Podcasts about Michael Robbins

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 23rd July 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references:  Sam Mullins, Trustee at SS Great Britainhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sammullins/https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/ Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: What an amazing day out here. Welcome to Skip the Queue. The podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions, I'm your host, Paul Marden, and today you join me for the last episode of the season here in a very sunny and very pleasant Bristol Dockyard. I'm here to visit the SS Great Britain and one of their trustees, Sam Mullins, who until recently, was the CEO of London Transport Museum. And I'm going to be talking to Sam about life after running a big, family friendly Museum in the centre of London, and what comes next, and I'm promising you it's not pipes and the slippers for Sam, he's been very busy with the SSGreat Britain and with other projects that we'll talk a little more about. But for now, I'm going to enjoy poodling across the harbour on boat number five awaiting arrival over at the SS Great Britain. Paul Marden: Is there much to catch in the water here?Sam Mullins: According to some research, there's about 36 different species of fish. They catch a lot of cream. They catch Roach, bullet, bass car. Big carpet there, maybe, yeah, huge carpet there. And then your European great eel is here as well, right? Yeah, massive things by the size of your leg, big heads. It's amazing. It goes to show how receipt your life is. The quality of the water is a lot better now. Paul Marden: Oh yeah, yeah, it's better than it used to be years ago. Thank you very much. All right. Cheers. Have a good day. See you later on. So without further ado, let's head inside. So where should we head? Too fast. Sam Mullins: So we start with the stern of the ship, which is the kind of classic entrance view, you know. Yeah, coming up, I do. I love the shape of this ship as you as you'll see.Paul Marden: So lovely being able to come across the water on the boat and then have this as you're welcome. It's quite a.Sam Mullins: It's a great spot. Isn't it?Paul Marden: Really impactful, isn't it? Sam Mullins:  Because the amazing thing is that it's going this way, is actually in the dry dock, which was built to build it. Paul Marden: That's amazing. Sam Mullins: So it came home. It was clearly meant to be, you know,Paul Marden:  Quite the circular story.Sam Mullins:  Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Paul Marden:  Thank you. Wow. Look at that view.Sam Mullins: So that's your classic view.Paul Marden:  So she's in a dry dock, but there's a little bit of water in there, just to give us an idea of what's going on. Sam Mullins: Well, what's actually going on in here is, preserving the world's first iron ship. So it became clear, after he'd come back from the Falklands, 1970 came back to Bristol, it became clear that the material of the ship was rusting away. And if something wasn't done, there'd be nothing left, nothing left to show. So the innovative solution is based on a little bit of science if you can reduce the relative humidity of the air around the cast iron hull of the ship to around about 20% relative humidity, corrosion stops. Rusting stops. It's in a dry dock. You glaze over the dock at kind of water line, which, as you just noticed, it gives it a really nice setting. It looks like it's floating, yeah, it also it means that you can then control the air underneath. You dry it out, you dehumidify it. Big plant that dries out the air. You keep it at 20% and you keep the ship intact. Paul Marden: It's interesting, isn't it, because you go to Mary Rose, and you go into the ship Hall, and you've got this hermetically sealed environment that you can maintain all of these beautiful Tudor wooden pieces we're outside on a baking hot day. You don't have the benefit of a hermetically sealed building, do you to keep this? Sam Mullins: I guess the outside of the ship is kind of sealed by the paint. That stops the air getting to the bit to the bare metal. We can go down into the trigger, down whilst rise up.Paul Marden:  We're wondering. Sam, yeah, why don't you introduce yourself, tell listeners a little bit about your background. How have we ended up having this conversation today.Sam Mullins: I'm Sam Mullins. I'm a historian. I decided early on that I wanted to be a historian that worked in museums and had an opportunity to kind of share my fascination with the past with museum visitors. So I worked in much Wenlock in Shropshire. I worked created a new museum in market Harbour, a community museum in Leicestershire. I was director of museums in St Albans, based on, you know, great Roman Museum at Verulamium, okay. And ended up at London Transport Museum in the 90s, and was directed there for a long time.Paul Marden: Indeed, indeed. Oh, we are inside now and heading underground.Sam Mullins: And you can hear the thrumming in the background. Is the dehumidification going on. Wow. So we're descending into thevery dry dock.Paul Marden: So we're now under water level. Yes, and the view of the ceiling with the glass roof, which above looked like a lovely little pond, it's just beautiful, isn't it?Sam Mullins: Yes, good. It sets it off both in both directions, really nicely.Paul Marden: So you've transitioned now, you've moved on from the Transport Museum. And I thought that today's episode, we could focus a little bit on what is, what's life like when you've moved on from being the director of a big, famous, influential, family friendly Museum. What comes next? Is it pipe and slippers, or are there lots of things to do? And I think it's the latter, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yes. Well, you know, I think people retire either, you know, do nothing and play golf, or they build, you know, an interesting portfolio. I wanted to build, you know, something a bit more interesting. And, you know, Paul, there's that kind of strange feeling when you get to retire. And I was retiring from full time executive work, you kind of feel at that point that you've just cracked the job. And at that point, you know, someone gives you, you know, gives you a card and says, "Thank you very much, you've done a lovely job." Kind of, "Off you go." So having the opportunity to deploy some of that long term experience of running a successful Museum in Covent Garden for other organisations was part of that process of transition. I've been writing a book about which I'm sure we'll talk as well that's been kind of full on this year, but I was a trustee here for a number of years before I retired. I think it's really good career development for people to serve on a board to see what it's like, you know, the other side of the board. Paul Marden: I think we'll come back to that in a minute and talk a little bit about how the sausage is made. Yeah, we have to do some icebreaker questions, because I probably get you already. You're ready to start talking, but I'm gonna, I'm just gonna loosen you up a little bit, a couple of easy ones. You're sat in front of the telly, comedy or drama?Sam Mullins: It depends. Probably.Paul Marden: It's not a valid answer. Sam Mullins: Probably, probably drama.Paul Marden: Okay, if you need to talk to somebody, is it a phone call or is it a text message that you'll send?Sam Mullins:  Face to face? Okay, much better. Okay, always better. Paul Marden: Well done. You didn't accept the premise of the question there, did you? Lastly, if you're going to enter a room, would you prefer to have a personal theme tune played every time you enter the room. Or would you like a personal mascot to arrive fully suited behind you in every location you go to?Sam Mullins: I don't know what the second one means, so I go for the first one.Paul Marden: You've not seen a football mascot on watching American football or baseball?Sam Mullins: No, I try and avoid that. I like real sport. I like watching cricket. Paul Marden: They don't do that in cricket. So we are at the business end of the hull of the ship, aren't we? We're next to the propeller. Sam Mullins: We're sitting under the stern. We can still see that lovely, gilded Stern, saying, Great Britain, Bristol, and the windows and the coat of arms across the stern of the ship. Now this, of course, was the biggest ship in the world when built. So not only was it the first, first iron ship of any scale, but it was also third bigger than anything in the Royal Navy at the time. Paul Marden: They talked about that, when we were on the warrior aim the other day, that it was Brunel that was leading the way on what the pinnacle of engineering was like. It was not the Royal Navy who was convinced that it was sail that needed to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah, Brunel had seen a much smaller, propeller driven vessel tried out, which was being toured around the country. And so they were midway through kind of design of this, when they decided it wasn't going to be a paddle steamer, which its predecessor, the world's first ocean liner, the Great Western. A was a paddle steamer that took you to New York. He decided that, and he announced to the board that he was going to make a ship that was driven by a propeller, which was the first, and this is, this is actually a replica of his patent propeller design. Paul Marden: So, this propeller was, is not the original to the show, okay?Sam Mullins: Later in its career, it had the engines taken out, and it was just a sailing ship. It had a long and interesting career. And for the time it was going to New York and back, and the time it was going to Australia and back, carrying migrants. It was a hybrid, usually. So you use the sails when it was favourable when it wasn't much wind or the wind was against. You use the use the engines. Use the steam engine.Paul Marden: Coming back into fashion again now, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, hybrid, yeah.Paul Marden: I can see holes in the hull. Was this evident when it was still in the Falklands?Sam Mullins: Yeah, it came to notice in the 60s that, you know, this world's first it was beached at Sparrow Cove in the Falkland Islands. It had lost its use as a wool warehouse, which is which it had been for 30 or 40 years. And a number of maritime historians, you and call it. It was the kind of key one realised that this, you know, extraordinary, important piece of maritime heritage would maybe not last too many war winters at Sparrow cope had a big crack down one side of the hull. It would have probably broken in half, and that would have made any kind of conservation restoration pretty well impossible as it was. It was a pretty amazing trick to put it onto a to put a barge underneath, to raise it up out of the water, and to tow it into Montevideo and then across the Atlantic, you know, 7000 miles, or whatever it is, to Avon mouth. So it's a kind of heroic story from the kind of heroic age of industrial and maritime heritage, actually.Paul Marden: It resonates for me in terms of the Mary Rose in that you've got a small group of very committed people that are looking to rescue this really valuable asset. And they find it and, you know, catch it just in time. Sam Mullins: Absolutely. That was one of the kind of eye openers for me at Mary rose last week, was just to look at the kind of sheer difficulty of doing conventional archaeology underwater for years and years. You know, is it 50,000 dives were made? Some immense number. And similarly, here, you know, lots of people kind of simply forget it, you know, it's never gonna, but a few, stuck to it, you know, formed a group, fund, raised. This is an era, of course, you know, before lottery and all that jazz. When you had to, you had to fundraise from the public to do this, and they managed to raise the money to bring it home, which, of course, is only step one. You then got to conserve this enormous lump of metal so it comes home to the dry dock in which it had been built, and that has a sort of fantastic symmetry, you know about it, which I just love. You know, the dock happened to be vacant, you know, in 1970 when the ship was taken off the pontoon at Avon mouth, just down the river and was towed up the curving Avon river to this dock. It came beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which, of course, was Brunel design, but it was never built in his time. So these amazing pictures of this Hulk, in effect,  coming up the river, towed by tugs and brought into the dock here with 1000s of people you know, surrounding cheering on the sidelines, and a bit like Mary Rose in a big coverage on the BBC.Paul Marden: This is the thing. So I have a very vivid memory of the Mary Rose being lifted, and that yellow of the scaffolding is just permanently etched in my brain about sitting on the carpet in primary school when the TV was rolled out, and it was the only TV in the whole of school that, to me is it's modern history happening. I'm a Somerset boy. I've been coming to Bristol all my life. I wasn't alive when Great Britain came back here. So to me, this feels like ancient history. It's always been in Bristol, because I have no memory of it returning home. It was always just a fixture. So when we were talking the other day and you mentioned it was brought back in the 70s, didn't realise that. Didn't realise that at all. Should we move on? Because I am listening. Gently in the warmth.Sam Mullins: Let's move around this side of the as you can see, the dry dock is not entirely dry, no, but nearly.Paul Marden: So, you're trustee here at SS Great Britain. What does that mean? What do you do?Sam Mullins: Well, the board, Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance of the charity. We employ the executives, the paid team here. We work with them to develop the kind of strategy, financial plan, to deliver that strategy, and we kind of hold them as executives to account, to deliver on that.Paul Marden: It's been a period of change for you, hasn't it? Just recently, you've got a new CEO coming to the first anniversary, or just past his first anniversary. It's been in place a little while.Sam Mullins: So in the last two years, we've had a, we've recruited a new chairman, new chief executive, pretty much a whole new leadership team.One more starting next month, right? Actually, we're in July this month, so, yeah, it's been, you know, organisations are like that. They can be very, you know, static for some time, and then suddenly a kind of big turnover. And people, you know, people move.Paul Marden: So we're walking through what is a curved part of the dry dock now. So this is becoming interesting underfoot, isn't it?Sam Mullins: This is built in 1839 by the Great Western Steamship Company to build a sister ship to the Great Western which was their first vessel built for the Atlantic run to New York. As it happens, they were going to build a similar size vessel, but Brunel had other ideas, always pushing the edges one way or another as an engineer.Paul Marden: The keel is wood. Is it all wood? Or is this some sort of?Sam Mullins: No, this is just like, it's sort of sacrificial.So that you know when, if it does run up against ground or whatever, you don't actually damage the iron keel.Paul Marden: Right. Okay, so there's lots happening for the museum and the trust. You've just had a big injection of cash, haven't you, to do some interesting things. So there was a press release a couple of weeks ago, about a million pound of investment. Did you go and find that down the back of the sofa? How do you generate that kind of investment in the charity?Sam Mullins: Unusually, I think that trust that's put the bulk of that money and came came to us. I think they were looking to do something to mark their kind of, I think to mark their wind up. And so that was quite fortuitous, because, as you know at the moment, you know, fundraising is is difficult. It's tough. Paul Marden: That's the understatement of the year, isn't it?Sam Mullins: And with a new team here and the New World post COVID, less, less visitors, income harder to gain from. Pretty well, you know, all sources, it's important to keep the site kind of fresh and interesting. You know, the ship has been here since 1970 it's become, it's part of Bristol. Wherever you go in Bristol, Brunel is, you know, kind of the brand, and yet many Bristolians think they've seen all this, and don't need, you know, don't need to come back again. So keeping the site fresh, keeping the ideas moving on, are really important. So we've got the dockyard museum just on the top there, and that's the object for fundraising at the moment, and that will open in July next year as an account of the building of the ship and its importance. Paul Marden: Indeed, that's interesting. Related to that, we know that trusts, trusts and grants income really tough to get. Everybody's fighting for a diminishing pot income from Ace or from government sources is also tough to find. At the moment, we're living off of budgets that haven't changed for 10 years, if we're lucky. Yeah, for many people, finding a commercial route is the answer for their museum. And that was something that you did quite successfully, wasn't it, at the Transport Museum was to bring commercial ideas without sacrificing the integrity of the museum. Yeah. How do you do that?Sam Mullins: Well, the business of being an independent Museum, I mean, LTM is a to all sets of purposes, an independent Museum. Yes, 81% of its funding itself is self generated. Paul Marden: Is it really? Yeah, yeah. I know. I would have thought the grant that you would get from London Transport might have been bigger than that.  Sam Mullins: The grant used to be much bigger proportion, but it's got smaller and smaller. That's quite deliberate. Are, you know, the more you can stand on your own two feet, the more you can actually decide which direction you're going to take those feet in. Yeah. So there's this whole raft of museums, which, you know, across the UK, which are independently governed, who get all but nothing from central government. They might do a lottery grant. Yes, once in a while, they might get some NPO funding from Ace, but it's a tiny part, you know, of the whole. And this ship, SS Great Britain is a classic, you know, example of that. So what do you do in those circumstances? You look at your assets and you you try and monetise them. That's what we did at London Transport Museum. So the museum moved to Covent Garden in 1980 because it was a far sighted move. Michael Robbins, who was on the board at the time, recognised that they should take the museum from Scion Park, which is right on the west edge, into town where people were going to be, rather than trying to drag people out to the edge of London. So we've got that fantastic location, in effect, a high street shop. So retail works really well, you know, at Covent Garden.Paul Marden: Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for a bit of moquette design.Sam Mullins: We all love it, which is just great. So the museum developed, you know, a lot of expertise in creating products and merchandising it. We've looked at the relationship with Transport for London, and we monetised that by looking at TFL supply chain and encouraging that supply chain to support the museum. So it is possible to get the TFL commissioner to stand up at a corporate members evening and say, you know, you all do terribly well out of our contract, we'd like you to support the museum as well, please. So the corporate membership scheme at Transport Museum is bigger than any other UK museum by value, really, 60, 65 members,. So that was, you know, that that was important, another way of looking at your assets, you know, what you've got. Sometimes you're talking about monetising relationships. Sometimes it's about, you know, stuff, assets, yeah. And then in we began to run a bit short of money in the kind of middle of the teens, and we did an experimental opening of the Aldwych disused tube station on the strand, and we're amazed at the demand for tickets.Paul Marden: Really, it was that much of a surprise for you. And we all can talk. Sam Mullins: We had been doing, we've been doing some guided tours there in a sort of, slightly in a one off kind of way, for some time. And we started to kind of think, well, look, maybe should we carry on it? Paul Marden: You've got the audience that's interested.Sam Mullins: And we've got the access through TFL which, you know, took a lot of work to to convince them we weren't going to, you know, take loads of people underground and lose them or that they jump out, you know, on the Piccadilly line in the middle of the service, or something. So hidden London is the kind of another really nice way where the museum's looked at its kind of assets and it's monetised. And I don't know what this I don't know what this year is, but I think there are now tours run at 10 different sites at different times. It's worth about half a million clear to them to the museum.Paul Marden: It's amazing, and they're such brilliant events. So they've now opened up for younger kids to go. So I took my daughter and one of her friends, and they were a little bit scared when the lights got turned off at one point, but we had a whale of a time going and learning about the history of the tube, the history of the tube during the war. It was such an interesting, accessible way to get to get them interested in stuff. It was brilliant.Sam Mullins: No, it's a great programme, and it was doing well before COVID, we went into lockdown, and within three weeks, Chris Nix and the team had started to do kind of zoom virtual tours. We all are stuck at home looking at our screens and those hidden London hangouts the audience kind of gradually built yesterday TV followed with secrets of London Underground, which did four series of. Hidden London book has sold 25,000 copies in hardback, another one to come out next year, maybe.Paul Marden: And all of this is in service of the museum. So it's almost as if you're opening the museum up to the whole of London, aren't you, and making all of that space you're you. Museum where you can do things.Sam Mullins: Yeah. And, of course, the great thing about hidden London programme is it's a bit like a theatre production. We would get access to a particular site for a month or six weeks. You'd sell the tickets, you know, like mad for that venue. And then the run came to an end, and you have to, you know, the caravan moves on, and we go to, you know, go to go to a different stations. So in a sense, often it's quite hard to get people to go to an attraction unless they've got visitors staying or whatever. But actually, if there's a time limit, you just kind of have to do it, you know.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Everybody loves a little bit of scarcity, don't they? Sam Mullins: Should we go up on the deck? Paul Marden: That sounds like fun to me.Sam Mullins: Work our way through.Paul Marden: So Hidden London was one of the angles in order to make the museum more commercially sound. What are you taking from your time at LTM and bringing to the party here at the SS Great Britain?Sam Mullins: Well, asking similar, you know, range of questions really, about what assets do we have? Which of those are, can be, can be monetised in support of the charity? Got here, Paul, so we're, we've got the same mix as lots of middle sized museums here. There's a it's a shop, paid admission, hospitality events in the evening, cafe. You know that mix, what museums then need to do is kind of go, you know, go beyond that, really, and look at their estate or their intellectual property, or the kind of experiences they can offer, and work out whether some of that is monetisable.Paul Marden: Right? And you mentioned before that Brunel is kind of, he's the mascot of Bristol. Almost, everything in Bristol focuses on Brunel. Is there an opportunity for you to collaborate with other Brunel themed sites, the bridge or?Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, I think probably the opportunity is to collaborate with other Bristol attractions. Because Bristol needs to. Bristol's having a hard time since COVID numbers here are nowhere near what they were pre COVID So, and I think it's the same in the city, across the city. So Andrew chief executive, is talking to other people in the city about how we can share programs, share marketing, that kind of approach.Paul Marden: Making the docks a destination, you know, you've got We the Curious. Where I was this morning, having coffee with a friend and having a mooch around. Yeah, talking about science and technology, there must be things that you can cross over. This was this war. This feels like history, but it wasn't when it was built, was it? It was absolutely the cutting edge of science and technology.Sam Mullins: Absolutely, and well, almost beyond, you know, he was Brunel was pushing, pushing what could be done. It is the biggest ship. And it's hard to think of it now, because, you know, you and I can walk from one end to the other in no time. But it was the biggest ship in the world by, you know, some way, when it was launched in 1845 so this was a bit like the Great Western Railway. It was cutting edge, cutting edge at the time, as we were talking about below. It had a propeller, radical stuff. It's got the bell, too,Paul Marden: When we were on, was it Warrior that we were on last week at the AIM conference for the first. And warrior had a propeller, but it was capable of being lifted, because the Admiralty wasn't convinced that this new fangled propeller nonsense, and they thought sail was going to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, this ship had, you could lift a you could lift a propeller, because otherwise the propeller is a drag in the water if it's not turning over. So in its earlier configurations, it was a, it was that sort of a hybrid, where you could lift the propeller out the way, right, set full sail.Paul Marden:  Right, and, yeah, it's just, it's very pleasant out here today, isn't it? Lovely breeze compared to what it's been like the last few days. Sam Mullins: Deck has just been replaced over the winter. Paul Marden:  Oh, has it really. So say, have you got the original underneathSam Mullins: The original was little long, long gone. So what we have replaced was the deck that was put on in the in the 70s when the ship came back.Paul Marden: Right? You were talking earlier on about the cafe being one of the assets. You've done quite a lot of work recently, haven't you with the team at Elior to refurbish the cafe? What's the plan around that?Sam Mullins: Yeah, we're doing a big reinvestment. You always need to keep the offer fresh anyway, but it was time to reinvest. So the idea is to use that fantastic space on the edge of the dock. It's not very far down to where the floating harbour is really well populated with kind of restaurants and bars and an offer, we're just that 200 meters further along the dock. So perhaps to create an offer here that draws people up here, whether they visit the ship, you know, or not. So it's money, it's monetising your assets. So one of the great assets is this fabulous location on the on the dockside. So with early or we're reinvesting in the restaurant, it's going to go in the auto into after some trial openings and things, Paul, you know, it's going to have an evening offer as well as a daytime offer. And then it's been designed so the lights can go down in the evening. It becomes, you know, an evening place, rather than the museum's all day cafe, yes, and the offer, and obviously in the evenings would similarly change. And I think our ambition is that you should, you should choose this as the place to go out in the evening. Really, it's a great spot. It's a lovely, warm evening. We're going to walk along the dockside. I've booked a table and in the boardwalk, which is what we're calling it. And as you pay the bill, you notice that actually, this is associated with Asus, Great Britain. So, you know, the profit from tonight goes to help the charity, rather than it's the museum cafe. So that's the,Paul Marden: That's the pitch.Sam Mullins: That's the pitch in which we're working with our catering partners, Eli, or to deliver.Paul Marden: Andrew, your CEO and Claire from Eli, or have both kindly said that I can come back in a couple of months time and have a conversation about the restaurant. And I think it would be rude to turn them down, wouldn't it?Sam Mullins: I think you should test the menu really fully.Paul Marden: I will do my best. It's a tough job that I have. Sam Mullins: Somebody has to do this work. Paul Marden: I know, talking of tough jobs, the other thing that I saw when I was looking at the website earlier on was a press release talking about six o'clock gin as being a a partnership that you're investigating, because every museum needs its own tipple, doesn't it?Sam Mullins: Absolutely And what, you know, I think it's, I think what people want when they go to an attraction is they, they also want something of the offer to be locally sourced, completely, six o'clock gym, you know, Bristol, Bristol beers. You can't always do it, but I think, I think it's where you've got the opportunity. And Bristol's a bit of a foodie centre. There's quite a lot going on here in that respect. So, yes, of course, the museum ought to be ought to be doing that too.Paul Marden: I was very kindly invited to Big Pit over in the Welsh Valleys about 8 or 12 weeks ago for the launch, relaunch of their gift shop offering. And absolutely, at the core of what they were trying to do was because it's run by Museums Wales, they found that all of their gift shops were just a bland average of what you could get at any of the museums. None of them spoke of the individual place. So if you went to big pit, the gift shop looked the same as if you were in the centre of Cardiff, whereas now when you go you see things that are naturally of Big Pit and the surrounding areas. And I think that's so important to create a gift shop which has things that is affordable to everybody, but at the same time authentic and genuinely interesting.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I'm sure that's right. And you know I'm saying for you is for me, when I when I go somewhere, you want to come away with something, don't you? Yes, you know, you're a National Trust member and you haven't had to pay anything to get in. But you think I should be supporting the cause, you know, I want to go into that shop and then I want to, I want to buy some of the plants for my garden I just seen, you know, on the estate outside. Or I want to come away with a six o'clock gin or, you know, whatever it might be, there's and I think, I think you're more likely to buy if it's something that you know has engaged you, it's part of that story that's engaged you, right, while you're here. That's why everyone buys a guidebook and reads it afterwards.Paul Marden: Yeah, it's a reminder, isn't it, the enjoyable time that you've had? Yeah, I'm enjoying myself up on the top deck. Sam Mullins:  But should we go downstairs? The bow is a great view. Oh, let's do that. I think we might. Let's just work our way down through.Paul Marden: Take a sniff. Could you travel with these smelly passengers? Oh, no, I don't think I want to smell what it's like to be a cow on board shit. Sam Mullins: Fresh milk. Just mind yourself on these companion, ways are very steep now. This is probably where I get completely lost.Paul Marden: You know what we need? We need a very good volunteer. Don't we tell a volunteer story? COVID in the kitchen. Wow. Sam Mullins: The Gabby.Paul Marden: Generous use of scent. Sam Mullins: Yeah, food laid out pretty much based on what we know was consumed on the ship. One of the great things about the ship is people kept diaries. A lot of people kept diaries, and many have survived, right? You know exactly what it was like to be in first class or in steerage down the back.Paul Marden: And so what was the ship used for? Sam Mullins: Well, it was used, it was going to be an ocean liner right from here to New York, and it was more like the Concord of its day. It was essentially first class and second class. And then it has a founders on a bay in Northern Ireland. It's rescued, fitted out again, and then the opportunity comes take people to Australia. The Gold Rush in the 1850s. Migration to Australia becomes the big kind of business opportunity for the ships. Ships new owners. So there's more people on board that used to it applies to and fro to Australia a number of times 30 odd, 40 times. And it takes, takes passengers. It takes goods. It does bring back, brings back gold from because people were there for the gold rush. They were bringing their earnings, you know, back with them. It also brings mail, and, you know, other. Kind of car goes wool was a big cargo from. Paul Marden: Say, people down and assets back up again.Sam Mullins: People both directions. Paul Marden: Okay, yeah. How long was it taking?Sam Mullins: Well, a good trip. I think it did it in 50 odd days. Bit slower was 60 odd. And the food was like this. So it was steerage. It was probably a bit more basic. Paul Marden: Yeah, yes, I can imagine. Sam Mullins: I think we might. Here's the engines. Let's do the engines well.Paul Marden: Yes. So now we're in the engine room and, oh, it's daylight lit, actually. So you're not down in the darkest of depths, but the propeller shaft and all of the mechanism is it runs full length, full height of the ship.Sam Mullins: Yeah, it runs off from here, back to the propeller that we're looking at. Okay, down there a guy's stoking the boilers, putting coal into into the boilers, 24 hour seven, when the engines are running. Paul Marden: Yes, that's going to be a tough job, isn't it? Yeah, coal is stored in particular locations. Because that was something I learned from warrior, was the importance of making sure that you had the coal taken in the correct places, so that you didn't unbalance the ship. I mean,Sam Mullins: You right. I mean loading the ship generally had to be done really carefully so, you know, sort of balanced out and so forth. Coal is tends to be pretty low down for yes, for obvious reasons.Paul Marden: So let's talk a little bit about being a trustee. We're both trustees of charities. I was talking to somebody last week who been in the sector for a number of years, mid career, interested in becoming a trustee as a career development opportunity. What's the point of being a trustee? What's the point of the trustees to the CEO, and what's the benefit to the trustees themselves? Sam Mullins: Well, let's do that in order for someone in the mid part of their career, presumably looking to assume some kind of leadership role. At some point they're going to be dealing with a board, aren't they? Yes, they might even be doing, you know, occasional reporting to a board at that at their current role, but they certainly will be if they want to be chief executive. So getting some experience on the other side of the table to feel what it's like to be a trustee dealing with chief executive. I think he's immensely useful. I always recommended it to to my gang at the Transport Museum, and they've all been on boards of one sort or another as part of their career development.Sam Mullins: For the chief executive. What's the benefit? Well, the board, I mean, very directly, hold the chief executive to account. Yes, are you doing what we asked you to do? But also the wise chief executive recruits a board that's going to be helpful in some way or another. It's not just there to catch them out. Yeah, it's it's there to bring their experience from business, from IT, from marketing, from other museums into the business of running the place. So here we've got a range of Trustees. We've been we've recruited five or six in the last couple of years qquite deliberately to we know that a diverse board is a good board, and that's diverse in the sense not just a background, but of education, retired, still, still at work, young, old, male, female, you know, you name in.Paul Marden: In all of the directionsSam Mullins:  Yeah. So a diverse board makes better decisions than one that just does group think all the time. It's, you know, it's a truism, isn't it? I think we all kind of, we all understand and understand that now and then, for the trustee, you know, for me, I particularly last couple of years, when the organization has been through huge changes, it's been really interesting to deploy my prior experience, particularly in governance, because governance is what it all comes down to in an organisation. You do learn over the course of your career to deploy that on behalf, you know, this is a great organisation, the story of Brunel and the ship and and, you know, his influence on the railways. And I travel down on the Great Western railways, yeah, the influence of Brunel is, you know, is enormous. It's a fantastic story. It's inspiring. So who wouldn't want to join? You know what in 2005 was the Museum of the year? Yes, I think we'll just go back there where we came. Otherwise, I never found my way.Paul Marden: Back through the kitchen. Sam Mullins: Back through the kitchen. It looks like stew is on the menu tonight. You've seen me at the mobile the rat.Paul Marden: And also the cat up on the shelf. He's not paying a lot of attention to the ratSam Mullins: Back on deck. Paul Marden: Wonderful. Yeah. So the other great endeavor that you've embarked on is writing, writing a book. Tell us a little bit about the book.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I've written a history of transport in London and its influence on London since 2000 since the mayoralty, elected mayoralty was, was started, you know, I was very lucky when I was running the museum where I had kind of one foot in TfL and one foot out. I knew lots of people. I was there for a long time, yes, so it was, it was easy to interview about 70 of them.Paul Marden: Right? I guess you've built trust levels, haven't you? Yeah, I don't mean that you don't look like a journalist walking in from the outside with an ax to grind. Sam Mullins: And I'm not going to kind of screw them to the Evening Standard, you know, tomorrow. So it's a book based on interviews, oral reminiscences. It's very much their story. So it's big chunks of their accounts of, you know, the big events in London. So what was it like to be in the network control room on the seventh of July, 2005 when the bombs went off? What was it like to be looking out for congestion charge the day it started? Yep. What was it like to kind of manage the Olympics?Paul Marden: You know? So you're mentioning these things. And so I was 10 years at British Airways. I was an IT project manager, but as well, I was a member of the emergency planning team. Yeah. So I got involved in the response to September the 11th. I got involved in some of the engagement around seven, seven, there's seminal moments, and I can, I can vividly remember myself being there at that time. But similarly, I can remember being there when we won the Olympics, and we were all sat in the staff canteen waiting to hear whether we'd won the Olympics, and the roar that erupted. There's so many of those things that have happened in the last 25 years where, you know, you've got, it's recent history, but it's real interesting events that have occurred that you can tell stories of.Sam Mullins: Yeah. So what I wanted to get in the book was a kind of sense of what it was like to be, really at the heart of those, those stories. And there are, you know, there are, there are people in TfL who made those big things happen? Yes, it's not a big, clumsy bureaucracy. It's a place where really innovative leadership was being exercised all the way through that 25 years. Yes, so it runs up to COVID, and what was it like when COVID struck? So the book's called Every Journey Matters, and it comes out in November.Paul Marden: Amazing, amazing. So we have, we've left the insides of the ship, and we are now under, what's this part of the ship? Sam Mullins: We're under the bow. There we go, and a bow spread that gets above our heads. So again, you've got this great, hulking, cast iron, black hull, beautifully shaped at the bow. Look the way it kind of tapers in and it tapers in and out.Paul Marden: It's a very three dimensional, isn't it? The curve is, is in every direction. Sam Mullins: Yeah,it's a great, great shape. So it's my sort of, I think it's my favourite spot. I like coming to look at this, because this is the kind of, this is the business, yeah, of the ship.Paul Marden: What have we got running along the front here? These these images in in gold.Sam Mullins: This is a figurehead with Victoria's Coat of Arms only sua Kim Ali points on top with it, with a lion and a unicorn.Paul Marden: It's a really, it's not a view that many people would have ever seen, but it is such an impressive view here looking up, yeah, very, very cool. And to stand here on the on the edge of the dry dock. Sam Mullins: Dry Docks in to our right, and the floating harbor is out to our left. Yeah.Paul Marden: And much going on on that it's busy today, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, it's good. Paul Marden: So we've done full loop, haven't we? I mean, it has been a whistle stop tour that you've taken me on, but I've loved every moment of this. We always ask our guests a difficult question. Well, for some it's a difficult question, a book recommendation, which, as we agreed over lunch, cannot be your own book. I don't think, I think it's a little unfair Sam Mullins: Or anything I've ever written before.Paul Marden: Yes, slightly self serving, but yeah.Sam Mullins: It would be, wouldn't it look the first thing that comes to mind is, I've actually been reading my way through Mick Herron's Slow Horses series, okay, which I'm a big fan of detective fiction. I love Ian Rankin's Rebus. Okay, I read through Rebus endlessly when I want something just to escape into the sloughhouse series Slow Horses is really good, and the books all have a sort of similar kind of momentum to them. Something weird happens in the first few chapters, which seems very inconsequential and. Suddenly it turns into this kind of roller coaster. Will they? Won't they? You know, ending, which is just great. So I recommend Mick Herron's series. That's that's been the best, not best, fiction I've read in a long time.Paul Marden: You know, I think there's something, there's something nice, something comforting, about reading a series of books where the way the book is structured is very similar. You can, you can sit down and you know what's going to happen, but, but there's something interesting, and it's, it's easy. Sam Mullins: It's like putting on a pair of old slippers. Oh, I'm comfortable with this. Just lead me along. You know, that's what, that's what I want. I enjoy that immensely.Paul Marden: And should we be? Should we be inviting our listeners to the first book in the series, or do they need to start once, once he's got his, got his, found his way? Sam Mullins: Well, some people would have seen the television adaptation already. Well, that will have spoilt the book for them. Gary Oldman is Jackson lamb, who's the lead character, okay, but if you haven't, or you just like a damn good read, then you start with the first one, which I think is called Sloughhouse. They're all self contained, but you can work your way through them. Paul Marden: Well, that sounds very good. So listeners, if you'd like a copy of Sam's book, not Sam's book, Sam's book recommendation, then head over to Bluesky and repost the show notice and say, I want a copy of Sam's book, and the first one of you lovely listeners that does that will get a copy sent to you by Wenalyn. Sam This has been delightful. I hope listeners have enjoyed this as much as I have. This is our first time having a @skipthequeue in real life, where we wandered around the attraction itself and hopefully narrated our way bringing this amazing attraction to life. I've really enjoyed it. I can now say that as a West Country lad, I have actually been to the SS Great Britain. Last thing to say for visitor, for listeners, we are currently midway through the Rubber Cheese Annual Survey of visitor attraction websites. Paul Marden: If you look after an attraction website and you'd like to share some information about what you do, we are gathering all of that data together to produce a report that helps people to understand what good looks like for an attraction website. This is our fourth year. Listeners that are interested, head over to RubberCheese.com/survey, and you can find out a little bit more about the survey and some of the some of the findings from the past and what we're looking for for this year. Sam, thank you so very much.Sam Mullins: Enjoyed it too. It's always good to rabbit on about what you do every day of the week, and being here and part of this really great organisation is huge privilege.Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others to find us. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them to increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcripts from this episode and more over on our website, skipthequeue fm. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update we have 4 stories for you; DJI launches new dock and drone, Connecticut's “emergency” bill to ban Chinese drones, your last chance to comment on the Department of Commerce ANPRM, and LEDA calls out AUVSI.First up, DJI launched the new Dock 3 and Matrice 4D & 4TD!This is the first DJI dock designed for use on a vehicle, allowing the drone to launch directly from a mobile platform.The Dock 3 can operate and charge in extreme temperatures up to 122°F and down to -22°F. It's IP56-rated, and the Matrice 4D comes with anti-icing propellers.Speaking of the Matrice 4D, it's IP55 rated and offers 54 minutes of flight time or 47 minutes of hover time. Both the 4D and 4TD comes with a wide-angle camera, a 3X medium tele camera, a 7X long tele camera, and a laser range finder.The Thermal offers a near IR light and a 640X512 infrared thermal camera in addition to the other cameras.In conjunction with the release, AVSS, the Canadian parachute manufacturer, released a parachute for the Matrice 4D. While it is not yet on the FAA Declaration of Compliance list yet, the press release mentioned it will be FAA approved for operations over people. The parachute will be available in Q2 of this year.DJI just seems to be pumping them out this year!Next up, Connecticut's emergency bill on banning Chinese Drones.This bill has currently passed both chambers of the state's legislature and prohibits state agencies and municipalities from purchasing “Covered” drones starting in October of 2026 and a ban on operating in 2028.The legislation also restricts drone flights within 250 feet of critical electric and other utility infrastructure.If you're in Connecticut, please reach out to your representatives ASAP!Last up, there are only a few days left to make your voice heard!The Department of Commerce ANPRM's comment date ends on March 4th.Don't let folks in suits who have never flown drones write the narrative on what our UAS actually do.Please watch this video and comment!Speaking of getting your voices heard, the Law Enforcement Drone Association, or LEDA for short, expressed their disheartening at an opinion article written by AUVSI president Michael Robbins.Jon Beal, the President and CEO of LEDA mentions the oped written on drone blog DroneLife is "overt gaslighting regarding legislation related to the use of Drones from China."Beal explains that LEDA is a platform-agnostic organization whose stance "has always been to let member agencies and pilots decide what platform works best for them and their communities at large".He also explains that he has watches, which his own eyes, AUVSI representatives testify in support of banning Chinese drones for public safety agencies in various states.Beal goes on to question Robbin's understanding of how these bans affect agencies, forcing many of them to shut down their programs completely. As a result, agencies no longer have the ability to save lives and mitigate risk, including for the public at large. Beal also cites Robbin's lack of evidence in his statement that "security vulnerabilities are well-documented with the national security community". In response, Beal welcomes the stated clause in Section 1709 of the 2024 NDAA, which mandates a study of DJI and Autel drones for data security.Beal concludes by stating that "almost every one of our 3200 members is angered by the legislation happening in their states and our country borne from greed and in an attempt to limit their ability to save lives".https://www.flyingmag.com/connecticut-emergency-bill-would-ban-chinese-russian-drones/https://dronexl.co/2025/02/25/dji-m4td-dock-3-imminent-release/https://youtu.be/AYOcLhKpGDQhttps://www.ledauas.org/_files/ugd/78f471_7a7178eabda94a49b7bbacbbaba19986.pdf

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First – a conversation about bridging political differences this holiday season with Brad and Dallas Woodhouse - brothers and political strategists on opposite sides of the political divide. Then, we talk about the potential of new regulations for the drone industry with Michael Robbins of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems. Plus, Benham Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discusses the latest on Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. But we begin with a discussion about efforts to bridge political differences this holiday season, with Brad & Dallas Woodhouse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He has been a driver of change at Transport for London, which has shown the way to the rest of the world. Shashi Verma joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 83 of Brave New World to share his learnings on urban transport -- and the governance structures that lead to the best results. Useful resources: 1. Shashi Verma on LinkedIn and Centre for London. 2. Albert Wenger on the World After Capital — Episode 29 of Brave New World. 3. Estimating the Social Benefit of Constructing an Underground Railway in London -- CD Foster and ME Beesley. 4. A History of London Transport -- TV Barker and Michael Robbins. 5. The Subterranean Railway --  Christian Wolmar. 6. Evaluating Urban Transport Improvements -- Anthony J Venables. 7. Agglomeration, Productivity and Transport Investment -- Daniel J Graham. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

The Association's Katherine Shenar hosts Brian Jorgensen of MetLife Pet Insurance and Atlanta Humane Society's Michael Robbins for a talk about an untapped strategy for improving access to care. Learn about partnerships between shelters and pet insurance providers that can change the way shelters help their communities, and hear some common myths about pet insurance busted.

George Matus is CEO and founder of Teal Drones, a trailblazing U.S. company at the forefront of innovative drone technology for both commercial and military applications. With advancements in air control, data processing, and mapping technologies, Teal is revolutionizing operations for the military, public safety, and various commercial sectors.  Its flagship Teal 2 Drone is a model of security, intelligence, and high performance that meets the stringent standards of the U.S. defense industry. George started Teal Drones in 2014 when he was only a sophomore in high school. By 2023, he was named CTO of Red Cat Holdings, the parent company of Teal Drones. Red Cat is an end-to-end drone solutions company based in the United States that is accelerating the future of aerial robotics to transform the way we live and work. In Episode 412, I interviewed Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International or AUVSI. In that podcast, we explored the importance of U.S. competitiveness in the drone industry.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, builds on this theme by highlighting the ascent of Teal Drones as a manufacturing leader and sheds light on the expanding opportunities for American drone companies in the global market.

“Billionaires can't take a week off? What's the point of having a billion dollars if they have fewer options than I do?”  –Tim Ferriss In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss common travel fantasies, and the fears that keep people from traveling (5:00); how we can redefine what "wealth" is and live fuller lives (18:00); why keeping a healthy perspective on information intake, technology, and "efficiency" is important, both on the road and in daily life (25:00); the "beginner's mind," and tips for writing and creativity (54:00);  the merits of going on foot and "getting lost" on the road, and how this figured into Rolf's writing classes (1:17:00); notions of "success," and how to definite the notion of success in a way that enhances one's way of being in the world (1:37:00); and Rolf's recommendations for drinks, food, documentaries, books, and poetry (1:50:00); Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) is a best-selling author and podcaster. General Links: Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf's summer writing classes) Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (audiobook) The Game Camera (short film cowritten by Rolf and Kristen Bush) Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast (Deviate episode) Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show LeBron James on The Tim Ferriss Show Cheryl Strayed on The Tim Ferriss Show Jerry Seinfeld on The Tim Ferriss Show Tortuga (bags design for long-term travel) Unbound Merino (travel clothing company) AirTreks (round-the-world flight planner) BootsnAll (online travel community) Interview Links: Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Man bites dog (aphorism about journalism) “War is God's way of teaching Americans geography” (quote) Beginner's mind (attitude of openness) Adaptation (2002 film) Anne Lamott (American author) Kurt Vonnegut (American author) The Hero's Adventure with Joseph Campbell (podcast remix) Flâneur (urban wanderer) Situationists (1960s social and artistic movement) Psychogeography (exploration strategy) Dave Chappelle (comedian) John Hughes (filmmaker) Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (American essayist) Grizzly Man (2005 documentary film) Werner Herzog Reads Curious George (satire) Con Air (1997 film) Aimee Nezhukumatathil (poet) Naomi Shihab Nye (poet) Major Jackson (poet) Donald Hall (poet) Books mentioned: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (book) The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss (book) The Art of Nonfiction, by Ayn Rand (book) Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark (book) To Show and to Tell, by Phillip Lopate (book) Screenplay, by Syd Field (book) Story, by Robert McKee (book) Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder (book) A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway (book) Leaves of Grass, by Walk Whitman (book) Good Hope Road, by Stuart Dischell (poetry) Alien vs. Predator, by Michael Robbins (poetry) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

Why is it important that we strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the global drone industry? Michael Robbins is Chief Advocacy Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).  AUVSI is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of uncrewed systems and robotics.  It represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. Since joining AUVSI in 2020, Michael leads all advocacy, strategic communication, and cybersecurity initiatives. In 2015, he co-founded a business consulting firm, Intrepid, and serves as its Chief Operating Officer. Prior to starting Intrepid, Michael served as Managing Director of Government and Public Affairs at the Air Line Pilot Association, International. Before that, he spent a decade in the office of the late Congressman John Dingell in Michigan, where he served as the Chief of Staff.   Michael serves on the board of the Greater Washington Aviation Open and the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree from Georgetown University and is an officer in the United States Navy Reserve.  In this episode, Michael talks about the efforts to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the drone industry and why this is critical for economic and security reasons. 

Join us for this insight-rich conversation with Michael Robbins, a distinguished figure in quantitative asset management. He is an author, thought leader, Professor of Graduate Studies in Quantitative Investing at Columbia University, and a sitting CIO. Our conversation focuses on quantitative trading, asset management, and financial modeling. Michael's recently published book, "Quantitative Asset Management," offers insights into the complexities and nuances of quantitative strategies. We delve deep into the intricacies of Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTA) and explore the nuances of quantitative investment strategies.HIGHLIGHTSUnderstanding GTAA: We start by defining Global Tactical Asset Allocation and discussing effective approaches and potential pitfalls in employing this strategy.[04:18] - Adam Butler discusses the unique challenges and advantages small investors face compared to large investors, emphasizing the benefit of portfolio agility for smaller investors.Investment Strategy Insights: Michael Robbins shares his expertise on various aspects of investment strategies, including the importance of a fund's management team, the significance of qualitative factors, and the role of an advisor in making informed investment decisions.Quantitative Strategies: We explore the realm of quantitative strategies, discussing hyperparameters, the impact of biases, and the importance of defining investment goals.The Role of Machine Learning: Delve into the use of machine learning in finance, understanding overfitting, and the challenges of translating complex financial data into actionable strategies.[24:20] - Pierre Daillie and Michael Robbins explore the concept of overfitting in algorithmic strategies and the skepticism surrounding backtesting, highlighting the importance of a solid theoretical foundation behind investment strategies.[34:47] - The conversation shifts to the importance of qualitative factors in investment, such as the management team's experience and the terms of investment, which are crucial alongside performance metrics.[26:58] - Michael Robbins emphasizes the need to eliminate luck and human bias from systematic investment programs, advocating for a more quantitative and systematic approach to investing.[42:08] - Michael Robbins and Pierre Daillie discuss the often overlooked aspect of the personality and charisma of analytical experts in investment management, and how it affects investment decisions.Practical Advice for Investors: Gain insights on what investors should look for in funds, the importance of diversification, and how to avoid common mistakes in quantitative investing.[1:01:56] - The article concludes with a discussion on expanding investment horizons and differentiating oneself as an advisor by exploring unique investment strategies, as suggested by Michael Robbins.*****

Tusentals civila rapporteras döda samtidigt som striderna i Gaza blir alltmer intensiva. Israels mål är att utradera Hamas och man hävdar att bombningarna är proportionerliga. Men runtom i världen höjs nu röster om att det som pågår riskerar att, och till och med utgör flera brott mot internationella lagar och regelverk. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Medverkande: Shareef Abu Watfa, boende i Gaza, Agnés Callamard, generalsekreterare Amnesty International, Mark Klamberg, professor i folkrätt, Mikael Fakhri, professor i juridik och FN:s särskilde rapportör för frågor som rör rätten till mat, Nobuo Hayashi, utredare av krigsbrott och brott mot mänskligheten i forna Jugoslavien, Sami Abu Salem, Sveriges Radios medarbetare i Gaza, Donia Ashour, boende i Gaza, Mahmoud al Shaer, boende i Gaza, Ziv Nevo Kulman, Israels ambassadör i Sverige, Rami Khoury, journalist och analytiker, Michael Robbins, chef Arab Barometer.Programledare: Edgar Mannheimeredgar.mannheimer@sr.seReportrar: Fernando Arias, David RasmussonTekniker: Elin HagmanProducent: Simon Moser simon.moser@sr.se

This episode's guest is Dr. Michael Robbins of Princeton University. He is the co-author of an article that was published on October 26th 2023 in Foreign Affairs, titled What Palestinians really think of Hamas. Dr. Robbins is the director and co-principal investigator of the Arab Barometer.  Link to the article:  https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-palestinians-really-think-hamas Link to the Arab Barometer: https://www.arabbarometer.org/ Write to Ori: onir@peacenow.org  

In this conversation, we delve into the world of quantitative investing, exploring its intricacies, misconceptions, and the common mistakes people make when trying to apply it. The discussion also sheds light on the importance of asking the right questions and setting up the problem correctly in quant investing.Topics Discussed• The common misconception that a single tool or program can solve all problems in quant investing• The importance of setting up the problem correctly and asking the right questions in quant investing• The challenges of communicating complex quant concepts to laypeople or investment professionals without a background in quantitative methods• The role of intuition and experience in quant investing and how they still hold significant value over calculations• The use of quantitative methods in large institutions and the need for human supervision to prevent unusual or excessively risk-taking actions• The impact of back testing and the importance of incorporating experience into it• The discussion on whether machines can completely take over quant investing and the current limitations• The exploration of arbitrage opportunities in quant investing and how they can be exploited by mid-sized banksThis conversation is a deep dive into the world of quant investing, offering valuable insights into its complexities, the common pitfalls, and the role of human intuition and experience. It's a must-listen for anyone interested in quantitative investing, providing strategies to navigate this complex field.This is “ReSolve's Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global* and Richard Laterman of ReSolve Asset Management.*ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

In this episode, we take a deep div into quantitative investing with Michael Robbins, author of the new book "Quantitative Asset Management: Factor Investing and Machine Learning for Institutional Investing." We discuss data science and machine learning, factor investing, risk management, the qualities of a good back test and a lot more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. SEE LATEST EPISODES ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.validea.com/excess-returns-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VALIDEA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.validea.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VALIDEA CAPITAL ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.valideacapital.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW JACK Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/practicalquant⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-forehand-8015094⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW JUSTIN Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/jjcarbonneau⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcarbonneau⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode I had the privilege of speaking with Michael Robbins, CFA. Michael has been the Chief Investment Officer at 6 different investment firms over the past 37 years. He is also a professor at Columbia university, where he teaches quant investing including graduate classes in tactical asset allocation and ESG. In this episode, we discussed: Is the meme stock mania over, or here to stay? What are the characteristics of markets where arbitrage may be possible How computers and chatGPT are changing investing Investing biases that can lead to bad investments What factor investing is, and the proper way to invest with factors Buy Michael's awesome book here: https://www.amazon.ca/Quantitative-Asset-Management-Michael-Robbins/dp/1264258445 Readings/interviews/code from the book: http://www.quantitativeassetmanagement.com/

Tonight on the KRBD Evening Report….We'll hear from Ketchikan superintendent Michael Robbins about his outlook for the coming year, Petersburg survey shows the need to build and renovate more than 300 houses, and the Organized Village of Kake opened its first clam garden.

Shrink down and enter into the fantasy world of Michael Robbin's Halloween themed miniatures. From humble beginnings collecting Polly Pockets, hear how a retiring artist's gift becomes the catalyst for his artistic journey. Michael's passion will inspire and delight you.   Michael envisions his miniatures living in a friendly, storybook-like world where pumpkins, witches, and other magical creatures reside in harmony. He discusses the importance of facial expressions and storytelling in his work. Michael laughs that he'll put a face on anything.   In this episode you'll learn tips for starting your own collection, how being on a design challenge TV show impacts his work, the difference between UK and US collectors, where he loves to spend spooky season, and so much more.   Michael encourages artists to be adventurous and step out of their comfort zones to create something unique and unexpected.  Check out Michael's work at: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRMiniatures https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MichaelRMiniatures https://www.instagram.com/michaelrminiatures/ https://youtu.be/UuwiQmuTjR4 (clip from The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge, look for the double basin by Michael)  Find him at these shows: Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures (San Jose, CA, October): https://www.goodsamshowcase.org/ London Dollshouse Showcase (London, December): https://dollshouseshowcase.com/ Miniatura (Birmingham, UK, Fall): https://miniatura.co.uk/next-show/ Tom Bishop Show (April, Chicago): https://www.bishopshow.com/  Enjoy these shops while visiting York, UK: https://www.yorkghostmerchants.com/ https://yorkshiresoap.co.uk/imaginarium 

Long-time bond fund manager Dan Fuss, vice chairman at Loomis Sayles and Co., says that the current economic environment 'rhymes with what we had in the 1970s, but the geopolitics and the climate are new things, and they are actually more important right now than what the Fed is up to.' Fuss says he does not expect short-term interest rates to start trending downward quickly, noting that he expects the yield curve to flatten but not to return to its normal slope soon. Also on the show, Tom Lydon, vice chairman at VettaFi, turns to regional banking -- a sector that has been troubled and which may not be through those rough times this week -- for his ETF of the Week, and author Michael Robbins discusses the impact artificial intelligence is having on investment thinking as he discusses his book 'Quantitative Asset Management: Factor Investing and Machine Learning for Institutional Investing.'

On todays episode Michael Robbins, CIO of Larson Financial & Professor Of Quantitative Investing at Columbia University joins the show for a discussion on the quantitative investing strategy. Authoring the book "Factor Investing and Machine Learning for Institutional Investing" Michael takes us back to the very basics in answering what is quantitive investing, what actually causes markets to go up, why most investors are NOT stock pickers and how a quantitive strategy can help manage risk & create sizeable returns. To hear all this and more, you'll have to tune in! -- Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://twitter.com/JackFarley96 Follow Forward Guidance on Twitter https://twitter.com/ForwardGuidance Follow Blockworks on Twitter https://twitter.com/Blockworks_ -- Referenced In The Show: Selling Fast and Buying Slow: Heuristics and Trading Performance of Institutional Investors: https://www.nber.org/papers/w29076 Quantitative Asset Management: Factor Investing and Machine Learning for Institutional Investing: http://quantitativeassetmanagement.com/ -- Use code GUIDANCE20 to get 20% off Permissionless 2023 in Austin: https://blockworks.co/event/permissio... Research, news, data, governance and models – now, all in one place. As a listener of Forward Guidance, you can use code GUIDANCE10 for a 10% discount when signing up to Blockworks Research https://www.blockworksresearch.com/ -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://rb.gy/5weeyw Market commentary, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, can't-miss-tweets and more. Subscribe to the Blockworks Research “Daily Debrief” Newsletter: https://rb.gy/feusos -- Timecodes: (00:00) Introduction (00:39) What Is Quantitative Investing? (02:24) Selling Fast & Buying Slow (05:26) What Causes Stocks To Go Up? (09:02) Are Rising Rates Actually Bad For Stocks? (15:11) Stock vs Bond Arbitrage Strategies (17:37) The VXX ETF (24:11) Most People Are NOT Stock Pickers (29:54) Risk Management (35:14) What Are The Biggest Mistakes Investors Make? (44:31) Being Early Is The Same As Being Wrong (49:37) What Indicators Are Worth Following With A Quantitative Strategy? (56:41) Liquidity (01:00:07) The Five Factors Of Investing (01:05:55) Investing Using Artificial Intelligence -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Forward Guidance should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan talks to poet Michael Robbins whose latest poetry collection is Walkman. My Summer Lair Chapter #217: What Was The Last Song You Listened To On A Walkman? Recorded: Wednesday October 19, 2022 3:00 pm (EST) For more show notes visit MySummerLair.com. Bonus Fun? Sign up for my newsletter because the F in FOMO doesn't stand for Fun. Stress free pop culture (TV shows! Books! Movies! Music! So Many Recommendations!!) tastefully harvested for your divine delight. Once a week a carefully curated edition of My Pal Sammy goes directly to your inbox. Magic or Science? You decide.

Michael Robbins explores the shape that apocalyptic thought has taken in American Christianity (despite its slim textual basis) and in contemporary secular contexts like climate catastrophe. Robbins also draws on systems analysis to bring out the structural factors that could be pushing us to the edge of apocalypse. He discloses his own attitude, which is neither optimistic nor defeatist, but rather informed by religious and leftist commitments, which in his view share a “structure of feeling.” Read Robbins's essay: https://harpers.org/archive/2022/12/apocalypse-nowish/ This episode was produced by Violet Lucca and Maddie Crum, with production assistance from Ian Mantgani. Subscribe to Harper's for only $16.97: harpers.org/save

(Catch Video on Spotify) In this Special Conversation with Micheal Robbins we discussed on the Effect of our Christmas story " The Burglar's Christmas" . Questions and Topics We Talked Upon : Micheal's Thoughts Burglar's Christmas and Story of Willie Have you seen such similar Storyline…not the Exact …but similar plot happening with Your Friends in School and College Times ? Here's a Powerful Quote from the Story Hunger is Powerful Incentive to Introspection …whatare Your thoughts on this ? How did You Define Success and Failure in your Early Days of Life ? What's Success looks like to You in Today's Date ? Your Take on What Should Humans Do When they Fail ? How should they React ? What should be thier Mental State of thinking ? Your thoughts Importance of Time Utilisation in Our 20's How do you React When You Fail.. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/creativecellsaudios.in/support

(Catch Video on Spotify) In This 25 Mins Conversation with Our Special Guest Storyteller 'Micheal Robbins' We Asked Micheal about ♦️How he Celebrated Christmas in His Childhood ? ♦️How he Dealt with Emotional Stability as His Family Kept on Shifting Places ? ♦️ What's his Special Christmas Memory from Childhood ? ♦️ What's the One Thing He loved About the Christmas ? ♦️How Celebrating Christmas Changed over the Years for him ? ♦️ His Thoughts on Elves and the Shoemaker and Which was his Favourite Fairy Tale among All Three ? ♦️ Upcoming Projects . ♦️Connect with Micheal Robbins : https://voiceoverbyrobbins.com/ . Email : Michael@voiceoverbyrobbins.com Call : (909) 224-5407 . ............ Connect with us : Insta : instagram.com/podcastaudios  . Facebook : facebook.com/podcastaudios   Our Website : www.creativeaudios.in --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/creativecellsaudios.in/support

A Christmas Classic

Different people have different perspectives on China's image in the MENA region. Some are positive while others are negative. However, we want to know the public's opinion on a larger scale while employing the proper scientific technique.In today's podcast, we are joined by Michael Robbins, Director and Co-Principal Investigator, of Arab Barometer, a nonpartisan research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world. In the show, Michael explains the Arab Barometer and its purpose, as well as how they conduct surveys and collect data. He also discusses the region's perception of China based on their research. He also elaborated on the different perspectives of the elite versus the general public on China, as the elite is more favorable to China. These findings may be questioned because the majority of the public has no knowledge of or interest in geopolitics, and they may change as more information is gathered. Finally, he discusses the factors that can change or influence people's attitudes toward a country.TakeawaysThe Arab Barometer, its functions, research, and its goalsChina's perception around the MENA region according to surveysThe view of the Gulf region differs from other countries in the regionThe negative view of China by the people of Israel and PalestineThe differences between public opinion versus the elite according to dataThe factors that influence foreigners' perceptions of a country QuotesWe find that China remains relatively popular. we see that at least half or roughly half say that they have a positive view of China overall. - Michaelthere is a broad sense that the views of China are stronger among the elites according to data - MichaelProbably in the next ten years, China will really come into view from the Middle East and there will probably be slightly more fixed views of China itself. - Michael Featured in this EpisodeJonathan FultonNonresident Senior Fellow for Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi Profile: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/jonathan-fulton/Linkedin: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-fulton-2627414bTwitter: https://twitter.com/jonathandfulton Michael RobbinsDirector and Co-Principal Investigator, Arab BarometerLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdhrobbins Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/mdhrobbins Website: https://www.arabbarometer.org Chapters00:00 Introduction01:40 What is the Arab Barometer?02:55 Which countries have the Urban Barometer been looking at?04:41 How many people do you interview?05:42 What are the perceptions of China around the region?08:03 Are these perceptions of China might change?12:34 A big shift of opinion in a short period of time17:39 Different views of China in the Gulf region19:30 Negative perceptions of China in Israel23:48 Elite perceptions versus public perceptions of China26:33 Explanation behind high and low perceptions of China from different countries32:03 Palestinians don't support China despite the aid from China35:28 Factors that affect a country's positive or negative perceptions41:21 Links and Resources on data and research from Arab Barometer This podcast was produced by Heartcast Media.https://www.heartcastmedia.com

Nazanin Shahrokni of the London School of Economics joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss her new book, Women in Place: The Politics of Gender Segregation in Iran. The book offers a gripping inquiry into gender segregation policies and women's rights in contemporary Iran. (Starts at 1:07). Tarek Masoud of Harvard University discusses his chapter in The Political Science of the Middle East: Theory and Research Since the Arab Uprisings, which focuses on Islam and the study of religion and politics in the Middle East (co-authored with Khalil al-Anani, Courtney Freer, and Quinn Mecham). (Starts at 36:46). Michael Robbins of the Arab Barometer discusses the seventh wave that captures the attitudes of citizens across the MENA since the onset of COVID. (Starts at 56:49). Music for this season's podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

On the first episode of Season 12 of the POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Jillian Schwedler of City University of New York, and Sean Yom of Temple University about their co-edited volume, The Political Science of the Middle East: Theory and Research Since the Arab Uprisings. The volume is a definitive overview of what political scientists are working on within the Middle East and North Africa. Its dozen chapters cover an exhaustive array of topics, including authoritarianism and democracy, contentious politics, regional security, military institutions, conflict and violence, the political economy of development, Islamist movements, identity and sectarianism, public opinion, migration, and local politics. (Starts at 02:26). This season of the podcast will also include conversations with the authors of each chapter from the book. On today's episode, Bassel Salloukh of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and Alexandra Siegel of University of Colorado at Boulder talk about their chapter on identity and sectarianism (co-authored with Fanar Haddad, Lisel Hintz, Rima Majed, and Toby Matthiesen). (Starts at 32:55). Michael Robbins of Arab Barometer discusses his chapter on public opinion survey research (co-authored with Lindsay Benstead and Justin Gengler). (Starts at 51:24). Music for this season's podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

On this week's Cyber Report, sponsored by Fortress Information Security, our guests are Michael Robbins, executive vice president, government & public affairs at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and Tobias Whitney, vice president of strategy and policy for Fortress Information Security discuss their effort to establish an industry-wide cybersecurity model and a suite of voluntary standards to address cyber risks specific to uncrewed systems and robotics.

Title: Democracy: is it fit for purpose Synopsis: In an article published on the BBC news website back on 6th July 2022 titled: ‘Arabs believe economy is weak under democracy', nearly 23,000 people were interviewed across nine countries across the Middle East and North Africa for BBC News Arabic by the Arab Barometer network. Most agreed with the statement that an economy is weak under a democracy. The findings come just over a decade after the so-called Arab Spring protests called for democratic change. Michael Robbins, director of Arab Barometer, a research network based at Princeton University, says there has been a regional shift in views on democracy since the last survey in 2018/19. "There's a growing perception that democracy is not a perfect form of government, and it won't fix everything," he says. "What we see across the region is people going hungry, people need bread, people are frustrated with the systems that they have." In this episode of Pathway to Peace, the Presenters analyse whether democratic systems are truly what they say they are and what guidance does Islam give when it comes to matters of government and politics. Presenters: Kalim Anwer & Shams Najum

Based on True Story Events of Prisoner's Daughter , a 11 year old girl Swati Who discovers that her father is still alive!!

AFC South Predictions with callers Jonathan Hopkins and Michael Robbins. Food Review: Cajun Two Step

— A central dilemma for spiritual seekers, and perhaps for all human beings, is learning how to live with one part of our awareness rested into the profound stillness of the unconditioned mind, while simultaneously being fully engaged in the unique context of our lives. This is an art that requires years of practice. To accomplish this balance of stillness and movement we must be deeply rooted in the paradoxes of human existence. We must recognize ourselves as both form and formless, as a unique event in time and space, and also a timeless essence that transcends physical, psychological and cultural conditions. We must understand ourselves as beings with biological, psychological and cultural conditioning, and also as timeless wells of emptiness from which creation has mysteriously sprung.  The practitioners that I have known that have embodied this moment of creation when emptiness flows into form and form into emptiness have a particular kind of energy about them. They transmit a timeless presence and transcendent quality of Being while simultaneously being fully focused, clear and deeply available in every moment. They are luminous, flowing, relaxed, fully present in the complexity of every context, and see the world with an admirable sense of objectivity. They are not “stuck”…. Writes Michael  Valeria Teles interviews Michael Robbins — He is a psychotherapist, Taoist teacher, poet, and visual artist who works in Somerville Massachusetts. Michael has studied and taught the Taoist practices of Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Nei Gong and Taoist meditation for more than 4 decades and continues to study these arts with high level masters whenever he has a chance. As a psychotherapist he works with individuals, couples, families and groups, leads retreats both in this country and in Europe and supervises therapists in his unique integration of body-oriented, systems informed, existential/psychoanalytic and spiritually based therapy both virtually and in person. He has published two book chapters and many articles on a variety of topics as well as two books of poetry all of which are available on his website. As a visual artist he has exhibited his work in a variety of venues. He is also a student of the Austrian mystic Thomas Hubl, and a member of the Ridwhan School founded by A.H. Almaas.   To learn more about Michael Robbins and his work, please visit: michaelrobbinstherapy.com   — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.  

Mars a.k.a. Michael Robbins is a legendary west coast Producer/DJ and pioneer of the cyber trance and Cali Tech electronic dance music genres. His Frequency 8 radio show is on Saturdays 10pm-12AM on 91.5 FM in Las Vegas and at f8radio.com please follow mars at http://www.djmars.com Topics: Zelenskyy stencil, Dog town origins, Ravers suck, Mars & Mystre, Music you would listen to going to mars, Plur coin, Mars is a hybrid, Mars' abduction, Frequency 8 & Electricity, Sutro Tower Incident, the God Pod, Mars' new track Welcome to Cali Tech.

On tonight's KRBD Evening Report:Ketchikan's school board names Southwest Alaska principal Michael Robbins as the community's next superintendent – plus, city officials warn of a scammer impersonating a utility worker.

In this vintage episode, Heidi and her father, Michael Robbins, deep dive into the planet Mercury.

Today's guest believes in the power of technology to solve the problems we face as a society and he has devoted his career to using technology to make purpose-driven learning count. For the last five years, Michael Robbins has led District of Learning, a technology-enabled ecosystem for 'any time, anywhere' learning in Washington DC, an initiative from the MacArthur Foundation. He also has experience as a senior advisor for the Obama administration, where Michael led work for the US Department of Education and the White House in community engagement and digital transformation in education. He has advised and collaborated with mayors, school superintendents, community organizers, nonprofit leaders, and corporate executives on a range of public initiatives. Today Michael joins us to explain how he believes that we can co-create solutions for our education crisis, transform learning with the power of data of ownership and technology, and come together to learn what we need for life in order to chart a better pathway for a digital society. To find out more about the decentralization of learning, how we can put power in the hands of individuals, and co-create a better future, tune in today!Key Points From This Episode:Thoughts on Arthur Clarke's third law and the gap between what's happening in tech and what people understand.Michael's background and his passion for the intersection between technology and education. Michael's belief in the power of technology to solve the problems we face as a society.The District of Learning project and its goal to decentralize learning and put power in the hands of individuals.The opportunities that lie in individual data ownership and especially learning data.The importance of thinking about different value models for how we generate income and value exchange, individually and collectively. Ownership rights of ancient cultures that could merge well with society and digital rights.Insight into ‘Solid technology' and ‘edge computing' to claim power individually.The concept of semi-autonomous decentralized application systems for native democracy and justice and establishing governance. How Learning Pathmakers is charting a path for a distributed learning ledger. What 501 (c)(6) corporation status is and why Learning Pathmakers is pursuing it.Michael's approach to decentralized education to make purpose-driven learning count all the time and everywhere.The need for a new generation of public-minded young people who are interested in inventing this next generation of digitally native governance. Tweetables:“For me, the height of innovative achievement isn't sending a billionaire into near space, it's using the ingenuity that we have, our technology, our people, our commitment, to solve the problems that face us a society.” — Michael Robbins [0:05:38]“Our schools have a lot of recovery to do but we also, in our educational approaches, have to prepare young people to be digital natives in a way that most people don't even understand where this is heading.” — Michael Robbins [0:25:10]Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:Michael Robbins on LinkedIn Learning PathmakersMacArthur Foundation Open Badges  Bahar AnsariBahar Ansari on LinkedInBahar Ansari on Instagram

NB: Next week, Alice Allan of the Poetry Says podcast will be joining me to discuss the 2016 Jim Jarmusch poetry movie Paterson, but not the insanely long William Carlos Williams poem of the same name. Watch it now to pre-empt spoilers!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– More Alice!– Good advice from Ocean Vuong– Michael Robbins' poem “Alien vs. Predator”– Michael Robbins' review of Postmodern American Poetry– Michael Robbins' essay on atheism– Michael Robbins' book Walkman– José Ortega y Gasset's book The Revolt of the Masses– Another smart email from Coleman– An interview with Melissa Lovada-Oliva– Helena Feder's interview with Stephen Dunn– “Sun Under Wood”– Sonnet 73– Sappho 31– Catullus 51– Claudia Rankine's book Citizen– Sam Riviere's essay “In Defense of Poetic Plagiarism”Please rate, review, and subscribe! Or just recommend the show to a friend!Send questions, comments, and suggestions to sleerickets@gmail.com. Music by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

On Voyager Mix Sessions this week, co-owner of Fierce Animal Recordings - Ryan Michael Robbins – takes over the show with a stand out performance recorded live within the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA. His showcase guest mix has been crafted to explore the mysterious boundaries of driving, melodic and peak-time techno whilst featuring his recently released track called “Lost Proverbs” as well as a few unreleased productions forthcoming on his label by emerging talent – ALLELES. Genre : Techno Sub-Genre : Driving / Melodic / Peak-Time ➤ Soundcloud : @ryanmichaelrobbins ➤ Instagram : instagram.com/ryanmichaelrobbins ➤ Facebook : facebook.com/ryanmichaelrobbins ➤ Twitter : twitter.com/ryan_m_robbins ➤ Website : www.ryanmichaelrobbins.com ➤ Beatport : beatport.com/artist/ryan-michael-robbins/512660 ➤ Spotify : open.spotify.com/artist/1xmsILg4EMNUiaXjx1N43k Ryan is not only label head and lead A&R of Fierce Animal Recordings – an imprint that hosts artists such as Carlo Ruetz, Cosmic Boys, Darian Jaburg, Drumcomplex, Greg Notill and many more. He's also a prolific DJ/producer and audio engineer with over 10 years experience within the international techno scene. His tracks are easily identifiable through effective use of dark and powerful synth lines coupled with atmospheric breaks and thunderous kicks - qualities numerous big name DJs look for when selecting tracks to raise the dance floor. His DJ performances seduce audiences and have spanned across the USA, including most of San Francisco's premier venues. Be sure to follow him across all social media platforms to find out more about his live performance schedule and future projects. If you enjoyed this week's guest mix, please consider supporting the show by commenting, liking and/or reposting. A new mix awaits you each and every Tuesday, so feel free to hit that follow button and be one of the first to hear the latest session. Tracklist: 01. Oliver Carloni - Containment Level Four | Unity Records

NB: Please don't actually write in demanding $100 as a reward for your lack of familiarity with the editorial standards of contemporary poetry journals. Just consider it an advance on the first 1~20 months of your future Patreon subscription.Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Making the Cut– Placebo poems– Maya Angelou's poem “Phenomenal Woman”– Housman's poem “Here dead lie we because we did not choose”– More Shashi Bhat!– Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage– Tertullian's condemnation of rock ‘n' roll– The entertainingly merciless review of Woodstock 99 on a recent episode of Struggle Session– The very bad definition of ‘corniness' on a recent episode of Very Bad Wizards– Plato's exclusion of TV and the internet from his ideal city– Tall, friendly men Jonathan Farmer and Ryan Wilson– A smart, critical email I got from Andrew Palmer about my treatment of Ben Lerner's poem “The Lights”– Andrew Palmer's novel The Bachelor– Me on Brian Platzer on me on him on the sublime– Smart and good poet/editor Armen Davoudian– Elizabeth Bishop's clairvoyant citation of Alan Shapiro's book That Self-Forgetful Perfectly Useless Concentration– Some encouragement to ignore all the dumb stuff I say, like, for example, “Pronunciation doesn't matter”– Michael Robbins' review of Postmodern American Poetry– Smart and good poet/editor Eric Smith– Eliot's essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent”– James Wright's poem “St. Judas”– Shane McCrae's poem “Jim Limber on Continuity in Heaven”Please rate, review, and subscribe! Or just recommend the show to a friend!Send questions, comments, and suggestions to sleerickets@gmail.com. Music by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

As a senior advisor in the Obama Administration, Michael Robbins led work for the U.S. Department of Education and the White House on community engagement and digital transformation in education. They have spent the last five years leading District of Learning, a technology-enabled ecosystem for anytime-anywhere learning in Washington, DC launched with the MacArthur Foundation and local partners. When the coronavirus pandemic began, Michael started building a global team of educators, social sector leaders, and technology experts to use everything we've learned to scale solutions to our education crisis and remake the future of learning. Michael and his co-founder, Cecily Darden Adams, have recently launched this new effort as Learning Pathmakers. In this episode, we cover: The role of technology in creating partnerships and building the people-side of the learning ecosystem The 4 technologies that will define the way that we interact in school, work, and life 7 steps on the pathway to the future of school Moving towards the creation of a connected learning eco-verse Bridging the gaps between people on all sides of education   SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/28

Did you know that Aquarius rules Hernias? Heidi didn't either until she talked with her astrologer father about the zodiac and health. If you haven't heard Michael Robbins before, you can tune into some of the earlier Radiance Project episodes. This is another installment of Heidi's talks with her father. This one was recorded in Finland! Big love.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2021 is: desiccate • DESS-ih-kayt • verb 1 : to dry up or become dried up 2 : to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate 3 : to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality Examples: "Horticultural oils work by smothering insect and mite pests/eggs, and in breaking down their protective coatings, causing them to desiccate (dry out)." — Bracken Henderson, The Preston (Idaho) Citizen, 28 Apr. 2021 "A title like 'pungent dins concentric' conjures minor Language poetry circa 1986, but Vanessa Couto Johnson's debut couldn't be less desiccated. Her strophic prose unfolds at a synaptic pace…." — Michael Robbins, The Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2018 Did you know? Raisins are desiccated grapes; they're also dehydrated grapes. And yet, a close look at the etymologies of desiccate and dehydrate raises a tangly question. In Latin siccus means "dry," whereas the Greek stem hydr- means "water." So how could it be that desiccate and dehydrate are synonyms? The answer is in the multiple identities of the prefix de-. It may look like the same prefix, but the de- in desiccate means "completely, thoroughly," as in despoil ("to spoil utterly") or denude ("to strip completely bare"). The de- in dehydrate, on the other hand, means "remove," the same as it does in defoliate ("to strip of leaves") or in deice ("to rid of ice").

Troy speaks with Michael Robbins and talks  about his jump into full time

What's trending in Peoria Unified? Graduation! For many students, graduation is a time of deep reflection of what they have accomplished and is filled with hope for what will be. This year has certainly been one like none other and I am so overjoyed to be sitting down with two Peoria Unified graduates as we discuss what the future holds, what shaped their time in high school and process through the impact the last four years has had on each of them. Joining us today we have Michael Robbins, the Student Body President from Sunrise Mountain, and Sylvia Lopez, who attends both Liberty High School and our MET Professional Academy.

What if we put the human experience at the center of EdTech? What if Augmented Reality is a better solution for education than Virtual Reality? What would it look like to decolonize education? Michael Robbins, a true EdTech visionary, addresses all of this and more on this episode of Ready Teacher One! Learn more about Michael and his wonderful work as co-founder of Learning Pathmakers by visiting https://www.learningpathmakers.org/ or by following these hashtags: #learningpathmakers #datadignity and #intospatia

We've known for a long time that the education system is broken. COVID has not only shined a light on this, but it's exposed every layer of the education system. Instead of trying to retrofit an old system into a dramatically new paradigm, it's time for some revolutionary thinking about how we educate and serve Black and brown children and their families and shift the narrative from graduation to liberation. Thank you to Cecily Darden Adams for thinking and living outside of the box with me. Check out Cecily's new non-profit, Learning Pathmakers, where she and her partner Michael Robbins are working to create a better future for learning and for students and families. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode of the Meaningful Learning podcast, I speak with Michael Robbins, who has a long history of being at the center of education reform and innovation. We had an enriching conversation about the future of education and the possibilities and hopes in front of us. In this episode we discuss:Learning led by interests, not standards How students win back their learning through credentialingThe power of technology to strengthen relationships not just deliver contentMichael also explains the wonderful and exciting projects he has in store. Join us for another episode of the Meaningful Learning podcast by Coconut Thinking. We hope you enjoy this episode and please let us have your thoughts and feedback. 

Today's special guest is Michael Robbins, a Licensed Psychotherapist, Qi Gong and Taoist meditation teacher, artist and poet based in Somerville, MA. Topics Covered: How Michael's childhood experiences influenced his interest in psychotherapy Comparing the practice and benefits of Qi Gong and yoga How psychotherapy is coming to embrace mindfulness and the mind-body connection Why Michael chooses to publish his artwork and poetry on his therapy website

Charles Skaggs & Jesse Jackson discuss “The Visitation”, the fourth serial from Doctor Who Season 19 in 1982, featuring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka, Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Michael Robbins as Richard Mace! Find us here:Twitter: @NextStopSMG, @CharlesSkaggs, @JesseJacksonDFW Instagram: @nextstopeverywherepodcast Facebook: Facebook.com/Nextstopeverywherepodcast Email: NextStopEverywhereSMG@gmail.com Listen and subscribe to us in Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!

01/19/20 Michael Robbins See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month's patron-sponsored story is "Bell House Invitation" by M. Christian, narrated by Michael Robbins. This is an excerpt from "Hard Drive: The Best Sci Fi Erotica of M. Christian" 

País Estados Unidos Dirección Blake Edwards Guion Blake Edwards (Idea: Hans Hoemburg. Remake: Reinhold Schünzel) Música Henry Mancini Fotografía Dick Bush Reparto Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, Peter Arne, John Rhys-Davies, Graham Stark, Herb Tanney, Michael Robbins, Norman Chancer, David Gant Sinopsis París, años treinta. Tras el fracaso de una audición en un cabaret, Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) camina hambrienta y desolada por las calles de la ciudad. Acuciada por el hambre, decide utilizar una estratagema para disfrutar de una suculenta comida sin tener que pagar. En el restaurante, conoce a Toddy (Robert Preston), un homosexual que no sólo le ofrece hospitalidad, sino que tiene la brillante idea de convertirla en Víctor, un travesti cuyo éxito será inmediato y espectacular. Pero la situación de Victoria se complica cuando King Marchan (James Garner), el dueño de una cadena de cabarets de Chicago, se siente irresistiblemente atraído por Víctor.

“When I realized that I couldn’t be an alligator my Dad had sort of introduced me to the idea of veterinary medicine through my great uncle” Our guest today is Dr. Mike Robbins. Dr. Robbins’ current role is as Scientific Communication Specialist with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. We had a blast getting to know Mike and how he arrived at this particular job. We learn about his residency in nutrition and what steps he took to get there. We cover everything from alligators to platypus to nutrition to cars and we cannot wait to share this journey with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

In 1855 a band of London thieves set their sights on a new target: the South Eastern Railway, which carried gold bullion to the English coast. The payoff could be enormous, but the heist would require meticulous planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the first great train robbery, one of the most audacious crimes of the 19th century. We'll also jump into the record books and puzzle over a changing citizen. Intro: British birdwatcher Chris Watson discovered Scottish starlings memorializing forgotten farm machinery. Can a psychotic patient's "sane" self consent to a procedure on his "insane" self? Sources for our feature on the great gold robbery of 1855: David C. Hanrahan, The First Great Train Robbery, 2011. Donald Thomas, The Victorian Underworld, 1998. Adrian Gray, Crime & Criminals of Victorian England, 2011. Jonathan Oates, Great Train Crimes: Murder & Robbery on the Railways, 2010. G.A. Sekon, The History of the South-Eastern Railway, 1895. David Morier Evans, Facts, Failures, and Frauds: Revelations, Financial, Mercantile, Criminal, 1859. Michael Robbins, "The Great South-Eastern Bullion Robbery," The Railway Magazine 101:649 (May 1955), 315–317. "The Story of a Great Bullion Robbery," Chambers's Journal 2:59 (Jan. 14, 1899), 109-112. "Law Intelligence," Railway Times 19:46 (Nov. 15, 1856), 1355. "Chronicle: January, 1857," Annual Register, 1857. "The Gold Dust Robbery," New York Times, Nov. 12, 1876. "Edward Agar: Deception: Forgery, 22nd October 1855," Proceedings of the Old Bailey (accessed July 19, 2019). Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Kiwi Campus" (accessed July 14, 2019). Carolyn Said, "Kiwibots Win Fans at UC Berkeley as They Deliver Fast Food at Slow Speeds," San Francisco Chronicle, May 26, 2019. Kalev Leetaru, "Today's Deep Learning Is Like Magic -- In All the Wrong Ways," Forbes, July 8, 2019. James Vincent, "The State of AI in 2019," The Verge, Jan. 28, 2019. Wikipedia, "Carl Lewis" (July 9, 2019). Wikipedia, "Wind Assistance" (accessed July 14, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Wayne Yuen. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

Start Woodworking Season 1 by Matt Berger, Asa Christiana https://www.finewoodworking.com/videoworkshop/2019/07/start-woodworking-season-1 Question 1:  From Dan: I recently built a pair of desks featured in issue #270. I built them mostly the way Michael Robbins did, however instead of using a domino to construct the top I used pocket screws. I don't own a domino, I opted for a hollow chisel mortiser, and  I thought it would be silly to use a hollow chisel mortise. How do you feel about pocket screws versus slip tenons made with a domino? Both tools make joining pieces of wood much simpler. One uses screws, the other uses wood and glue. One is under $100, and the other is over $1000. They are both faster and easier than traditional joinery. Am I wrong to think if I am not going to use traditional joinery pocket screws and domino slip tenons are interchangeable? I love my hollow-chisel mortiser, and if I'm gonna cheat on it, I’ll just use screws.  Biscuit Joinery Tips and Tricks Learn how to harness the full potential of your biscuit joiner in Part I of our two-part series By Asa Christiana Simple Cabinetry with Pocket Hole Joinery Low-cost jig produces basic cabinetry joinery that's easy and strong By Asa Christiana Question 2: From Chase: I was trying to edge-joint two 10-ft. long boards to make a wide shelf for our closet using a #7 handplane.  Typically, I clamp the boards together and plane the common glue edge until I get an even shaving across both.  I think that the length of the two boards meant there was some variation that the #7 didn't get. I can't imagine trying to joint these on a jointer, even if I had one.  How would you go about making this glue up work?   Jointing Boards for Dead-Flat Panel Glue-Ups Even if your jointer fence is out of square, this simple tip will ensure perfect edge joints By Michael Pekovich Segment: All-time favorite tool of all time… for this week Mike: An Exacto knife with a brand new blade Asa: Cordless Trim Routers Ben: James Mursell Travisher (@windsorworkshop) Build a Simple Stool Fast, fun approach to making a comfortable, casual seat By Fabian Fischer #256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue Question 3: From Chad, I was just listening to episode 190, and a listener asked about which big tool to buy next, a combo planer/jointer or a band saw. I've heard similar questions on the show before. I'm curious as to why you never mention the idea of investing in a makerspace, shared shop, or tool library?  There are a lot of great examples of makerspaces that give access to fully stocked wood and metal shops for a reasonable membership fee as well as not-for-profit tool libraries that are usually state funded just like normal libraries that allow for the borrowing of tools like books! For someone who's just getting started in woodworking getting access to a full woodshop for a membership fee that wouldn't be enough to buy a single quality power tool might be worth considering!  Maker Spaces: https://www.vocademy.com/ http://www.tinkermill.org/ https://www.thefoundrybuffalo.org/ Tool Libraries: https://www.neptl.org/ http://www.thetoollibrary.org/ Question 4: From David: I am planning to build some outdoor chairs out of mahogany, and was wondering what finish to apply. I would like something that I don't have to touch up every year.   Or, should leave them unfinished. How does mahogany age in the weather? Torture Test for Outdoor Finishes We sent five types around the country and found one favorite By Tom Begnal #205–May/June 2009 Issue  Recommendations:  Ben - YouTube Channel: arboristBlairGlenn Mike -  Asa's book - Handmade: A Hands On Guide Asa -  www.instructables.com Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to shoptalk@taunton.com for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.  

Start Woodworking Season 1 by Matt Berger, Asa Christiana https://www.finewoodworking.com/videoworkshop/2019/07/start-woodworking-season-1 Question 1:  From Dan: I recently built a pair of desks featured in issue #270. I built them mostly the way Michael Robbins did, however instead of using a domino to construct the top I used pocket screws. I don't own a domino, I opted for a hollow chisel mortiser, and  I thought it would be silly to use a hollow chisel mortise. How do you feel about pocket screws versus slip tenons made with a domino? Both tools make joining pieces of wood much simpler. One uses screws, the other uses wood and glue. One is under $100, and the other is over $1000. They are both faster and easier than traditional joinery. Am I wrong to think if I am not going to use traditional joinery pocket screws and domino slip tenons are interchangeable? I love my hollow-chisel mortiser, and if I'm gonna cheat on it, I’ll just use screws.  Biscuit Joinery Tips and Tricks Learn how to harness the full potential of your biscuit joiner in Part I of our two-part series By Asa Christiana Simple Cabinetry with Pocket Hole Joinery Low-cost jig produces basic cabinetry joinery that's easy and strong By Asa Christiana Question 2: From Chase: I was trying to edge-joint two 10-ft. long boards to make a wide shelf for our closet using a #7 handplane.  Typically, I clamp the boards together and plane the common glue edge until I get an even shaving across both.  I think that the length of the two boards meant there was some variation that the #7 didn't get. I can't imagine trying to joint these on a jointer, even if I had one.  How would you go about making this glue up work?   Jointing Boards for Dead-Flat Panel Glue-Ups Even if your jointer fence is out of square, this simple tip will ensure perfect edge joints By Michael Pekovich Segment: All-time favorite tool of all time… for this week Mike: An Exacto knife with a brand new blade Asa: Cordless Trim Routers Ben: James Mursell Travisher (@windsorworkshop) Build a Simple Stool Fast, fun approach to making a comfortable, casual seat By Fabian Fischer #256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue Question 3: From Chad, I was just listening to episode 190, and a listener asked about which big tool to buy next, a combo planer/jointer or a band saw. I've heard similar questions on the show before. I'm curious as to why you never mention the idea of investing in a makerspace, shared shop, or tool library?  There are a lot of great examples of makerspaces that give access to fully stocked wood and metal shops for a reasonable membership fee as well as not-for-profit tool libraries that are usually state funded just like normal libraries that allow for the borrowing of tools like books! For someone who's just getting started in woodworking getting access to a full woodshop for a membership fee that wouldn't be enough to buy a single quality power tool might be worth considering!  Maker Spaces: https://www.vocademy.com/ http://www.tinkermill.org/ https://www.thefoundrybuffalo.org/ Tool Libraries: https://www.neptl.org/ http://www.thetoollibrary.org/ Question 4: From David: I am planning to build some outdoor chairs out of mahogany, and was wondering what finish to apply. I would like something that I don't have to touch up every year.   Or, should leave them unfinished. How does mahogany age in the weather? Torture Test for Outdoor Finishes We sent five types around the country and found one favorite By Tom Begnal #205–May/June 2009 Issue  Recommendations:  Ben - YouTube Channel: arboristBlairGlenn Mike -  Asa's book - Handmade: A Hands On Guide Asa -  www.instructables.com Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to shoptalk@taunton.com for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.  

Ryan Michael Robbins is a techno music producer and mix/mastering engineer at Bruce Mac Vaughn's Dark Star Audio, and a recording artist on Fierce Animals record label. Special thanks to Pioneer for hooking us up with two of their new HRM-6 headphones. *NOTE* The HRM-6 headphones DO in fact fold in on themselves for transport- I was mistaken. They're actually such solid headphones I didn't realize they even folded. Special thanks to Pioneer for hooking us up with two of their new HRM-6 headphones. *NOTE* The HRM-6 headphones do in fact fold in on themselves for transport- I was mistaken. They're actually such solid headphones I didn't realize they even folded. https://soundcloud.com/ryanmichaelrobbinshttps://fierceanimals.com/https://darkstaraudio.com/ If you'd like an easy way to listen to new episodes and be notified of new episodes, follow us here:VEM Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/y37ur338VEM iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/y2vr7lvqVEM Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yddjof58VEM Soundcloud: https://tinyurl.com/y2yfs7o4VEM Stitcher: http://tinyurl.com/yy6cbaubVEM Podbean: https://scottbrio.podbean.com/Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/ScottBrio/ Halcyon, San Francisco: http://www.halcyon-sf.com/main/

Fozzie,Kermit,Malory Gallery,Michael Robbins,Miss Piggy

Fozzie,Kermit,Michael Robbins,Miss Piggy

Check out our newest video workshop, Enfield Cupboard with Hand Tools featuring Chris Gochnour and be sure to help us make our video workshops even better by filling out this quick survey. Question 1: From Dean: I have an enjoyable dilemma. I am building a garage with adjacent shop space at our north home.  The shop is 200 sq-ft, one third the size of my St. Paul shop, and thus creates a challenge adapting to a small space. I have been devouring all the FWW articles on small shops and believe I can make this space workable but I will have to make some concessions, mainly my tablesaw, jointer, and planer. Will I be satisfied and served by a portable, contractor-style table saw and a combination jointer-planer?   Portable Tablesaws by Patrick McCombe #209–Tools & Shops 2010 Issue Question 2: From Tanc: Is there a guideline for when stretchers are needed to strengthen a piece? I am looking to build an entryway table from oak that is 32-in. high, 60-in. long, 12-in. deep, with a  2 ½-in. apron and 2-in. legs that taper down to 1-in. I prefer simple designs, and would rather not have stretchers. Floating-Top Table by Michael Pekovich #263-Sep/Oct 2017 Issue Engineer Shelves With The Sagulator by Bill Kovalick #190–Mar/April 2007 Issue Brass Stretcher Brightens a Bench by Michael Robbins #267–Mar/Apr 2018 Issue Given a common inspiration, three furniture makers create a diversity of designs by Mark Schofield #184–May/June 2006 Issue Ben's mockup of Tanc's table with the given dimensions: Benside Table: Segment: Smooth Moves John: Not cleaning the lint off of a new floor finish applicator Anissa: Touching a friends piece of furniture while the finish was still wet Ben: Trusting a tool that should never have been trusted Question 3:   When I set up my workshop, I positioned the bench facing a south-facing window and installed fluorescents directly above the bench at about eight feet above the floor. If I have a board on edge, any markings on the side facing my body are difficult to see because that area is in shadow. I want to avoid using task lights wherever possible, as they just get in the way. I'm thinking that more overhead lighting is the answer.  Do you have any thoughts about where this should be positioned to minimize shadow areas when working at the bench? Let There Be Light by Nancy McCoy #209–Tools & Shops 2010 Issue Question 4: From David: I am baffled that some ash stock I milled a couple months ago is now nearly impossible to plane. I cut and milled the ash for a small box a while ago. It was wonderful to work with and easy to plane. I put the pieces aside to enjoy the far too short Minnesota summer. I kept it in the same place all my wood stock lives; my basement workshop. I was looking forward to getting back to work on the box. I decided to plane all the pieces again, assuming it wouldn’t be flat and square as it was months ago. I was dumbfounded that it was nearly impossible to plane. I used the exact same plane I used originally. I ended up resharpening the blade twice and adjusted it to take the finest possible shaving. Still it would stick and chatter across the board and leave tear out in the middle of smooth grain. To make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, I tried planing some oak and some twisty walnut. It performed beautifully. It was as though it had developed a skin of steel in the time since I first milled it. Any ideas about what/why this happened? Recommendations: Ben - PBS’s Craft in America episode–Visionaries Anissa - American violin maker–James Reynold Carlisle Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to shoptalk@taunton.com for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.

Check out our newest video workshop, Enfield Cupboard with Hand Tools featuring Chris Gochnour and be sure to help us make our video workshops even better by filling out this quick survey. Question 1: From Dean: I have an enjoyable dilemma. I am building a garage with adjacent shop space at our north home.  The shop is 200 sq-ft, one third the size of my St. Paul shop, and thus creates a challenge adapting to a small space. I have been devouring all the FWW articles on small shops and believe I can make this space workable but I will have to make some concessions, mainly my tablesaw, jointer, and planer. Will I be satisfied and served by a portable, contractor-style table saw and a combination jointer-planer?   Portable Tablesaws by Patrick McCombe #209–Tools & Shops 2010 Issue Question 2: From Tanc: Is there a guideline for when stretchers are needed to strengthen a piece? I am looking to build an entryway table from oak that is 32-in. high, 60-in. long, 12-in. deep, with a  2 ½-in. apron and 2-in. legs that taper down to 1-in. I prefer simple designs, and would rather not have stretchers. Floating-Top Table by Michael Pekovich #263-Sep/Oct 2017 Issue Engineer Shelves With The Sagulator by Bill Kovalick #190–Mar/April 2007 Issue Brass Stretcher Brightens a Bench by Michael Robbins #267–Mar/Apr 2018 Issue Given a common inspiration, three furniture makers create a diversity of designs by Mark Schofield #184–May/June 2006 Issue Ben's mockup of Tanc's table with the given dimensions: Benside Table: Segment: Smooth Moves John: Not cleaning the lint off of a new floor finish applicator Anissa: Touching a friends piece of furniture while the finish was still wet Ben: Trusting a tool that should never have been trusted Question 3:   When I set up my workshop, I positioned the bench facing a south-facing window and installed fluorescents directly above the bench at about eight feet above the floor. If I have a board on edge, any markings on the side facing my body are difficult to see because that area is in shadow. I want to avoid using task lights wherever possible, as they just get in the way. I'm thinking that more overhead lighting is the answer.  Do you have any thoughts about where this should be positioned to minimize shadow areas when working at the bench? Let There Be Light by Nancy McCoy #209–Tools & Shops 2010 Issue Question 4: From David: I am baffled that some ash stock I milled a couple months ago is now nearly impossible to plane. I cut and milled the ash for a small box a while ago. It was wonderful to work with and easy to plane. I put the pieces aside to enjoy the far too short Minnesota summer. I kept it in the same place all my wood stock lives; my basement workshop. I was looking forward to getting back to work on the box. I decided to plane all the pieces again, assuming it wouldn’t be flat and square as it was months ago. I was dumbfounded that it was nearly impossible to plane. I used the exact same plane I used originally. I ended up resharpening the blade twice and adjusted it to take the finest possible shaving. Still it would stick and chatter across the board and leave tear out in the middle of smooth grain. To make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, I tried planing some oak and some twisty walnut. It performed beautifully. It was as though it had developed a skin of steel in the time since I first milled it. Any ideas about what/why this happened? Recommendations: Ben - PBS’s Craft in America episode–Visionaries Anissa - American violin maker–James Reynold Carlisle Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to shoptalk@taunton.com for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.

The Techno and its inspirations. @ryanmichaelrobbins Ryan Michael Robbins, natural de São Francisco (Califórnia - EUA) , Dj/Produtor Musical, sua linha varia do techno minimalista e dark tech, com várias faixas no top 100 da beatport. Ele equilibra seu tempo entre gravações na Fierce Animals, onde ele é o co-proprietário / líder A&R da Dark Star Audio, como gerente de projetos e engenheiro de áudio. Sua motivação e sucesso contínuo são impulsionados pelo lançamento de músicas de ponta e pela conquista de novos artistas a empresa de áudio.

This week's podcast featuring Ryan Michael Robbins! We talk about how we met, and what he's been up to with his Techno music and working at Dark Star Audio (mastering) and Fierce Animals Records. Some particularly interesting topics:- @15:00 What you should do when submitting demos to labels- @19:30 Artist development- @28:00 10,000 rule to becoming a pro- @39:00 The hundreds of sub-genres within Electronic Music- @46:30 Making songs with foley samples- @58:00 The origin of Jingletown, Oakland- @1:03:00 Making a living with sites like AudioJungle- @1:06:00 Blockchain and crypto-currency- @1:17:00 Pressing music to vinyl and the future of vinyl in electronic music Ryan Michael Robbins social:Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ryanmichaelrobbinsDark Star Audio (mastering) : http://darkstaraudio.com/mastering/Fierce Animals Records: https://fierceanimals.com/ If you'd like an easy way to listen to new episodes and be notified of new episodes, follow us here:VEM Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yddjof58VEM Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/scottbrio/sets/voice-of-electronic-musicVEM Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-brio/voice-of-electronic-music-vemVEM Podbean: https://scottbrio.podbean.com/Instagram Live: https://www.instagram.com/scottbrio/ Halcyon, San Francisco: http://www.halcyon-sf.com/main/

Show notes: http://bit.ly/2JzIJZb Chris Becksvoort, the dovetail master at work by Christian Becksvoort, Ben Strano #264-Nov/Dec 2017 Issue - http://bit.ly/2M5heMI Architectural Wall Cabinet by Nancy R. Hiller #270–Sep/Oct 2018 Issue -http://bit.ly/2LWq1QU An Elegant, Contemporary DeskAn Elegant, Contemporary Desk by Michael Robbins #270–Sep/Oct 2018 Issue -http://bit.ly/2M0LmII Scaling Furniture from Photos by Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez #170–May/June 2004 Issue - http://bit.ly/2LWtKhk Resize. Don’t Redraw. – Dave Richards totally changes the scale of a piece in an efficient manner by David Richards - http://bit.ly/2vfRWlg  

Show notes: http://bit.ly/2JzIJZb Chris Becksvoort, the dovetail master at work by Christian Becksvoort, Ben Strano #264-Nov/Dec 2017 Issue - http://bit.ly/2M5heMI Architectural Wall Cabinet by Nancy R. Hiller #270–Sep/Oct 2018 Issue -http://bit.ly/2LWq1QU An Elegant, Contemporary DeskAn Elegant, Contemporary Desk by Michael Robbins #270–Sep/Oct 2018 Issue -http://bit.ly/2M0LmII Scaling Furniture from Photos by Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez #170–May/June 2004 Issue - http://bit.ly/2LWtKhk Resize. Don’t Redraw. – Dave Richards totally changes the scale of a piece in an efficient manner by David Richards - http://bit.ly/2vfRWlg  

Michael and Tuija Robbins, Karin and Heidi discuss Saturn in the signs.

Heidi's dad, Michael Robbins continues his take on each of the signs. Part two covers Libra through Pisces.

Heidi's dad, Michael Robbins, returns to The Radiance Project to give his take on each of the signs. Part one covers Aries through Virgo.

Highlights Financing WWI - Reaching for the stars | 01:55 The 369th hits the front lines | 08:30 The British Struggle continues - Mike Shuster | 10:40 The Yankee Division learns at seicheprey - Dr. Edward Lengel | 15:10 A century In the Making - The maquettes get busy | 21:00 “Lest We forget: The Great War” - Kenneth Clarke & Michael Robbins | 25:05 How to teach about WWI - Dr. Ian Isherwood | 32:30 Speaking WWI - Pilates | 38:25 100 Cities / 100 Memorial in Jackson, TN - Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls | 40:25 WWI War Tech - Carrel-Dakin Antiseptic | 45:55 The Weekly Dispatch Newsletter overview | 47:50 The Centennial In Social Media - Katherine Akey | 50:25----more---- Opening Welcome to World War 1 centennial News - episode #67 - It’s about WW1 THEN - what was happening 100 years ago this week  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration. This week our guests include: Mike Shuster, from the great war project blog updates us on what the UK Forces are up against both on the front and in recruitment Dr. Edward Lengel with the story of the US Yankee Division as they enter serious battle. Kenneth Clarke and Michael Robbins introduce a pictorial book, a perfect souvenir of the centennial from the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the US WW1 Centennial Commission -  Lest We Forget: The Great War Dr. Ian Isherwood shares his experience in creating a WW1 educational programme structured around a soldier’s letters Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls, the project instigator for  the 100 Cities/100 Memorials project from Jackson, Tennessee and the local research the project spawned Katherine Akey keeps us in Tennessee with a social media post about a great commemoration event. All this and more... on WW1 Centennial News -- a weekly podcast brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Starr foundation. I’m Theo Mayer - the Chief Technologist for the Commission and your host. Welcome to the show. [MUSIC] Preface Just one year after the declaration of war, 100 years ago, it is time for the third Liberty Loan drive to raise money to pay for the war effort. Let me put the Liberty Loan drive into perspective for you. In early 20th century thinking, Woodrow Wilson’s government was completely clear that the war would be financed by money raised specifically for it. And a majority of that money was to come from the American People - ordinary citizens. By contrast, today in our late 20th /early  21st century, money for our wars and military expenditures are financed from a big boiling cauldron called the national debt. Today the average American Citizen feel little or no real connection with or responsibility for our military expenditures.    Not so in 1917 and 1918. In those two years, during four Bond drives, twenty million individuals purchase Liberty War bonds. 20 million investors is pretty impressive given that there were only twenty-four million households in America at the time. More than 17 billion dollars are raised. In addition, taxes are collected to the sum of 8.8 billion dollars… in short, $26 billion dollars is gathered to finance the fight in WWI. Now that’s in 1918 dollars. Today that equates to nearly ½ a TRILLION dollars raised in bonds, largely from citizen, specifically for a purpose. With that as background, let’s jump into our centennial time machine a take a look at the national fundraising effort and a whole lot more 100 years ago this week in the war that changed the world. World War One THEN 100 Year Ago This Week On April 6th 1918 - President Wilson makes a speech to launch the third Liberty Bond Campaign. Here is his declaration as reported in the pages of the Official Bulletin - The government’s war Gazette published by Wilson’s propaganda chief George Creel. [SOUND EFFECT] Dateline: SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1918 The headline Reads: The President delivered the following address at Baltimore to-night on the occasion of the opening of the Third Liberty Loan Campaign: “Fellow Citizens: This is the anniversary of our acceptance of Germany's challenge to fight for our right to live and be free, and for the sacred rights of free men everywhere. The Nation is awake. There is no need to call to it. We know what the war must cost, our utmost sacrifice, the lives of our fittest men and, if need be, all that we possess. The loan we are met to discuss is one of the least parts of what we are called upon to give and to do, though in itself imperative. The people of the whole country are alive to the necessity of it, and are ready to lend to the utmost, even where it involves a sharp skimping and daily sacrifice to lend out of meagre earnings. They will look with reprobation and contempt upon those who can and will not, upon those who demand a higher rate of interest, upon those who think of it as a mere com-. mercial transaction. I have not come, therefore, to urge the loan. I have come only to give you, if I can, a more vivid conception of what it is for.” The president goes on to explain the situation on the ground in europe and the dire need for America as a nation to take a stand, take a lead and defend all that the nation holds dear. And so kicks off the third Liberty bond campaign. A few days later the Official Bulletin reports on the Cabinet’s Liberty Bond appeal Dateline: TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1918 The Headline reads: CABINET MEMBERS APPEAL TO ALL TRUE AMERICANS TO SUPPORT WITH THEIR DOLLARS OUR GALLANT FIGHTERS IN THE FIELD; BUY LIBERTY BONDS, THEY ASK, IN PROOF OF YOUR PATRIOTISM The article goes on with a number of cabinet members presenting their appeal of the importance and patriotic imperative for buying bond.. But my favorite part comes at the end of the full page article with a subheadline of: [SOUND EFFECT] WHAT LIBERTY BONDS WILL BUY. The article reads: Eighteen thousand dollars invested- in Liberty bonds will equip an infantry battalion with rifles. Fifty thousand dollars will construct a base hospital with 500 beds, or equip an infantry brigade with pistols. One hundred thousand dollars will buy five combat airplanes, or pistols, rifles. and half a million rounds of ammunition for an infantry regiment. Just like today - contributors to a cause want to know exactly what their contribution is buying! These guys know exactly what they are are doing! In another smart move, presumably pulled off by George Creel - the campaign cleverly recruits four of the most popular movie stars of the day and puts them on the road to help raise money. The headline reads: LIBERTY LOAN SPEAKING TOURS FOR FOUR MOTION PICTURE STARS And the story opens with: Today we are announcing The itineraries of Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Marguerite Clark for their speaking tours during the forthcoming Liberty loan campaign! And the article continues with the schedule of appearances by the stars. Then on Saturday April 13th 1918, just one week after launching the campaign, the headline in the official bulletin reads TOTAL SALES OF LIBERTY BONDS AS REPORTED TO THE TREASURY, PASS THE HALF BILLION MARK AS SCORES OF TOWNS EXCEED QUOTAS It’s a big week on the home front - raising money 100 years ago, for America’s participation in a war that changed  the world! Links: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/liberty_bonds http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/places/official-bulletin/2381-ww1-official-bulletin-volume-1-issue-4-may-14-1917.html http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/places/official-bulletin/2497-ww1-official-bulletin-volume-1-issue-31-june-15-1917.html https://muse.jhu.edu/article/639845 http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/places/official-bulletin/2850-ww1-official-bulletin-volume-1-issue-121-october-1-1917.html https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/04/102979322.pdf Liberty Loan articles from Times: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/04/102979322.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/04/102979339.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/05/102687136.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/06/102687648.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/12/98261150.pdf Americans needed by allies as action on front continues. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/02/102685967.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/08/317376142.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/10/102690083.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/12/98261154.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/01/102685527.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/02/102685966.pdf https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/03/102686544.pdf And it is also a very big week on the fighting front! Here is a story that is not covered in the government press - and doesn’t really pop up in the popular press either - But 100 years ago this week, The 369th US Infantry Regiment goes to the front lines to fight --- but with the French! - on April 8th 1918 the 369th is amalgamated into French Army. But wait a minute….. - Didn’t General Pershing insist on keeping the American Expeditionary Forces together as a distinct American fighting force.   Well yea - he did - but Pershing’s insistence on keeping all American forces together didn’t extend to the black troops in the segregated US Army.   Among them were the 15th New York National Guard Regiment, redesignated the 369th Infantry Regiment but better known as the Harlem Rattler or the Harlem Hellfighters.   Now Pershing presumably didn’t have any problems with black soldiers per se, but the question of how to use black troops in the front lines, where they’d have to rely on the full cooperation of white units on either side, was really gnarly. The online blog “today in World War 1,  posted a quote from Hamilton Fish - a New Yorker, who served as one of the regiment’s white officers: Quote: The French were crying out for U.S. regiments to go into the French Army.  So I guess Pershing figured he could kill two birds with one stone–solve the problem on what to do with us and give something to Foch.  From then on we spent our entire service in the French Army. Oh officially we were still the 369th U.S. Infantry, but to all intent and purposes we were francais. The post goes on with a quote from Noble Sissle, who served in the regiment’s famous band: We were fully equipped with French rifles and French helmets.  Our wagons, our rations, our machine guns and everything pertaining to the equipment of the regiment for trench warfare was supplied by the French Army. The 369th went on to serve with great distinction spending more time on the front line that any other US forces… with a fierceness and bravery that never gave ground to the enemy. A proud combat service started 100 years ago this week, in the war the changed the world... http://today-in-wwi.tumblr.com/post/172746986523/369th-us-infantry-regiment-begins-front-line [MUSIC TRANSITION] Great War Project Continuing to explore the story on the front, we are going to go to Mike Shuster former NPR correspondent and curator for the Great War project Blog…. Mike: Your post this week speaks to what can only be thought of as moment of total desperation for the British lines… It has just been exactly two years since they brutally put down Ireland’s Easter Uprising - Now they are trying to conscript them - They are not having much luck drafting more Canadian either - General Haig puts out his out his inspirational “Backs To The Wall” Order - and at this very moment of do or die - Well… you story this week closes on a note of hope. Fill it in for us Mike… [Mike Shuster] Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blog. LINK: http://greatwarproject.org/2018/04/08/allies-face-resistance-in-own-ranks/ [SOUND EFFECT] America Emerges: Military Stories from WW1 And one last story from the front for our segment -  America Emerges: Military Stories from WWI with Dr. Edward Lengel. As Mike indicated, this is the time when the American infantry does arrive on the front… The boys are fresh, healthy and eager when compared to their battle weary allies. They’re also green. The Germans want to -- Maybe they NEED TO discredit them. The school of combat is now is session for the Americans. And the lessons begin 100 years ago this week in Seicheprey - lessons for all sides. And Ed is here to tell you the story: [Ed Lengel] [MUSIC TRANSITION] Dr. Edward Lengel is an American military historian, author, and our segment host for America Emerges: Military Stories from WWI. There are links in the podcast notes to Ed’s post and his web sites as an author.   Links:http://www.edwardlengel.com/combat-seicheprey-yankee-division-100-years-ago/ https://www.facebook.com/EdwardLengelAuthor/ http://www.edwardlengel.com/about/ The Great War Channel For videos about WWI 100 years ago this week, check out our friends at  the Great War Channel on Youtube. New episodes this week include: Operation Michael Runs out of Breath France before WW1 -- La belle epoque? See their videos by searching for “the great war” on youtube or following the link in the podcast notes! Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar World War One NOW Alright  - It is time to fast forward into the present with WW1 Centennial News NOW - [SOUND EFFECT] This part of the podcast focuses on NOW and how we are commemorating the centennial of WWI! A Century in the Making The Maquette and it’s Travels We have an update for our segment: A century in the making - America’s WW1 Memorial in Washington DC. As our regular listeners know, we are building a national WWI Memorial at Pershing Park in the nation’s capital. It’s a big project. And It’s been a long time coming. We spoke with sculptor Sabin Howard back in episodes #54 and #55 about a new process. Sabin combined advanced 3D printing technology at the WETA Workshop in New Zealand with traditional classic sculpture techniques to create a 10’ miniature draft the sculptural centerpiece for the memorial. The result is called a maquette. We made two of them to show America and to help us raise money for this strictly publicly funded memorial. One maquette was on display at the Visitor's Center in the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall, in downtown Nashville --- right in front of the state capital. It was quite a hit at the Tennessee Great War Commission's event this last Saturday, where it was featured as part of the presentation from Terry Hamby - the WW1 Centennial Commission Chairman. Both Maquettes are being prepped for a busy schedule of showings at special events and fundraisers around the country. We will keep you updated as the schedule evolves… Katherine - You went to a fundraiser on wednesday and got your first look at the sculpture that is called “A soldier’s Journey” - what was your first reaction? [Katherine’s reaction to seeing the Maquette] Learn more about the memorial and follow the incredible journey of a project that has been a century in the making - Go to ww1cc.org/memorial or follow the link in the podcast notes Link:http://ww1cc.org/memorial Remembering Veterans Lest We Forget: Book and Exhibition And while we are speaking about the Memorial - we have a brand new way for you to help build America’s WWI Memorial in Washington DC and at the same time, get yourself a very special, colorful, inspiring and lasting souvenir of the centennial! This week marks the release of a new visual pictorial table book called  “Lest We Forget: The Great War” - The book is dedicated to the centennial and produced by The Pritzker Military Museum and Library along with the WW1 Centennial commission - When you get this visual remembrance  - a full ½ of the proceeds go building the Memorial! With us to tell us more about “Lest We Forget” which also has a companion exhibit in Chicago at the Pritzker - are Kenneth Clarke, Former President and CEO of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, and Michael Robbins, historian. Ken was the executive and creative director for the book and exhibition and Michael was writer for the text. Welcome, Gentlemen! [greetings/welcome] [Ken, can you give us an overview of the project and the concept?] [Insert questions if it fits] Ken there are nearly 350 images in this book -- how did you select them?] [Michael -- you were the writer on the project - What story are you telling and how do the words and the pictures interact?] [Ken -- Sir Hugh Strachan (STRAWN) - who has been on the show - did an introduction for the book. What was his emphasis?] [Ken -- In closing - Who is this book for?] The book is available in bookstores nationwide, but the easiest place to get it is in the commission’s Merchandise shop. Look under Commemorate at ww1cc.org and we have link to the commission's shop in the podcast notes .. Thank  you both for coming on the podcast and introducing us to this beautiful “must get” souvenir of the Centennial! [goodbyes/thank you] Kenneth Clarke and Michael Robbins the creative director and writer for the Lest We Forget: The Great War - available through the links in the podcast notes. Link: https://shop.worldwar1centennial.org/merchandise-gifts-awards?product_id=188 https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/store/pmml-merchandise/lest-we-forget-michael-robbins/ https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/whats_on/video-rucksack/lest-we-forget-exhibit-opening-remarks/ Education Teaching WWI - A great approach Now for our Education segment -- A story of a teacher and his approach to teaching WWI! Collections of soldier’s letters and diaries from the war continue to be discovered and rediscovered one hundred years after they were first written. As we have learned from a number of museum curators, they offer an amazing opportunity to help understand this event in history as they bring in  a first person point of view. Today, we’re joined by Dr. Ian Isherwood, Visiting Assistant Professor at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania who is doing exactly that. Welcome, Dr. Isherwood! [greetings/welcome] [Dr. Isherwood-- you’ve been using Wartime letters from Lieutenant Colonel Jack Peirs, a British Soldier as the foundation for teaching history to your students. For context, can you tell us briefly about the soldier, and how you came across his letters?] [Did you build up a following? ] [At the commission we are really interested in the techniques for teaching this subject - What advice do you have for others who may want to undertake an educational programme like this?] [Would this work for younger student educators?] [we've found that the first person POV gives you insight you cant get from just plain facts... do you find that to be true?] [You’re also personally working on a new, upcoming book -- can you tell us a little about it?] [goodbyes/thank you] Dr. Ian Isherwood is a Visiting Assistant Professor and the Chairperson of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We put links for his Jack Peirs website and twitter accounts in the podcast notes. links:http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/history/research/jackpiers.dot https://twitter.com/jackpeirs http://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=ghj http://jackpeirs.org/ https://www.instagram.com/jackpeirs/?hl=en Speaking WW1 Now let’s head into our weekly feature “Speaking World War 1” -- Where we explore the words & phrases that are rooted in the war  --- It’s a health fad with real benefits, a gym class pretty much anyone can benefit from -- It’s very popular -- It’s very Hep -- and I’ll bet you had no idea it was from WWI - No.. not Zoomba   Nope… Not kickboxing... Uh uh definitely NOT P90X… It’s our Speaking WWI word this week - Pilates! Pilates is named for its inventor, Joseph Hubertus Pilates, who created it in Great Britain during WW1. Pilates, Interestingly was born a German citizen. He was a frail and sickly child who took to exercise for both his health and self-defense against bullies. He eventually grew into an accomplished boxer and martial artist, and traveled to England in 1912 to find work, picking up a job as a circus performer. When the war broke out, he was arrested as an enemy alien and interned on the Isle of Man. It was there that he came up with his method of mental and physical exertion, which he called “Contrology”, as a way to encourage his fellow inmates to stay healthy. Many prisoners were bedridden, and so Pilates invented a makeshift resistance-training machine out of springs and straps taken from the beds and attached to the foot and headboards. This use of resistance loads would later become a staple of the Pilates method. After the end of the war, Pilates emigrated to the US and settled in New York, where he and his wife, Clara, founded the first Body Contrology Studio in 1925. And of course that was the foundation for the trendy “new” exercise method -- known far and wide as Pilates. Pilates -- created by a German citizen prisoner in wartime -- and this week’s word for speaking WW1. Links:http://online.wsj.com/ww1/pilates [SOUND EFFECT] 100 Cities 100 Memorials World War I Memorial Fountain - Jackson, TN This week for our 100 Cities / 100 Memorials segment ---  the $200,000 matching grant challenge to rescue and focus on our local WWI memorials --- It looks like this is Tennessee week - because We  are going to profile the World War I Memorial Fountain project from Madison County in Jackson, Tennessee. With us tell us about the project is Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls, the Tom Elam Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Tennessee at Martin, and member of the Tennessee Great War Commission.   Welcome Dr. Carls! [greetings] [Dr. Carls - your WWI Memorial honors both the women on the homefront in Tennessee and the men on the fighting front in France. That’s a really interesting approach… could you tell us more about that?] [It is very unique for a WWI memorial to honor both the homefront and the warefront. [Your project has a large research and community historical society component to it could you tell us about that?] [Have you been promoting the project locally? What has the community response been?] [MAYBE QUESTION: The memorial was designed as a fountain - but has been dry for a long time - I know in your grant application you hadn’t yet decided if you were going to get the fountain replumed - I have worked with water features before - It’s very tricky. Where is that idea at now?] [Are you planning a rededication this year?] Dr. Carls - thank you for leading this project on behalf of your community and on behalf of the men and women of your county who served both here and abroad in WWI [goodbyes/thank you] Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls, Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, and a member of the Tennessee Great War Commission. Learn more about the 100 Cities/100 Memorials program and about West Tennessee in WW1 by following the links in the podcast notes or by going to ww1cc.org/100Memorials Link: www.ww1cc.org/100cities http://www.utm.edu/worldwars/ [SOUND EFFECT] WW1 War Tech Carrel-Dakin Method This week for WW1 War Tech -- another technology that saved lives instead of taking them. In the early months of the war, amputations for wounded soldiers were at the same high levels as those of the civil war. In other words - very high! But by late 1915 that rate dropped dramatically! So, what happened? Well… That year, a French physician, Théodore Tuffier, testified to the Academy of Medicine that 70% of amputations weren’t because of the initial injury, but because of a later infection. As we have mentioned on the podcast before the mud-filled and deeply unsanitary conditions of trench warfare were a happy home for the bacteria that cause Gangrene. The antiseptics of the 19th century were inadequate. But two men: French doctor Alexis Carrel and British biochemist Henry Dakin came together under the cloud of war to combine their two discoveries to create one very effective method of disinfecting wounds. Dakin created a solution of sodium hypochlorite that managed to kill any bacteria in a wound, but didn’t damage the flesh surrounding it. Meanwhile Dr. Carrel developed a strategy of opening and thoroughly draining wounds. Put together, the Carrel-Dakin method proved the most effective antiseptic treatment to that date, and the procedure quickly spread into use all across Europe, saving an untold number of limbs from amputation. The Carrel-Dakin method-- an incredible leap forward in the treatment of field wounds -- and the subject of this week’s WW1 War Tech. We have put links in the podcast notes to learn more including a link to the commission’s website on medicine in WWI at ww1cc.org/medicine Link:  https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/world-war-i-medicine/517656/       https://www.rtbf.be/ww1/topics/detail_the-carrel-dakin-method?id=8356084 http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/injuries-in-world-war-i.html Articles and Posts For Articles and posts -- we are going to continue with the idea we launched last week of highlighting the features of the weekly dispatch newsletter.  So here we go. [DING] Final fifty “WWI Centennial Memorials” announced in wrap-up of competition phase of 100 Cities / 100 Memorials Also learn about -- the Memorial Hunters Club, a crowd-sourced effort to create a comprehensive national register of WWI memorials. [DING] "The film needed really really brilliant nuanced, convincing performances" The interview from this podcast with director Saul Dibb, about the motion picture a Journey’s End - now in wide release -  has been turned into a print article on the website. [DING] "It was a sad but poignant tale." Two lifelong friends, Now octogenarians , have produced a documentary film about one of their uncle’s service in WW. [DING] Pennsylvania oil and World War I Remember how important coal was during WW1? Supplement that knowledge by reading about the role of Pennsylvania Oil during the war. [DING] 'Over Here' in Michigan, High School Athletes Gave to World War I Effort Michigan’s high school athletes helped fill the labor shortage created as millions of men shipped overseas. [DING] Break of Day - Poet Isaac Rosenberg The WWrite blog  features the WWI poetry of British soldier, Isaac Rosenberg, who died on Easter Sunday, 1918 - and who was also mentioned by Mike Shuster in last week’s podcast. [DING] The story of Donald Chapman This week’s featured Story of Service submitted by his grand niece Tish Wells [DING] Official WWI Centennial Merchandise Finally, this week’s selection from our Official on line Centennial Merchandise store - an authentic classic green US Army woolen blanket from woolrich inc. the oldest continuously operating woolen mill in the US and suppliers of army blankets 100 years ago. Sign up for the Weekly Dispatch newsletter at ww1cc.org/subscribe check the archive at ww1cc.org/dispatch or follow the link in the podcast notes. Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/2015-12-28-18-26-00/subscribe.html http://www.ww1cc.org/dispatch The Buzz And that brings us to the buzz - the centennial of WW1 this week in social media with Katherine Akey - Katherine, what did you pick? Tennessee Living History and WW1 Literature Hi Theo -- As we commemorate 101 years since joining the First World War -- incredible events are beginning to take place across the country to remember those who served. Over the last weekend, Tennessee held a massive living history event in Nashville -- the very event that the Maquette recently appeared at! The Tennessee State Park System hosted the event, which included reproduction trenches, encampments and field kitchens, WW1 era aircraft and many reenactors -- including Suffragettes and Salvation Army doughnut lassies handing out freshly made treats. There was also a large group of reenactors representing the African American troops of Tennessee -- wearing the iconic French Adrian Helmet that was distributed to the troops amalgamated with French units -- and the whole weekend event was capped off with a period baseball game. We shared an article as well as an album of photos from the event on Facebook this week -- you can find links to those in the podcast notes. Lastly for the week -- we shared an article that instigated some spirited debate on our facebook page: a list of what the author considers 13 essential books on the American Expeditionary Forces. The list is a great starting place for anyone wanting to delve deeper into this chapter in American history -- but be sure to check the link to the facebook post to see all the recommendations made by our community -- there were many! That’s it for this week in the Buzz. Link:https://ebonydoughboys.org/ https://www.facebook.com/pg/tennesseephotographs/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2123040067916331 https://www.newschannel5.com/news/wwi-soldiers-honored-in-100th-anniversary-event https://taskandpurpose.com/american-expeditionary-force-books/ https://www.facebook.com/ww1centennial/posts/956863547822277   Outro And that is the second week of April for WW1 Centennial News. Thank you for listening. We also want to thank our guests... Mike Shuster, Curator for the great war project blog Dr. Edward Lengel, Military historian and author Ken Clarke -- and Michael Robbins creative director and writer for the new souvenir of the Centennial book - Lest we Forget Dr. Ian Isherwood, historian and WWI educator Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls, WWI Researcher and member of the Tennessee Great War Commission Katherine Akey, WWI Photography specialist and the line producer for the podcast Many thanks to the newest member of our team - Mac Nelsen our intrepid sound editor--- a shout out to our intern John Morreale for his  great research assistance... And I am Theo Mayer - your host. The US World War One Centennial Commission was created by Congress to honor, commemorate and educate about WW1. Our programs are to-- inspire a national conversation and awareness about WW1; Including this podcast! We are bringing the lessons of the 100 years ago into today's classrooms; We are helping to restore WW1 memorials in communities of all sizes across our country; and of course we are building America’s National WW1 Memorial in Washington DC. We want to thank commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library as well as the Starr foundation for their support. The podcast can be found on our website at ww1cc.org/cn   Or search WW1 Centennial News on  iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn, Podbean, Stitcher - Radio on Demand, Spotify or using your smart speaker.. Just say “Play W W One Centennial News Podcast”. Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial. Thank you for joining us. And don’t forget to share the stories you are hearing here today about the war that changed the world! [music] Welcome to Beverly Hills Pilates - The newest trend in sophisticated exercise! NO it’s not --- It’s from WW1 So long!

Lest We Forget with Michael Robbins

Lest We Forget with Michael Robbins

“For nearly 40 years Armantrout has made a poetics of not finding the right words–of finding, in fact, the ‘wrong’ ones . . . Armantrout restores the strangeness of experiences we take for granted.”—Michael Robbins, Chicago Tribune “Hoopskirts, star jasmine, synchronized swimming, Russian icons, a ceramic fish face, electrons & photons: in these poems, everything […] The post Rae Armantrout : Partly – New & Selected Poems appeared first on Tin House.

Michael Robbins is the founder of Span Learning and previously led education partnerships for the White House and Department of Education. He started his career on the developing team for the original AmeriCorps program. He has a lifelong passion for connecting technology and innovation that began when he developed a Dungeons & Dragons software program as a child. Today, he has a much smarter and better looking son who also loves technology and D&D. Michael spent some time as Dave’s boss at The SEED Foundation. He stopped by the booth and together, over a nice red, they discussed partnerships, the time commitment behind fundseeking, value propositions and a host of other topics related to the unfunded. Unfunded List’s Wine Grants Podcast gathers philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and changemakers of all stripes. Hosted by Dave Moss, who started Unfunded List in 2015 to help make sure that the next generation of changemakers get the feedback and recognition they need to be successful. Our mission is to demystify and open the door to private philanthropy for the general public while providing a platform for our guests to discuss their life’s work. Unfunded List reviews funding proposals twice annually from small and mid-size nonprofits and social impact startups. The 200+ philanthropy experts on our evaluation committee give helpful and candid feedback about each grant proposal’s weaknesses & strengths. Then we publish the best proposals to our list that we circulate to a rolodex of foundations and philanthropists in the hopes that we can find some funding and partnerships for these amazing unfunded proposals. Unfunded List is always accepting proposals at www.unfundedlist.com/submit-your-proposal. We invite your org to join the Unfunded List awardees and 100+ other projects that our funding evaluators have given feedback to since 2015. Find out more and submit at www.unfundedlist.com.

A good cook always has a sharp knife, but keeping favourite knives with a perfect cutting edge takes practice. Knife expert Michael Robbins from leading manufacturers, Zwilling, based in St Albans, talks us through the correct way to keep sharp

We have our fingers knuckle deep into the zeitgeist of Savage Worlds (don't worry, a little enlargement is normal at this age, it's entirely benign and won't necessarily progress) and a clear pattern has emerged recently: Savages treating non-people-things the way Savage Worlds treats characters. In the upcoming Pirate setting that we're working on, we treat Ships like characters, giving them stats and Edges and possibility for advancement, etc. We introduce you to our partner in crime and the workhorse behind the setting, Brett Weihing, and find out a little about his background in gaming and his thought process going in to the new crunch we're bringing to the pirate setting. We promised you a sneak peak at some of the concepts we're playing with for the pirate setting, so here's an excellent piece by the wizard Rick Hershey of Fat Goblin Games that's going to be featured in the book. Several of you listeners have written in asking about very similar concepts, treating non-characters like characters. Sean Masters asks how to model realm management in Savage Worlds, which can be done with a virtual character (to which Victor Diaz, Eli Kurtz, Eric Lamoureux, Michael Robbins, and Josh Eaves provided answers), and Charles Gerard of the Miskatonic University Podcast asked about how to stat up a village like an abstract NPC. Next we field your questions about Reach 1 Weapons, First Strike, and Withdrawing from combat (Paul Lawrence from the UK); and how to model anthropomorphic PCs and where to find models for them (Jason Baldwin). We also debut a new segment called RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES! where we come up with plot hooks for your games based on interesting items in the news.  In this episode, creepy sounds from the dark side of the moon. We kicked off the episode with a bit of book keeping: We've been publishing the podcast for 8 months, and in that time we've amassed 156 Google Plus members - 101 Facebook Group members - 62 followers on twitter - 11 ratings Itunes, published 13 episodes (this is the 14th counting ep 0!), wracked up a massive $7.42 in DTRPG Affiliate shillbucks and most importantly reached 14,500 Episode downloads. We also announce that Ed Wetterman will be the Savage Guest of Honor at GenghisCon 2017, this February in Denver.  Keep your questions, feedback, and suggestions coming.  Keep sharing and rating our shows on social media.  And keep listening. Savage Links: Anthropomorphic Animals on PEG Forum Anthropomorphic Animals Minis Anthropomorphic Animal Minis Victorian Minis Broken Earth Beasts and Barbarians Shaintar Thunderscape Apollo 10 Astronauts hear Moon Music Appearing: Chris Fuchs, Christopher Landauer, Brett Weihing Intro: Derek Johnson Music: Jib Editing: Landauer

Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)​Since 1996 Ben Ratliff has been writing about music with passion and insight for The New York Times. Over the course of two decades he has been expanding his readers’ horizons and turning them on to new sounds. At the same time, the past 20 years have brought an utterly transformative revolution in the distribution and consumption of those sounds. In 1996—three years before Napster, five years before the first iPod—listeners were largely constrained in what they could hear by their geographical, financial, and historical situations. For many of us today, those constraints have largely disappeared. It has never been so easy to hear so much for so little. Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty is Ben Ratliff’s bracing, impassioned response to this unprecedented situation. It is a music appreciation guide for the cloud era.As Ratliff sees things, there are both negative and positive aspects to the current landscape. Services like Spotify and Pandora can monitor our listening practices, feeding us back more of what we already know we like. At their worst, these services encourage musical comfort-listening, a surrender of agency to algorithms. On the flipside, we’re living in an age of unprecedented access, rendering old categories and hierarchies of taste obsolete. As Ratliff asserts, a huge wealth of music is out there for all of us to experience—all we need to do is listen better than the algorithms are listening to us.And so, in a series of beautifully composed and originally conceived chapters, Ratliff gives us a refreshingly new framework for engaging with music—one that largely ignores genre categorizations or a composer’s intent and instead places the listener at center stage. Ratliff focuses on various qualities of music that we can listen for, exploring aural attributes like repetition or speed, as well as more subjective emotions and ideas such as sadness or “the perfect moment.” Along the way, Ratliff touches on a dizzying array of music, drawing surprising connections from João Gilberto and Frank Sinatra to Aaliyah and Erik Satie (and that’s just one chapter).Ratliff has a lot of smart things to say about the changes of the past 20 years, and there is no doubt Every Song Ever will spur debate about our relationship to music, and its role as both culture and commodity. But at its heart, this book is a celebration—of the possibilities for pleasure within music, of the diversity of recorded sound, and of the act of listening at a time when listeners have never had it so good.Praise for Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty“In this insightful guide to contemporary music appreciation, genre limitations are off the table . . . Ratliff’s scholarship shines; there’s a lot to be said for a book on music appreciation that can draw apt parallels between DJ Screw and Bernstein’s rendition of Mahler’s ninth symphony.”—Publishers Weekly“It’s fascinating how Ratliff can bring a fresh ear to such familiar music . . . and how inviting he makes some little-known music sound . . . [Every Song Ever] makes unlikely connections that will encourage music fans to listen beyond categorical distinctions and comfort zones.”—Kirkus Reviews“Every Song Ever jumps into the grand adventure of losing yourself in music, at a time when the technology boundaries have blown wide open. Ratliff brilliantly makes connections between the arcane and the everyday, pointing to sounds you’ve never heard—as well as finding new pleasures in music you thought you’d already used up.” —Rob Sheffield, author of Love Is a Mix Tape and Turn Around Bright Eyes“Everyone knows we live in an age when most people can listen to anything, anytime, anywhere. Whether that’s depressing or mind-expanding depends ultimately on what kind of attention we pay. Ben Ratliff has the gifts to help us surf this wave of sonic information, not stand there mumbling at it in a grumpy-grampy way. After all, it’s presumably not going to end until the electrical grid does.”—John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead“This is a book about one exemplary listener’s love for how many ways music can mean, set in sentences as forceful and subtle as Elvin Jones. Slayer and Shostakovich, Ali Akbar Khan and the Allman Brothers—none of them are the same once Ben Ratliff’s ears get through with them. And your ears won’t be the same once you get through Every Song Ever.”—Michael Robbins, author of Alien vs. Predator and The Second SexBen Ratliff has been a jazz and pop critic for The New York Times since 1996. Every Song Ever is his fourth book, followingThe Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music (2008); Coltrane: The Story of a Sound (2007, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award); and Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (2002). He lives with his wife and two sons in the Bronx.Alex Ross has been the music critic for The New Yorker since 1996. He is the author of the essay collection Listen to This, and the international bestseller The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, which was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and won the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award.

Michael Robbins joins Paul Muldoon to read and discuss “Myrtle,” by John Ashbery, and his own poem “Country Music.”

Michael Robbins says he wanted to be a rock star even more than a poet. His devotion to music, from rap to rock to pop and country, is plain in almost every line of his verse — not just in the lyrics he samples and remixes, but in the sounds and the syllables themselves. Michael's just released his second poetry collection, "The Second Sex," following up on 2012's critical smash, "Alien Vs. Predator." We talked about his sources and inspirations, both literary and musical, and listened to some tunes of his choosing.

Michael Robbins, President of Alaska Integrated Media, Inc which owns KOAN and four other radio stations.  Robbins talks about his lifelong desire to become a business owner.  For more information visit http://www.alaskaim.com. EMPIRE OF WEALTHJohn D Rockefeller is remembered most for starting Standard Oil Company but he spent almost half of his life giving money away.  Education and medical research were his top priorities.  Questions or comments email David@GDTB. Biz.IN THE NEWSFIVE SMART STEPS TO BUILDING YOUR BRAND THE RIGHT WAYAlmost all the entrepreneurs and founders see a problem or gap in the market, they create a compelling product, technology, or service for an unmet need.  Then with passion, vision, courage, and conviction they set out to build a company to solve those needs.  Most of the time, what’s missing is a lack of knowledge about branding.  Link to the full article visit Getting Down to Business® on Facebook.BUSINESS RISK MANAGEMENT“Notorious Disasters” a look through the eyes of Chris Pobieglo, Business Risk Management expert.  In part two of his two part series Chris examines the root causes.   Questions or comments email chris@businessinsuranceassociates.com.LISTEN EVERY SATURDAYGetting Down to Business® with David Weatherholt Saturday’s 8-10 am (AKDT) Fox News Talk KOAN 95.5 FM & AM 1020 – Stream:www.foxnewskoan.com In Anchorage, Alaska.  In Spokane, Washington listens to MoneyTalk 1230 AM KSBN from 9-11 am.  Like us on Facebook, join me on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter at Waconsult. 

He is a speaker and an author. He is in the best-selling book on Amazon in Canada called The Thought That Changed My Life Forever.   He is a communicator and a revealer of your unlimited magnificence, here to remind you of your greatness if you are open to knowing and exploring that awesome reality. He has developed a uniquely powerful meditation to take you deeper into the experience of who you really are.  http://www.michaelrobins.me/

Michael Robbins, author of Alien vs. Predator (Penguin Books, 2012), has gotten a lot of attention for his book of poems because of his relentless mashing together of pop-cultural references with literary and scholarly ones. Also, his ubiquitous use of rhyming was strangely considered noteworthy by poetry readers. Why has a mode of expression that is found everywhere in popular culture and art history so provocative to the poetry community and the general reader? Because most readers focused on the hypnotically vulgar surfaces of his work, without bothering to discover why the poet was writing the poems that way. While Alien vs. Predator is certainly a sharp critique of the plasticity of a fallen world, that isn’t the only thing that drives him to be a bit trashy and sinister. That impulse happens to spring from Mr. Robbins’ gentle and awkward heart. We explore the spirit of his work in our discussion, along with other topics like cats, Heidegger, pessimism, book reviewing, his next poetry manuscript, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Robbins, author of Alien vs. Predator (Penguin Books, 2012), has gotten a lot of attention for his book of poems because of his relentless mashing together of pop-cultural references with literary and scholarly ones. Also, his ubiquitous use of rhyming was strangely considered noteworthy by poetry readers. Why has a mode of expression that is found everywhere in popular culture and art history so provocative to the poetry community and the general reader? Because most readers focused on the hypnotically vulgar surfaces of his work, without bothering to discover why the poet was writing the poems that way. While Alien vs. Predator is certainly a sharp critique of the plasticity of a fallen world, that isn’t the only thing that drives him to be a bit trashy and sinister. That impulse happens to spring from Mr. Robbins’ gentle and awkward heart. We explore the spirit of his work in our discussion, along with other topics like cats, Heidegger, pessimism, book reviewing, his next poetry manuscript, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Robbins is the guest. His debut poetry collection, Alien vs. Predator, was named one of the best books of 2012 by The New York Times, Slate, Commonweal, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and The Millions.  Dwight Garner of the The New York Times says "Mr. Robbins's heart is not lovely but beating a bit arrhythmically; not dark but lighted by a dangling disco ball; not deep but as shallow and alert as a tidal buoy facing down a tsunami. Yet it's a heart crammed full, like a goose's liver, with pagan grace. This man can write." And Sasha Frere-Jones says "You may notice the cultural references first -- Guns N' Roses, Eric B. & Rakim, Fleetwood Mac, M*A*S*H, Star Wars -- and be tempted to tie Robbins to these anchors. But there are as many contemporary references in Eliot and Pound and Horace as there are in Robbins: carbon-dating isn't what distinguishes these poems. Robbins works in traditional and nontraditional forms that pivot on the beat, which he turns around, seamlessly and ruthlessly. The thread here is a long-distance conversation crammed into the available enjambment, as charged as the pop songs that play beneath the words." Monologue topics:  Patrick Swayze, tweets, drones.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian and award-winning author Michael Robbins talks about the writing process for the Museum & Library's newest book Lest We Forget: The Great War, with the book's Executive Editor and Creative Director Kenneth Clarke.