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With just a few days left to pick up the latest issue of Empire magazine, featuring Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the cover, here's the latest episode of The Shameless Plug, arriving in the nick of time to either entice you to buy the issue if you haven't done so, or bask in the stories behind the stories as Chris Hewitt and Empire editor, Nick de Semlyen, cram into the podbooth to talk you through how the magazine sausage was made. From Minions to Monty Python, it's all here, folks! Enjoy!
What if the real secret to a lasting writing career isn't talent or luck, but learning to thrive in the mess? Why are in-person events worthwhile even if the maths doesn't add up? How do you protect your creativity when the machines never sleep and the community is at one another's throats? With Mark Leslie Lefebvre In the intro, Has AI Already Killed Non-Fiction [Tim Ferriss]; 9 ways that AI would disrupt authors and the publishing industry over the next decade; Pivoting towards The Transformation Economy; and Who do you serve? This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Mark Leslie Lefebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as non-fiction travel and books for authors. He's also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. His latest book is Stark Realities: Stacked Up Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know About the Business of Writing and Publishing. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why print and in-person events are making a comeback for indie authors The case for (and against) licensing your voice clone through ElevenLabs Why we keep selling books in person when the numbers rarely add up Measuring success by creative satisfaction rather than money Being honest about author earnings and the fear of being truly seen Managing stress, divisiveness, and the noise around AI You can find Mark at MarkLeslie.ca. Transcript of the interview with Mark Leslie Lefebvre Jo: Mark Leslie Lefebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as non-fiction travel and books for authors. He's also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. His latest book is Stark Realities: Stacked Up Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know About the Business of Writing and Publishing. Welcome back to the show, Mark. Mark: Oh, hey, Jo. It's always an awesome time chatting with you. Jo: You've been on the show lots of times over the years, but the last time was in September 2024, when we talked about selling books in person. So give us a bit of an update. What does your writing and publishing business look like at the moment? How do you manage it alongside the day job and everything else you do? Mark: Oh my God. Well, sleep is—no rest for the wicked, maybe. I'll sleep when I'm dead. It's so funny, it was just this last weekend in Waterloo. I was at Waterloo Book Fest, and somebody came up to my table—another author from one of the other tables—and said, “I heard you on the The Creative Penn Podcast. And then when you mentioned something about Waterloo, I said, ‘He can't be from Waterloo.' And then when you mentioned the skeleton, I said, ‘I know where he lives.'” Jo: That's scary. Mark: So I love the fact that there are so many of your listeners all over the world, and that's usually how people know me. No matter what else I've done, it's like, “Oh, you've been on Joanna Penn's podcast.” I'll say, “Yes, I have.” You know what's really funny? The last time I was on the podcast, we were talking about A Book in Hand, which I was supposed to release that year. Jo: Yes. Mark: I just added another 5,000 words to it this morning. Jo: Wait, it's still not published? Mark: No, and it's so funny. I actually have the first 60,000 words of it with an editor right now, and I told her I'd get her the rest of it, which I thought would be another 20,000 words, by the end of June. But I think it's going to hit 100,000. Here's the weird thing that happened with this. This is trying to accumulate my life of book selling, as well as doubling down on doing in-person events in the last several years. I thought I was going to have the book done in 2024. I ran into some issues where I didn't back it up properly. It was an old version, and I accidentally overwrote the only version I had. Jo: So, for everyone listening, Mark—how many decades have you been an author and a publisher? How come you're still missing deadlines and still not backing up your work properly? Mark: Yes, this is a lesson: no matter how long you've been doing something, you can still make boneheaded errors. So if you, dear listener, have made mistakes, just know that this old guy who's been doing this since the mid-'80s still makes mistakes like that. Don't beat yourself up. I probably did something worse. Anyway, that book I thought was going to be maybe 40, 45,000 words, it's going to be bigger than Wide for the Win—close to 100,000 words. Here's a really important lesson I learned in that, Jo. I thought the book would be something. It became something else. Through my own experiences of doing more in-person events, book signings, and library event. Also in talking to awesome folks like Johnny B. Truant, Katie Cross, Todd Fahnestock, and so many other authors I know, and seeing what Ben Wolf is up to, and a whole bunch of different people who are doing in-person events. In creating case studies for how they interact specifically with a bookstore or library, or how they do in-person selling—I really think the book wasn't ready then. It's like the recipe wasn't ready. I still needed to play with some things. I do sincerely have faith, since I got it into the editorial process, that this will be the year the book actually gets released. Jo: As you said, there are some really good lessons there around sometimes the book not being quite ready. I'd bought an early version from the StoryBundle, which is how I got this book as well, actually. Mark: Yes. Jo: That's another tip for people—storybundle.com. You can go and find some great bundles there. I was also thinking, as you were talking, that maybe one of the reasons this book about in-person events has got so big is because that's a real trend in the community. It feels like indies, we've moved… Back in the day, I said, “I'm not doing print. No way.” This was the early days of digital, because print was really hard back then. So I was like, “Oh, and we've got all the advantages doing digital, so I'm just going to focus on that.” It feels like the pendulum has swung, perhaps even more with the ease of mass production of digital with AI. The focus on print and in person is getting stronger and stronger. Do you think that's happening? Mark: Oh, yes, 100%. I did print in 2004. It was really hard back then, so that's gotten easier. I think there are a few reasons. One of the reasons is, yes, digital made it so much easier for indie authors to get out there and break into the community. But the reality is that print books still outsell e-books in general—overall—despite the fact that indie authors can make six and seven figures a year from selling e-books alone on a single platform. So print has never really gone away. It was just never something indie authors attended to. They were in a different business than traditional publishers were in. And second, obviously I've got these gorgeous books that you've created on Kickstarter, because I like the beautiful books. I've never stopped buying print books. I actually buy more print books. I read more because of audiobooks and e-books, but I buy more print books, especially when I can get a nice signed copy. Then the other reason comes back, again, to your advice—something I've been following for the longest time, and you've long been saying. I do repeat this, and I try my best to offer attribution to you every time I use it: to double down on your humanity, particularly in this age of digital generation and the ability for even non-writers to leverage tools to create content. I think it's so much more important for me, as a creative who will never be able to catch up with the machines, to exploit my humanity. I mean, we both have digital voices of ourselves, right? There's a digital Mark Leslie Lefebvre voice that people can use, and I'm making money off it because people are able to license it through ElevenLabs. But when I'm there in person, so far the holograms aren't good enough to fool people. I think I'm not just selling a book to somebody; I want to create an experience where, “Oh, I'm talking to the author, and we're signing a book together, and we're taking a selfie together.” For me, there's that tactile experience that's really enriching. And it may not be something that lines my pockets as easily, because the investment is more significant. For every $10 I make, it costs me six or seven dollars, as opposed to an e-book, where the cost is amortised in the most beautiful way over millions of copies. Jo: There are a few things there. First of all, let's talk about that ElevenLabs voice licensing, because, as you say, I also have a voice clone. Bones of the Deep, the latest book, that's my voice clone. I haven't gone with the licensing, partly because you don't have control over what someone can do with it. So, for example, someone could create Nazi content, or content that I might not agree with, in my voice. So how have you got over that? Because part of me really does want to license my voice, and the other part doesn't. Mark: This is a great question, Jo, and I'm glad you asked it. It's the same reason I don't worry about people stealing my books—adding DRM onto my e-books and things like that. I may as well make some money off it, because let's be honest: you and I, our voices are out there. Thousands of hours of our voices, right? In your podcast, my podcast, in various interviews we've done over the years. The technology exists for someone to make a copy of my voice themselves anyway. The tools exist. They can do it easily, so why not do it myself and at least make money? I'm actually getting money deposited into my account. Not a lot—maybe $30, $18, something like that every week. Again, I've taken a lot of my non-fiction books that I haven't had the time to record myself, as I like to do, and I can at least load those to ElevenLabs and make my voice the default voice. But wouldn't it be great to be able to listen to my book in your voice? It would sound so much better. Because you can do that. When you listen to a book on that platform, you can choose my voice if you'd rather hear it in my voice, or you can choose Burt Reynolds' voice, or some other folks who've licensed theirs. Again, for me, the whole concept of wide publishing has always been important. It's another small revenue stream that's adding to my numerous revenue streams. So I guess that's how I've justified just licensing the voice. If someone's going to do something with my voice that I can't control, they can do it regardless of whether or not I put it out there myself. Jo: I agree with you. That could happen, and neither of us is famous enough that it's likely to happen anyway. I do quite like the idea of people using our voices, say, for other books for authors, because that would make sense—that's where we fit in the niche. I will rethink that, because I think it's interesting. I wanted to come back to print books. You said sometimes there are easier ways to line your pockets, and I think that's funny. So, getting into the book, this leapt out at me quite near the beginning: Why do we keep doing this when the maths almost never adds up? Mark: Oh, I have a perfect example of that from an event I did a couple of weekends ago in Burlington, Ontario. I think it was a $60 table fee. It was a new event. I believe I made $90 or $95 in sales. So even after the costs of printing and all that stuff, I really didn't make money. I made my table back, which is always a good thing. There were a few encounters I had with people who were really excited to find my Canadian Werewolf series of books, and just so thrilled to get started. Among the four of them, they bought one copy, but they were going to pass it amongst each other. You know what? Okay, they bought a single copy, and I was like, “Well, the e-book is permanently free online. You don't even have to buy a copy”—which is anti-selling. I just want them to read the book and enjoy it. But if they read it and pass it along and start talking about it, they could become readers for a long time. It's an eight-book series, with the ninth book coming out later this year. There was another encounter I had that day. A woman and her teenage daughter came in, and they were looking at my traditionally published books that I buy at a reduced price from a local bookstore and resell. They were looking at these true ghost story books I had, and they were pointing: “Do you have that one?” “Yes, I have this one, I have that one.” And the mother's like, “Well, she collects all your books, and she wants to make sure she has them.” We had this conversation, and she was so excited to meet me in person and to get a signed copy of the book. That experience was such a vanity moment for me as an author. We're lonely. I'm a big loser. Nobody's buying my books. We're always down on ourselves. So that investment of time and energy, in order to get that little pat on the back or that feeling of, “Wow, I really connected with someone who likes my stuff”—those moments are really precious. They're difficult to explain if you only look at the world in a financial way. I guess I'm fortunate enough that I do have enough income from numerous streams, including the consulting I do part-time, that it's okay if not every bookish endeavour leads to more money in my pocket at the end of the day. I can still have these authentic connections with people, which I think is one of the reasons I'm a storyteller. Yes, it's the stories I have to tell, but it's also putting the story into somebody else's hands and eyes and heart and mind. Jo: You're very giving like that. You have that sense about you, whereas I'm just a curmudgeon in the corner. Mark: That is not true. Jo: It is, generally. I don't do events like you do for readers. Mark: But that's because it takes a lot out of you. Jo: Yes, but that doesn't matter. Why do I write? I write for me. Mark: Ah, very good. Jo: At the end of the day—just being entirely selfish about this—when people say, “Oh, if you won the lottery, what would you do?” I'm like, “Well, I'd do pretty much what I'm doing now.” Mark: Yes, I'd just do the same. Of course, I'd write more books. Jo: I'd write more books. So this is where I'm trying to get to for people as well: measuring success in a different way. You were talking about measuring success by how that girl loved your books, and how you feel when someone says they love your books. With Bones of the Deep, this thriller I've just done, I feel like I had the benefit of that book before anyone even read it. As soon as it was finished, I made a nice proof copy from BookVault, and I held it in my hand and said, “I made this. I'm proud of the story, I wrote the story, and it's outside my head now.” I feel like I'm creatively satisfied in that moment. Then, of course, the Kickstarter was great, and I love that the books are going out around the world, but— I think the happiest I felt was that moment of finishing—that creative satisfaction of holding the book in my hand. You know what I mean? Mark: 100%, Jo. I cannot agree with you enough. I love so many aspects of writing. Yes, the connection with people is amazing. But I often say this when I'm doing my one-on-one consulting with authors: focus on the projects that mean the most to you, those passion projects. The process of writing, and the painful rewriting and editing and all the things you go through—when you finish that book, like you said, you hold it in your hands and it is a thing of beauty. It's a huge achievement. You've won. Whether or not you sell a single copy, you've won by doing it. Everything else is gravy: the sales, the money in your pocket or not, the reviews, positive or not, the people who say, “Oh my God, Bones of the Deep, thank you for writing this book. I'm so glad you introduced this into the world and into my life.” Anything beyond the creation itself, which is a pure joy—I love it so much. It's just why I get up at 5:30 every morning and write for hours before the rest of my day begins. I try to get stuff done before the rest of the world wakes up. I want to get the writing done first, when I have the most energy to give myself to the page. Then the rest of the day is kind of gravy for me too. Jo: You talk there about giving yourself to the page, but in Stark Realities— You talk about the fear of truly being seen. What do you mean by that, and how do you manage that feeling? Mark: For anyone who has written anything—fiction, non-fiction, memoir in particular, since it's a bit more closely tied to reality—it's exposing yourself to the world. I'll never forget an interview I did with Canadian science fiction author Julie E. Czerneda, who, before being a fiction writer, was writing biology textbooks, but her real passion was science fiction and fiction. When her first novel came out, she said, “It's like standing naked on the front lawn.” When you release a book, even a novel, people look at it and they're going to judge you and rate you. I remember early on, Jo—we knew each other through Twitter, I think, where we initially met, and then interacted with and finally met in person at London Book Fair. I think you and I have a very similar reaction. When people know us as positive and upbeat and out there helping authors in the community, and then they read our fiction, they go, “Well, Jo, you burned a nun alive on page one.” Or, “Mark, what kind of… they're drinking from the skulls of dead people? What the heck is going on with you two?” We are exposing parts of ourselves in our fiction and non-fiction. That's a fear I embrace, but also never get over, if that makes any sense. I write scary stories because I'm a big chicken. So maybe the entire process is just cheap therapy for me. Or not cheap, because it's an expensive pastime, isn't it? Jo: It certainly can be, but I agree. I struggle with fear of judgment still. I think it's also because we do this in public, which comes back to the financial side of things. We do a lot of this in public, and then people judge us on our author businesses too. You could look at Bones of the Deep, which was just on Kickstarter, and compare my Kickstarter to another author's Kickstarter for a fiction book, and judge one or the other person based on numbers. I feel like this is because you and I have done so much in public—for me, almost 20 years, and for you, like 40 years or whatever. Maybe 30 years. You look that old. Mark: Listen there, dearie. Get off my lawn. Jo: Yes, get off my lawn—with those skeletons you have on your lawn. Mark: Yes. They're no longer in my closet. Jo: They're not in your closet. I wonder if that also plays a part of it—the pros and cons of doing this business in public. Mark: Yes, that is a part of it. One thing I try to be very clear about, because there's so much FOMO and so much out there about people thinking that everyone else is making a million dollars from their books and “I'm the only loser who's not”—I try to be clear that I have never made more than a mid-five figures as an author from my author earnings, ever. I haven't yet hit six figures. One of the reasons I try to be transparent in sharing that is I don't want people to think that everyone else is a six- and seven-figure success story, and they're the only one who's only made $100 last year on their books. The reality is, 90 to 99% of the people who are writing and publishing are not going to earn a significant amount of money. I realise I'm also very, very lucky that I've earned this much, and it's taken a long time. I just shared this in a Substack post I posted yesterday: it was 10 years of rejections before I got $5 for my first short story that was published in '92. It wasn't until 2001 that I finally made pro rate, six cents US a word, for a short story that, ironically, Julie Czerneda bought from me back in the day. For me, I've been lucky that it's always been a long, slow slog. It's been a marathon, and I've never instantly sprinted across any dramatic finish line. I've had some really phenomenal moments—doing a book signing in a Costco, walking into Walmart and seeing my books there. Even last night at the Burlington Public Library, going, “Wow, they have eight of my books here—four of my self-published books and four of my traditionally published books, in two different sections.” I was like, “That's kind of cool.” So I've had these amazing moments as a writer, but I've never had the blockbuster—the Brandon Sanderson, or even the Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, kind of moments. I still think I've had a very fortunate and lucky journey. Even if I wasn't making the money I'm making, I'd still be writing, and I'm sure you would be too. Jo: Oh, yes, for sure. I actually think the thing most of us would probably let go is the marketing. If we won the lottery, we'd carry on with all the creative stuff, the writing, the community stuff, and we'd just literally do no marketing at all. Mark: Well, yes, of course. Or potentially say, “Oh, here, ad agency, here's some money. You just run it, whatever. Let me know if it works or not. I don't care.” Jo: That's a much better idea. Mark: At least I've got the extra disposable income, so I may as well, because I'm helping the world when my books are out there. I know my books will help people. I really honestly think that as storytellers—whether it's fiction or non-fiction, we're still storytellers—what we do in writing and podcasting and all the things we do, the re-sharing on social media, is really helping connect people. I think that is one of the most profound things we can do as writers. And I mean that the writing, in and of itself, is a reward. Jo: Like you said, we met on Twitter when Twitter was what it was back in the day. I do very, very little social media now. But you just mentioned your Substack, and you also have your podcast, Stark Reflections. So how are you balancing what you put on each? I only do this podcast now. I don't even blog. I write books, obviously, and then I do the podcast. So what are you doing differently on Substack to the podcast, and what part do they play in income and marketing? Mark: Great question. I realise most people have never heard of me, or read or listened to the things I put out into the world. And I've been a longtime fan of “reduce, reuse, recycle my IP.” My podcast is not as long-running as yours, but I'm in my ninth year, and I've not missed a single Friday in the full eight years, or eight and a half by now, that I've been doing this. Every week I reflect on what I learned from an interview, or I'll reflect on something you've posted and say, “This episode is not an interview, but Jo said this last week, and I'm going to talk about it.” The podcast itself takes a lot of work. I still do all of it myself, and I know I probably shouldn't, but I like doing it, so it's one of those tasks I enjoy. I also have reflections that aren't going to come out vocally but might come out in writing. Sometimes in the morning I'm not in the mood to write the novel or the non-fiction book I'm writing, but I'm writing some tangent. I just let the creative monster go. I find that re-sharing… I might have reflected on something for a couple of minutes at the end of an interview, but I really want to expand upon it, so I write the Substack article. I try to reuse some of that content. Someone's going to enjoy seeing it on a short video clip I share on YouTube, or whatever the platform is. Someone else is going to listen to it on a podcast, wherever they listen to podcasts, and someone else is going to want to read it. It could be the same information, just shared in a slightly different way, to potentially get it out to other people. So for me, it's part of that wide publishing mentality. I'm trying not to completely duplicate the work, although I am duplicating some of it. I'll give you an example. Hey, Canadian listeners—if you have not registered for Public Lending Right in Canada, please put something in your calendar for February 2027, because the deadline's over. It was May 1st of 2026. Put it in your calendar for next year. I even had somebody at this writers' event I was at this last weekend say, “You mentioned something in a presentation you did for the Canadian Authors Association about Public Lending Right, and thank you, because now I get thousands of dollars a year from this.” So just look up Public Lending Right. I've been saying stuff about Public Lending Right for at least 10 years now. Every time I get my beautiful multi-four-figure cheque from them in February every year, I post on social media and remind authors to check it out. I know it exists in the UK, and it exists in 36 countries in the world—just not the US. Jo: Not the US. Mark: They don't have a programme like this, probably because the big publishers—and probably one of the authors' associations—think that libraries are cannibalising book sales, which is not true. It's been proven time and time again, and that lobbying has prevented it from happening. Whereas here in Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Writers' Union of Canada worked hard to make this happen. Anyway, I talk about something like Public Lending Right and I feel like I must have said this so much that people are sick of it, but every single time I mention it, someone goes, “Oh my God, thanks for saying that. I never heard it.” That's a good reminder, especially for folks like you and me. We know the basics. We know what an ISBN is. We know KDP Select means you can't put the e-book on any other retailer, or even sell it on your own website. We know all these things, but it's hard for us to remember that there are folks coming to this for the very first time who've never heard it, even though we feel like, “Oh my God, I've said this till I'm blue in the face.” I think I got that from retail. When I worked in retail, I recognised that somebody's going to come in and ask for “that blue book that Reese Witherspoon was talking about,” or Oprah was talking about, or whatever. And you do your darn best to help them figure it out rather than mock them. I try to take the same approach when people ask me those questions, because I'm trying to remember what it was like when I honestly did not know the answer, and having someone take the time to help me. I've been very, very lucky that I've had a lot of people take the time to help me. I'll never forget—God rest her soul—Nancy Kilpatrick, a horror writer here from Canada who passed away a few years ago. She gave me a blurb for my very first book in 2004 because she'd acquired one of my short stories for an anthology she'd edited. I was trying to call my short story collection an anthology, and she very kindly took me aside and said, “It's not an anthology if it's a single author. An anthology is a…” Jo: I didn't know that until, like, last year. I got that wrong as well. There are lots of words like that. I want to circle back, because you didn't really answer earlier about the time management. You just mentioned YouTube, on top of Substack and all the things you do. You also have a day job at Draft2Digital—it's part-time, right? You also do part-time at the university, teaching publishing, right? You do all kinds of things. How do you manage your time with all of that? Mark: Well, I mismanage my time more than I manage it, Jo. That's the God's honest truth. Fortunately, most of the things I have that aren't scheduled—like, scheduled to do this lecture at this time, or scheduled to have this meeting at this particular time with Draft2Digital—most of my work is very flexible. I do not work a regular 9:00 to 5:00, Monday to Friday. Well, I never did. I always worked way more. But I have a very flexible schedule. Every single day is a work day, and every single day is a play day for me. So I'm very, very lucky. I do schedule in the very important things, particularly where somebody else is reliant upon me—meetings and connections and stuff like that. Then I make the time first thing in the morning to get the writing done. Everything else is not as important, and it's part of… I guess it's part of playing. You know, like the social media sharing. I don't look at social media as marketing. I just look at it as another way to connect with people, with other creatives, and with readers potentially, all six people who read my stuff. I probably could do a better job of managing my time. I've tried several times over the years to adapt processes to make it better, but I consistently default back to what I do, and so far I guess I've been getting away with it. So I was like, “Do I want to waste more time trying to come up with a process, or do I just want to roll with it?” Because so far I haven't killed myself doing it, and I've been enjoying the journey. So, if it ain't broke… Jo: I think that's the point, if it doesn't feel like it's broken. Having known you for a long time now, and we work together—obviously we co-wrote The Relaxed Author—you do work very, very differently to me. You definitely are a little bit more chaotic. I'm chaotic in some ways too. Mark: Oh, you're very generous. “A little bit chaotic.” Thanks. That was generous, Jo. Jo: You're chaotic in your work practices and scheduling and all that, which I couldn't cope with very well. Even though I feel like a part of my brain is very chaotic—the creative side, I guess, can be quite chaotic—I think I'm actually quite controlling and very scheduled in my work practices. As you say, for someone else on the outside, it might feel to me like you have too many balls in the air. But if you don't feel that, then that's the way of working that works for you. So this is another important thing, isn't it? You can't adapt to what other people say your life should look like. It's what feels good to you. Mark: Oh, for sure. One thing I know about my procrastination tendency is that panic and fear motivate me. So, a deadline—”I have to get this into a publisher by this date, I have to get this manuscript to an editor by that date”—I'm motivated by fear. And I'm afraid of everything, so I guess I'm always motivated. Jo: But I also know that when you hear the word “deadline”—and I know a lot of people who do this—the deadline means you get it in on the deadline, or the day before the deadline. To me, a deadline means I have it ready a month earlier. Mark: I love that. I've done that a few times and shocked myself. I actually had a pre-order up—with the audiobook, the print, and the e-book—a month in advance, and I didn't know what to do with myself. I was like, “Well, what am I going to do now in the next month?” Jo: Work on the next thing. Mark: But I'm so used to working on it up to the last second that I was kind of like, “What do I do?” That actually caught me by surprise, and I honestly felt weird. I was like, “I've never felt this before.” I'm really lucky. I know you have a very supportive and amazing partner, and so do I. My partner, scarily enough, is maybe a bigger procrastinator than me, so she never gives me a hard time. She supports me, and I do the same thing with her own work. I'm up all night with her at the last minute so we can get something turned in. So, fortunately, we really understand one another, and we don't give each other a hard time. We just go, “Well, got away with it again. I guess I'm not going to change my ways.” Jo: We made it. And again, that's the point. You and I could stand up in front of people, both hold up the last book we wrote, and say, “We made this,” and our processes are completely different. Our brains are completely different. We come from different countries. There are lots of things that are different, and yet we both made a book. So hopefully that encourages people. You don't have to do anything that we're telling you, or anyone else tells you. But if you want to be an author, at some point you have to produce a book. Mark: Exactly. As Brian in the classic Monty Python film gets them to say: “Yes, we are all different.” Embrace that difference. I think that's such a powerful reminder that there is no one process for getting anything done. Jo: Given that we co-wrote The Relaxed Author back in 2021—and we did that because we had another show, and we were talking, and we said, “Oh, everyone's stressed and the anxiety levels are really high, and we think there's a better path”—we co-wrote that book, which I think is still a very good book. Definitely people should get it. Interestingly, I think the stress and anxiety might actually be higher now than it was. So what do you think the main stresses are in the community now? You also see a lot with Draft2Digital, I guess, as well. Mark: Oh, for sure. Honestly, Jo, I'm so glad we wrote that book, because I actually pick it up every once in a while to remind myself of the things we tried to help others with. Again, it's therapy for me as well, so I'm so glad we did it. I think we're 10, if not 100, times more stressed. The world events and things going on, the divisiveness—not just in the world in general, in politics and everything else, but the divisiveness in the author community. The witch-hunting that happens, people trying to tear down other authors either because they're successful, or because, “Oh my God, you dared use a new technology.” All of these things are happening, and everyone's at one another's throats. I need to pick that book up and reread it. I'm a lot more stressed than I was. I'm just getting over shingles, which is… Jo: Oh. Which is actually related to stress as well, isn't it? Mark: It is, yes. I was in LA for Writers of the Future—I'm a judge for that science fiction and fantasy conference. I went right from LA, like a week in LA, which was a phenomenal experience getting to mentor the winners. And I mean, come on, it's a free trip to Hollywood, hanging out with Kevin Anderson, having beers and stuff like that. Then I came back to the Toronto Indie Author Conference, run by Tao Wong, here in Toronto. I went right from the airport—didn't even go home—straight to the hotel, because I kicked into another conference. We did a display on how to set up an in-person booth, so I ended up having to hand-bomb boxes, blocks down the street from where I was parked. My chest was really sore when I got home on the Monday, and I thought it was because I hadn't used these muscles, because I'm not in the best shape. Then I took my shirt off and went, “Oh, there's a rash there.” Liz goes, “You have shingles.” Because the pain in my chest, which I thought was the muscle, was actually underneath. I'm one of those lucky people that it's taken the full five weeks, and I'm still in pain even afterwards. So, again, public notice: if you're an older person like me, and there's a vaccine available for shingles, you may want to consider it. Jo: Yep, get it. Mark: Oh my God, it hurts. But, yes, the stress, I think, is higher—even though I didn't know I was feeling it. It was happy stress, right? I was stressed out because I'm there in Hollywood, helping people and doing some good things, and then I'm doing the same thing, interacting with some amazing authors at the Toronto Indie Author Conference. I didn't feel anxious stress. I was happy stress. Is that a thing? Jo: I think possibly… your physical body masks stress, physical stress, because you enjoy all of that stuff. Whereas someone like me, I'll feel it quicker and withdraw. Although I say that, back probably a decade ago, Jonathan would say to me, “You're going too fast, and you're going to hit the wall. And when you hit the wall, it's not going to be fun.” And I did hit the wall. Then, probably in 2021—I mean, that was when I just started going into menopause, and obviously we had the pandemic, and I wrote Pilgrimage, and I was doing all those walks, which I think really helped me. I learned a lot about maybe stopping that before it happened. Becca Syme obviously talks a lot about this too. But I find it interesting with you, because I think you're so positively happy with these events you do that it might mask your physical symptoms in a different way. That's really hard to watch out for. I'll give a tip to you and everyone else listening: schedule the calendar, and look at your calendar and go, “I can't go back-to-back-to-back. I have to put in some rest days.” Mark: Well, thank you. You know, Jo, you and Becca Syme are two of my best unpaid therapists. I appreciate that. Jo: You just don't listen, Mark. Mark: Or sometimes I do. Jo: Just coming back to the community, and the divisiveness there is primarily over AI at the moment, I think that's one of the biggest things. And the arbitrary lines as to what you're allowed to use it for and what you're not allowed to use it for, which is just kind of crazy. Obviously, you know I've opted out of that whole discussion now. How do you think we can move through this [divisiveness over AI], move on? We remember when it was trad versus indie, and then it was wide versus KU. So this will pass—it's just hard, when you're in it, to know when it might pass. Mark: Yes. I think the more generic advice—for whatever may come, whatever has come—is: why are you doing this? Why are you a writer? Heads down, focus on what gives you pleasure, and do that, because everything else is noise. All the marketing tactics and strategies, and all the people yelling at one another. Write your books. Do the things that motivate you. Do the things that give you that intrinsic reward. It's hard to ignore. I get it, it is hard to ignore. I have difficulty ignoring the haters and the yelling and the screaming that happens, but I do my best. Like this morning, when I was in the throes of my manuscript and I looked up and went, “Oh my God, I've got to shower. I'm going to be talking to Jo soon, I should comb my hair”—which I have none of. Because I was so in my book that everything else melted away. That, for me as a storyteller, as a writer, is one of the most beautiful places to be. Jo: I think you're absolutely right. I have a little thing that pops up in my calendar sometimes which says, “If you're feeling all of these things, just go create something.” The moment you refocus on creation—whatever that means to you—things change. It changes the energy. That, or go for a walk. That's my other tip. Mark: Outside. And I have to say, Jo, Pilgrimage is still one of the most profound and powerful books you've written, and you've written a lot of amazing ones. Jo: Oh, you're very sweet. Mark: That one really resonates, not just for me, but with Liz. Because one of the things we often do when we get stressed is go for a walk, ideally in nature. The vitamin N. I think there's something really profound in that, and it really helps me a lot. And again, sometimes going for a walk listening to your podcast, or an audiobook, or sometimes just attending to the environment. A tip I picked up years ago from Brooklyn author Denis Hamill was: go for a walk with your character. Listen to what they see. What do they comment on? How do they approach this environment that you've seen a million times? How do they see it? What do they notice that you don't notice? That's such an incredible experience of creativity—when you're not writing, but writing. That really helps me a lot. Jo: Oh, nice one. Okay, so your latest book is Stark Realities, but you have so many more. Where can people find you and your books and your podcast online? Mark: Jo, you can find everything you want to know about me—and stuff you don't want to know about me—over at MarkLeslie.ca. It links to all the other places from there. Jo: Brilliant. Thanks again for your time, Mark. That was great. Mark: Thanks so much, Jo. Bye-bye. The post Creative Satisfaction, In Person Print Book Sales, And Author Mindset With Mark Leslie Lefebvre first appeared on The Creative Penn.
To celebrate the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, we compare the fictional musicians with the longest names. With entries from Kids in the Hall, Wayne's World, Arrested Development, George Carlin, Adult Swim, Ray Stevens, Marvel Comics, and Monty Python, there has to be at least one entry that you're curious about, right?
Rowan University Adjunct Professor and host Paul Perrello welcomes Sir Michael Edward Palin, English actor, comedian, writer, and member of the Monty Python comedy group to discuss his book Diaries 1969-1979 The Python Years.
In dieser Folge des Brettspiel-News-Podcasts begrüßt Host Stephan zwei der drei Designer von Believe in Me! (Please): Erik Haffner und Cornel Krizsan – zwei Menschen, die nicht nur Brettspiele entwickeln, sondern auch an deutschen Comedy-Meilensteinen wie Bernd das Brot, Pastewka und Sketch History mitgewirkt haben. Mit am Tisch sitzt außerdem Steffen, der die wichtige Rolle des Mannes übernimmt, der gelegentlich nickt und Fragen stellt.Believe in Me! (Please) erscheint noch 2026 bei Wyrmgold. Das Spiel wurde über fast fünf Jahre entwickelt – begonnen noch vor der Corona-Pandemie – und verbindet das Thema falscher Gottheiten mit einem wilden Mix aus Tableau-Building, Deckbuilding, Worker Placement und einem verdeckten Stichmechanismus. Das Besondere: Das Thema stand zuerst da, inspiriert von Terry Pratchett und Monty Python, und die Mechaniken wurden darum herum gebaut. Ein Verlag, der das Götter-Thema durch Autos ersetzen wollte, bekam eine klare Absage.Die MacherDass der Humor so präzise sitzt, ist kein Zufall. Alle drei Designer kommen aus der Filmbranche:Erik Haffner ist Autor und Regisseur im Comedy-Bereich. Er war Regisseur bei Bernd das Brot, Pastewka und Sketch History und viele Jahre Companion von Tommy Krabbeweiss' Produktionsfirma.Cornel Krizsan begann als Regieassistent an Eriks Seite und ist heute selbst Regisseur, unter anderem für Soko Köln und Soko Stuttgart.Henneke Holst (in dieser Folge nicht dabei) arbeitet als Skript-Supervisor und achtet am Set darauf, dass keine Anschlussfehler passieren.Kennengelernt haben sie sich an Filmsets – und in den typischen Wartezeiten zwischen den Drehs ihr gemeinsames Hobby entdeckt: Brettspiele.
Today's guest is, quite simply, one of the great travellers of our time. Sir Michael Palin first joined me on The Travel Diaries back in 2020, and that episode went on to become one of our most loved and most listened-to conversations ever. So when the opportunity came up for him to return to the podcast, this time to mark the publication of his new book, In Nigeria, I absolutely leapt at the chance.For anyone listening who might not be fully familiar with Sir Michael Palin's extraordinary career, he first became known as one of the members of Monty Python, before going on to become one of the world's most beloved travel broadcasters and writers. His landmark BBC travel series, from Around the World in 80 Days to Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Himalaya and so many more, completely changed the way travel was brought to our screens.I went to Michael's house in London to film the interview and you'll be able to watch the full conversation on YouTube and Spotify this weekend.On today's episode, we talk about some of the extraordinary journeys he's been on since we last spoke, from Nigeria to Iraq, Venezuela and the Philippines. We talk about the places that surprised him, the countries that defied their reputation, the journeys that have stayed with him, and the places he still dreams of visiting. And, because Michael has already shared his original seven travel chapters with us, this time I asked you to send in some brand new travel chapters for him. So listen out, because one of your questions might just be in there.Holly's stay:Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy Destination Recap:VenezuelaPhilippinesNigeria, NigeriaLagos, NigeriaKano, NigeriaPort Harcourt, NigeriaIraq, IraqBabylon, IraqCuzco, PeruMachu Picchu, PeruIguazu Falls, Argentina/BrazilVictoria Falls, Zambia/ZimbabweRussia, RussiaMürren, SwitzerlandKamchatka, RussiaBhutanNepalThe Dolomites, ItalyArmenia, ArmeniaGeorgia, GeorgiaMount Ararat, Turkey/ArmeniaMichael's new book, In Nigeria, is out now.With thanks to Sani for their support of today's episode. Discover your paradise at Sani. For more information, visit sani-resort.comThank you so much to all of you for listening this season. I really hope you've enjoyed travelling the world with me through all of these conversations. The good news is, it won't be too long before I'm back. We've got another summer season coming your way in mid-August, so there are lots more travel stories to come very soon.You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at @hollyrubenstein, you can watch us on YouTube here.And have you checked out my brand new Travel Diaries map, which will save every single destination ever mentioned on the podcast? A very dangerous tool for anyone with a serious case of wanderlust? You can look at it here.Thank you again for listening, have a wonderful summer, and I'll see you very soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Recorded for Bloomsday 2026. If you're in Paris and it's still June 16th, join us between 2pm and 5pm at Shakespeare and Company, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, Paris.Find the film here: https://vimeo.com/408613317https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7xAM_eXuukAdam Biles and Lex Paulson reunite after an eighteen-month hiatus for a live commentary on the 1967 Joseph Strick film adaptation of Ulysses. They discuss Joyce's real-life role launching Dublin's first cinema, the film's scandalous festival history (Cannes brawl, Irish ban, New Zealand sex-segregated screenings), and Milo O'Shea's towering performance as Leopold Bloom. Along the way: Circe's Monty Python energy, the "Me Too" moment, and why Joyce (thanks to Nora) remains decades ahead of us all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bean and Peat are once again joined by Davinia (Dee) Evans, having talked about Scott Lynch's The Lies Of Locke Lamora last time around. How she represents a new type of fantasy author; her own journey, from taking a copy of The Hobbit from the school library and having dreams of being published by Robert Jordan's publisher (Orbit), to the eventual publication of her Notorious Sorcerer trilogy.... with Orbit. Along the way how Dee's own Notorious Sorcerer evolved from fan fiction, being raised on British comedy such as Monty Python, The Goodies, and Fawlty Towers (despite growing up in the tropics), and how the fantasy market is shifting away from exploration and towards finding the fantastical at home.
This week we delve into Bryan's formative years and watch a film that was on heavy repeat. Despite both of us still liking this movie, close inspection reveals a devastating truth linked to its production and the man twisting the steering reigns, Terry Gilliam, in his first director-for-hire project. Strap yourself in and get ready to dose yourself with whatever may be at hand as we rewatch 12 Monkeys. And gratuitous Brice Willis scrub-downs. And butts. So many butt shots...This Movie's Cocktail: The Gilliam2 oz Vodka2 oz Dark Rum4 oz Pineapple Juice4 oz Orange JuiceGarnish a small fishbowl with every fruit rind and swizzle straw in your kitchen and fill with ice.Pour ingredients over ice while reciting any Monty Python sketch.Avoid being crushed by large paper cutouts of feet coming down from above.Sonic Death Monkey Top 5: Top 5 movies we'd go back in time to stop from happening.Subscribe to us on Patreon FREE! Plus additional paid tiers with get you access to the Post Show, and more! 7-day FREE trials available :)Free - Get notification of new content$3/mo - Get access to the Epilogues where we talk about current film, plus the outtakes$5/mo - Early access to episodes$5/mo Set Rounder (Limited) - Receive a deck of Nostalgia Killers Season One poker cards$15/mo Executive Producer - Have your name shouted out for each episodeFeaturing:BryanLuc Londe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 10, 2026 is: foible • FOY-bul • noun Foibles are minor flaws or shortcomings in someone's character or behavior. In fencing, foible refers to the weakest part of a sword's blade, between the middle and point. // You have to be able to laugh at your own foibles. See the entry > Examples: "The British sketch comedy troupe Monty Python loved taking aim at contemporary foibles through its twisted and liberal reading of history." — David Faris, The Week, 29 Apr. 2026 Did you know? Many word lovers agree that the pen is mightier than the sword. But be they honed in wit or form, even the sharpest tools in the shed have their flaws. That's where foible comes in handy. Borrowed from French in the 1600s, the word originally referred to the weakest part of a fencing sword, that part being the portion between the middle and the pointed tip. The English foible soon came to be applied not only to weaknesses in blades but also to minor failings in character. Foible ultimately traces back to the Old French term feble, which is also the source of our English adjective feeble.
The Actress who plays "The Lady of The Lake," Amanda Robles, is excited to see The Ordway Theater for the first time tonight as the Monty Python side splitter opens in St. Paul.
The Actress who plays "The Lady of The Lake," Amanda Robles, is excited to see The Ordway Theater for the first time tonight as the Monty Python side splitter opens in St. Paul.
Joining us from The Room Next Door is this week's guest, who leapt into our lives during Covid as our favourite political advisor. Put off sport growing up by roaring older brothers, he talks Monty Python versus Match of the Day, the trauma of school PE and avoiding rugby simply by wearing glasses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What's going on in Ariana Grande's new music video? Let's play a game: Did these celebrities get replaced because they were fired, quit, or died? Did you know Chris Farley was supposed to be Shrek? Sarah's telling us about the most expensive celebrity's baby photo ever. Dang, People Magazine has some dough. The generations are at war. It's Pride month! The Giants still suck. Californians are filing bankruptcies. Vinnie's got great gifts for the high school graduates in your life.
Puntata a cura di Untimoteo.La casa di produzione Titmouse, ormai una vera e propria istituzione dell'animazione per adulti, ha presentato nel 2026 su Netflix Strip Law. Legal comedy la cui prima stagione consta di 10 puntate dalla durata media di 25 minuti.Strip Law rappresenta un'anomalia narrativa e visiva nel panorama contemporaneo. Sulle prime risalta il cinismo senza sconti e il nonsense esistenzialista alla Monty Python. Poi, la serie scardina le convenzioni del legal drama istituzionale, trasformando l'aula di tribunale in un grottesco reality show sul cui palco passa la peggio umanità.In una Las Vegas distopica e satura che non dorme mai, Strip Law segue le vicende di uno studio legale sui generis, incaricato di gestire i casi più assurdi, violenti e scandalosi che la metropoli possa generare. Qui la legge, che dovrebbe essere scritta nei codici costituzionali, in realtà viene dettata quotidianamente dagli indici di ascolto televisivo. E dalle reazioni social in tempo reale. “Animazione” è il format del podcast di Mondoserie dedicato alle diverse scuole ed espressioni del genere, dall'Oriente alla scena europea e americana.Parte del progetto: https://www.mondoserie.it/ Iscriviti al podcast sulla tua piattaforma preferita o su: https://www.spreaker.com/show/mondoserie-podcast Collegati a MONDOSERIE sui social:https://www.facebook.com/mondoserie https://www.instagram.com/mondoserie.it/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXpMjWOcPbFwdit0QJNnXQ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mondoserie/
Alan's Soap https://AlansSoaps.com/ToddHonor John's memory and the legacy he created for Ian and Alan with Alan's Artisan Soaps “John's Favorites” bundle. Get one bar of each of his favorites for only $28.99. Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comBe confident in your portfolio with Bulwark! Schedule your free Know Your Risk Portfolio review. Go to KnowYourRiskPodcast.com today. Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/Todd Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/ToddGet the new limited release, The Sisterhood, created to honor the extraordinary women behind the heroes. Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeSpencer Pratt's Race Is The Great Cultural Explainer of Our Time. Great political ad here from @spencerpratt - the reality TV star turned wannabe mayor of LA who had his house burned down in the Palisades fires Delves into shy voters who are afraid to say who they want to win. - “You Are Not Alone. Vote Spencer Pratt.” Raman: Pratt using AI videos is “deeply insulting” to entertainment industry workers in LA. Michaelson: He would say he's just sharing other people's AI videos, that's not what he puts out. Raman: Well, you know, sure, but...*changes subject* Talking point nuked. Hysterical. Portland Business Owner: “I have to be honest, I have never felt so unsafe in this city” “I betta not catch you over here with those devil blue eyes!” - L.A. (May 22) — CA Democrat governor candidate @TomSteyer was surrounded by militant blacks in the Leimert Park neighborhood. They demanded reparations, shouted racial slurs and threatened him. Los Angeles resident says she is very inspired by hearing Spencer Pratt speak about becoming Mayor. She says she drove to LAX airport, on the way home she saw 3 different homeless people drop their pants and poop right on the street, right out in the openAn Australian “Doctor” Wants To Make Sure Men Don't Get Fired for Getting Pregnant. A scene from Monty Python's the Life of Brian. My word. This is incredible. A real-life version of that scene from The Life of Brian: "Stan, you haven't got a womb! Where's the foetus going to gestate?! You going to keep it in a box?!" The Dangerous Lie Casual Christians Believe About JesusIn 5 words, Jesus explained exactly who He is. "Before Abraham was, I AM." (From John 8:58). Not “I WAS”, I am. Or, if you look at the raw Greek manuscript that the Apostle John penned, it is the two-word phrase: Ἐγώ εἰμι“Ego Eimi”.Jesus claimed self-existence—an uncreated, eternal nature that has no beginning, no end, and relies on absolutely nothing else to exist.The Pharasees knew exactly who Jesus said He was and IS. “I AM THAT I AM... Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14 Jesus was appropriating the unutterable Name of Yahweh for Himself. "So they picked up stones to throw at Him." Under Levitical law, claiming to be the self-existent God was punishable by immediate stoning for blasphemy.'The "I AM" Statements (Gospel of John)“I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35): Describing himself as the ultimate source of spiritual nourishment that satisfies the soul.“I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12): Describing himself as the guide who removes spiritual darkness and brings truth.“I am the Gate for the Sheep” (John 10:7): Describing himself as the only way to enter into a relationship with God and find safety.“I am the Good Shephder” (John 10:11): Describing his sacrificial love, protection, and willingness to lay down his life for his followers.I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25): Describing his power over death and his ability to give eternal life to those who believe in him.“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6): Describing himself as the exclusive path to God, absolute truth, and the source of eternal existence.“I am the Vine.” (John 15:1): Describing himself as the source of spiritual vitality; believers are the branches that must stay connected to him to bear fruit.
In this new series we explore the history of the Transmission of Torah from Moshe to our generation today. We explore different aspects of how the Torah Sh'bal Peh has been given over and begin to answer some heavy questions. Some accents and attempts at humor with to many references to Monty Python along the way. Enjoy
Whether you want to sell a dead parrot to an unsuspecting customer, travel around the world with a wry view of life, or simply figure out why a fish is called Wanda -- Michael Palin is your man. The creator of many of Monty Python's most beloved sketches, Palin carved out a fine post-Python career as the host of numerous BBC travel shows, as well as a full resume of character roles such as that of Ken Pile, a stuttering gangster, in A Fish Called Wanda. What did the public think of Michael? How about four Bafta awards and an appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Just don't ask too many questions -- you don't want him to think it's some sort of Spanish Inquisition! As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows! Want more Michael Palin? Another Palin classic was this long running gag about some people you would never expect. https://youtu.be/psMMKgvpGfg?si=mkTPwDC9wMC5hUpu Michael was at the center of many classic Python bits, including this musical tribute to the men of the woods! https://youtu.be/B6mzobwTYyo?si=Riix_96cfDIrNZmS Michael had a huge post-Python career hosting a series of witty travel programs for the BBC. Not bad work if you can get it! https://youtu.be/jXddPTxv8DM?si=fgUNl6S6BStyeqFR Michael is a fine character actor and his role as stuttering gangster Ken Pile in A Fish Called Wanda is one of his best. https://youtu.be/4vsFC6Gt2EE?si=1ATBkJEGlBBIVa7R
A hapless bloke born in the stable next door to the most famous birth in history spends his life being mistaken for the Messiah. Brian just wants to be left alone, but first-century Jerusalem has other ideas — Romans, revolutionaries, and a very devoted crowd won't let him catch a break. Monty Python's sharpest and funniest film is a brilliant skewering of blind faith, mob mentality, and the absurdity of organised religion.
Guest Ryan Visser joins Jimmy to find the Meaning of Life but find only a legendary sketch group's most underappreciated film or an absurdist train wreck. No one is neutral about this movie.
"The Good Listening To" Podcast with me Chris Grimes! (aka a "GLT with me CG!")
Send us Fan MailWhen Andy Gotts was 18, a stranger in Norfolk asked him why he didn't look happy. That single question and the Photography Teacher it quietly led him to, set in motion a 36 year path from a college darkroom in King's Lynn to Hollywood's most idiosyncratic black-and-white portraits.In this Stories of Distinction & Genius episode, Chris Grimes welcomes Andy "One Shot" Gotts into The Clearing to trace the whole arc: From the 300 letters with not a single reply, the 1 yes from Joss Ackland at his son's wedding in Clovelly, and the line "what do you do and who shagged who?!" that finally gave the wish list its theme. Andy talks about the 150 Actors he set out to photograph in 1995, the long, patient pursuit of Gary Oldman that ended this year through Big Mo and a young actress sliding into his DMs, and how Paul Newman himself christened him "One Shot Gotts" after a 4 minute shoot in Connecticut.The conversation moves through the people who shaped him: His milkman father leaving for work at 3:00 every morning, his devoted mother, Dr Tony Leach who taught him Photography on Saturdays in Holt, Stephen Fry whose 90 second portrait at a college Q&A genuinely started his career, and Sir John Hurt, born on the very same day as Andy's dad. Andy shares the afternoon in East Runton when John told him over a pint of red wine that he had cancer and months to live, and asked Andy back the following weekend to direct him. What followed - John in his late father's priest's robes, speaking 'Imagine' as a parable in a single take - became John Hurt's last ever recording.There are also the secret Monty Python reunion shoots at Duke's at 3:00 in the morning; LS Lowry, Hitchcock and Sidney Poitier's story about Tony Curtis and The Defiant Ones; Bob Ross's happy little clouds taking over lockdown; three years spent funding a degree as a Norfolk Nightclub Bouncer; an unwavering refusal to retouch a single line on a face; and the epitaph Ringo Starr gave him, "the Ansel Adams of faces."A warm, story-rich hour and a half about tenacity, taste, and what it really means to "stay on the bus!"
Leo Roberts is Sir Galahad in Monty Python's Spamalot, opening May 19 at the CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.). Roberts joins Steve Dale to talk about members of the Monty Python Troupe he's met in real life. For tickets, visit Broadway in Chicago.
Episode 104: What's in the Box?! Still testing the water... feels fine, but we're being cautious! In our new, Build a Character Workshop, random prompts gave us a retired washed up super villain trying to re-enter the dating scene. Not only did Connor have fun with it, we ended up roleplaying his first date! We went off the rails fast! Middle school humor and Monty Python voices... barely made it through. Sorry about that, y'all. LOL In our Roll for Credits segment, we check out the 2020 sci-fi/horror flick, Black Box. Sean geeked out a little about all the psychology lingo early on, but it went a little Twilight Zone pretty quick. Both of us thought it was a great little flick - unexpected but layered plot. Come listen to our thoughts and go check it out! And as always, geekery, video games, and chickens. Lots of chickens. We'll be going to a bi-monthly schedule, so we'll see you in two weeks! Thanks for listening, and make sure to give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcasting service! Come watch a livestream of the podcast Fridays at 8:00 pm at https://www.twitch.tv/genepoolvarietyhour! Hope to see you soon, and thanks for listening! Find us anywhere! @genepoolvarietyhour on Threads @genepoolpodcast on Bluesky @genepoolvarietyhour on Instagram @genepoolvarietyhour on Youtube @genepoolvarietyhour on Twitch
Back in 2016, Word Balloon welcomed the late great satirist and comedy legend Tony Hendra for a fascinating conversation that covered everything from modern political comedy to the birth of some of the most influential comedy institutions of the last fifty years.Tony joined us to promote the comedy album Are There Any Triggers Out There?, but the discussion quickly became a remarkable tour through his own comedy history. Hendra was one of the founding creative voices behind National Lampoon and The National Lampoon Radio Hour, which became the first national sketch comedy showcase for performers like Gilda Radner, Christopher Guest, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and many other future comedy giants before their rise on Saturday Night Live and beyond.Tony also co-wrote National Lampoon's Lemmings, the legendary off-Broadway stage parody of Woodstock and youth culture that became a launching pad for many of the same performers and helped define the aggressive, counterculture edge of 1970s American comedy. We also talked about Tony's years at Cambridge Footlights, where he performed sketch comedy alongside future Monty Python members John Cleese and Graham Chapman during a revolutionary era for British comedy.And of course, fans know Tony best on screen as the hilariously exasperated Ian Faith, manager of This Is Spinal Tap, delivering some of the film's most quotable moments while trying to hold together the world's most disastrous rock band.It's a funny, insightful conversation with one of comedy's sharpest and most influential voices
Mortal Kombat is a meme franchise built on Bloodsport, Big Trouble in Little China, and Monty Python-level gore. It has never been serious. So why is this movie better-crafted than most $200 million blockbusters? MonteCristo and DoA break down why Mortal Kombat 2 is the best video game movie ever made and what Hollywood should learn from it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A meeting of great minds: William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and the men of Monty Python.
This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpet performer, composer and designer Thomas Gansch, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here: "Thomas Gansch Trumpet Interview" And, find the expanded show notes, transcript and more photos here From his groundbreaking Mnozil Brass to his original take on a rotary valve trumpet, the "Gansch Horn," Thomas Gansch has made an indelible impact on professional music. Thomas joins us today to share his musical journey from a young boy, surrounded by instruments in a musician's family, to becoming a prominent trumpet player in Austria and beyond. He opens up quite honestly about his struggles with classical music education, and family expectations, before eventually making his transition towards jazz, which he embraced as part of his wide-range of musical interests. Growing up as the son of renowned Austrian composer Johann Gansch, and as the much younger brother of Hans Gansch, a prominent trumpet soloist and professor himself (and principal trumpeter of the Vienna Philharmonic), there was a lot of push and pull as both brothers sought their own place of identity, creativity and freedom to pursue their musical dreams. It was through humor and originality that Thomas truly found his wings, particularly with the Mnozil Brass septet, considered the "Monty Python of the musical world." Going strong since 1992, Mnozil forms just part of Thomas' busy schedule that comprises all sorts of musical styles and groups. And he gives us a tour of the original Gansch Horn, a rotary trumpet that can be played with one hand, which gives it its distinctive arced bell shape. Thomas worked directly with the noted Austrian manufacturer Schagerl in the early 2000's to create the horn that has become his identity. From practice routines to juggling gigs, jamming with Wynton Marsalis and Jerry Hey to looking after your body and mind, this is a wonderful conversation of breadth and inspiration! About Thomas Gansch: Thomas Gansch, born in 1975, has always successfully eluded any categorisation. Whether in the formation "Mnozil Brass", which he co-founded and with which he has been performing around the world for thirty years, in the legendary "Vienna Art Orchestra", as a soloist with a large orchestra or as part of a family theatrical ensemble with his wife Theresia and the joint programme "Doppelgansch", whether as a composer, arranger, compere, pop singer, big band leader or brass band conductor, the native of Lower Austria does not allow himself to be confined to any musical genre. He likes to summarise all varieties of his art under the term "music" that "either touches him or doesn't touch him" in order to put all prejudices to one side and to give listeners an intuitive approach to listening. Various projects have taken Gansch to over 45 countries and his first musical experiences in the brass band of his father Johann Gansch S. (1925 - 1998), which he - in the spirit of the gifted improviser - always integrates directly into his work. Today, Gansch draws on his wealth of artistic experience and also brings his engaging personality to every project, from symphony orchestras to chamber music ensembles, from jazz to new music, from pop acts to musical theatre and comedy programmes, into his performances. There are no hierarchies in his understanding of art, and so he manages to inspire and "pick up" the audience again and again. Episode Links: Mnozil Brass: https://mnozilbrass.at/en YouTube: @ThomasGanschOFFICIAL Instagram: @thomasgansch Facebook: @thomasganschofficial Bob Reeves Brass Events and Appearances: Next Up! Concert Series: Watch the live streamed premier of Dan Rosenboom's special composition, "In a World Like This," with the Los Angeles Brass Alliance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xfR6Gwtyw4 And stay tuned for the fully HD version coming soon! William Adam Trumpet Festival July 9-12, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill. Podcast Credits: "A Room with a View" - composed and performed by Howie Shear Podcast Host - John Snell Photo Credits - ©Daniela Matejschek Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg
May 11, 1969. Six Monty Python writers and actors meet in an Indian Restaurant to officially form their troupe. This episode originally aired in 2023. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.
Um grupo de comediantes ingleses, muito influente, que eu pensava que só tinha feito séries e telefilmes. Mas não, afinal também houve uns quantos a estrear no cinema mesmo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lafayette High School Graduate Nathaniel Mahone has always found joy in bringing laughter to others. Now, after several summers as a Muny Kid and Teen and graduating college, Mahone is touring the country with the musical comedy “Monty Python's Spamalot”. Mahone shared his journey from small plays to big stages, and what it means to be coming home to St. Louis on his first national tour.
What does The Green Knight reveal about masculinity, honor, fear, and the strange world of medieval storytelling?In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, historian and medievalist Matt Gabriele joins Jason for a deep dive into David Lowery's haunting adaptation of the Arthurian legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Together, they unpack the film's rich symbolism, eerie atmosphere, and surprisingly human portrayal of knighthood in the Middle Ages.From Dev Patel's unforgettable performance as Gawain to the mythology surrounding King Arthur, the conversation explores how medieval people understood honor, courage, religion, violence, and destiny. Jason and Matt discuss the real history behind Arthurian legends, the meaning of chivalry, the role of Christianity and folklore in medieval Europe, and why The Green Knight may be one of the most honest medieval films ever made.Along the way, they tackle medieval masculinity, race in the medieval world, storytelling traditions, and the enduring power of myth in modern culture. Plus: bourbon, bad decisions, Monty Python, and why every historian secretly wants to talk about talking foxes and giants.If you love medieval history, Arthurian lore, fantasy films, mythology, or thoughtful movie analysis, this episode is for you.Topics Include:The Green Knight explained King Arthur and the origins of Arthurian legend Medieval masculinity and chivalry Dev Patel as Gawain Religion and magic in the Middle Ages Medieval storytelling and folklore Race and diversity in medieval Europe Why The Green Knight feels so different from other medieval films The real meaning of honor and oathkeeping
Photo by Shannon Potter on Unsplash Published 4 May 2026 e552 with Andy, Michael and Michael – stories and discussion on AI, life on Mars, life of the Vision Pro, retro C64s and a whole lot more! Andy, Michael and Michael get things started with a brace of AI articles dealing with with a wide variety of topics. First up is Meta's use of employee activities on their corporate computers to train their AI models. Then, a discussion on the SpaceX and Cursor business deal. Next, a conversation on a breach to access the Claude Mythos model. Interspersed with these is a discovery by NASA's Curiosity rover finding organic molecules on Mars. With a number of articles claiming, and paraphrasing here, that the Vision Pro is bereft of life, shuffled up its mortal coil and joined the choir invisible, Michael Rowe shares his perspective on the subject. His says his Vision Pro is not an Ex-Vision Pro. The cohosts go retro – as they are wont to do – with a flock of posts about all things Commodore. Links below if you are curious and want to see what these devices look like. While no Artemis II image for this week's episode, do check out the minifigs.me offering of the crew, along with the jar of “Studella” in the links below. There are a couple of additional bonus links that the cohosts didn't have time to include in the episode that prove that we can have nice things. What is your quest? What is your favorite Monty Python sketch? Have your bots
This week, Jemma, Kirk, and Trev delve into the world of Final Fantasy. Square Enix has announced its MMORPG FF XIV is heading to the Switch 2 this August. What is it exactly? Plus, FF VII Rebirth (the remake trilogy part 2) demo is out now on Switch 2 - have we played it? What do we think? We give all the details! Plus, we celebrate Star Wars Day with a look at an interesting new twist on a Monopoly game featuring SW characters. We also have Mario Galaxy Movie news, an interesting Amazon/Nintendo piece, plus an upcoming quirky point-and-click that looks like a cross between Monty Python and Renaissance art. We're also playing Tomodachi Life, Starbites, and Back to the Dawn. Enjoy the show!
Today host Aaron Millar is sharing a bucket list bit of madness — literal adventure insanity he got up to about 15 years ago in the Scottish Highlands. It's called the Glen Nevis River Race, and it involves hurling yourself down two miles of white-water rapids with nothing but a novelty inflatable for company.Picture part extreme white-water adventure, part Monty Python's Navy — competitors arrive bearing giant inflatable swans, killer whales, dinosaurs and, for one unfortunate soon-to-be husband, a blow-up doll. It's one of those rare, acutely British moments when only the preposterousness of your situation matches the bravado required to see it through. And Aaron has never, ever laughed so hard in his life.Highlights include:Hearing what it feels like to stand on the edge of a thundering 40ft waterfall, inflatable lilo in hand, with a crowd screaming at you to jump.Discovering what it feels like to be swept into a churning cauldron of white-water with nothing but an inflatable air mattress to keep you afloat.Finding out about the world's most wonderfully ridiculous outdoor adventures — including World Bog Snorkelling, Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling, and the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival.FIND OUT MOREThe Glen Nevis River Race is an annual summer event held in Glen Nevis, Scotland, raising money for the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team. It's free to enter but contestants must raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship. It's run by No Fuss Events: find out more at nofussevents.co.ukOther adventures mentioned in this episode:World Bog Snorkelling Championships: held each summer near Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales: green-events.co.ukCooper's Hill Cheese Rolling: annual chaos every last Monday of May in Gloucestershire: cheese-rolling.co.ukFrozen Dead Guy Days: Estes Park, Colorado. Yes, it's real. Yes, you should go. VisitEstesPark.comSHARE THIS EPISODEIf this story made you laugh — and it will — do Aaron a favour and send it to just one person who needs a little madness in their life right now. Hit the share button in your podcast app, it takes about ten seconds, or leave a review. We're trying to reach 1,000 new listeners this series, and every single share genuinely moves the needle.FOLLOW US:Instagram: @armchairexplorerpodcastFacebook: @armchairexplorerpodcastCONNECT WITH US:If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you're reading this on right now. Go on, do it! It helps us grow the show, and continue to bring this content to you.Armchair Explorer is written and presented by Aaron Millar. Audio editing and sound design by Charles Tyrie. Theme music by Sweet Chap. Produced by Armchair Productions.Mentioned in this episode:Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world's best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities across the network, see the link below.Voyascape Podcast NetworkCheck out the Smart Travel PodcastThis week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the Link below:Smart Travel Podcast
"Together Again" When it comes to the Wisconsin-born John McCutcheon and the Chicago-born Tom Paxton, there's no way to condense their amazing careers into a three-minute introduction, but that's the challenge I have before me, so I'm going to do the best I can. Putting it simply, McCutcheon and Paxton are two of the most towering figures in the history of folk music. Let's start with McCutcheon. He's recorded close to fifty albums, he's got six Grammy nominations, he's written three children's books and he's played shows all over the world. McCutcheon is a master of the hammered dulcimer and he also plays banjo, jaw harp, and the fiddle. As for Mr. Paxton, he's recorded close to seventy albums, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, authored close to 20 books, had one of his songs used in a Monty Python episode and toured around the world. He even played a show with Black Sabbath. More on that in a minute. McCutcheon and Paxton's friendship is a glorious thing and their musical partnership has yielded two albums, including their latest effort, the absolutely marvelous Together Again. I think of Paxton and McCutcheon as the Steve Martin and Martin Short of folk music and here's why. Their creative partnership has ignited them both in new and rejuvenating ways. And Together Again offers great evidence of this--filled with lyrical economy and precision as well as musical finesse played with dexterity and grace, this is an album of tremendous depth and sensitivity. And this conversation is one of my recent favorites--it goes everywhere and yet it comes right back. This was so much fun- www.tompaxton.com (http://www.tompaxton.com) https://tompaxton.bandcamp.com/album/together-again https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p492/Together_Again_-_Digital.html www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.cm) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers: IG + BLUESKY + THREADS: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
Drew and Travis live for Monty Python's Life of Brian, the 1979 biblical satire that got a recent upgrade to 4K from Criterion! Life of Brian is our fourth and final entry in a theme month we're calling Sacrilicious, featuring movies that have more than a little fun with blasphemy! TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:31 - Monty Python's Life of Brian 00:51:35 - The Shelf 01:00:23 - Calls to Action 01:00:57 - Currently Consuming 01:20:05 - End SHOW LINKS History of the World, Part I Beau is Afraid Exit 8 Dead Man's Wire GenreVision on Letterboxd Drew Dietsch on Letterboxd Travis Newton on Letterboxd GenreVision on Bluesky Drew Dietsch on Bluesky
On today's episode, we discuss everything from Tesla “beasts” and T‑ball to war, weather, and alleged election shenanigans, as James shows off his newly wrapped Cybertruck “Beast,” jokes about its price tag versus Mark's house, and uses his grandson's chaotic T‑ball games to argue that those leagues teach dads how to coach more than they teach kids baseball. The crew then pivots to geopolitics and conspiracy, comparing Iran's gravely wounded Ayatollah to the indestructible Scarface and Monty Python's Black Knight while Dwayne describes a meme of Trump threatening to unleash a sci‑fi “discombobulator” on an Iranian ship, and they debate whether Trump's appointment of Navy Secretary Hung Cao is a savvy loyalty move or overreach. Dwayne walks Charlotte through a water‑pressure analogy for basic circuits—treating elevated water tanks as voltage, hose diameter as resistance, and gallons per minute as current—before everyone gets lost in the weeds and James laughingly concedes the physics lesson “went over like a lead balloon.” From there they roam through tornado alley science, question why places like Enid, Oklahoma seem cursed, and close with two corruption stories: a Navy officer charged under Depression‑era commodities laws for allegedly using secret mission intel to bet on a prediction market, and a Muslim Virginia politician whose sudden downgrade from multimillionaire winery owner to “clerical error” on tax forms sparks the group's broader claim that modern Democrats cheat in elections right out in the open and just dare critics to complain. Don't miss it!
Do you remember these funky 70s TV shows? They were eaither creepy, bizarre, weird or strange. Monty Python's Flying Circus, Ark II, Bigfoot & Wild Boy, Lidsville, Quark, The Ghost Busters, Super Train, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Hee Haw Honeys', Pink Lady & Jeff, Me and the Chimp 1972
April's almost over but we're not done talking all things comedy just yet: We present to you an exclusive, long-in-the-making tribute and retrospect on '50s TV host, visual gag perfectionist & awe-inspiring comedian ERNIE KOVACS. Who knew that Jack Lemmon was part of the Nairobi Trio? What influence did Kovacs' abnormal style have on Kids in the Hall, Monty Python, MST3k, Pee-Wee Herman, Mr. Show & even Conan O'Brien? Aside from Kovacs, how did Edward R. Murrow, Tex Avery, Andy Kaufman, Stan Freberg, David and Amy Sedaris & Mike Nesmith change the realm of meta-humor possibilities? We also share trivia, a review of his TV biopic movie starring Jeff Goldblum & where you can get his CD recordings/DVDs! CLIPS USED: "Ernie Kovacs Theme Song: Oriental Blues" by Robert Maxwell Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter TV spot
In the one-hundred-and-ninety-first episode, we take another look at the Galileo Fallacy, starting with Trump being compared to Galileo and Einstein, Karoline Leavitt defending RFK Jr, and Rick Perry denying climate change.In Mark's British Politics Corner, we look at Farage misquoting Gandhi, Jonathan Dimbleby defending the BBC, and Zia Yusuf attacking Zack Polanski.In the Fallacy in the Wild section, we check out examples from The Newsroom, Smallville, and Monty Python's Flying Circus.Jim and Mark go head to head in Fake News, the game in which Mark has to guess which of three Trump quotes was made up by Jim.Then we talk about FEMA official Gregg Phillips and his claims of teleportation.And finally, we round up some of the other crazy Trump stories from the past week.The full show notes for this episode can be found at https://fallacioustrump.com/ft191 You can contact the guys at pod@fallacioustrump.com, on BlueSky @FallaciousTrump, Discord at fallacioustrump.com/discord or facebook at facebook.com/groups/fallacioustrumpAnd you can buy our T-shirts here: https://fallacioustrump.com/teeSubscribe to Fallacious Trump to make sure you never miss a logical fallacy. Rather than just mindless anti-Trump rhetoric, we apply skepticism and critical thinking to our Donald Trump analysis by exploring his liberal use of logical fallacies and cognitive biases, along with a bit of humor and news about US politics. (But there is also some of that much needed anti-Trump rhetoric.)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Vi människor hamnar väldigt lätt i jämförelser med andra. Varför är det så, och varför mår vi så ofta dåligt av det? I veckans avsnitt presenterar vi fyra sätt att ta sig ur jämförelsefällan.Klipp:13:12 Monty Python and the Holy Grail20:55 BatmanRedigering: Peter MalmqvistKontakta på oss dummamanniskor@gmail.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, I chat with Mark Forstater, the producer of over 30 films, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He is the author of a number of books, including The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius, The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca, and The Living Wisdom of Socrates, as well as books on yogic philosophy and Daoism. His most recent book, The 7th Python: A Twat's Tale, documents his experience of working with the Pythons, and a protracted legal battle that he found himself fighting, and winning, decades later.Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Highlights* How did you get into Marcus Aurelius and Seneca? What motivated you to adapt them for modern readers and what are the main ideas that you take from their writings?* You've also written about Socrates, how do you feel he compares with the Stoics as a guide today?* What, if anything, do you think that working in movies can teach us about how the mind works?* Have you found Stoic ideas helpful during stressful periods in your own life? During your legal battles for example?* Could you imagine there being another movie about Marcus Aurelius?Links* Goodreads profile* The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius* The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca* The Living Wisdom of Socrates* The 7th PythonThanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1997's Dungeon Keeper. We set the game in its team, Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: First few levels Issues covered: fulfilling our weird needs, the iterated version of some ideas, the feel of a Bullfrog game, the impact of Bullfrog, taking bigger risks, the impact of acquisition, pulling ideas forward, the game in its time, transitioning from software to hardware rendering, the high concept, the mobile mess, trying to take out the heroes, imps flipping off the hero, describing and then destroying the towns, being a dungeon master for players who won't have a good time, the ecology of the dungeon, starting inside, audio for the digging heroes, a game you can lose, low-brow humor, building on grids, zoning spaces and generating appropriate models, a hero's dungeon, wondering what variables the minions have, hybrid direct impact to the minions, giving the player only one sort of interaction, possessing a creature and running around in first person, finding the ways for this thing to work, mixing ingredients to retain tension, what delights await me, real parties coming in, permit season, 30 years of game development, MIDI... snail game. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Populous, Syndicate, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Square, Nintendo, Theme Hospital, Black & White, Peter Molyneux, Lionhead, EA, Microsoft, LucasArts, Glenn Corpes, Mark Healey, Ragdoll Kung Fu, Alex Evans, Media Molecule, Rare, Fable (series), The Movies, GoldenEye 007, Diablo, Castlevania, Fallout, Interstate '76, Final Fantasy Tactics, The Last Express, Age of Empires, Outlaws, Daron Stinnett, Curse of Monkey Island, Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight, Shadows of the Empire, Wing Commander: Prophecy, Final Fantasy VII, Mario Kart 64, Gran Turismo, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, SW: Starfighter, Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Afterlife, Michael Stemmle, Bastion, Justin Graham, Minecraft, LostLake86, Civilization, SimCity, Dwarf Fortress, The Sims, Ultima Underworld, Streets of SimCity, DOOM (2016), Majora's Mask, Mortimer and the Riddles of the Medallion, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: More Dungeon Keeper Links: 27 Years Later, LucasArts' Afterlife Is Brilliant, Brutal, and Few Know How to Beat It Note: I was incorrect, it is the Bile Demon, not the Fat Demon. Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com
It's Tuesday, April 14th, 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 Actor John Cleese speaks up against Nigerian Christian genocide TruthNigeria's verified civilian deaths for Easter weekend stands at 55 people — a terrible tragedy for the nation. Nigeria remains, by far, the most deadly nation in the world for those who have received the Christian faith. John Cleese, the well-known “Monty Python" comic actor, expressed concern about the massacres of Christians in Nigeria. On the X platform, he wrote, “It looks rather as though Black Lives Don't Matter.” Writing about [the Nigerian massacres], he said, “Could damage the image of the murderers who killed these poor people.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán defeated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suffered a massive defeat in the elections on Sunday night. Orbán lost to opposition candidate Péter Magyar by a vote of 53% to 39%. Magyar's party, the Respect and Freedom Party, is also on track to gain a supermajority in the Hungarian Parliament. Magyar broke from Orban's party after multiple scandals surfaced, one of which involved a coverup for a pedophile. Daniel 2:21 speaks of the sovereignty of God over the nations. It says, “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Earlier this year, Hungarian prosecutors indicted the mayor of Budapest for organizing a homosexual pride event last June, attended by over 100,000 people. Gergely Karácsony defied a ban imposed by Viktor Orban's government. United State to block Strait of Hormuz The United States is set to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, reports NBC News. This comes as an unsteady ceasefire has settled over the region and oil prices continue to rise. President Donald Trump told Fox News that the blockade would not affect talks with Iran. TRUMP: “They haven't left the bargaining table. I predict they come back and they give us everything we want. And I told my people, ‘I want everything. I don't want 90% I don't want 95%.' I told them, ‘I want everything.'” Vice President Vance: Iran better not build a nuclear weapon Vice President J.D. Vance, who recently returned from peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, reaffirmed the United States' commitment to making sure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. VANCE: “The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.” 60% of Americans view Israel unfavorably now American's attitude towards the nation of Israel is shifting. A recent Pew Research survey found that the percentage of Americans viewing Israel unfavorably has increased from 42% in 2022 to 60% most recently. And that represents a 6% uptick from last year's survey. Now, 41% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats view Israel unfavorably. And 70% of U.S. adults under age 50 have an unfavorable view of Israel as well, according to the survey. This may be due in part to the shrinkage of the white Evangelical base in America — dropping off from 23% to roughly 14% of the population since the year 2000. California gubernatorial candidate ends campaign over sexual misconduct California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell terminated his campaign after being accused of sexual misconduct by several women, reports The Western Journal. Swalwell, who currently serves in the US House of Representatives, was pressured by fellow Democrats to leave the race, and also saw his own staffers quit. On X, Swalwell posted, “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that's my fight, not a campaign's.” He also said this in a video. Listen. SWALWELL: “I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. I also apologize to you if in any way you have doubted your support for me, but I think you know who I am.” However, last night, the alleged reprobate announced plans to resign from Congress altogether. In related news, liberal Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas, who sexually harassed at least two of his staffers, also announced he will resign, reports the San Antonio Express-News. America's housing market in trouble The U.S. housing market suffered a bad month-on-month drop in sales of existing homes in March. This marks the longest bad run on housing sales in at least 25 years, going on four years now. Americans spend 50% more time on phones today than 2022 Consumer Affairs reports that the average American checks their phones 205 times a day. They are on their phones for four hours and 30 minutes a day, up 50% since 2022. And this is new. Consumers are now using the Pet Phone to stay in touch with their pets, mind you, throughout the day, complete with two-way video calling and an Artificial Intelligence motion detector that gets the pet in touch with his owner. “A Great Awakening” Christian film already seen by 500,000 Americans And finally, George Whitefield set America aflame with righteousness in the 1740s. Charles Spurgeon wrote that “Whitefield stands unrivalled among preachers of the Gospel. … No other man seems to have wielded such a mighty influence over so many hearts.” Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones called him “the greatest English preacher of all time.” These were days of Acts 4:31: “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” And now, Sight and Sound films production, A Great Awakening, has taken in $4.9 million at the U.S. box office. The story of the great evangelist, George Whitefield, and his outreach to Benjamin Franklin, has now been seen by about 500,000 Americans. Impressively, it has a 97% audience approval rating and a 69% approval rating from the Rotten Tomatoes Tomato-meter. The film is still showing in about 1,000 theaters across America this week. But get your tickets today, like the McManus Family did, since the last day in the theaters will be this Thursday, April 16th. Watch the trailer and get tickets through special links in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. www.AGreatAwakening.com Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, April 14th, 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.
“I think there's nothing off limits [with comedy] because it's subconscious, it's examining things. I find it quite interesting. And Monty Python was particularly good at not allowing ourselves to be censored, although people tried with ‘The Life Of Brian'... But that's what made it a hit.”John Wilson speaks to English comedian, writer, musician and actor Eric Idle about his life and career.He's best-known for being a founding member of the comedy troupe Monty Python, writing and performing across their four television series and their films, including ‘The Life Of Brian' and ‘The Meaning Of Life'.Idle is also behind the Tony Award-winning musical ‘Spamalot', based on the film ‘Monty Python and The Holy Grail'. It ran twice in London's West End and on Broadway, and has also been staged in 14 countries around the world.Thank you to the This Cultural Life team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Mexican actor Diego Calva, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, and global music icon Stevie Wonder. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: John Wilson Producers: Ben Cooper and Edwina Pitman Editors: Justine Lang and Damon RoseGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Eric Idle Credit: Sarah Jeynes/BBC)
BONUS: Why Your Plan Is Lying to You — #NoEstimates, Throughput, and the Superstition of Project Management This episode is a cross-post from The EBFC Show, Felipe Engineer-Manriquez's podcast exploring Lean and Agile in construction. In this conversation, Felipe interviews Vasco about the #NoEstimates movement, throughput-based planning, and why traditional project management is still stuck in the middle ages of managing creative work. The Human Side of Scrum That the Scrum Guide Doesn't Cover "When you go into a daily meeting and you start looking at the people in that room, maybe they are the exact same people that were there yesterday, but the team is totally different. Somebody might have had a bad night's sleep, somebody might have had an argument with their spouse. These are human beings. These are not machines that you can just distribute work to." Vasco's path to agile coaching started with a realization that most practitioners eventually reach: the problems in software development aren't technological. They're about people — getting agreements, sharing information at the right time, making the collective brain of a team actually function. The Scrum Guide gives you organizing principles — how many meetings, who's in them — but it says almost nothing about the real-time feedback cycle between humans that makes or breaks a team. That's why the Scrum Master role exists: to be the lubricant for human interactions, to break down complex ideas into items the collective mind can process. It's the piece that makes Scrum work, and it's the piece that's hardest to teach. From Project Manager to #NoEstimates — The Bet That Changed Everything "The PM wanted 15 items per sprint, and the team said 'yeah, we can do 15.' I said, this is not gonna happen. The team had been delivering between five and eight items per sprint. I said, I'm gonna be positive — I'm gonna say seven. And no surprise, by the end of the sprint, they delivered seven." Vasco started as a project manager — and not the easy certification kind. He went through IPMA, which means six months of training, a four-hour written exam, and an expert interview, just for the entry level. Planning and estimating was the job. Then he ran his first Scrum project, specifically to prove it couldn't work. By the second month, he couldn't understand how anything else could work. The team delivered something to show every single sprint — something that never happened with traditional project management. The turning point came when he made a bet with a product manager: the PM needed 15 items per sprint, the team committed to 15, but historical throughput was 5-8 items. Reality delivered seven. That moment crystallized the #NoEstimates insight: we can't fight reality, but we can choose which seven items to deliver. Reality Is a Bitch — Why Linear Predictive Planning Fails "Never believe the plan. Or as in Scarface — never get high on your own supply. It's so unbelievable how project managers still today believe their freaking plans." At Nokia, Vasco managed a program of 500 people across 100 teams on four continents. No way to get everyone in a room. So he tracked system-level throughput — features delivered to integration per week. Six months into a twelve-month project, the data said they'd be at least six months late. He told the program manager: cut scope now. The program manager did what every PMI-trained program manager does — sent an email asking all 100 teams if they'd deliver on time. Every single team said yes. Nobody wants to be first to admit they're late. Twelve months in, they discovered they were six months late. The project got canceled. 500 people, millions of euros, all because somebody believed the plan. Linear predictive planning is useful for exploring what might be possible if nothing goes wrong. It is not reality. The only tool that reflects reality is throughput — the number of items completed per unit of time. Earned Value Management — George Orwell at His Best "It's not earned, it's spent. It's not value, it's cost. It's not management, it's just observation. Monty Python could not have come up with a better name." Felipe shares a story that mirrors the absurdity: an industrial project with a dedicated 35-person earned value management department. Before the meeting even started, the department head announced, "Let's all acknowledge that earned value management is more an art than a science." Their charts were made up, the contractor's charts were made up, and the goal of the meeting was to agree that the project would finish on time — regardless of what any data said. This is where traditional project management ends up when it disconnects from throughput: a $30 million scope addition with zero additional time, defended by charts that a mediocre attorney can invalidate in the first week of litigation. Felipe knows — he spent a year being cross-examined by forensic schedulers whose full-time job is proving that construction schedules are fiction. One Small Experiment to Test #NoEstimates "Never convince anyone. Convince yourself. Once you're convinced, whatever other people say, it doesn't really matter because you're not gonna take them seriously anyway." Here's how to validate throughput-based planning with your own data: take the last 10 sprints (or periods). Calculate the average throughput and control limits from the first five. Then check whether the next five sprints fall within that range. They will. If you're in software and using Jira, you already have this data. You don't need anyone's permission. You don't need to change anything. Just look at what your team actually delivers versus what they planned to deliver. The gap between those two numbers is the gap between superstition and reality. About Felipe Engineer-Manriquez Felipe Engineer-Manriquez is a best-selling author, international keynote speaker, Project Delivery Services Director at The Boldt Company, host of The EBFC Show podcast, and a proven construction change-maker implementing Lean and Agile practices on projects from millions to billions of dollars worldwide. He is a Registered Scrum Trainer™ (RST), Registered Scrum Master™ (RSM), and recipient of the Lean Construction Institute Chairman's Award. His book Construction Scrum is the first practical guide for applying Scrum in construction. You can link with Felipe Engineer-Manriquez on LinkedIn.
Rob Bernstein opens with a produced satirical cold open recapping the full lunacy of the Iran war, then dives into why the Kash Patel hack was probably Iran flexing that they have more dirt where that came from. The episode centers on the growing case for breaking up with Israel: other countries are paying Iran for Hormuz access, creating a natural off-ramp to the war that only Israel loses from -- and Donald Trump might finally be cornered into choosing between Netanyahu and reality. Rob tears through clips of Caroline Levitt insisting Iran has "already been defeated" while Iran blows up a $300 million plane and strikes Israeli desalination plants, Marco Rubio's goalpost-shifting "weeks not months" timeline that's now past a month, Netanyahu telling Trump to ignore anti-war polls, and Ben Shapiro's pitch for ground troops that boils down to "we have a military so we might as well use it." Trump's staff reveals they have an unofficial rule of waiting for him to say something twice before acting on it because he says too much crazy stuff, and Rob proposes a 24-hour confirmation system for presidential statements. The show wraps with USAID green energy grift allegations in Ukraine, the TSA self-funding fix, and DeSantis spending $2 million to rename an airport after Trump. Full episode on YouTube: RobbieTheFire More content and paywalled episodes at robbernsteincomedy.com -- all five bucks a month. Merch at: RobbernsteinMerch.com Sponsors: YOKRATOM.com --- ## Chapters 00:00:00 - Cold Open: The Iran War Satirical Newsreel 00:06:07 - Kash Patel Hack: Iran Flexing They Got More 00:07:01 - Countries Paying Iran for Hormuz Access: The Off-Ramp 00:09:52 - Cut Your Losses and Break Up With Israel 00:12:09 - Trump Wants His Signature on US Currency 00:13:35 - Trump's Negotiation Timeline: 5 Days, 10 Days, 15 Days 00:14:06 - Iran Blows Up a Kurdish Oil Tanker and a $300M Plane 00:15:14 - The Military's "95% Obliterated" Lie 00:16:57 - New York Post Selling the War: Ex-General Says We're Ahead of Schedule 00:17:42 - Roll the Clip: Rubio's War Timetable 00:19:17 - Rubio on Iran: Imagine If They Spent Money on Their People 00:20:42 - Rubio's Weeks Not Months Claim vs. Reality 00:23:06 - Netanyahu Says War Beyond Halfway Point, Tells Trump to Ignore Polls 00:25:28 - War Progress Report: Only 30% of Stockpiles Destroyed 00:26:00 - Trump on the Aircraft Carrier Getting Hit 00:27:05 - 13 US Bases Uninhabitable and Remote Work Joke 00:27:44 - Caroline Levitt: Iran Has Already Been Defeated 00:30:05 - Monty Python "Tis But a Scratch" Iran Comparison 00:30:40 - The Hill: Trump's Staff Waits for Him to Say It Twice 00:33:41 - Comments Break 00:37:40 - Trump Distracted by a Gold Tractor 00:38:26 - Proposal: ADD Trump Off These Topics with Atlantis 00:39:44 - Trump on Unused 10-Year-Old Equipment (Epstein Context) 00:40:25 - Trump's 15-Point Iran Truce Plan Lets Missiles Slide 00:42:54 - Trump Annoyed France Won't Share Airspace 00:44:53 - Europe Breaking Up With Israel Over Oil 00:45:15 - Ben Shapiro's Pitch for Ground Troops 00:46:00 - This Is COVID All Over Again: Two Weeks to Slow the Curve 00:48:12 - Shapiro Flips the Script: "Military Activity Is Necessary" 00:50:51 - Iranian Propaganda Guy Mocking Trump and Epstein Connection 00:53:02 - Mark Levin Troops on the Ground Tease 00:53:18 - Trump on Fox: My Uncle at MIT Knew Nukes 00:55:37 - Hegseth on Hormuz Tolling: "Unacceptable" 00:58:03 - Producer Man Technical Difficulties 00:58:23 - Netanyahu "I Can Control the Height of the Flames" Leaked Video 01:00:34 - USAID Ukraine Clean Energy Grift Allegations 01:02:53 - At Least Trump Gives Us Real Problems (Not Climate Nonsense) 01:03:29 - Ice Core CO2 Study: Both Sides Claim Victory 01:04:27 - TSA Self-Funding Fix: Just Charge $10 a Ticket 01:05:30 - Politicians Only Fix Things When It Affects Their Flights 01:07:06 - Florida Renames Palm Beach Airport for Trump 01:07:34 - Comments, Paywall Tease, and Sign-Off
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