently used several techniques to analyze the observations from 2005 to 2022. The work showed that the virus population remained steady until about 2011. But since then the population has gone down dramatically. At the same time, the water has gotten warmer. That suggests the viruses are being thinned out by climate change. Reducing the virus population could impact the amount of nutrients in the water, making the region less productive. That could hurt the fishing industry. So the lack of viruses could actually harm the people along the Mediterranean coast. The post Vanishing Viruses appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

So much of what is happening these days seems utterly nonsensical, from Trump’s war crime and profanity-laced Easter rant, to the whipsaw on Iran. So, is it simply Occam’s razor, or is there more going on here than we’re led to believe? Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it. — President Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom: A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People (1913) The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson — and I am not wholly excepting the Administration of W. W. The country is going through a repetition of Jackson’s fight with the Bank of the United States — only on a far bigger and broader basis. — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, letter to Col. Edward Mandell House (21 November 1933); as quoted in F.D.R.: His Personal Letters, 1928-1945, edited by Elliott Roosevelt (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1950), pg. 373 I would suggest nothing we’re seeing, including (especially) the seemingly nonsensical, is ‘accidental’ or coincidental. It is PSYOP/PSWAR, a potent toxic mixture of POSIWID and chaos theory designed and intended to rapidly produce maximum chaos resulting in a ‘Clash of Civilizations‘ and The End of History and the Last Man, to ultimately bring about a ‘Novus Ordo Seclorum’1234 a la Genesis 11 → Genesis 6 → culminating in Psalm 2 → Revelation 19. Links Videos / Clips [x] = Played Trump says Americans against war with Iran are ‘foolish’ [x] 2:00–5:15 [x] 8:33–9:12 ‘Apparently I'm an idiot': Three-time Trump voter in Pennsylvania sounds off on Iran war [x] 3:15–3:45 Lucifer Has a NASA Moon Mission named Artemis. Here’s What They’re Hiding. Headlines [x] = Mentioned / Discussed Trump: “A Whole Civilization with Die Tonight” If President Trump carries out his threat to kill the entire civilization of Iran, he will join the ranks of Cato the Elder, Genghis Khan, Cortez, and other villains in history who chose the policy of destroying an entire civilization. Needless to say, this is not what Washington, Madison, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin had in mind when they founded the US Constitutional Republic. Members of the US government—as well as We the People—should think about the reflections of multiple Roman authors who regarded the total annihilation of Carthage as an outrage and repudiation of Rome's republican values and virtues. In the Aeneid, Virgil frames the Punic Wars as a fateful conflict initiated by the Punic Queen Dido’s curse on Aeneas’s descendants. I interpret this as Virgil's way of condemning the “unspeakable” destruction of Carthage. The American people should be aware of the fact that if our US government does indeed annihilate the Iranian nation forever, it will certainly have a vast array of terrible consequences for us and for all of mankind. Among other disasters, it is likely that millions of Iranians will be forced to flee to other lands, including those of Europe. Many young men who see their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters suffer will be animated with a burning desire for revenge. I anticipate great horrors ahead for all of us. Trump's F-Bomb on Iran Joins America's Rollicking History of Presidential Profanity White House Easter egg roll Monday: How to watch live White House Easter Egg Roll honors America’s egg farmers, says President Trump | Fox News [x] Pentagon's new plans in Iran give Trump a way out of war crime accusations – POLITICO [x] Trump threatens to jail journalist who reported on crew's rescue in Iran if they don't reveal source – POLITICO [x] Iran Says US Airman Rescue May Have Been Cover to ‘Steal Enriched Uranium' Artemis ‘Launch’ April Fool’s Day / Easter – Amazing ‘Coincidence’ [x] [Published April Fool's Day! Same as Artemis II 'launch'] Did Van Allen Belts Stop the Moon Landings? Myth vs Fact – FreeAstroScience [x] Artemis II live updates: Nasa astronauts returning to Earth after seeing parts of Moon ‘no human has ever seen' | The Independent Artemis – Wikipedia “Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana…” & Asteroids | Fixed Stars Are the goddesses Ashteroth, Remphan, Isis, Ishtar, Belit, Anahita, Artemis, and Diana the same goddess with different names? – Quora Pan: The Complete Guide to the Greek God of Nature (2023) The Rest [x] = Mentioned / Discussed [x] Deutsche Bank – Wikipedia [x] Deutsche Bank [00:27, 17 May 2024 revision] – Wikipedia [x] Trump family faces high-stakes testimony in Manhattan fraud trial [x] At Trump Org fraud trial, ex-banker recalls ‘hunting' for Trump's business | Courthouse News Service [x] Finra Suspends Trump's Former Personal Banker – AdvisorHub [x] Rosemary Vrablic – Wikipedia [x] Jared Kushner – Wikipedia The thinly sourced theories about Trump's loans and Justice Kennedy's son (Jul 12, 2018) by Salvador Rizzo | The Washington Post [x] Why Trump Is Mentally Unfit to Be President: Pathology of Narcissism (Apr 5, 2017) by Alex Morris | Rolling Stone [x] Taibbi on the Madness of Donald Trump (Sep 19, 2017) by Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone [x] Donald Trump Is About to Be a Loser, His Lawyers Say (Mar 22, 2023) by Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley | Rolling Stone [x] Donald Trump, Trickster God (Mar 4, 2016) by Corey Pein | The Baffler [x] Kushner and Witkoff – by esc [x] IMEC: Trump's War With Iran Is About Global Trade. Period. [x] What The Iran Attack Is Really All About – Road Warrior Radio [x] Road Warrior Radio with Chris Hinkley, March 10, 2026 Hour 1 – Republic Broadcasting Network [x] Road Warrior Radio with Chris Hinkley, March 10, 2026 Hour 2 – Republic Broadcasting Network On This Day Events April 2026 Calendar of Public Holidays | Office Holidays Holidays and Observances in the United States in 2026 What day is it today? Important events every day ad-free | United States OTD On This Day – What Happened on April 7 Today in History: April 7, Rwandan genocide begins | AP News What Happened on April 7 – On This Day What Happened on April 7 | HISTORY April 7 – Wikipedia What Happened On April 7 In History? 07 | April | 2020 | Executed Today Holidays National Beer Day (United States) Historical Events 2022 – The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson – “Pizzagate” judge who was unable to define ‘woman' – to the Supreme Court, securing her place as the court's first Black female justice. 2021 – COVID-19 shenanigans: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States. 2020 – COVID-19 shenanigans: China ends its lockdown in Wuhan. 2020 – COVID-19 shenanigans: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigns for his handling of the COVID-19 ‘pandemic’ on USS Theodore Roosevelt and the dismissal of Brett Crozier. 1994 – A day after the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi died in a missile attack on their aircraft, the moderate Hutu prime minister of Rwanda, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, and her husband were killed by Rwandan soldiers; in the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates. 1990 – John Poindexter is convicted for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991 the convictions are reversed on appeal. 1984 – The Census Bureau reported that Los Angeles had overtaken Chicago as the nation's “second city” in terms of population. 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran. 1970 – John Wayne wins Best Actor Oscar: The legendary actor John Wayne wins his first—and only—acting Academy Award, for his star turn in the director Henry Hathaway's Western True Grit. Known for his tough, rugged, uniquely American screen persona, Wayne appeared in some 150 movies over the course of his long and storied career. 1969 – The internet is born: With the publication of RFC 1, The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awarded a contract to build a precursor of today’s world wide web to BBN Technologies. The date is widely considered as the internet’s symbolic birthday. 1968 – Riots continue in over 100 US cities following the Apr 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 1966 – The U.S. Navy recovered a hydrogen bomb that the U.S. Air Force had lost in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain following a B-52 crash. 1964 – IBM announces the System/360. 1963 – Tito is made president of Yugoslavia for life: A new Yugoslav constitution proclaims Tito the president for life of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Formerly known as Josip Broz, Tito was born to a large peasant family in Croatia in 1892. 1961 – JFK lobbies Congress to help save historic sites in Egypt: President John F. Kennedy sends a letter to Congress in which he recommends the U.S. participate in an international campaign to preserve ancient temples and historic monuments in the Nile Valley of Egypt. The campaign, initiated by UNESCO, was designed to save sites threatened by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. 1954 – Domino Theory: President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined one of the most famous Cold War phrases, held a news conference in which he outlined the concept of the “domino theory” as he spoke of the importance of containing the spread of communism in Indochina, saying, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.” 1953 – Sweden's Dag Hammarskjöld elected U.N. head: By a vote of 57 to 1, Dag Hammarskjöld is elected secretary-general of the United Nations. The son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, a former prime minister of Sweden, Dag joined Sweden's foreign ministry in 1947, and in 1951 formally entered the cabinet as deputy foreign minister. 1950 – President Truman receives NSC-68 report, calling for “containing” Soviet expansion: President Harry S. Truman receives National Security Council Paper Number 68 (NSC-68). The report was a group effort, created with input from the Defense Department, the State Department, the CIA, and other interested agencies; NSC-68 formed the basis for America's Cold War policy for the next two decades. 1949 – Tony-winning musical South Pacific opens on Broadway: The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opens at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The romantic musical about World War II, which touches on controversial racial themes, goes on to run for almost five years, becoming one of the most popular musicals of the 1950s. 1948 – World Health Organization established: The WHO, a privately funded United Nations agency front organization, ostensibly concerned with fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, building up national health services, and improving health education in its 194 member states. 1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by United States Navy aircraft during Operation Ten-Go, in Japan's first major counteroffensive in the struggle for Okinawa. Weighing 72,800 tons and outfitted with nine 18.1-inch guns, the battleship Yamato was Japan's only hope of destroying the Allied fleet off the coast of Okinawa. 1943 – The National Football League makes helmets mandatory. 1943 – Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches. 1940 – Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington becomes the first Black American to be honored with a postage stamp. It will take nearly four decades for a Black woman to receive a similar honor: Harriet Tubman in 1978. 1939 – Benito Mussolini invades Albania, declares an Italian protectorate over Albania and forces King Zog I into exile. 1933 – National Beer Day: Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.) 1927 – First long-distance television transmission: an image of Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover is sent from Washington, D.C. to NYC by AT&T 1922 – Teapot Dome Scandal: Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed a secret deal to lease U.S. Navy petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to his friends, oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny, in exchange for cash gifts; Fall would eventually be sentenced to prison on bribery and conspiracy charges in what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh concludes: Two days of heavy fighting conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell are victorious after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7. 1832 – The Man Who Sold His Wife: Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife. He wasn’t. Nagging wives needed to be careful in 19th Century England, for, as Hardy recounted in The Mayor of Casterbridge, her husband might put her up for sale. That's just what happened on this day to Mary Thompson, according to a local newspaper report. 1829 – Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint cult, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe. 1827 – First friction match sold: English chemist John Walker produced and sold the first operable matches. They were soon banned in France and Germany because burning fragments would sometimes fall to the floor and start fires. 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna 1805 – Lewis and Clark depart Fort Mandan: After a long winter, the Lewis and Clark expedition departs its camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West. The Corps of Discovery had begun its voyage the previous spring, and it arrived at the large Mandan and Minnetaree villages along the upper Missouri River (north of present-day Bismarck, North Dakota) in late October. 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and the Spanish Empire. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812. 1788 – American Pioneers to the Northwest Territory arrive at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, establishing Marietta, Ohio, as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory, and opening the westward expansion of the new country. 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward. 1739 – Dick Turpin is executed in England for horse stealing 1724 – Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion premiered: St. John’s Passion premieres on Good Friday at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (now Germany). The sacred oratorio is the oldest extant Passion by the German composer. The highly popular work is a dramatization of the final days of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of John. 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu. 529 – First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis or the Justinian Code (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. 30 – Scholars estimate for the crucifixion of Jesus by Roman troops at the behest of Jewish leadership (Caiaphas the high priest, chief priests, scribes, elders) on Golgotha outside Jerusalem [or April 3] Births 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand/Australian actor, singer, producer 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor and director noted for acrobatic stunt work in hits like “The Young Master” and the “Rush Hour” series. 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, screenwriter 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author (died 2023) 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (died 2014) 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian/American sitar player, composer (died 2012) 1915 – Billie Holiday, American Jazz singer-songwriter, actress whose soulful intensity earned her the nickname “Lady Day.” Signature hits like “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child.” (died 1959) 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (died 1972) 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1969) 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, journalist, conservationist, activist best known for her advocacy for the preservation of Florida’s Everglades region. (died 1998) 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, ardent eugenicist, Seventh-day Adventist cult member, founded the Kellogg Company (died 1951) 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher, communist (died 1837) 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (died 1850) Deaths 1947 – Henry Ford, American businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (born 1863) 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (born 1873) 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus (born 1810) 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (born 1743) 1733 – Samuel Partridge, very stupid and unconcern'd From the New England Weekly Journal, July 23, 1733 — a three-month-old news item (part of a roundup of dated minor dispatches) that had to cross the Atlantic from the mother country. Ipswich, April 7. Last Saturday Samuel Partridge was executed here, for robbing Mr. Barwell of Brockley in this City, of 31l, 10s., a Horse, and other Things, in Company with another Person not yet taken. He said he was born at Debden in Suffolk, that he was about 22 years of Age, and was brought up in Husbandry; he appeared to be very illiterate, for he could neither read nor write, and was entirely ignorant of the first Principles of Christianity. He denied the Fact for which he suffered, and said he was perswaded to own the Robbery by a Soldier that was in Halsted Bridewell with him, he telling him, that if he confessed the Fact he would come off very well; and that he advised him to say, that he had made use of a Bolt instead of a Pistol, and that he had hid it in a certain Place, where it was found according to his Direction. At the Place of Execution he seemed very stupid and unconcern'd; only, as directed, he called on God for Mercy when he was turned off. Elon Musk Tweets ‘Novus Ordo Seclorum' After Donald Trump Wins Reelection. MAGA Is The Pied Piper – winepressnews.com ↩ Novus Ordo Seclorum – History of Motto on Great Seal’s Unfinished Pyramid ↩ Novus ordo seclorum – Wikipedia ↩ Annuit cœptis – Wikipedia ↩

Send us Fan MailLooking back through history, it's often difficult to see passed events that have so shaped our modern world. The story of Japan in World War II for example has often left those in the west with an impression that prior to 1945, Japan was always an enemy of freedom, when in fact while we associate Imperial Japan as Hitler's ally, just twenty years earlier, Japan fought against the Kaiser and that particular tyrant's quest for power.In this episode, we are going to explore Japan's entry into the First World War and examine its navy's intriguing if often forgotten role in safeguarding the Mediterranean Sea from the Kaiser's fleet of U-boats. Welcome to Wars of the World.Support the show

Today's West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy Podcast for our especially special Daily Special, Blue Moon Spirits Fridays, is now available on the Spreaker Player!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, furious Vets unloaded on Trump over his scheme to profit off the bodies of fallen troops.Then, on the rest of the menu, the Trump administration has launched investigations into thirteen states that require state-regulated health insurance plans to cover abortion; two dozen  states, along with more than a dozen cities and counties, sued the EPA over the repeal of the ‘endangerment' finding central to the climate fight; and, two former FBI agents are suing bureau director Ka$h Patel and AG Pam Bondi, claiming they were fired for having investigated Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where the French navy intercepted and boarded a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea linked to Russia's sanctioned shadow fleet; and, Israel blasted Tehran with airstrikes on the Persian New Year Nowruz, as the war jolts worldwide energy markets.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!The Netroots Radio Live Player​Keep Your Resistance Radio Beaming 24/7/365!“Structural linguistics is a bitterly divided and unhappy profession, and a large number of its practitioners spend many nights drowning their sorrows in Ouisghian Zodahs.” ― Douglas Adams "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/west-coast-cookbook-speakeasy--2802999/support.

Day 1,483.Today, as Russia records its highest daily troop losses of the year in its war against Ukraine, we examine how the head of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov, is reportedly presenting outdated battlefield information to Vladimir Putin to suggest the situation at the front remains under control. We report on fears that a damaged Russian shadow fleet tanker drifting in the Mediterranean Sea could trigger an environmental disaster of “unprecedented proportions”, and how President Zelensky has shown live battlefield footage from an iPad to the UK Parliament to illustrate the realities of 21st-century warfare. And later, we hear about the Make A Difference Foundation about its work supporting Ukrainian families displaced by Russia's invasion, alongside memories from the First Gulf War with two former tank commanders, including the horror of friendly fire.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.With thanks to former tank commanders Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and James Hewitt.NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:Learn more about James Hewitt's Charity & Fundraiser:https://www.operationsafedrop.com/ Donations Page:https://www.justgiving.com/page/jameshewittZelensky's ‘don't forget about me' tour exposes panic in Ukraine (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/17/volodymyr-zelensky-london-starmer-remember-ukraine/ Stricken Russian tanker heading for environmental disaster (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/17/stricken-russian-tanker-heading-for-environmental-disaster/ WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:Our weekly newsletter includes maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons, answers your questions, provides recommended reading, and gives exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights.. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers. Join here – http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Mediterranean Canvas: A Tale of Art, Tension, and Teamwork Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2026-03-14-22-34-01-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 清晨，地中海的海风轻轻拂过这座迷人的小镇。En: In the early morning, the Mediterranean Sea breeze gently swept over this charming small town.Zh: 阳光洒在国际学校的校园里，花儿们在初春的气息中绽放。En: The sunlight spilt over the campus of the international school, and the flowers bloomed in the breath of early spring.Zh: Lina、Jin和Mei坐在学校的研究室里，眼前是满桌的纸笔和画具。En: Lina (Lina), Jin (Jin), and Mei (Mei) sat in the school's research room, facing a table full of paper, pens, and art supplies.Zh: Lina是一位才华横溢的艺术家，她的心中装满了完美的艺术蓝图。En: Lina was a talented artist with her heart full of perfect artistic visions.Zh: 她希望为即将到来的学校展览创造出一幅惊艳的作品。En: She hoped to create a stunning piece for the upcoming school exhibition.Zh: Jin是小组的领导者，他总是面带微笑，但他的计划总显得有些凌乱。En: Jin was the leader of the group, always with a smile, though his plans often seemed a bit disorganized.Zh: Mei不太喜欢出风头，但她总是能在关键时刻看出问题所在，并提供解决方案。En: Mei didn't like to seek attention, but she always managed to see the issues at critical moments and offered solutions.Zh: 这天的会议变得十分紧张，Lina掩饰不住她的不满。En: The meeting that day became very tense, and Lina couldn't hide her dissatisfaction.Zh: 她觉得Jin没能按时完成任务，而Jin也不愿意过多在意这些“细枝末节”。En: She felt Jin had not completed the tasks on time, while Jin was unwilling to pay much attention to these "trivialities."Zh: 小组的气氛越来越紧绷，Mei看到紧张的情形，决定打破僵局。En: The group's atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and Mei decided to break the deadlock.Zh: “我们都希望这个项目成功，但我们需要更加团结。”Mei安静地说，她的话语像柔和的松风，让整个房间安静下来。En: "We all want this project to succeed, but we need to be more united," Mei said quietly, her words like a gentle pine breeze calming the entire room.Zh: Lina深吸一口气，内心的挣扎显而易见。En: Lina took a deep breath, her internal struggle obvious.Zh: 她想要完成一件完美的作品，但也知道如果继续一个人承担所有，最后可能谁都不满意。En: She wanted to complete a perfect piece but also knew that if she continued taking everything on alone, no one might be satisfied in the end.Zh: 这个问题终于到了必须解决的时刻。En: This problem finally reached a point where it had to be resolved.Zh: “我们一起来试试如何？”Lina深思熟虑后说道。En: "Why don't we try working together?" Lina said after careful consideration.Zh: 这个选择需要她放下一些对完美的追求，也需要接纳Jin和Mei的帮助。En: This choice required her to let go of some of her pursuit of perfection and accept help from Jin and Mei.Zh: 在接下来的几周里，Lina慢慢习惯与Jin的合作，欣赏他的创造力，虽然有时候他的想法显得有些散漫。En: In the following weeks, Lina slowly got used to working with Jin, appreciating his creativity, even though sometimes his ideas seemed a bit scattered.Zh: 而Mei则在一旁始终提供中肯的建议，确保小组的步调一致。En: Meanwhile, Mei continuously provided sensible suggestions to ensure the group stayed on track.Zh: 终于，展览的日子到了。En: Finally, the day of the exhibition arrived.Zh: Lina站在他们共同完成的作品前，阳光洒在她的脸上，她看到了大家的辛苦付出。En: Lina stood in front of the work they completed together, sunlight on her face, recognizing everyone's hard work.Zh: 作品展示的不仅是个人的才华，还凝聚了团队合作的力量。En: The piece showcased not only individual talent but also the power of teamwork.Zh: “我们做到了。”Jin露出他灿烂的笑容。En: "We did it," Jin greeted her with a radiant smile.Zh: Lina也微笑起来，她体会到了合作的力量，明白了完美并不仅限于她个人的标准，而是在于大家共同创造的奇迹。En: Lina also smiled, experiencing the power of collaboration and realizing that perfection wasn't limited to her personal standards but was a miracle created together.Zh: Mei点点头，她的眼神中满是温暖。En: Mei nodded, her eyes full of warmth.Zh: 在这座环抱着地中海的小镇里，空气中弥漫着的，不仅仅是花香，还有团结与友谊的芬芳。En: In this small town embraced by the Mediterranean Sea, the air was filled not only with the fragrance of flowers but also with the aroma of unity and friendship.Zh: Lina终于发现，完美不只是个人的追求，更是团结创造的的结晶。En: Lina finally discovered that perfection is not just a personal pursuit but a crystallization of collective creation. Vocabulary Words:breeze: 海风charming: 迷人的sunlight: 阳光campus: 校园bloomed: 绽放trivialities: 细枝末节tense: 紧张deadlock: 僵局gentle: 柔和pursuit: 追求scattered: 散漫sensible: 中肯radiant: 灿烂collaboration: 合作miracle: 奇迹crystallization: 结晶gently: 轻轻vision: 蓝图disorganized: 凌乱dissatisfaction: 不满unwilling: 不愿意breeze: 松风critical: 关键resolved: 解决consideration: 深思熟虑appreciating: 欣赏ensured: 确保united: 团结aroma: 芳香unity: 团结

Fluent Fiction - Italian: Embracing Fear: A Young Artist's Journey to Self-Discovery Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/it/episode/2026-03-14-07-38-19-it Story Transcript:It: Il sole splendeva sul piccolo villaggio dell'Amalfi Coast.En: The sun was shining over the small village of the Amalfi Coast.It: La scuola era arroccata su una scogliera, con il mare Mediterraneo che scintillava sotto di essa.En: The school was perched on a cliff, with the Mediterranean Sea sparkling below it.It: Intorno, i fiori di primavera fiorivano, colorando le vecchie mura di pietra della scuola.En: Around it, spring flowers were blooming, coloring the old stone walls of the school.It: Giulia sedeva in un angolo della classe d'arte.En: Giulia sat in a corner of the art class.It: Il suo cavalletto era di fronte a lei, con un foglio bianco ancora vuoto.En: Her easel was in front of her, with a still blank sheet of paper.It: Guardava la finestra, per vedere il mare e cercare ispirazione.En: She looked out the window, hoping to see the sea and find inspiration.It: Luca, il suo migliore amico, si avvicinò.En: Luca, her best friend, approached.It: "Giulia, hai pensato al concorso d'arte?"En: "Giulia, have you thought about the art competition?"It: chiese Luca, entusiasta.En: asked Luca, enthusiastic.It: Era sempre meravigliato dal talento artistico di Giulia.En: He was always amazed by Giulia's artistic talent.It: Giulia sospirò.En: Giulia sighed.It: "Non lo so, Luca.En: "I don't know, Luca.It: Ho paura di fallire.En: I'm afraid of failing.It: Cosa penseranno gli altri se non è abbastanza bello?"En: What will others think if it's not beautiful enough?"It: "Le tue opere sono bellissime," insistette Luca.En: "Your works are beautiful," insisted Luca.It: "Dovresti mostrare il tuo talento al mondo."En: "You should show your talent to the world."It: La primavera portava un'energia nuova, e i preparativi per il concorso erano in pieno svolgimento.En: Spring brought a new energy, and preparations for the competition were in full swing.It: Gli studenti più bravi mettevano in mostra le loro opere, e l'aria era piena di aspettative.En: The most talented students displayed their works, and the air was full of expectations.It: Ma Giulia era paralizzata dal pensiero del giudizio degli altri.En: But Giulia was paralyzed by the thought of others' judgment.It: Durante le pause, Luca non smetteva di convincere Giulia.En: During breaks, Luca didn't stop convincing Giulia.It: "Pensa a quanta fiducia guadagneresti se partecipassi," diceva.En: "Think about how much confidence you would gain if you participated," he said.It: "Non è solo un dipinto.En: "It's not just a painting.It: È il tuo modo di esprimerti."En: It's your way of expressing yourself."It: Alla fine, Giulia trovò il coraggio.En: In the end, Giulia found the courage.It: Il giorno del concorso, ancora indecisa, guardò il suo lavoro con attenzione.En: On the day of the competition, still undecided, she looked at her work carefully.It: Era un dipinto del mare, semplice e autentico.En: It was a painting of the sea, simple and authentic.It: Rifletteva la bellezza della sua terra e la serenità del momento.En: It reflected the beauty of her land and the serenity of the moment.It: All'ultimo momento disponibile, Giulia prese il dipinto e lo consegnò ai giudici.En: At the last available moment, Giulia took the painting and handed it to the judges.It: Il cuore batteva forte, ma sentiva di aver fatto la cosa giusta.En: Her heart was beating fast, but she felt she had done the right thing.It: Pochi giorni dopo, il risultato fu annunciato.En: A few days later, the result was announced.It: Giulia era in un angolo, circondata dai suoi pensieri.En: Giulia was in a corner, surrounded by her thoughts.It: Luca corse verso di lei con un grande sorriso.En: Luca ran towards her with a big smile.It: "Hanno adorato il tuo dipinto, Giulia!En: "They loved your painting, Giulia!It: Hai vinto il primo premio!"En: You won first prize!"It: Giulia non poteva crederci.En: Giulia couldn't believe it.It: I giudici avevano elogiato la sua sensibilità e la sua capacità di trasmettere emozione.En: The judges had praised her sensitivity and her ability to convey emotion.It: Quel giorno, Giulia scopri che la paura di fallire era meno potente della gioia del successo.En: That day, Giulia discovered that the fear of failing was less powerful than the joy of success.It: La sua fiducia iniziò a crescere, e abbracciò il suo talento con nuova determinazione.En: Her confidence began to grow, and she embraced her talent with new determination.It: Con Luca al suo fianco, Giulia si sentiva pronta ad affrontare qualsiasi sfida.En: With Luca by her side, Giulia felt ready to face any challenge.It: La primavera portò non solo colori e profumi nuovi, ma anche un cambiamento dentro di lei.En: Spring brought not only new colors and scents but also a change within her.It: Da quel momento, Giulia era pronta a dipingere il suo futuro con coraggio.En: From that moment, Giulia was ready to paint her future with courage. Vocabulary Words:the sun: il solethe village: il villaggioto perch: arroccarethe cliff: la scoglierato sparkle: scintillareto bloom: fiorirethe wall: la murathe easel: il cavallettothe sheet: il fogliothe competition: il concorsoto sigh: sospirareto fail: fallirethe judgment: il giudizioto convince: convincereto express: esprimerethe courage: il coraggioto submit: consegnareto beat: batterethe judge: il giudicethe prize: il premioto praise: elogiarethe sensitivity: la sensibilitàto convey: trasmetterethe fear: la paurathe joy: la gioiathe confidence: la fiduciathe talent: il talentothe determination: la determinazionethe challenge: la sfidathe change: il cambiamento

Fluent Fiction - French: Reuniting in Nice: A Tale of Friendship and New Beginnings Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/fr/episode/2026-03-14-22-34-01-fr Story Transcript:Fr: Sous le doux soleil du début du printemps, le café en terrasse de Nice offrait une vue splendide sur la mer Méditerranée.En: Under the gentle spring sun, the terrace café in Nice offered a splendid view of the Mediterranean Sea.Fr: Les vagues murmuraient doucement contre le rivage, et l'air portait un mélange de senteurs salées et du parfum des fleurs environnantes.En: The waves softly murmured against the shore, and the air carried a blend of salty scents and the fragrance of the surrounding flowers.Fr: Luc s'était assis à une table, un café devant lui, ses yeux cherchant l'inspiration perdue dans l'étendue bleue.En: Luc had seated himself at a table, a coffee in front of him, his eyes searching for lost inspiration in the blue expanse.Fr: Dix ans s'étaient écoulés depuis sa dernière visite ici.En: Ten years had passed since his last visit here.Fr: Artiste à Paris, il éprouvait souvent la nostalgie de cette ville ensoleillée de son enfance.En: An artist in Paris, he often felt nostalgia for this sunny city of his childhood.Fr: Renée, son amie d'autrefois, sillonnait les rues en tant que guide touristique.En: Renée, his friend from long ago, roamed the streets as a tour guide.Fr: Sa vie était ancrée dans les ruelles colorées de Nice.En: Her life was anchored in the colorful lanes of Nice.Fr: Ce jour-là, le hasard fit bien les choses.En: That day, chance worked its magic.Fr: Renée, vive et curieuse, passait par là.En: Renée, lively and curious, happened to pass by.Fr: Elle s'arrêta net, surprise de le voir.En: She stopped short, surprised to see him.Fr: "Luc?"En: "Luc?"Fr: lança-t-elle, sa voix teintée de joie.En: she called, her voice tinged with joy.Fr: Luc leva les yeux, ses traits se détendirent en un sourire sincère.En: Luc looked up, his features relaxing into a sincere smile.Fr: "Renée!"En: "Renée!"Fr: répondit-il.En: he replied.Fr: Ils s'embrassèrent chaleureusement, heureux de se retrouver après tant d'années.En: They embraced warmly, happy to reunite after so many years.Fr: Ils s'assirent ensemble, la conversation jaillit naturellement.En: They sat together, the conversation flowing naturally.Fr: Luc parla de Paris, de ses expositions, et de sa quête constante d'inspiration.En: Luc spoke of Paris, his exhibitions, and his constant quest for inspiration.Fr: Renée, elle, raconta ses histoires de Nice, ses joies simples, et le plaisir de partager sa ville avec des visiteurs du monde entier.En: Renée, in turn, shared her stories of Nice, her simple joys, and the pleasure of sharing her city with visitors from around the world.Fr: Mais entre rires et récits, un sentiment partagé émergea.En: But amidst laughter and stories, a shared sentiment emerged.Fr: Luc regretta parfois d'avoir quitté Nice.En: Luc sometimes regretted leaving Nice.Fr: Les souvenirs de sa jeunesse résonnaient comme un doux chant.En: The memories of his youth resonated like a sweet song.Fr: Renée, elle, se demandait si elle aurait dû explorer d'autres horizons.En: Renée wondered if she should have explored other horizons.Fr: Était-elle restée par peur ou par choix?En: Had she stayed out of fear or by choice?Fr: Le soleil commençait à se coucher, peignant le ciel de nuances chaudes de rose et d'orange.En: The sun began to set, painting the sky with warm shades of pink and orange.Fr: C'était le moment des confidences.En: It was a moment for confidences.Fr: Sous ce ciel lumineux, ils parlèrent ouvertement de leurs choix.En: Beneath this bright sky, they spoke openly about their choices.Fr: Luc admira la façon dont Renée appréciait chaque instant à Nice.En: Luc admired how Renée appreciated every moment in Nice.Fr: Renée, de son côté, trouvait du courage dans l'histoire de Luc, sa capacité à s'adapter, à créer ailleurs.En: Renée, for her part, found courage in Luc's story, his ability to adapt, to create somewhere else.Fr: "Je vais rester quelques semaines de plus," déclara Luc soudainement.En: "I will stay a few more weeks," Luc declared suddenly.Fr: "J'ai besoin de retrouver mes racines pour peindre."En: "I need to reconnect with my roots to paint."Fr: Renée, inspirée par son ouverture, répondit avec un sourire.En: Renée, inspired by his openness, replied with a smile.Fr: "Et moi, je vais planifier un petit voyage à Paris.En: "And I'll plan a little trip to Paris.Fr: Voir ce que je manque."En: See what I'm missing."Fr: Dans le calme du crépuscule, leurs décisions donnèrent naissance à un nouvel espoir.En: In the calm of dusk, their decisions gave birth to new hope.Fr: Luc se reconcilia avec son passé, prêt à créer une série de peintures dédiées à sa bien-aimée Nice.En: Luc reconciled with his past, ready to create a series of paintings dedicated to his beloved Nice.Fr: Renée, quant à elle, trouva le courage de découvrir de nouveaux horizons.En: Renée, on the other hand, found the courage to explore new horizons.Fr: Les deux amis se levèrent enfin, regardant la mer s'étendre à l'infini.En: The two friends finally stood up, looking at the sea stretching infinitely.Fr: Ils savaient que ce moment partagé avait allumé une étincelle dans leurs vies respectives.En: They knew that this shared moment had sparked a change in their respective lives.Fr: Peut-être était-ce simplement le souffle du vent, ou peut-être la magie de l'amitié qui les avait guidés vers une nouvelle aube.En: Perhaps it was just the breath of the wind, or maybe the magic of friendship that had guided them toward a new dawn.Fr: La mer chantait toujours, et à sa manière, elle aussi faisait partie de cette belle histoire.En: The sea still sang, and in its way, it too was a part of this beautiful story. Vocabulary Words:the terrace: la terrassethe artist: l'artistethe wave: la vaguethe shore: le rivagethe scent: la senteurthe fragrance: le parfumthe inspiration: l'inspirationthe nostalgia: la nostalgiethe guide: le guidethe lanes: les ruellesthe chance: le hasardthe feature: le traitthe exhibition: l'expositionthe laughter: le rirethe memory: le souvenirthe horizon: l'horizonthe sunset: le coucher du soleilthe shade: la nuancethe confidence: la confiancethe moment: l'instantthe quest: la quêtethe dusk: le crépusculethe hope: l'espoirthe root: la racinethe courage: le couragethe wind: le ventthe friendship: l'amitiéthe dawn: l'aubethe story: l'histoirethe change: le changement

It's a bumper Friday edition of Astronomy Daily. NASA gives Artemis II the official green light to launch on April 1st, marking the first crewed lunar mission in over 53 years. Astronomers witness the birth of a magnetar for the very first time, confirming a decade-old theory and demonstrating Einstein's general relativity in a supernova. A star 11,000 light-years away shows evidence of two planets catastrophically colliding in real time. A bus-sized asteroid buzzed past Earth last night closer than the Moon, discovered just five days ago. A fast solar wind stream from a coronal hole could bring auroras to higher latitudes tonight. And scientists may have identified the source of the most energetic neutrino ever recorded. Story 1: Artemis II — Green Light for April 1 Launch NASA completed its Flight Readiness Review on 12 March 2026, with all mission teams voting unanimously ‘go' for launch. The Space Launch System and Orion capsule will roll out to Launch Complex 39B on 19 March, with the primary launch window opening on 1 April at 6:24pm ET. Backup windows exist on 2–6 April and 30 April. The crew of four — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — will fly a 10-day figure-eight loop around the Moon. It will be the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The previously planned Moon landing on Artemis III has been moved to Artemis IV, though NASA's 2028 goal for a lunar landing remains unchanged. •       NASA Artemis II Mission Page: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/ •       CNN coverage of FRR outcome: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/science/nasa-artemis-2-launch-date-risk-assessment Story 2: First-Ever Observed Birth of a Magnetar Astronomers have for the first time directly observed the birth of a magnetar — a highly magnetized, rapidly spinning neutron star — confirming it as the power source behind some of the universe's brightest stellar explosions. The discovery, published in Nature on 11 March 2026, centres on superluminous supernova SN 2024afav, located approximately one billion light-years from Earth. Graduate student Joseph Farah at UC Santa Barbara, working with Las Cumbres Observatory's global telescope network, detected a distinctive ‘chirp' pattern in the supernova's fading light — four oscillations with shortening intervals. This pattern is explained by a wobbling accretion disc around the newborn magnetar, driven by Lense-Thirring precession — a general relativistic effect. The finding confirms a 2010 theory by UC Berkeley physicist Dan Kasen, and marks the first time general relativity has been required to explain supernova mechanics. •       Berkeley News: https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/03/11/astronomers-capture-birth-of-a-magnetar-confirming-link-to-some-of-universes-brightest-exploding-stars/ •       Space.com: https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/astronomers-witness-colossal-supernova-explosion-create-one-of-the-most-magnetic-stars-in-the-universe-for-the-first-time Story 3: Two Planets Caught Colliding 11,000 Light-Years Away Researchers at the University of Washington have published evidence of a catastrophic planetary collision observed in real time around star Gaia20ehk, located approximately 11,000 light-years from Earth near the constellation Puppis. The star began flickering erratically from 2016, before its light output went ‘completely bonkers' around 2021 — the signature of a massive debris cloud from two colliding worlds passing in front of the star. The debris orbits at roughly one astronomical unit from the star — the same as Earth's distance from the Sun — and may eventually coalesce into new planetary bodies resembling an Earth-Moon system. The paper was published 11 March in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. •       University of Washington: https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/03/11/uw-astronomers-spot-planet-collision-evidence/ •       ScienceDaily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260311213429.htm Story 4: Asteroid 2026 EG1 Flies Past Earth A bus-sized asteroid designated 2026 EG1 made its closest approach to Earth at 11:27pm EDT on 12 March 2026, passing just 197,466 miles away — closer than the Moon. Estimated at 32–72 feet (10–22 metres) across and travelling at over 21,500 mph, it posed no threat. Notably, the asteroid was only discovered on 8 March — five days before its flyby — highlighting the ongoing challenge of detecting small near-Earth objects with short warning times. NASA's Vera Rubin Observatory has already catalogued over 2,000 previously unknown solar system bodies since beginning operations. •       Space.com: https://www.space.com/stargazing/bus-sized-asteroid-will-fly-past-earth-tonight-mere-days-after-being-discovered-heres-what-to-expect-march-12-2026 Story 5: Solar Wind & Aurora Alert A fast-moving stream of solar wind from a large coronal hole on the Sun is expected to reach Earth on 13 March 2026, potentially triggering G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions. Auroras may be visible from higher latitudes including Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands, Reykjavik, northern Scandinavia, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Hobart (Tasmania) during local nighttime hours. The Moon is a waning crescent at approximately 34% illumination, making for reasonably dark skies. Observers can check real-time aurora forecasting at spaceweather.com or SpaceWeatherLive. •       EarthSky solar wind update: https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/ •       Real-time aurora forecasts: https://spaceweatherlive.com/ Story 6: KM3NeT & the Record-Breaking Neutrino Scientists working with the KM3NeT neutrino detector on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea off Sicily believe they may have identified the source of the most energetic neutrino ever recorded. Detected three years ago, the particle had energy levels exceeding anything previously observed of its kind. Researchers now believe a population of blazars — galaxies with supermassive black holes firing particle jets directly towards Earth — is the most likely source. Blazars are among the most violent and energetic phenomena in the observable universe. The finding represents a significant step in multi-messenger astronomy. •       Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.

Every Pathways, host Aaron Millar and producer Jason Paton crack open a few stories, play their favorite clips, and take you on a whirlwind preview of what's coming up on Armchair Explorer.In this episode, we'll be traveling from the craziest white water race in the world to the highest volcanoes on the planet, from ancient trade routes in Italy to the sacred storytelling landscapes of Australia and beyond.If you like travel and adventure, come and hang out, we're going to have some fun.Climb the Seven Volcanic Summits Challenge, summiting the highest volcano on every continent.Explore the fjords of Norway in search of the Northern Lights.Hike across Italy's Old Salt Road, an ancient trade route across the Apennine Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea.Descend into Wind Cave, South Dakota, one of the longest cave systems on Earth, to hear the Lakota Emergence Story.Take part in the River Nevis Race in Scotland — if Monty Python went white-water rafting, this would be it.Ready to Explore? If you're into real stories of epic places told by the people who've lived them, make sure to subscribe so you won't miss an episode of Series 4 of Armchair Explorer.Instagram: ⁠@armchairexplorerpodcast⁠Facebook: ⁠@armchairexplorerpodcast⁠⁠Armchair Explorer⁠ is produced by ⁠Armchair Productions⁠. Aaron Millar and Jason Paton presented the show, Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and sound design.Mentioned in this episode:Check out the Smart Travel PodcastThis week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the Link below:Smart Travel PodcastCheck out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world's best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities across the network, see the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Núria's Culinary Innovation at Cala Montjoi Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-03-10-22-34-02-ca Story Transcript:Ca: La brisa marina omplia l'aire d'una frescor salada mentre el sol penetrava les aigües turqueses de Cala Montjoi.En: The sea breeze filled the air with a salty freshness as the sun penetrated the turquoise waters of Cala Montjoi.Ca: Núria, la jove xef, estava davant dels fogons del petit restaurant familiar, el seu cap ple d'idees i il·lusions.En: Núria, the young chef, stood in front of the stove in the small family restaurant, her head full of ideas and dreams.Ca: El restaurant, amb finestrals grans, oferia una vista impressionant del mar Mediterrani i havia estat a càrrec de la família des de feia dècades.En: The restaurant, with large windows, offered an impressive view of the Mediterranean Sea and had been run by the family for decades.Ca: L'objectiu de Núria era clar: transformar el menú tradicional i donar-li un toc innovador.En: Núria's goal was clear: to transform the traditional menu and give it an innovative touch.Ca: Pau, el seu germà gran, vigilava l'evolució del negoci amb ull clínic des de la barra.En: Pau, her older brother, watched the business's progress with a keen eye from the bar.Ca: Cauta per naturalesa, Pau temia que les noves idees de Núria poguessin alienar els clients fidels.En: Cautious by nature, Pau feared that Núria's new ideas might alienate the loyal customers.Ca: "No volem perdre'ls, Núria," li deia sovint.En: "We don't want to lose them, Núria," he often said to her.Ca: Però Núria tenia un pla.En: But Núria had a plan.Ca: Pretenia organitzar un esdeveniment de degustació per mostrar els sabors nous i sorprenents que tenia al cap.En: She intended to organize a tasting event to showcase the new and surprising flavors she had in mind.Ca: La primavera començava a florir.En: Spring was beginning to bloom.Ca: Els colors vibrants de la natura feien eco dels plats que Núria volia crear: fresc, viu, sorprenent.En: The vibrant colors of nature echoed the dishes that Núria wanted to create: fresh, lively, surprising.Ca: Ignorant les queixes de Pau, va decidir anar endavant amb la degustació, convençuda que els convidats apreciaven la seva visió.En: Ignoring Pau's complaints, she decided to go ahead with the tasting, convinced that the guests would appreciate her vision.Ca: Plans, ingredients i estratègies ballaven a la seva ment, i la passió per la cuina la guiava.En: Plans, ingredients, and strategies danced in her mind, and her passion for cooking guided her.Ca: La nit del gran esdeveniment, el petit restaurant estava ple de xerrades i riures.En: On the night of the big event, the small restaurant was filled with chatter and laughter.Ca: La gent esperava amb anticipació mentre el sol es ponia lentament, tenyint el cel de taronja i rosa.En: People waited in anticipation as the sun slowly set, tinting the sky with orange and pink.Ca: Pau mirava amb preocupació, però Núria, decidida i segura, donava el toc final als plats.En: Pau watched with concern, but Núria, determined and confident, put the finishing touches on the dishes.Ca: Els moments inicials després de la degustació van ser tensos.En: The initial moments after the tasting were tense.Ca: Els convidats degustaven els plats amb cautela.En: The guests tasted the dishes cautiously.Ca: Núria, darrere el taulell, esperava amb l'alè contingut.En: Núria, behind the counter, waited with bated breath.Ca: Però a poc a poc, es van esbossar somriures amples.En: But gradually, wide smiles appeared.Ca: Els comentaris admirats van començar a circular per la sala.En: Admiring comments began to circulate through the room.Ca: "Mai he tastat res així," deien alguns, "és com un respir de primavera.En: "I've never tasted anything like this," some said, "it's like a breath of spring."Ca: "Veient l'èxit als ulls dels convidats, Pau es va acostar a la seva germana.En: Seeing the success in the guests' eyes, Pau approached his sister.Ca: "Tenies raó," va admetre amb un somriure, alleujat.En: "You were right," he admitted with a relieved smile.Ca: "És hora de començar a canviar.En: "It's time to start changing."Ca: "Amb l'aprovació de Pau, Núria va guanyar confiança.En: With Pau's approval, Núria gained confidence.Ca: Va entendre que la seva passió podia portar el restaurant a nous horitzons.En: She understood that her passion could take the restaurant to new horizons.Ca: Pau, per la seva banda, va aprendre a confiar en les innovacions de la seva germana, obrint la porta a un futur per al restaurant que no havia imaginat abans.En: Pau, for his part, learned to trust in his sister's innovations, opening the door to a future for the restaurant that he had not imagined before.Ca: La Cala Montjoi va romandre silenciosa mentre la nit s'endinsava.En: Cala Montjoi remained silent as the night deepened.Ca: Al petit restaurant, la llum i la vida continuaven com mai abans, gràcies a la visió i determinació de Núria.En: In the small restaurant, light and life continued like never before, thanks to Núria's vision and determination.Ca: Així, els germans van demostrar que el canvi, quan es fa amb el cor, pot portar sorpreses meravelloses.En: Thus, the siblings demonstrated that change, when done with heart, can bring wonderful surprises. Vocabulary Words:the breeze: la brisathe stove: els fogonsthe windows: els finestralsimpressive: impressionantto alienate: alienarthe tasting: la degustacióto showcase: mostrarvibrant: vibrantlively: viucautious: cautathe plan: el plathe ingredients: els ingredientsto guide: guiarto bloom: florirthe chatter: les xerradesthe laughter: els riuresanticipation: anticipacióto tint: tenyirconcern: preocupacióthe counter: el taulellbated breath: l'alè contingutto circulate: circularthe approval: l'aprovacióthe horizon: els horitzonsto learn: aprendrethe future: el futurthe silence: el silencithe determination: la determinacióthe siblings: els germanswonderful: meravelloses

There's a moment before every journey begins — that flicker of anticipation when the map is still folded, the road still unknown, and the world feels impossibly wide.That's where this new season of Armchair Explorer begins.In the coming episodes we'll travel from the highest volcanoes in the world to the Arctic Circle, from ancient trade routes in Italy to the sacred storytelling landscapes of Australia. These are immersive journeys, told by the people who lived them and crafted with the cinematic sound design you've come to expect from the show.Here's a glimpse of what's ahead.Climb the Seven Volcanic Summits Challenge, summiting the highest volcano on every continent. Listen to an Aboriginal storyteller share the living stories of Uluru — a place where landscape, culture, and time are inseparable. Explore the fjords of Norway in search of the Northern Lights.Hike across Italy's Old Salt Road, an ancient trade route across the Apennine Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea.Descend into Wind Cave, South Dakota, one of the longest cave systems on Earth, to hear the Lakota Emergence Story.Road trip through Australia's Northern Territory, where the highways stretch for hundreds of miles and the outback stories grow taller with every one.Take part in the River Nevis Race in Scotland — if Monty Python went white-water rafting, this would be it.Soar on a hot air balloon ride over the Saguaro Desert and a hike through the Petrified Forest of Arizona.And lots more … These are stories of wild places, remarkable people, and the journeys that change how we see the world. So pack your headphones and join us for a new adventure every single week.Follow the show so you don't miss the first episode of the new season of Armchair Explorer!`

Day 1,469.Today, as questions are directed at the Kremlin after Russian components were reportedly found in the wreckage of a drone that struck Dubai, we examine President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to swap US-made Patriot air defence missiles for Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iranian and Russian weapons. We report on the latest explosion involving a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean Sea, and bring you the view from Brussels as European Union member states appear to push back against the European Commission's fast-track proposals for Ukrainian EU membership.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Joe Barnes (Brussels Correspondent). @Barnes_Joe on X.NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cACONTENT REFERENCED:What the Iran war means for Ukraine (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/04/iran-war-consequences-for-ukraine-russia-conflict/ Zelensky floats swapping Patriot missiles for interceptor drones amid increased Iranian Shahed threat (The Telegraph):https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-floats-swapping-patriot-missiles-for-interceptor-drones-amid-increased-iranian-shahed-threat/ EU urges Ukraine to allow access to pipeline carrying Russian oil (Financial Times):https://www.ft.com/content/8f5f18fb-311d-4df0-805c-063b292506b3 Russian tanker ‘hit by drone' in Mediterranean (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/04/russian-tanker-hit-by-drone-in-mediterranean/ WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:Our weekly newsletter includes maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons, answers your questions, provides recommended reading, and gives exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights.. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers. Join here – http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports on a Russian--flagged ship exploding in the Mediterranean Sea.

Fluent Fiction - Italian: Giulia's Culinary Balancing Act in Cinque Terre Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/it/episode/2026-03-01-08-38-20-it Story Transcript:It: In un fresco mattino d'inverno, mentre la nebbia si leva dal mare cobalto che abbraccia le Cinque Terre, Giulia osserva le onde infrangersi sugli scogli da una finestra della sua nuova avventura: un ristorante di pesce.En: On a crisp winter morning, as the mist rises from the cobalt sea that embraces the Cinque Terre, Giulia watches the waves crash against the rocks from a window of her new venture: a seafood restaurant.It: La vista è mozzafiato.En: The view is breathtaking.It: Le case colorate e le barche dei pescatori le ricordano infanzia e promesse.En: The colorful houses and fishermen's boats remind her of childhood and promises.It: Giulia è agitata.En: Giulia is anxious.It: La tradizione culinaria della sua famiglia è importante, ma non sa se i vecchi piatti attrarranno abbastanza clientela.En: Her family's culinary tradition is important, but she's unsure if the old dishes will attract enough clientele.It: Il ristorante deve aprire in primavera e i permessi tardano.En: The restaurant must open in the spring, and the permits are delayed.It: Inoltre, ci sono poche risorse economiche.En: Furthermore, there are few financial resources.It: Alessandro, suo fratello minore, prova a rassicurarla con il suo entusiasmo.En: Alessandro, her younger brother, tries to reassure her with his enthusiasm.It: "Giulia," dice indicando il mare, "guarda quello!En: "Giulia," he says, pointing to the sea, "look at that!It: Il futuro è luminoso quanto il sole che sorge."En: The future is as bright as the rising sun."It: Luca, il cuoco esperto, annuisce con approvazione.En: Luca, the experienced cook, nods with approval.It: Dietro l'aspetto burbero, c'è un cuore che ama profondamente questo luogo.En: Behind the gruff exterior, there is a heart that deeply loves this place.It: "Abbiamo il mare, abbiamo la tradizione.En: "We have the sea, we have the tradition.It: Uniamo le forze."En: Let's join forces."It: Mentre il Carnevale si avvicina, le strade delle Cinque Terre si riempiono di musica e maschere colorate.En: As Carnevale approaches, the streets of the Cinque Terre fill with music and colorful masks.It: Giulia sente il peso delle scelte.En: Giulia feels the weight of choices.It: Innovare o mantenere fedeltà ai ricordi d'infanzia?En: Innovate or remain faithful to childhood memories?It: Un giorno, durante una passeggiata nei vicoli strette e pittoresche, trova l'ispirazione.En: One day, during a walk in the narrow and picturesque lanes, she finds inspiration.It: La decisione arriva: bilanciare.En: The decision comes: to balance.It: Utilizzare la freschezza del mar Mediterraneo in modi nuovi, ma riservare un posto d'onore ai piatti che hanno reso la cucina della sua famiglia speciale.En: To use the freshness of the Mediterranean Sea in new ways, but to reserve a place of honor for the dishes that have made her family's cuisine special.It: L'antipasto sarà un tradizionale 'acciughe al limone', mentre per primo il 'risotto alla marinara' avrà un tocco di zafferano.En: The appetizer will be a traditional ‘acciughe al limone', while the main dish, ‘risotto alla marinara', will have a touch of saffron.It: Finalmente arriva la sera del Carnevale.En: The evening of Carnevale finally arrives.It: La musica echeggia ovunque, le maschere brillano sotto le luci, e nel ristorante, il profumo di mare si mescola all'allegria.En: Music echoes everywhere, masks shine under the lights, and in the restaurant, the scent of the sea mixes with the cheerfulness.It: Le porte si aprono.En: The doors open.It: La gente entra, curiosa e affamata.En: People enter, curious and hungry.It: Alessandro, sorridente, accoglie gli ospiti.En: Alessandro, smiling, welcomes the guests.It: Luca in cucina dirige come un direttore d'orchestra.En: Luca in the kitchen directs like a conductor.It: Le portate scorrono sui tavoli e i mormorii si trasformano in elogi.En: The courses flow onto the tables, and murmurs turn into praises.It: Giulia, con gli occhi lucidi di emozione, cammina tra i tavoli.En: Giulia, with eyes glistening with emotion, walks among the tables.It: Gli ospiti ridono e brindano, gli applausi riempiono la sala.En: The guests laugh and toast, applause fills the room.It: La serata si conclude con un applauso.En: The evening concludes with applause.It: Giulia sorride, il cuore leggero e pieno di speranza.En: Giulia smiles, her heart light and full of hope.It: Ha trovato il suo equilibrio, tra passato e presente.En: She has found her balance, between past and present.It: Il ristorante splenderà sotto il sole delle Cinque Terre, onorando la sua eredità.En: The restaurant will shine under the sun of the Cinque Terre, honoring her heritage.It: E nel cuore della notte, con il Carnevale che pian piano si spegne, Giulia sa di aver preso la strada giusta.En: And in the heart of the night, with the Carnevale gradually fading away, Giulia knows she has taken the right path.It: Un nuovo giorno sorgerà, con i suoi colori e le sue promesse.En: A new day will rise, with its colors and promises. Vocabulary Words:the mist: la nebbiacrisp: frescoto rise: levarsibreathtaking: mozzafiatothe rocks: gli scoglithe clientele: la clientelato embrace: abbracciarethe permits: i permessito delay: tardarefinancial resources: risorse economicheenthusiasm: entusiasmogruff: burberoto nod: annuireto shine: splendereto reassure: rassicurareto fill: riempirethe masks: le mascherecolorful: coloratethe weight: il pesothe choices: le scelteto innovate: innovarepicturesque: pittoreschenarrow: strettethe appetizer: l'antipastothe course: la portatato murmur: mormorareto praise: elogiareto toast: brindarethe applause: gli applausito fade away: spegnersi

Read OnlineJesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. Mark 7:24–25The context of today's Gospel is significant. Jesus traveled to Tyre, in modern-day Lebanon, a Gentile city on the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was an ancient and prosperous city, known for its maritime trade and wealth. As a center of commerce and culture, it played a prominent role in the ancient world but was also frequently associated with idolatry and pagan practices in the Old Testament—practices that often opened the door to increased diabolical influence among its people. By entering Tyre, Jesus symbolically foreshadows the universality of His mission and His intention to invite all people into His Kingdom.Even though we are Christians and members of the Body of Christ, it is important to see ourselves in this woman. In a sense, we are all Gentiles, meaning that as long as we live in this world, we are exiles—tempted by demons and sin, yet longing for freedom and our true home in Heaven.Even though Jesus entered a house in Tyre and “wanted no one to know about it,” this desire set the stage for His encounter with this woman. It was not only a moment of grace for her but also a moment of teaching for His disciples—and for us.First, we read that even though Jesus entered the house secretly, “he could not escape notice.” While He may have gone unnoticed by many in Tyre, this woman recognized Him. She was on a mission, driven by love for her daughter. She did not seek Jesus for selfish reasons but because her heart longed for her daughter's deliverance from a demon. This reveals the universal and irresistible desire for God's mercy, present in every soul open to His grace.Additionally, when our hearts are aflame with charity for others, especially family, Jesus' divine presence will not escape our notice. Charity sharpens our spiritual sensitivity to God's grace and truth, enabling us to find Him by following the promptings of spiritual love.When the woman pleads with Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter, His response is surprising: “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). This was not an insult but a truthful and deliberate statement. No one—neither Gentile, Jew, nor Christian—has a right to God's power and mercy. By expressing this fact, Jesus gave the woman an opportunity to reveal two qualities that are irresistible to Him: faith and humility.Her response, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps” (Mark 7:28), is a beautiful declaration of both. Faith is the recognition of God's power and goodness, while humility acknowledges that we are unworthy of His mercy. Though it may seem counterintuitive, admitting our unworthiness does not distance us from God—it draws Him closer. A humble heart, devoid of a sense of entitlement, always moves God to pour out His power and grace. Because this Gentile woman manifested both, her daughter was healed. Reflect today on the profound union of faith and humility. First, ponder how deeply you believe that God is the ultimate answer to life. Do you seek Him and His will above every other desire? Secondly, as your faith is purified, examine whether you struggle with an entitlement mindset. Do you approach God with the expectation of His blessings, or do you, like the Syrophoenician woman, humbly acknowledge your unworthiness while trusting fully in His mercy? Pray her beautiful prayer today, and trust that our Lord will irresistibly pour forth His grace upon you.My merciful Lord, with the Syrophoenician woman, I profess my faith in You. Help me to believe that You alone are the answer to every need in my life and in the lives of those I love. With that faith, I also profess my unworthiness. Yet if it be Your will, dear Lord, pour Your grace into my heart and into the hearts of all who seek You. Jesus, I trust in You.Image via Web Gallery of ArtSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

After months of political wrangling, parts of the long-awaited Epstein files have been released by the US Justice Department. The trove consists of thousands of documents related to the late sex-offender. Pictures include the former US President Bill Clinton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - Britain's former prince, musicians Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing. The justice department did not release all existing files, and the published ones were heavily redacted, prompting frustrated reactions from survivors of Epstein's abuse.Also: the US carries out dozens of strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria. Anti-government youth protesters in South Korea are taking cues from the American right's MAGA movement. Italy announces a fee for tourists to visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Putin vows revenge on Ukraine after an oil tanker was blown up in the Mediterranean Sea. Palestinians tell the BBC they were sexually abused in Israeli prisons. And how a lost radio play by Tennessee Williams was found more than four decades after his death, and has now been heard for the first time.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—a major expansion of Ukraine's campaign against Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers. For the first time in the war, Ukraine has struck a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea, delivering another significant blow to Moscow's energy revenues and their clandestine global shipping network. Later in the show—The manhunt for the Brown University shooter has come to an end. The suspect, who is now also linked to the murder of an MIT professor, has been identified and found dead. But key questions about motive remain unanswered. I'll have the details. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Debt Relief Advocates: Learn what debt reduction you may qualify for. Go online and visit https://DRA.com/podcast  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices