Podcasts about Mine

Tonight we have ghostly encounters, spooky "coincidences," a freaky homemade Ouija board story and much more. Keep it spooky and enjoy.Season 20 Episode 42 of Monsters Among Us Podcast, true paranormal stories of ghosts, cryptids, UFOs and more, told by the witnesses themselves.SHOW NOTES: Support the show! Get ad-free, extended & bonus episodes (and more) on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/monstersamonguspodcastTonight's Sponsor - https://www.monstersamonguspodcast.com/sponsorsMAU Merch Shop - https://www.monstersamonguspodcast.com/shopMAU Discord - https://discord.gg/ybjc9KUagYWatch FREE - Shadows in the Desert: High Strangeness in the Borrego Triangle  - https://www.borregotriangle.com/Monsters Among Us Junior on Apple Podcasts  - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monsters-among-us-junior/id1764989478Monsters Among Us Junior on Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/show/1bh5mWa4lDSqeMMX1mYxDZ?si=9ec6f4f74d61498bRobert the Doll - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_(doll)Bridgewater Triangle Documentary/ Mad Trucker - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93PMDo6ef0AFlannelman - https://www.strangefamiliars.com/home/tag/flannel+manJohn Keel talks about the Flannelman - https://www.scribd.com/document/20898282/THE-BEDROOM-INVADERS-by-John-A-KeelFlannelman Mentioned in The Mothman Prophecies - https://archive.org/details/johnkeelthemothmanprophecies.atruestorybookzz.orgXBOX Kinect Examples - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUCf2fUndyEXBOX Kinect Building Instructions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yHMCvIsAhM&t=9sSterling Hill Mine Museum - https://www.sterlinghillminingmuseum.org/Sterling Mine History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEg34orNNvgSterling Mine Tour Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58KblLtkfKYLou's orb photo - https://bit.ly/4sNUK3dLou's orb photo CLOSE UP - https://bit.ly/3PqxMkjiPhone glare example - https://bit.ly/4lxpjYwMusic from tonight's episode:Music by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse - https://www.youtube.com/c/IronCthulhuApocalypseCO.AG Music - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvAMusic By Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - https://www.youtube.com/@WhiteBatAudioWhite Bat Audio Songs:DivaDream of MirrorsVHS VisionLuminousCrypto Dweller

"Between Having and Being" is a Dharma talk offered at Two Hands Sangha about the difference between having an experience and making the experience our identity. All about the "I", "Me", "Mine" experience we solidify around with most of our thoughts and words all the time, and how to begin changing that. I hope this will be helpful for some of you, and that you will enjoy the talk!https://bio.reverendgeorgebeecher.com

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

D'Angelo's Brown Sugar sounded like nothing else in 1995. R&B was slick, polished, and built for clubs. D'Angelo later said the "deeper consciousness" had gone out of contemporary music. Questlove later wrote that contemporary R&B had become "trite" and "soulless" ... and then there was Brown Sugar, D'Angelo's debut album. It sounded more like the '70s than the '90s. More like church than the club. On this episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin go track by track through D'Angelo's debut, pulling apart the vocal stems, naming the jazz chords underneath the soul, and tracing every influence back to its root. They also bring in the archival recordings you might have missed: a live set from the Jazz Café London that gives the album a whole second life, and a J Dilla remix.-------------------------------Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi-------------------------------Related You'll Hear It episodes:Voodoo: https://youtu.be/AYqmFNF2s0U-------------------------------About You'll Hear It:In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.-------------------------------Sign up for the You'll Read It newsletter for little known stories about the artists you love: https://youllhearit.com/newsletter -------------------------------00:00 - D'Angelo's Brown Sugar01:11 - Let's Go Back to 1995 05:35 - "Brown Sugar"08:30 - Engineer Bob Power's Influence 09:13 - "Brown Sugar" Felt Different From Anything Else in 199516:57 - D'Angelo on Why He Picked Bob Power19:30 - "Alright" 28:57 - Isolated Vocal Stems on "Alright"31:27 - "Jones in My Bones" 33:20 - The Little-Known D'Angelo Album36:25 - "Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine"40:30 - The J Dilla Remix (1997)44:18 - "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" 46:30 - Live at the Jazz Cafe - "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker"48:10 - "Smooth" 50:20 - D'Angelo Could Have Been a Jazz Pianist53:04 - D'Angelo and Peter's Ellis Marsalis Connection56:21 - "Cruisin'" 59:25 - Ad Break: Learn To Play Like D'Angelo1:00:37 - "When We Get By"1:04:44 - "We Were Just Mocking Dilla": Raphael Saadiq on How "Lady" Was Made1:06:20 - "Lady"1:11:02 - "Higher"1:15:28 - "Brown Sugar" Hits Different 30 Years Later1:17:00 - Our Favorite Moments1:23:45 - Quibble Bits, Snob-O-Meter & Accoutrements1:27:26 - Up Next + Listener Reviews1:29:45 - Open Studio Plays "Lady"

When a 2.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania on ANZAC Day 2006, seventeen miners were underground. Fourteen walked out. One didn't survive. And two men — Todd Russell and Brant Webb — simply disappeared into the rock. In this episode, Julie and Kaycee go deep into the fourteen days that followed: the silence, the injuries, the moment rescuers heard something unexpected, and the painstaking engineering effort to bring them home — plus the part of the story that rarely gets told, what survival cost them long after they walked back into the light. 00:00 Patreon 00:34 Podcast Intro And Setup 01:09 Mine Collapse Strikes 03:46 Meet Todd And Brant 05:42 Trapped In Darkness 08:44 Rescue Plan And Bad Ground 11:07 Singing Confirms Life 12:28 Borehole Lifeline Supplies 14:00 Injuries And Long Wait 16:05 Grief And Gallows Humor 17:57 Music And Foo Fighters Note 19:57 Drilling The Escape Tunnel 21:58 World Watches The Rescue 22:46 Day 14 Breakthrough 24:50 Aftermath PTSD And Community Cost 28:05 Why They Survived 30:22 Legacy And Closing Thanks 32:19 Reviews And Listener Outreach   Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ REFERENCES: Beaconsfield Mine Collapse, Wikipedia Bad Ground: Inside the Beaconsfield Mine Rescue — Tony Wright, Todd Russell & Brant Webb The Examiner, Launceston — "Rescuers Real Heroes," April 2016 Australian Geographic — "On This Day: Beaconsfield Miners Rescued," November 2013 SBS News — "Beaconsfield Miners Speak of Lasting Scars," April 2016 Raisebore Australia — Beaconsfield Rescue Case Study, raisebore.com.au Monument Australia — Beaconsfield Mine Rescue Plaque Record Celebrity Speakers Australia — Todd Russell Speaker Profile World Socialist Web Site — "The Australian Media and the Beaconsfield Mine Rescue," May 2006 Geoscience Australia — Seismic Event Records, April 2006 Channel 9 — Todd Russell and Brant Webb exclusive interview, May 21, 2006 60 Minutes Australia — Todd Russell interview on PTSD The Sydney Morning Herald — Beaconsfield Mine rescue coverage, May 2006 Prime Minister John Howard — Parliamentary Reception Statement, May 29, 2006 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pastor Eric Silberschmidt UNITY Lutheran Church Brookfield, WI

Denmark, 1945: the nation is liberated and the clean-up begins... Millions of German planted landmines sit on Danish beaches. Who better to clear them than the Germans themselves? Is it different, though, when those Germans are but boys conscripted in the desperate, last days of the war? Clear the mines, go home or die in the process. Next week: It's about Afghanistan, innit? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? You can always shoot us an e-mail at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠forscreenandcountry@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   Full List: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/war-movies/the-100-greatest-war-movies-of-all-time⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/forscreenandcountry⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/fsacpo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠d⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our logo was designed by the wonderful Mariah Lirette (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/its.mariah.xo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Land of Mine stars Roland Møller, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman and Leon Seidel; directed by Martin Zandvliet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm CT…  When I'm not busy being Arroe the podcaster, I live in the real world.  Everybody has to have a job.  Mine is C.S.  Customer Service.  Solutions, relationships while keeping my team motivated to keep a constant connection with each guest who's chosen to stop their day to visit our location.  Episode 216 Thanksgiving Day at a grocery store, Famous Jim Jokes and fighting shrinkage. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Scott Dudley

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio ClubZone

Show Notes: https://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod587Join the Poker Forge: https://www.thepokerforge.com/

Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week… Silent Bud Deadly--sea mines are among the most devastating weapons that can threaten shipping, and concerns are rising that Iran could use them to seal off the Strait of Hormuz. We'll talk with two veteran experts, Rear Admiral retired Ted LeClair and Captain retired Elliott Donald about what capabilities the US Navy has to counter that threat. Please send us feedback by DM'ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.

Full show - Wednesday | Caught a cheater | News or Nope - Danica McKellar, March Madness, and phone keyboards | Beanie Battle - Tina vs Monisa | OPP - I hate my friend's husband | Could you live like the '90s? | Leftovers - Fair game or all mine? | Slacker's surprise birthday party at Costco | Slacker's got a ghost | Erica leads, she doesn't follow! | Stupid stories www.instagram.com/theslackershow www.instagram.com/ericasheaaa www.instagram.com/thackiswack www.instagram.com/radioerin

Hour 1 of the Chris Hand Show | Thursday 03-12-26See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Last Ten Nights Are HereBefore diving into the final ayah of Surah Al-Muzzammil, a timely reminder — tonight is the 23rd night of Ramadan. The last ten nights are upon us, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to hunt for Laylatul Qadr in these nights, especially the odd ones. Tonight is one of them.So what should fill these nights? Extra raka'at. Extra Quran. Extra dhikr. And the best du'a for this occasion comes to us through Sayyidatuna Aisha (رضي الله عنها), who asked the Prophet ﷺ: if I encounter the Night of Al-Qadr, what should I say? He replied: “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni” — “O Allah, You are the Most Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”Now, there's an important distinction here between ‘afw and ghafar. When we say astaghfirullah and ask for Allah's forgiveness (ghafar), the record of the sin remains — but the punishment is cancelled. The deed is still in the books on the Day of Mahshar, but Allah will not punish us for it.Al-'Afw is something else entirely. It is when the record is expunged altogether. Wiped clean. As if the sin never happened. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever fasts sincerely and prays during the nights of Ramadan — and catches Laylatul Qadr — will have all their past sins forgiven. They exit Ramadan like the day they were born. No record of sins whatsoever.It's just a few nights. Sleep a little less. Yes, there will be tiredness — that's okay. This is our training. Don't miss a night that is greater than a thousand months, greater than 83 years of worship.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Where We Left Off — The Arc of Surah Al-MuzzammilThe surah opened with a command: stand up at night, pray, and recite the Quran. Why? Because the day is full of heavy tasks — spreading truth, standing for justice, enduring hardship — and the strength to carry all of that comes from the spiritual work done at night. Reading about Jannah motivates. Reading about Jahannam sobers. The connection to Allah realigns everything.Then came the warning through the story of Fir'aun — richer, stronger, more powerful than the Quraysh, yet destroyed in an instant when he rejected Prophet Musa. Then the terrifying imagery of Yawmul Qiyamah: skies torn apart, children's hair turning white from sheer terror. And finally, the choice: believe and take the prophetic path, or reject and face the consequences. Every choice carries a consequence.Now the surah circles back to where it began — Qiyamul Layl — but this time with something remarkable: mercy.Allah Knows Our WeaknessThe original command was demanding. Stand up most of the night — two-thirds, or at least half, or at the very minimum a third. The Prophet ﷺ did this every single night, without exception, even while travelling, even during battle. But Allah knew that the rest of the ummah would struggle.Allah says: “Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand less than two-thirds of the night, sometimes half, sometimes even less than a third — and so do a group of those with you.”Allah is the One who measured the length of night and day. Some seasons, the nights are long and Qiyamul Layl is easier — in Perth during winter, Maghrib comes in at 5:15 and Fajr isn't until around six. Plenty of time to sleep and still wake up. But in the peak of summer, when Fajr is at 3:30? That's a different story. Allah knows all of this.And so He says: “He has forgiven you.” Qiyamul Layl is fard upon the Prophet ﷺ, but for the rest of us, Allah has already shown mercy and lifted that strict obligation.But Don't Abandon It AltogetherHere's the key — just because the full obligation has been eased doesn't mean doing nothing is an option. Allah says: “So read what is easy for you from the Quran.” Stand up for even two raka'at. Read whatever surahs have been memorised. Carve out even a small portion of the night for spiritual work.This is a fundamental principle in Islam: what cannot be accomplished entirely should not be abandoned in totality. Islam doesn't teach perfectionism — it's not 100% or nothing. It teaches consistent effort. The Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are small. Two raka'at every single night outweighs a marathon session once a month.And this, by the way, is one of the great purposes behind memorising the Quran — so that those surahs can be recited in prayer. Al-Kahf, Al-Mulk, Al-Baqarah — they come alive when recited standing before Allah at night.The Three Excuses Allah AcceptsThen Allah provides specific concessions. First: those who are sick. Illness isn't a choice — when rest is needed for recovery, Allah says it's okay.But then come two more categories that are remarkable, because they are things people can choose — and Allah still grants them as valid reasons for doing less Qiyamul Layl.The first: those who travel the earth seeking Allah's bounty — meaning those who are out working, doing business, building economic stability. The second: those who fight in the path of Allah, defending the religion and the community.These two are placed in equal standing. Working hard to earn a living is given the same weight as defending the faith. That is extraordinary. It tells us something profound about how Islam views economic productivity — not as a worldly distraction, but as an act valued by Allah Himself.The Prophet ﷺ said the best rizq is what a person earns from their own effort, and he pointed to Prophet Dawud (عليه السلام) as the example — a prophet, a king, and yet also a blacksmith who worked with iron and ate from the labour of his own hands.Ibn Umar expressed this beautifully. He said the best deaths he could wish for were two: martyrdom in the path of Allah, and dying on a business journey — on his camel, with his trade goods, on his way to earn a living. Because this ayah puts them side by side.Islam Wants Muslims to Be Wealthy — But With PurposeThe encouragement to work hard and build wealth doesn't come without direction. Islam doesn't say: get rich so you can buy the fanciest car, then a fancy island, and once you run out of things to buy on earth, spend a trillion dollars trying to conquer Mars.Islam says: be rich, but that's not the end goal. The ummah becomes strong when Muslims have economic power and an akhirah mindset. With wealth, the community can build schools, support students in critical fields, fund long-term projects. This is Sadaqatul Jariyah — continuously flowing charity that keeps giving long after the initial contribution.There's a telling hadith in Imam Al-Nawawi's Forty Collection that captures this tension perfectly. The poor companions once came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained: “Ya Rasulullah, the rich have taken all the extra reward! They pray like we pray, they fast like we fast — but they can give charity from their surplus wealth, and we can't.” The Prophet ﷺ reassured them that dhikr — saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar — is also charity. The poor companions went away happy. But a few days later? The rich started doing dhikr too. Now they had both. The poor came back and said: what about us now?The point isn't to vilify poverty. The Prophet ﷺ went on to explain that there is charity in every good act — helping someone onto their ride, carrying someone's load. But wealth opens doors that nothing else can. Zakat, the pillar of Islam, is only payable by those who have wealth. And the framing matters: it's not that the wealthy have to pay zakat — they get to pay zakat. Without wealth, that entire pillar of Islam is inaccessible. And hajj is the same.The story of Sayyidina Uthman (رضي الله عنه) at the Battle of Tabuk drives this home. He donated so generously — horses, camels, wealth — that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Nothing Uthman does after this will harm him.” Guaranteed paradise. And Uthman wasn't living in poverty. He had luxuries. But look at the scale of what his wealth allowed him to do for the ummah.At the same time, Islam doesn't expect anyone to give 100% away. The best charity, the Prophet ﷺ said, is what is spent on family — on spouses, on children. The balance is always there: spend on yourself, on your family, and on the ummah for the sake of the akhirah.The Beautiful LoanEven with all these concessions, Allah says: still, read what is easy from the Quran. Establish your salah. Pay your zakat. Don't let the extras overshadow the foundations — a hundred raka'at of Qiyamul Layl mean nothing if Fajr is missed. Generous charity donations mean nothing if zakat is neglected. The obligatory always comes first.Then comes a stunning phrase: “And give Allah a beautiful loan (qard hasan).”A qard hasan is a loan with no deadline for repayment and no interest. Every good deed — every act of worship, every charity, every kindness — is a loan to Allah. And here's the beauty of it: Allah doesn't need our loan. He owns everything in the heavens and the earth and everything in between and beyond. He could simply say: “That's Mine, I gave it to you, give it back.”But in His mercy, Allah understands human nature. He understands that people are wired to think in terms of profit and return on investment. So He frames it as a transaction: give Me a loan, and I will surely repay you — multiplied many times over. In human transactions, demanding extra on a qard is riba. But with Allah, He is the One promising to multiply the return. It's the ultimate ROI.And what can a person invest with? Two things: wealth or skills. Both require Muslims to be hardworking.It's All For UsAllah then makes something clear: whatever is sent forth for the akhirah, it's essentially for our own benefit. Allah doesn't need our investment. Every command He gives is for our sake, not His.And there's a profound observation embedded here. As humanity lives more and more comfortably — materially, physically — mental health continues to decline. The richer the country, the higher the rates of depression and anxiety. Why? Because life without purpose erodes the soul. When everything is easy and comfortable, humans lose their sense of direction.Islam solves this by providing a purpose so enormous that no amount of wealth or comfort can make it irrelevant: getting to Jannah. How do we get there? That question structures every day, every decision, every effort. It keeps life purposeful no matter the circumstances. And when the community works together with that shared purpose, everyone rises.Ending with IstighfarThe surah closes with a command to seek Allah's forgiveness. Wastaghfirullah — make istighfar. There are two dimensions to this.First, the timing. The pre-dawn hours — suhoor time — are the best time for istighfar. Allah praises those who seek forgiveness in the early morning. For those already awake for Qiyamul Layl, this flows naturally.Second, there's a subtler reason. Sometimes, in the middle of worship and good deeds, something dangerous creeps into the heart. A feeling of: “I woke up for Qiyamul Layl. I read Surah Al-Kahf in one raka'ah and Surah Al-Mulk in the next. I'm amazing.” Or after giving a large charity: “I'm so generous. Look at what I gave.”This is kibr — arrogance — and it's one of Shaitan's favourite tricks. When he can't stop someone from doing good deeds, he tries to spoil the deed through the intention. So the surah ends with the antidote: astaghfirullah. Centre yourself. Realign the intention. “Ya Allah, if there was any misalignment in my heart, I seek Your forgiveness.”Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.The Complete Message of Surah Al-MuzzammilAnd with that, Surah Al-Muzzammil comes to a close. Its message is beautifully complete: stay up at night, even a little. Pray. Read Quran. Let that spiritual recharge fuel everything in the day — the work, the earning, the serving of the ummah. Islam is a religion of balance: worship at night, work hard in the day. And in between, give everything its right. The body has a right — rest, nutrition, exercise. Family has a right — time and attention. And Allah has a right — acts of worship.Fulfil all those rights. That's the straight path.Your Action Steps This Week* Make the du'a of Laylatul Qadr every night. Memorise “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni”and repeat it abundantly in the remaining nights of Ramadan. Understand the difference — this isn't just asking for forgiveness, it's asking for a complete clean slate.* Do something every night, even if it's small. If two raka'at is all that's manageable, pray two raka'at. If one page of Quran is what's realistic, read one page. Don't let the inability to do everything become an excuse to do nothing.* Reframe how work fits into worship. This ayah places earning a livelihood alongside fighting in the path of Allah. Approach work this week with the conscious intention that economic productivity is an act Allah values — and use what is earned to benefit family and community.* Audit the foundations before the extras. Before adding more nawafil, make sure the obligatory salah and zakat are fully in order. The extras don't compensate for gaps in the foundations.* End every night with istighfar. After Qiyamul Layl, after du'a, after any act of worship — close with astaghfirullah. Let it be the safeguard against arrogance creeping into the heart through the very deeds meant to bring closeness to Allah.May Allah grant us the strength to apply the lessons from Surah Al-Muzzammil — to pray at night, recite the Quran, and work hard in the day for the benefit of the ummah. May Allah allow us to enter Jannah with the Prophet ﷺ and with the Sahaba.Next week, inshaAllah, we begin Suratul Muddaththir. Don't forget — tonight is the 23rd night. Qiyamul Layl. Stay up extra. Make lots of du'a.Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.Thanks for reading Grounded! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit groundeddaily.substack.com/subscribe

U.S. strikes Iranian mine-laying ships To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Do leftovers belong to a specific person or are they fair game for anyone?

Exodus 19-20   These chapters are pivotal in book of Exodus. Israel arrives at Mount Sinai, where God meets with them and enters into a covenant with them. Because of that, these chapters are also pivotal in the history of Israel and the entire Bible.  God describes their status and vocation in Exodus 19:3-6:  3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. 5 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” God also gives Israel the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 as the foundation of his covenant with them.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener's Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports the U.S. military says its destroyed more than a dozen Iranian mine-laying vessels.

The Pentagon says U.S. forces destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying boats near the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world's oil travels through the waterway. The military says the vessels were part of a larger group of Iranian naval craft it targeted. President Donald Trump warns Iran that it must remove any mines placed in the strait, or face consequences. Severe storms across the South and Midwest are producing tornadoes and causing widespread damage. The threat stretches from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes, with several states under tornado watches. Meteorologists are reporting multiple tornadoes in parts of Illinois and Indiana. Homes have been leveled and emergency services have been overwhelmed as the storm system moves east. Crude oil prices are expected to drop below $80 a barrel by the end of 2026, according to a new energy report. Prices spiked above $115 this month after the Iran conflict disrupted the Strait of Hormuz. They then fell back to about $85.

Oil markets fell and picked up again on Wednesday, as the International Energy Agency reportedly considers its largest-ever release of emergency crude stockpiles to stabilise global markets, while Iran is said to have laid naval mines in the Hormuz Strait. In this edition, we look at how the latest developments in the ongoing Middle East war are affecting markets.

It's Tuesday, March 10th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson and Timothy Reed Afghan Christian women are getting raped Open Doors has released a video interview on YouTube of an Afghan Christian woman who tells the real story of what the Taliban is doing to the few Christians remaining in Afghanistan.  Shockingly, Christian women are being raped.  Anybody caught speaking to Christians may be killed.  In fact, a butcher who sold meat to Christians was killed. And the woman's brother-in-law was killed for his faith. In addition, Christians who have fled Afghanistan into Pakistan and Iran now face the threat of deportation back into Afghanistan because the Taliban government has soured relationships with its neighboring countries. China, Russia and America all spending more on military The world is arming up. China hiked its 2026 defense budget to $275 billion — a 10.4% increase year on year. This follows  7% increases over the previous two years —- making for a 25% increase in three years. Meantime, Russia has increase its military budget four-fold since the early 2020s, according to a report from the Center for European Policy Analysis. And the U.S. military budget has seen a 5% increase over the last three years. The latest number for the 2026 defense program is $839 billion.  Iran's nuclear capability inspiring American nuclear-proof bunker sales Fox News reports that Iran has 1,014 pounds of 60%-enriched uranium. That's enough to make 11 nuclear bombs. And it's an increase from 881 pounds of enriched uranium last year, and 194 pounds in 2023. The Telegraph also reports an increase in nuclear-proof bunkers sales here in America. One manufacturer claims his customer base includes two senior-level Trump cabinet members, as well as Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook and Instagram and other elites.  Monthly sales for Atlas Survival Shelters reportedly have bumped up 25-fold this year. Homosexual Australian Education official blasted homeschooling The Australian government may be coming for homeschoolers.  Australia's Assistant Minister for International Education, Julian Hill, a self-avowed homosexual, blasted homeschooling, claiming it threatened “social cohesion.”   Hill stated, “There are reports of quite extreme or conservative curricula being used which gives cause for pause and reflection if this trend continues. What is being taught to these kids? Are they mixing with broader society?” Threats and restrictions against homeschoolers are on the rise both in the United States and abroad. However, homeschooling continues to grow worldwide, and by leaps and bounds in Australia.  Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” New Jersey and Hawaii aiming for homeschoolers The American Left has got homeschooling in its sights as well. New Jersey lawmakers are pushing bills that would add registration, annual notice, evaluations, record keeping, and even yearly “health and wellness” meetings with school officials for homeschool families.   And Hawaiian lawmakers are considering bills that would require homeschool students to take state tests in person at public schools. Trump urged Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act President Donald Trump is refusing to sign any bills that reach his desk until the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, passes the Senate. He stressed the need for its passage in his February 24th State of the Union address. Listen. TRUMP: “I'm asking you to approve the Save America Act to stop illegal aliens and others who are unpermitted persons, from voting in our sacred American elections. The cheating is rampant in our elections. It's rampant. It's very simple: All voters must show voter ID.” Though the SAVE Act works to ensure the safety of American elections, it faces a filibuster by Democrats in the Senate, requiring a 60-vote majority to pass. Call both of your U.S. Senators at 202-224-3121 to vote for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE Act. You can call that number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 202-224-3121. Jesse Jackson vowed to go further than Karl Marz As The Worldview reported on February 27th, the scandalized Baptist pastor, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has died. Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden attended his funeral over the weekend. Jackson's political career was stymied when he admitted to an extramarital affair and a child born out of wedlock in the early 2000s. The lapsed preacher told the New Yorker Magazine that his adultery was “in the big ledger of sins, a relatively minor offense”, not requiring any leave-taking from ministry.   Jackson was an admirer of Karl Marx, visited Marx's grave, and committed himself to advocating for the redistribution of wealth. Worse yet, he said he wanted to “go beyond” where Marx had stopped. Let's watch out. The Scriptures warn of teachers “having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. … These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” (2 Peter 2:14,17) 57% of Americans never attend church Religious affiliation continues to decline in the United States. According to the latest Gallup polling, a record-breaking 24% of Americans identify with no particular religion, up from 8% in 2005.   Roman Catholic affiliation has also reached its lowest level at 20%. And Protestant affiliation is down to 44%, from a high of 70% in the 1950s. Only 31% of Americans attend church almost weekly now, down from 43% twenty years ago. Sadly, 57% never attend church. That's the highest level recorded in recent history. In addition, only 47% of Americans consider religion as “very important,” down from 52% in 2016 and 70% in 1965.  Gallup's senior editor Megan Brenan explained, “Younger adults are both less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to attend services, reshaping the nation's religious landscape as they constitute a growing share of the population.” Louisiana Governor eager for Ten Commandments to post in classrooms And finally, Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry  is urging Louisiana schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.  The state passed a law in 2024 that required all classrooms to post a copy of the Ten Commandments, but the law had been blocked by the courts until last month.  In comments on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, Governor Landry said schools have no reason to delay any longer. LANDRY: “It's time for them to go ahead and implement the law. These posters have been donated and have been distributed to our schools. They have no reason not to be able to post them. They don't have to worry about any litigation or legal recourse. The Attorney General will handle any of those types of issues that may come about.” In Deuteronomy 11:18, God said, “Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, March 10th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

*5:00am: What Old School Item Do You Still Own & Actually Use? *6:00am: What's The Most Distracting Thing To Look At While Driving In Vegas? Prenups *7:00am: Are Dress Codes Dead *8:00am: HOA Rules, I Think I'm Going To Get Fired!

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said on Tuesday that the U.S. was carrying out strikes against Iranian mine-laying vessels. This, as the Strait of Hormuz has been closed off, leaving tankers unable to sail for more than a week. President Trump is warning Iran not to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump says if Tehran interferes with the key shipping route, the United States will respond with much stronger force.An attack outside the New York City mayor's residence is being treated as an act of terrorism. The FBI has joined the investigation into what the NYPD is calling 'an ISIS-inspired act.' The incident happened on Saturday during a protest, when two suspects tossed a homemade explosive into the crowd. The device did not detonate. Officials say the suspects are being charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS using a weapon of mass destruction and several other charges related to explosives.As America looks ahead to its 250th birthday, officials in Washington, D.C. unveil a special race course for the first-ever IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix racing event. The event will be on August 23rd and will feature 1.7 miles of track and seven turns around iconic landmarks in D.C. The event will be free to the public and officials expect more than a million people to attend the event. The IndyCar race is taking place after President Trump signed an executive order in January. The president also plans to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship match at the White House in July.

On this day, 10 March 1920, the El Bordo mine fire occurred in Pachuca, Mexico, which killed dozens of miners. The fire broke out at 6 AM, and there was a brief evacuation period before the mine shafts were sealed shut. Officials of the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company claimed that after the evacuation fewer than 10 workers remained inside, all of whom were declared to be dead by company doctors. When the mine was finally reopened six days later, it was clear that the company had been lying. Inside were the charred bodies of 87 miners: many of whom had reached the exit of the mine, but were burned to death as they were unable to leave. Miraculously, seven miners had even managed to survive despite being trapped underground. As in almost all historical examples of corporations killing their workers, no bosses were prosecuted or punished.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8217/el-bordo-fireOur work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

This is a preview for an Unresolved bonus episode, available for those that support the show on Patreon. If you'd like to listen along to this and other Patreon Exclusive bonus episodes, become a supporter at https://patreon.com/unresolvedpod or by clicking on the link below: The Van Meter Visitor - Unresolved (Patreon)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

With the Nova Rush back under their control the crew of the starship heads to their job interview as Space citadel Theodrane with the Dwarven mining consortium of Ulrikka Clanholdins. Will they be able to navigate their job and make a good first impression on the impressionable dwarves? What is the odd rock in the possession of one of the dwarves and just what is this odd asteroid their being tasked to survey? The only way you will find out is by diving into this week's Cosmic Crit! 

Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/hammer to try 14 days and let Aura go to work protecting your private information online! #sponsored

Ministered by Pastor Jonathan Skiles at New Life Church of La Habra in La Habra, CA. God bless you and thank you for listening! If you would like to learn more about our ministry or give an offering, please visit our website at www.nlclahabra.com Visit us on Instagram: @nlclahabra Our Address: New Life Church of La Habra 740 E. Lambert Rd. Unit E  La Habra, CA 90631

A Word of Encouragement with Vicky Mutchler is heard at 11:30 AM Central Time on Faith Music Radio.  Join the Facebook group On a Positive Note to get more words of encouragement from Mrs. Vicky - https://www.facebook.com/groups/171863542874382/

How is the best way to respond to the storms of life when they come my way? And how can my response be pleasing to God?When most of us experience painful circumstances our response is, "How can I get this out of my life?" And, if you have something in your life that's causing you pain and suffering and you can get rid of it, then you should.But we're talking about things that we have no control over.I think the problem comes when we are only interested in how this is going to turn out. God is more concerned with how you and I are going to turn out.Jesus spoke these truths to the crowds in Matthew 7:24-27,“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.” >>Watch on YouTube

In honor of Jason's upcoming trip to Japan, Eric is back to talk about two classic Japanese crime dramas - one of which is frequently listed as one of the greatest films ever to come out of that country.A Fugitive from the Past is a deeply immersive and deeply impressive cop drama from director Tomu Uchida, while Vengeance is Mine is a deeply upsetting journey inside the mind and life of a serial killer/rapist/general terrible person, from director Shohei Imamura. Uchida and Imamura both show sympathy for their reprehensible lead characters, but do both of them make the audience feel that same sympathy? Eric and Jason debate, compare and contrast to come to some interesting insights.

durée : 02:23:47 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - Connaissez-vous la légende du Dragon de Wasmes ? Wasmes, cette partie du Borinage en Wallonie fut pendant des siècles un haut lieu de l'exploitation minière et un berceau de la Révolution industrielle. En 1977, un Atelier de création radiophonique proposait une immersion dans la vie de ces mineurs. - réalisation : Rafik Zénine

durée : 00:51:15 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - En 1990, la fermeture du dernier puits de mine à Oignies marque la fin d'une époque. Comment envisager la vie après la mine ? Comment reconvertir les mineurs qui y ont consacré toute leur vie ? Voici les questions au cœur du deuxième numéro de la série sur le bassin houiller du Nord-Pas-de-Calais. - réalisation : Rafik Zénine - invités : Jean-Pierre Kucheida Ancien député maire socialiste de Liévin

durée : 00:50:16 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - Le 21 décembre 1990 marquait à jamais la fin du charbon dans le Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Mais comment penser le futur ? L'arrêt du dernier puits souleva beaucoup d'inquiétudes. Mais aussi un peu d'espoir, grâce notamment à la culture, comme l'évoquait ce dernier numéro de la série de Marion Thiba. - réalisation : Rafik Zénine - invités : Béatrice Giblin Géographe, professeure émérite à l'Institut Français de Géopolitique (Université Paris 8), et directrice de la revue Hérodote; Jean-Pierre Kucheida Ancien député maire socialiste de Liévin

durée : 00:15:30 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - La catastrophe de Courrières de 1906 fut pour la France un deuil national partagé par le monde entier et attira brutalement l'attention sur les conditions du travail dans les mines. En 1965, Honoré Couplet, l'un des quatorze rescapés, nous racontait son incroyable aventure au fond de la mine. - réalisation : Rafik Zénine

1. Iran’s Regional Escalation Iran launched missiles, drones, and attacks on multiple Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan), pulling them into alignment with the U.S. and Israel. Commentary emphasizes Iran’s willingness to target anyone, showing “suicidal” or “homicidal” motives. Raises the danger of Iran possessing nuclear weapons. Discussion clarifies Trump’s position as opposing “forever wars,” not all military action. No expectation of U.S. ground troops in Iran. Military strikes are preemptive self‑defense due to Iran’s history of killing Americans. Critique of left‑wing politicians and activists who oppose U.S. involvement in Iran. Statement from Comrade Mamdani criticized as sympathetic to Iran’s regime. Contrast drawn between American leftist protesters and Iranian citizens protesting against the Ayatollah. The area may have been mined by Iran; shipping and air traffic are restricted. Mine‑sweeping operations expected before reopening. 2. DHS Leadership Shake‑Up Kristi Noem removed as DHS Secretary; replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin. Noem’s controversial $220M ad spending questioned in Senate Judiciary hearing—described as the catalyst for her removal. Senator John Kennedy’s cross‑examination highlighted as pivotal. Administration criticized for rhetoric after police-involved shootings in Minneapolis. Said to have contributed to Noem’s ousting. 3. Texas Election Outcomes Several candidates endorsed by the speaker (Cruz) won key primaries. Notable upset: Dan Crenshaw lost his House seat to Cruz‑backed Steve Toth. Personal conflict between Cruz and Crenshaw described, including a heated confrontation on a plane. Runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton. Both candidates are longtime allies of the speaker; race expected to be bruising and expensive. Trump expected to endorse but hasn’t yet. 4. Democratic Challenger – James Talarico Described as an “extreme but polished” candidate. Concerns raised about his ability to appear moderate while holding left‑wing positions. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kennecott Copper Mine in Alaska had been one of the richest copper mines in the world. A thriving mining camp developed around the mine, as was the case during the various gold and silver rushes around the country. And just like those rushes, eventually the town was abandoned and what has been left behind quite possibly could be ghosts wandering through the rusted machinery and crumbling buildings. Join us for the history and hauntings of the Kennecott Copper Mine. This Month in History features Houdini's Escapable Dive Suit patent. Check out the website: http://historygoesbump.com Show notes can be found here: https://historygoesbump.blogspot.com/2026/02/hgb-ep-627-kennecott-copper-mine.html Become an Executive Producer: http://patreon.com/historygoesbump Music used in this episode: (This Month in History) "In Your Arms" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Title: "Low End Mallet Mangler" Artist: Tim Kulig (timkulig.com) Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0997280/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Video by Missael R. Reyes from Pixabay

Struggling with indoor seed starting because your seedlings stopped growing? Are they stuck with only seed leaves, turning yellow, or just frozen in time? In this episode, I share how a simple seed starting mix mistake stalled my broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce—and exactly how I fixed it. Free download: Seed Starting Troubleshooting Guide Clear, simple fixes for common indoor seed starting problems. Download it here → http://journeywithjill.net/seed-starting-troubleshooting-guide After 13 years of starting my own seeds, I made a mistake I didn't even realize—until my brassicas refused to grow for nearly two weeks. What looked like a nitrogen issue turned out to be something completely different. In this episode, I walk you through what happened, how I diagnosed the problem, and the step-by-step seedling triage that brought them back to life. If your seedlings are stunted, pale, or just not progressing like they should, you're not alone. And in many cases, you can fix it quickly. Key Takeaways How to identify true stunted growth vs. normal slow growth The most common seed starting mix mistake beginners make Why roots need oxygen just as much as water When transplanting seedlings can actually save them How to research potting mix labels before you buy Resource Links Seed Starting Troubleshooting Guide (free): http://journeywithjill.net/seed-starting-troubleshooting-guide Lettuce Quick-Start Growing Guide (free): http://journeywithjill.net/lettuce-guide Friday Emails (newsletter): https://journeywithjill.net/gardensignup YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JourneywithjillNet/videos Podcast Archive: https://journeywithjill.net/the-beginners-garden-podcast/ Recommended Brands & Products: https://journeywithjill.net/recommended-brands-and-products/ Sponsor for This Episode Garden in Minutes makes simple, efficient irrigation systems that take the guesswork out of watering. If you're tired of dragging hoses or wondering whether you're overwatering or underwatering, their systems make it easy to water evenly and consistently. Use code Jill for 7% off. Shop here: http://journeywithjill.net/gardeninminutes Cozy Earth creates premium bedding and loungewear designed for comfort and quality. Their bamboo sheet sets are incredibly soft, breathable, and temperature-regulating—perfect for getting better rest during busy garden seasons. Visit Cozy Earth to shop their products and check current promotions. Use code COZYJILL for a discount up to 20% off on your purchase (discount amount may vary based on current sales). Shop here: http://cozyearth.com    As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Disclaimer Gardening advice shared in this podcast is based on my own experience in Zone 8a (Arkansas) and from the feedback I receive from others in different gardening contexts. Your results may differ depending on your location, climate, and growing conditions. Always check your local extension service or trusted resources for region-specific guidance. Some links mentioned may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

It's a bad sandstorm out there. Plus, a short film festival, how plants work, and a new intern(?) Weather: "The Emerald and the Mine" by Bishop Decker⁠⁠ Original episode art by Jessica Hayworth Episode transcripts 2026 TOUR DATES Tix on sale now! Listen to UNLICENSED⁠⁠ by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor. Only on Audible Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game Subscribe to the Night Vale newsletter for news and stories Patreon is how we exist! Music: Disparition Logo: Rob Wilson Written by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor & Brie Williams Narrated by Cecil Baldwin Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, TikTok, Tumblr, and Instagram A production of Night Vale Presents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a bad sandstorm out there. Plus, a short film festival, how plants work, and a new intern(?) Weather: "The Emerald and the Mine" by Bishop Decker⁠⁠ Original episode art by Jessica Hayworth Episode transcripts 2026 TOUR DATES Tix on sale now! Listen to UNLICENSED⁠⁠ by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor. Only on Audible Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game Subscribe to the Night Vale newsletter for news and stories Patreon is how we exist! Music: Disparition Logo: Rob Wilson Written by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor & Brie Williams Narrated by Cecil Baldwin Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, TikTok, Tumblr, and Instagram A production of Night Vale Presents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices