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I was at a professional meeting recently and I heard an inspiring and insightful and forward-looking talk by journalist and author Roger Thurow. Roger was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal for 30 years, 20 of them as a foreign correspondent based in Europe and Africa. Roger has written a number of books including one on world hunger and another what I thought was a particularly important book entitled The First 1000 Days, A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children and the World. Now comes a new book on farmers around the world and how they are coping with the unprecedented changes they face. It was hearing about his book that inspired me to invite Mr. Thurow to this podcast and thankfully he accepted. His new book is entitled Against the Grain: How Farmers Around the Globe are transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet. Interview Summary I really admire your work and have loved the new book and what I've read before. So, let's talk about something that you speak about: the wisdom of farmers. And you talk about their wisdom in the context of modern agriculture. What do you mean by that? Farmers of the world, particularly the small holder farmers, indigenous farmers, family farmers as we know them in this country, they're really bold and pioneering in what they're doing. And these farmers, kind of around the world as we go on this journey around the world in the book, they've seen their efforts to earn a living and feed nourish their families and communities turn against. So, while conforming to the orthodoxies of modern industrial agriculture practices: the monocropping, the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides and insecticide chemicals, the land expansion, at the expense of savannas, forest wetlands, biodiverse environments. In the face of this, they've really witnessed their lands degrading. Their soils depleting. Their waters dwindling. Their pollinators fleeing. Their biodiversity shrinking and becoming less diverse. Their rains becoming ever more mercurial., Their temperatures ever hotter. And their children and families and their communities becoming ever more hungry and malnourished. So, they've really seen the future of their own impacts on the environment, and then the impacts of changing climates, of more extreme weather conditions. They've really seen this future. They've experienced, lived it, and it's ugly what they see and what they've experienced on their farms. So, that's their wisdom, and they'll really tell us that it doesn't have to be that way if we listen. That such a future isn't inevitable. Because out of their desperation, you know, these farmers have begun farming against the grain. So, there's the title of the book Against the Grain of this modern agriculture orthodoxy to reconcile their roles as both food producers and nourishers of us all, and stewards in the land. They're pushing forward with practices like agroforestry, agroecology, regenerative agriculture, kind of whatever one calls it. Farming with nature instead of bending nature to their will, which is what we too often done and with kind of the larger modern industrial agriculture techniques. So, farming with nature as opposed to against it as they strive to both nourish us all and heal our planet. Give us a sense, if you will, about how important these small farmers are to the world's food supply? So how important are these? They're really important. Extremely vital for the global food chain, certainly for their own families and communities, and their countries. In a lot of places, say in Africa, in many of the countries, on the continent, it's the small holder farmers that are producing the majority of the food. In their communities and in their countries and across the continent. Still not enough. Africa then must become a substantial importer of food. But these small holder farmers are so key and the more success that they have in feeding their communities and families, the more success we all have then in this great goal of ending hunger and malnutrition. Equally important, these farmers are the stewards of the land. And they're on the front lines of these environmental challenges. The threats from the changing climate and more extreme weather conditions. They're the first impacted by it, but they also increasingly see, and that's what stories in the book are about, how they see that their own actions are then impacting their environment and their climates. And this is why they're so important for all of us is that they find themselves at the center of what I think is this great collision of humanities two supreme imperatives. One, nourish the world, so nourish us all. That's the one imperative. And then the other imperative, kind of colliding with that, is to preserve, protect, and heal our planet from the very actions of nourishing us. So, these are these two colliding forces. You know as I think we already know agriculture and land use activities are responsible for about a third of the greenhouse gases impacting our climate and weather patterns. And the greatest impact of this then is felt by the farmers themselves. And they see what's happening to their soils and the depletion of their soils. Their lands being so terribly degraded by their very actions of nourishing their families and then contributing to nourishing us all. I think that's why they're so important for us. I mean, there's certainly kind of the canaries in the coal mine of climate change. Of these environmental challenges that we're all facing. And how they're then able to adjust their farming, as we kind of see in the book and that's this wisdom again. How can we learn from them and what are they seeing in their own situations. They're then having to adjust because they have no other options. They either have to adjust or their farms will continue to degrade and their children and their families increasingly malnourished and hungry. Roger let's talk through this issue of colliding imperatives just a bit. The fact that protecting the planet and nourishing people are colliding in your view, suggests that these two priorities are competing with one another. How is that the case? Some of the techniques of the monocropping, which is basically planting one crop on the same plot of land year after year, after year, season after season, right? And by doing that, these crops that are pulling nutrients out of the soil, many of the crops don't put nutrients back in. Some of them do. They'll restore nitrogen they'll put other nutrients in. But with the mono cropping, it's kind of the same depletion that goes on. And, has been particularly practiced in this country, and the bigger farmers and more commercial farmers, because it's more efficient. You are planting one crop, you have the same technique of kind of the planting and tending for that. And the harvesting, kind of the same equipment for that. You don't need to adjust practices, your equipment for various other crops that you're growing on that land. And so, there's an efficiency for that. You have then the price stability if there is any price stability in farming from that crop. That can be a weakness if the price collapses and you're so dependent on that. And so, the farmers are seeing, yeah, that's where the degrading and the weakening their of their soils comes from. So, what's their response to that when their land's degrading? When their soils become weak, it's like, oh, we need additional land then to farm. So they'll go into the forest, they'll cut down trees. And now there's virgin soil. They do the same practices there. And then after a number of years, well that land starts depleting. They keep looking for more. As you do these things, then with the soils depleting, the land degrading, becoming really hard, well, when the rain comes, it's not soaking in. And it just kind of runs away as the soil becomes almost like concrete. Farmers aren't able to plant much there anymore or get much out of the ground. And then so what happens then if the water isn't soaking into the soil, the underground aquifers and the underground springs they become depleted. All of a sudden, the lakes and the ponds that were fed by those, they disappear. The wildlife, the pollinators that come because of that, they go. The bushes, the plants, the weeds that are also so important for the environment, they start disappearing. And so you see that in their efforts to nourish their families and to nourish all of us, it's having this impact on the environment. And then that drives more impacts, right? As they cut down trees, trees drive the precipitation cycle. Tthen the rains become ever more mercurial and unpredictable. Without the trees and the shade and the cooling and the breezes, temperatures get hotter. And also, as the rains disappear and become more unpredictable. It has all this effect. And so, the farmers in the book, they're seeing all this and they recognize it. That by their very actions of cutting down trees to expand their land or to go to a different crop. Because again, that's what the commercial agriculture is demanding, so maybe its sugar cane is coming to the area. Well, sugar cane doesn't get along with trees. And so, the farmers in this one part of Uganda that I write about, they're cutting down all their trees to plant sugarcane. And then it's like, wow, now that the trees are gone, now we see all these environmental and ecosystem results because of that. And so that's where this collision comes from then of being much more aware, and sensitive in their practices and responding to it. That they are both nourishing their families and then also being even better stewards of their land. And they're not doing any of this intentionally, right? It's not like they're going 'we have to do all this to the land, and you know, what do we care? We're just here for a certain amount of time.' But no, they know that this is their land, it's their wealth, it's their family property. It's for their children and future generations. And they need to both nourish and preserve and protect and heal at the same time. Well, you paint such a rich picture of how a single decision like mono cropping has this cascade of effects through the entire ecosystem of an area. Really interesting to hear about that. Tell me how these farmers are experiencing climate change. You think of climate change as something theoretical. You know, scientists are measuring these mysterious things up there and they talk about temperature changes. But what are these farmers actually experiencing in their day-to-day lives? So along with the monocropping, this whole notion that then has expanded and become kind of an article of faith through industrial and modern agriculture orthodoxies, is to get big or get out, and then to plant from fence post to fence post. And so, the weeds and the flowers and plants that would grow along the edges of fields, they've been taken down to put in more rows of crops. The wetland areas that have either been filled in. So, it was a policy here, the USDA would then fund farmers to fill in their wetlands. And now it's like, oh, that's been counterproductive. Now there's policies to assist farmers to reestablish their wetland. But kind of what we're seeing with climate change, it's almost every month as we go through the year, and then from year after year. Every month is getting hotter than the previous months. And each year then is getting subsequently hotter. As things get hotter, it really impacts the ability of some crops in the climates where they're growing. So, take for instance, coffee. And coffee that's growing, say on Mount Kenya in Africa. The farmers will have to keep going further and further up the mountains, to have the cooler conditions to grow that type of coffee that they grow. The potato farmers in Peru, where potatoes come from. And potatoes are so important to the global food chain because they really are a bulwark against famine. Against hunger crises in a number of countries and ecologies in the world. So many people rely on potatoes. These farmers, they call themselves the guardians of the indigenous of the native potato varieties. Hundreds of various varieties of potatoes. All shapes, sizes, colors. As it gets warmer, they have to keep moving further and further up the Andes. Now they're really farming these potatoes on the roof of Earth. As they move up, they're now starting to then farm in soils that haven't been farmed before. So, what happens? You start digging in those soils and now you're releasing the carbon that's been stored for centuries, for millennia. That carbon is then released from the soils, and that then adds to more greenhouse gases and more impact on the climate and climate change. It kind of all feeds each other. They're seeing that on so many fronts. And then the farmers in India that we write about in the book, they know from history and particularly the older farmers, and just the stories that are told about the rhythm of the monsoon season. And I think it was the summer of the monsoon season of 2022 when I was doing the reporting there for that particular part of the book. The rains came at the beginning, a little bit. They planted and then they disappear. Usually, the monsoons will come, and they'll get some rain for this long, long stretch of time, sometimes particularly heavy. They planted and then the rains went away. And as the crops germinated and came up, well, they needed the water. And where was the water and the precipitation? They knew their yields weren't going to be as big because they could see without the rains, their crops, their millet, their wheat crops were failing. And then all of a sudden, the rains returned. And in such a downpour, it was like, I think 72 hours or three days kind of rains of a biblical proportion. And that was then so much rain in that short of time than added further havoc to their crops and their harvest. And it was just that mercurial nature and failing nature of the monsoons. And they're seeing that kind of glitches and kinks in the monsoon happening more frequently. The reliability, the predictability of the rains of the seasons, that's what they're all finding as kind of the impacts of climate change. You're discussing a very interesting part of the world. Let's talk about something that I found fascinating in your book. You talked about the case of pigweed in Uganda. Tell us about that if you will. Amaranth. So here, we call it pigweed. That's a weed. Yeah, destroy that. Again, fence post to fence post. Nah, so this pig weed that's growing on the side or any kind of weeds. The milkweed, so I'm from northern Illinois, and the milkweed that would kind of grow on the edges of the corn fields and other fields, that's really favored by monarch butterflies, right? And so now it's like, 'Hey, what happened to all the monarch butterflies that we had when we were growing up?' Right? Well, if you take out the milkweed plants, why are the monarch butterfly going to come? So those pollinators disappear. And they come and they're great to look at, and, you know, 'gee, the monarchs are back.' But they also perform a great service to us all and to our environment and to agriculture through their pollinating. And so, the pigweed in Africa - Amaranth, it's like a wonder crop. And one of these 'super crops,' really nutritious. And these farmers in this area of Uganda that I'm writing about, they're harvesting and they're cultivating Amaranth. And they're mixing that in their homemade porridge with a couple of other crops. Corn, some millet, little bit of sugar that they'll put in there. And that then becomes the porridge that they're serving to the moms, particularly during their pregnancies to help with their nutritional status. And then to the babies and the small children, once they started eating complimentary food. Because the malnutrition was so bad and the stunting so high in that area that they figured they needed to do something about that. And the very farmers that this program from Iowa State University that's been working with them for 20 years now, first to improve their farming, but then wow, the malnutrition is so bad in these farming families. What can we do about that? Then it was, oh, here's these more nutritional crops native to the area. Let's incorporate them into farming. This crop is Amaranth. Basically, neglected in other parts of the world. Destroyed in other parts of the world. That is something that's actually cultivated and harvested, and really cared for and prized in those areas. It's a really interesting story. Let's turn our attention to the United States, which you also profile in your book. And there was a particular farmer in Kansas named Brandon that you talk about. And he said he was getting divorced from wheat. Tell us about that. Yes, thank you. That's a really interesting story because he's standing there kind of on the edge of his farm, looking at the wheat crops across the road that his neighbor was planting and he had some himself. And he's saying, yeah, I need to get a divorce from wheat. Because of the impact that that was having on the environment. Again, the planting of the wheat, you know, year after year. It's the wheat belt of our Great Plains, which then is legendarily known as the breadbasket, not only of America, but the breadbasket of the world. This wheat is particularly good and appropriate for the label of Breadbasket because it's really good for breads, baking materials. But he's looking at here's the impact it had on his soil. The organic matter on the soil has been dwindling. In the season that the wheat is underground, and the topsoil is uncovered, then you have the problems with erosion. He's seen the impact over time of the year after year after year of growing the wheat. What's interesting, he says, you know, I need to get a divorce from wheat. Well, it's his relatives, because he's a fifth descendant, of the Mennonite farmers from what is now Ukraine - one of the world's original grain belts, who brought their hard red winter wheat seeds with them when they came to the Great Plains in the 1870s. They're the ones that wed Kansas, the Great Plains, the United States to wheat. So now this farmer, Brandon-I-need-to-get-a-divorce-from-wheat, well, it's your ancestors and your descendants that wed us to that. There's kind of historic irony that's taking place. But along with the wheat seeds that came, then also came the plowing up the prairie lands for the first time. And wheat is an annual crop. It's planted year after year one harvest. With each planting, the soil is disturbed, releasing carbon that had been stored, that had been stored in the soil for millennium when they first started plowing. Carbon along with methane released by agricultural activities is, again, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. And in addition, you know, this annual plowing exposes the soil to erosion. You know, relentless erosion with the wind and the rain in the plains. That's what eventually led to the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Some environmental and conservation agricultural practices come along because of that, but now that continues. And Brandon himself is seeing the impact as he measures the organic matter in the soil. These are the microorganisms in the soils that naturally work with the soils to grow the crops to feed us all. The nutrients in the soil are weakened and depleted, which then results in the need for more and more chemical enhancements and fertilizers, particularly nitrogen and all the rest. And then you see the runoff of the nitrogen into the water system. And so, yeah, he's seen the impact of all of this, and he's like I need to do something else. And so, he's taken a rather radical step than of planting and growing perennial crops, which you plant one season and then they'll grow for three or four years, maybe more and longer. He has some cattle, so he is able to graze that on those perennial crops. One in particular called kernza, which is an ancient intermediate wheat grass. Has some of the properties of wheat. And so the Land Institute in Kansas then is also working on perennial crops and how can they then be cultivated and harvested also as crops that we all eat. And so Kernza is very high in protein. There's all sorts of breads and pasta, pastries, that you can make with it. Cereals. It's a good ingredient for brewing. There's Kernza beer. And there's promise with that. And then so these perennial crops, then it's like, okay, so we don't have to plow every year. We plant, they grow, they provide a cover crop, but they also provide food for all of us. So perennials, good for our nutrition, good for the soils, good for the environment. You know, we've recorded a series of podcasts with farmers who've been doing regenerative agriculture. And the kind of story that you talk about Brandon, quite similar to what you hear from some of the other farmers. Farming was in their family for many generations. They were accustomed to a particular type of industrial agriculture. They saw it harming the land, thought it bad for the planet, and decided to really retool and do things entirely different. And they're making a go of it, which is really exciting. Roger, I wanted to ask you about Native Americans. As you write about their agriculture, spirituality, kinship, and how all these things come together. Tell us about that. Exactly. Thank you. And so, if you go travel a little bit further in our great plains from Kansas up to South Dakota, and the Sicangu Lakota communities in the southern part of South Dakota close to the Nebraska border. They're trying to reestablish their food sovereignty and the agriculture practices of the Native Americans destroyed, as we tried to destroy them and their communities. By taking of their land, forced relocations, the Trail of Tears, the Trail of Death, in various parts of the country, from various of the Native American communities. And they realize that, as you and the researchers at Duke, know really well, the health impacts that has had on the Native American communities and the high rates of diabetes and obesity, the shortened life expectancies in those communities. And one of the main factors then is their food pathways, and their nutrition being disturbed through all this. So how can they reestablish their food sovereignty? The emphasis on the crops that they used to grow, particularly the three sisters' crops, the maize, the beans, the squash. And then that they would have crops and taste and nutrients that were so vital to their systems traditionally. To recapture that in various growing projects that they have. And then also, with the Sicangu Lakota, they are trying to reestablish the buffalo herd, which was basically decimated from upwards of 30 million or more size of the herd basically down to several hundred with the intentional slaughter of the buffalo in order to really oppress and impact the Native American community. So vital not only to their food sources and nutrition, but basically everything. Clothing, tools - so using every inch of the buffalo. And then spiritually. And as they explain their approach to regenerative agriculture, they would put a picture of a buffalo as the very definition of regenerative agriculture. Just by the way that the buffalo grazes and then moves around. It doesn't graze to the soil it leaves something behind. Then the grasses grow quicker because there's something that's left behind. They leave things behind for other animals. The way that they migrate, and then kind of knead the soil as they go along. That also helps with the soil. So, all these regenerative agriculture, regenerative soil, healthy soil healing practices of it. And then they also say, look the spiritual nature of things that the buffalo represents their kinship. Their kinship of the people to the buffalo, to their land, to the environment. And to them, regenerative agriculture isn't just about food, about soils, about the cultivation and the planting, but also about this kinship. It is a kinship and a spirituality of kind of all of us together. We're all combined on this global food chain. And so that whole kinship element to regenerative agriculture, I think is also really important for us to all understand. Getting back to your original question about the wisdom. This is the wisdom of these farmers, these indigenous farmers, small holder farmers, family farmers. Like Brandon, the small holder farmers of African, India and Latin America are learning so much about their crops that we have so much to learn from.vIt's inspiring to think that some of the remedies that people are coming up with now in the face of all these challenges actually have historic roots that go back thousands of years is pretty inspiring. And it's nice to know that the resurrection of some of these techniques might really make a difference in the modern world. Roger, there are so many questions I'd love to ask you. And I'd urge people to read your book Against the Grain to further explore some of these issues. But I wanted to end with something. Are you hopeful that things will change in a positive direction? I am. I'm also concerned that we need to recognize the need to both nourish and heal. Recognize that this collision is looming, but it's already happening. And I think my hope, and cautious optimism I guess, then comes from the farmers themselves. They're very resilient, and they have to be, right? If you'd asked them the question about where their hope comes from or their optimism or their motivation and inspiration to keep going, it's they don't have any other option. I mean, this is their land. This is what they do. They're farmers, they're nourishing their families. If their families are to be nourished and to end the effects of poor nutrition as we see in this country, which is then common around the world, they need to adjust. So Abebe, a farmer Ethiopia this is kind of where my hope and inspiration comes from. And he begins the book. He's at the outset of the book and in the prologue. His land in Ethiopia was utterly degraded and you couldn't plant there anymore. They had already cut down trees, moved into areas that had been forested. The humble forest in the area had basically disappeared, in kind of the greater area of where Abebe lives. The bigger kind of ecosystem, environmental changes that then come from that, or the disappearance of a forest. And he had been following then the practices and the orthodoxies of modern agriculture. He realized that that was then behind the degradation of his land and the soil. He couldn't plant anymore. And the World Food Program, the Ethiopian government, other kind of NGOs, were then seeing, look these farm communities, these families, we're going to have to be assisting with food assistance forever because their lands are so degraded. They're not able to nourish their families from them unless we do something to restore and heal the land and bring the land back. And so, Abebe and his family and many others in his community, the kind of wider neighborhood and in this area, the humble forest, a lot of them, they stop farming on their land and they're given assistance saved by the World Food Program, kind of food for work. And they set about rehabbing their land. Kind of terracing their land so it'll hold the water. Digging shallow water pans to collect the rain so it then soaks into the soil, into the ground, and then regenerates the underground springs and sources of water. Planting grasses, bushes, letting kind of the land heal and regenerate itself. After a number of years, they see that happening. They move back to the land, and now he has this wide diversity as opposed to planting say corn every year or other mono cropping. Now he has this wide, wild, riotous array of different crops and vegetables and fruit trees. Some of the staple crops that he's grown also in rotation. Working with trees that have then grown up. Springs, a little pond has reformed that he didn't even know was there had come up because of the conservation the water. And he says, you know, my land, which once was dead, he's living again. Right? A profound statement and a realization from this farmer of this is how we can bring it back. So again, as I say, they've seen the future and it's ugly, right? He's seen his land degraded. He couldn't nourish his family anymore. He then does these practices, takes heed of this. I need to heal my land at the same time as farming it. And now his land is living again. So that to me is kind of a wonderful parable. So again, the wisdom of the farmers. It's through the stories and the wisdom of Abebe, that kind of the hope comes forward. Bio Roger Thurow is a journalist and author who writes about the persistence of hunger and malnutrition in our world as well as global agriculture and food policy. He was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal for thirty years, including twenty years as a foreign correspondent based in Europe and Africa. In 2003, he and Journal colleague Scott Kilman wrote a series of stories on famine in Africa that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. Thurow is the author of four books: Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty (with Scott Kilman); The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change; The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children – And the World; and, Against the Grain – How Farmers Around the Globe Are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet. He has also been a senior fellow for Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, as well as a Scholar-in-Residence at Auburn University's Hunger Solutions Institute.

This dusk chorus recorded at Castle Forest Lodge in Mount Kenya National Park and Forest is a harmonious blend of natural sounds, showcasing the interactions of the forest wildlife at dusk. Different birds are singing melodiously, with the Red-fronted Parrots calling loudly from the thick forest canopy.  The Black and white Colobus Monkeys growl as they retreat into their evening roosts. The gentle dripping of forest fog can be heard falling on leaves.  This vibrant soundscape reflects the Mt. Kenya National Park's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its scenic beauty, biodiversity, and vital role as a water catchment area. The soundscape immerses listeners in the rhythms of the forest, fostering a deep appreciation for its conservation and the interconnected lives it sustains. Recorded by Martha Mutiso. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world's most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage

In this enlightening episode of Dental Wealth Nation, your host Tim McNeely invites listeners to embark on a journey of discovery, inspiration, and strategic philanthropy. Join us as we pull back the curtain on the often-hidden advice and strategies that successful individuals and families use to achieve extraordinary goals. As a driven dentist, you understand the value of unique perspectives and the power of visionary thinking. This episode introduces you to Morris Mogel, a compassionate dental hygienist with a heart of service. Born in a small village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, Morris has transformed his life experiences into a mission of making a significant impact in the world. Morris shares the heartfelt story behind Safari and Smiles, a non-profit organization keen on blending dental care missions with dream safari experiences. Discover how strategic philanthropy allows Morris and his team to bring joy, alleviate pain, and educate communities across Africa. Experience the power of combining immense adventures with noble deeds as Morris takes you behind the scenes of his incredible journey. This episode not only highlights the profound impact of individual donors and small acts of kindness but also inspires dentists and professionals alike to rethink their approach to giving. Learn practical tips on strategic gifting and values-based philanthropy, encouraging listeners to align their generosity with their core beliefs. From GoFundMe campaigns to the intricacies of setting up a 501(c)(3) organization, you'll gain insight into successfully navigating the world of charitable giving. Tim McNeely and Morris Mogel bring to light the critical role of storytelling in maximizing charitable impact and emphasize why almost 64% of gifts come from individual donors. This episode isn't just about dentistry—it's about crafting a life of significance, transforming the world one smile at a time, and making your dent in the universe.

John talks with Jenn Drummond — World Record Holder as the first woman to conquer the 7 Second Summits, author of BreakProof: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals, host of the Seek Your Summit Podcast, speaker, entrepreneur, and mom of seven. Jenn has climbed famous peaks like Ama Dablam in Nepal, Mount Kenya, Mount Logan, and Mount Tyree in Antarctica. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Intro [00:29] - Jenn's bio [01:56] - How Jenn became a mountaineer [08:22] - Hardest and most rewarding climbs for Jenn [12:06] - What's involved in becoming a world-class mountaineer [15:55] - Jenn's workout regimen and training [19:19] - Financial investment required for climbing expeditions [20:55] - Sponsorships and brand partnerships to fund climbing expeditions [22:19] - Jenn's book: BreakProof [23:41] - John's book update [25:33] - How Jenn builds her significant relationships [27:24] - Jenn definition of success [31:19] - #1 daily habit for Jenn [32:08] - Traits of a great leader [32:34] - Best advice Jenn ever received [34:14] - Jenn's biggest failing and lesson learned [35:24] - NO's are important [37:41] - How Jenn invests in her growth [39:02] - What Jenn does to create memories with her kids [41:31] - Best way to connect with Jenn [43:51] - Book recommendations [45:08] - Closing remarks NOTABLE QUOTES: “I don't get to choose when I die, but I sure get to choose how I live.” “Big mountains take big teams. And so, if you have a big goal, a big family, or a big business to run, it takes a lot of people to make that happen.” “Our calendar really is the truth-teller of what we value in our lives.” “If you always do things right, you don't learn a thing. You only learn when you fail.” “I need to be kind to myself because that actually makes me stronger. The world's hard enough—me being hard on myself isn't going to help the situation at all.” “No one remembers what the goal looks like. They remember the score of the game.” “No's are actually a good thing. Those no's are so important because, first of all, a no almost always is not a forever no—it's a no at the moment. And the other is that when they say no, that helps narrow the pool down for you. It gets you closer to knowing who your people are.” “Not all crazy ideas are good, but all good ideas are a little bit crazy.” “The more we can invest in ourselves, the more it gives us to invest in other people. You can't give what you don't have.” BOOKS MENTIONED: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by R. Stephen Covey (https://a.co/d/iSg11cx) The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason (https://a.co/d/bYaJHeP) The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz (https://a.co/d/iDCBcb7) Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (https://a.co/d/467iAdv) PODCAST MENTIONED: The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett (https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiaryOfACEO) USEFUL RESOURCES: Text “Everest” to 33777 to get Jenn's video of the Milky Way Galaxy going over Mt. Everest https://jenndrummond.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-drummond/ https://www.instagram.com/thejenndrummond https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.drummond.927 https://www.facebook.com/jenndrummondutah https://x.com/thejenndrummond https://jenndrummond.com/podcast/ https://www.youtube.com/@jenndrummond BreakProof: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals (https://a.co/d/3mW7rn9)  CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen     Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen     LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen     YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA     EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/

What does it take to climb life's highest mountains—both literal and figurative? In this second episode of the Unstoppable Campaign, we sit down with Julius Mbura, a lawyer, poet, car reviewer, and mountaineer who has defied the odds time and time again. Losing his eyesight twice—first as a child and then again just before completing law school—Julius has faced adversity with unparalleled determination and grace. Julius shares how he has continuously challenged himself to push boundaries, scaling iconic peaks like Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro. He critiques the special needs education system in Kenya, shedding light on its shortcomings and how it can better serve people with disabilities. Julius also speaks to the incredible potential of technology as a bridge for accessibility, opening doors for greater inclusion and opportunity. Through moments of self-acceptance and resilience, Julius offers valuable lessons about adapting to change, restructuring one's life after setbacks, and the importance of loving oneself through every challenge. This conversation is part of a broader campaign by Mastercard Foundation and InABLE, in partnership with the Boardroom Banter Podcast, to amplify the voices of youth with disabilities and shift societal mindsets around youth with disabilities in education and employment. Tune in for an unforgettable story of strength, self-discovery, and the courage to rise above all limits. Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:53 Meet Julius Mbura 06:42 Losing his sight at 10 years old 12:03 Navigating the education system as a blind man 15:49 Why study Law? 21:57 Losing his sight a second time 29:50 What climbing mountains has taught Julius about himself 35:40 What would you give to get your sight back? 41:51 How technology can build bridges for the blind 47:02 How Julius' advocacy work is influencing policy in Kenya 53:34 A message to other people who are disabled 01:05:50 What's next for Julius? 01:09:35 Elevator Segment To listen to more of our episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcast or to learn more about our podcast, follow this link: https://linktr.ee/boardroombanter #MastercardFoundation #YoungAfricaWorks #DisabilityInclusion #YourUnstoppable#BoardroomBanter #podcast

Valentine Warner is a celebrity chef who's made no less nine TV series, and has written five books. He likes to cook in remote and beautiful corners of the world. His new venture, Kitchen in the Wild, is set in a private safari lodge with views of Mount Kenya.  Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy Support the show

Welcome to this week's episode featuring Mike Goddard, entrepreneur, a current World and European triathlon champion in the 75-79 age group sprint distance and an avid fell runner. I invited Mike after he engaged with one of my recent posts about reducing training volume while maintaining performance. He didn't just maintain his fitness. He achieved unprecedented fitness, for him at least, winning his age group both the Euros and the World Championships in the sprint distance. If you're interested and have concerns about how aging may affect your training and racing, this episode will provide encouraging insights and highlight positive aspects to look forward to. In this episode, we'll cover: Holding the fastest known time up and down Mount Kenya, navigating the challenges of his son's paralysis following a climbing accident and how this experience propelled him into the triathlon world. Joys and impacts of aging. Importance of having a coach. The social aspects of training, especially for athletes in individual sports and those involved in clubs. Mike also shares how strength and mobility work have significantly benefited his performances. Why older runners should focus on age graded performances when run performances tend to drop off anyway. Balance between race craft and fitness, including long term planning for older athletes. And finally, he shares a story about taking Alistair and Johnny Brownlee to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013. To follow Mike's adventures, please check out his Facebook page - mike.goddard.376 Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our SWAT High Performance Human tribe here.   You can find all of my social media links HERE: You'll also find some really great content on my Instagram and YouTube! Instagram  YouTube   **To get a free copy of my personal daily mobility routine, please click HERE** **To download your FREE infographic ‘7 steps to swimming faster', please click HERE  Sign up for Simon's weekly newsletter Sign up for Beth's weekly newsletter To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk. If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful. Please click here to support the HPH podcast. Thank you! Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Send us a textDavid Maria - For decades, David struggled emotionally and financially as he worked to overcome the effects of the horrific abuse he experienced in childhood. His wealth of psychic gifts offered glimmers of hope and small breakthroughs that encouraged him. Unfortunately, addiction and toxicity pulled him back into the roiling waters of daily life.While David always had lucid, prophetic dreams, he was surprised when, at the age of 72, he began dreaming of Africa. Those lucid dreams ignited his soul and set the stage for the incredible journey that continues to unfold today. Against the odds, and through multiple miracles and prophetic dreams, in December of 2018, David made the pilgrimage to Mount Kenya for the annual prayer walk. After a series of initiations and energetic jolts that felt like lightning, The Eden Template had been transmitted to David. Once he experienced his own original soul blueprint and purpose through this powerful activation, he returned home to begin the work he came for.Upon his return to Kenya in 2020, David was recognized by the Gikuyu elders as the 13th Seer of Mount Kenya and in 2022 he was inducted / initiated as an elder and the first ever 13th Seer in the Gikuyu society.Viivika Kalma - Like many light workers, Viivika was born into a family filled with drama and disharmony, which left deep wounds in her sensitive heart. Viivika was born as a highly sensitive empath and because of her very open body consciousness, she felt and experienced the feelings of others, different energies, the pain of others in her physical body, and also everything in the collective. She did not realize at the time that her strong empathy for all beings was due to a stronger connection with the heart of all Creation and the heart of the Cosmic Mother. On December 27. 2018, she experienced a spontaneous full body Kundalini awakening at the exact same moment that David was being initiated in Kenya. After this experience, she started getting different downloads, transmissions, and activations every night. Today, she is one of the conscious conduits of the Cosmic Mother."My role is to be a Holy mirror. If you experience others through the prism of Holy love, others will also experience themselves as you experience them, as Holy love.”The Eden Templatewww.theedentemplate.comResources:www.claudiumurgan.comclaudiu@claudiumurgan.comgnotictv.com/programs/claudiu-murganhttps://spirituallyinspired.buzzsprout.comSubscribe for more videos! youtube.com/channel/UC6RlLkzUK_LdyRSV7DE6obQSupport the show

Tim Wrate's childhood passion for drawing fantastical landscapes evolved into a love for photography during a 2001 expedition to Mount Kenya. However, it wasn't until 2008, after completing his academic pursuits, that he fully embraced photography. Inspired by medium format panoramic photographers, he adopted a medium format slide film camera in 2010, dedicating himself to mastering its nuances and the discipline required for film photography. In 2018, on a family holiday in Western Australia, a chartered flight over Hutt Lagoon revealed stunning textures and colors, igniting his fascination with the aerial perspective. This new pursuit led him to travel across Australia, capturing diverse landscapes, from cloud inversions in Kosciuszko National Park to dramatic tidal ranges in the Kimberley. Aerial photography, though challenging, offered unique rewards. From the open windows of light aircraft and doorless helicopters, Tim navigated wind buffeting, engine vibrations, and shifting perspectives to capture powerful images. Collaborating closely with skilled pilots, he revealed the hidden beauties of the landscapes. Tim's work transcends the obvious, offering fresh insights and a harmonious blend of geography and art. In this episode, Tim outlines his journey from childhood fascinations to his adult explorations of Australia's diverse terrains from the air.  Highlighting his transition from film to digital photography and the strategic adoption of medium format cameras for panoramic vistas, he emphasizes the importance of finding a unique photographic voice.  Additionally, we discuss the challenges and rewards of sharing art in the digital age, offering advice to aspiring aerial photographers and stressing the unending allure of discovery through the camera lens. I hope you enjoy the show!   You can find Tim's work  here: Website: https://www.timwrate.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim_wrate/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timwratephotography     Listen to this and other episodes wherever you find your podcasts or on https://grantswinbournephotography.com/lpw-podcast   Or subscribe to my YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@grantswinbournephotography   Theme music: Liturgy Of The Street by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com   #podcast #landscapephotography #aerialphotography #photographyjourney #photographyinspiration #photographytips

Witness the breathtaking wildlife of Kenya on today's sleep safari. Following a scenic landing near the base of Mount Kenya, our journey unfolds with a ride in an open-roofed SUV through lush forests and across the tranquil waters of Lake Naivasha. We'll witness The Great Migration near the Mara River, as an array of majestic creatures make their way to the water's edge. A calming 4-7-8 breathing method provides emotional regulation and relaxation, preparing you for a restful night sleep amidst Kenya's natural wonders. For more from OpenMind, follow us on Instagram @openmindstudios

This is an incredibly potent & powerful conversation that will leave you feeling inspired to do more and see more in your lifetime. In this episode, Kate chats with Elizabeth Loker, the Owner & Founder of the Award Winning Olepangi Farm at the base of Mount Kenya, and former corporate executive with IBM and other large international companies for 30 + years. Elizabeth shares her impactful stories about her commitment to living an extraordinary life - and the keys to how she made it happen.     About the Guest: Elizabeth is an entrepreneur, business owner and has more than 30+ years of business experience helping a variety of international organisations undergo dramatic change. Up until her retirement from the corporate world in 2021, Elizabeth has worked in leadership development and organizational consulting in IBM EMEA based out of Nairobi, Kenya.  She is a talented and an exceptionally engaging public speaker and facilitator.  Her role involved leadership-programme delivery for Europe and across the MEA territory focusing on developing key talent in this newest of IBM's emerging markets.  Elizabeth specializes in the following topics: building relationships and influence, working across cultures, wisdom training, trusted advisor and broader topics in leadership development. Elizabeth is also the owner and founder of an award-winning lodge/ rural retreat in the foothills of Mt Kenya.  Olepangi Farm is the result of a deep-rooted desire of Elizabeth and her late husband Clinton Lucy, to turn an area of dry, unfertile land into a sustainable farm bordering the millions of wild acres that are famous in the Laikipia region of Kenya. Using only organic practices, Olepangi opened in 2014 with what is now an ever changing garden, highly productive 1.5-acre vegetable patch and a small but efficient dairy herd.  Olepangi Farm is a Kenya Tourism Board “Magical Kenya Signature Experience” for 2021/22/23, a TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Winner for multiple years and numerous Safari Awards.   Olepangi Farm is currently nominated for the World Tourism Award – Best Boutique Lodge in Kenya for 2024 and shortlisted for Conde Nast 2024 Readers' Choice Award. Olepangi Farm also hosts local, regional and international leadership retreats, including the six-day Modern Women's Eldership Programme held at the farm once a year and run by Elizabeth focusing on “Living life in Crescendo, with all our greatest ambitions ahead of us.” www.olepangifarm.com   Olepangi Farm (@olepangifarm) • Instagram photos and videos     About the Hosts: Catherine Danieli is a love and relationship educator helping women heal fear-based relationship patterns so that they can experience radical self love and healthy, extraordinary romantic relationships. She not only cares about helping women find love but learn the skills and tools to make love last. She is incredibly passionate about conscious relationship and empowering people to create healthy relationships in their lives. She believes healthy relationships are what will heal the world. After overcoming her own painful journey through love addiction and codependency, and seeing so many people in pain over love, she has devoted her life to teaching women how to transform, heal and have new experiences in partnership. She works with women 1:1, leads workshops and retreats as well as couples' intensives.  http://www.CatherineDanieli.com   Kate Harlow is the Owner & Creator of The Unscript'd Woman - a mission to liberate women all over the world to throw away the script and create a life that lights up their own soul. She mentors women to have a healthy, thriving relationship within themselves - so they can experience vibrant, expansive, growth based relationships in their lives. Kate has coached and mentored thousands of people for almost 15 years - facilitating life changing love talks, workshops and retreats globally. She's fiercely committed to helping women break free from the old, outdated, fantasy based paradigm of love - so they can experience real, liberated love in every facet of their lives.   Website:  https://www.theunscriptdwoman.com/   Thanks for listening! It means so much to us that you listened to our podcast! If you would like to continue the conversation with us, head on over to our Facebook group, the New Truth Movement at https://www.facebook.com/groups/209821843509179/ With this podcast, we are building an international community of The New Truth Movement. If you know someone who would benefit from this message or could be an awesome addition to our community, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a note in the comment section below! Follow the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast app on your mobile device. Leave us a review We appreciate every bit of feedback to make this a value-adding part of your day. Ratings and reviews from our listeners not only help us improve, but also help others find us in their podcast app. If you have a minute, an honest review on Apple Podcasts goes a long way! Thank You! 

David Maria - For decades, David struggled emotionally and financially as he worked to overcome the effects of the horrific abuse he experienced in childhood. His wealth of psychic gifts offered glimmers of hope and small breakthroughs that encouraged him. Unfortunately, addiction and toxicity pulled him back into the roiling waters of daily life.While David always had lucid, prophetic dreams, he was surprised when, at the age of 72, he began dreaming of Africa. Those lucid dreams ignited his soul and set the stage for the incredible journey that continues to unfold today. Against the odds, and through multiple miracles and prophetic dreams, in December of 2018, David made the pilgrimage to Mount Kenya for the annual prayer walk. After a series of initiations and energetic jolts that felt like lightning, The Eden Template had been transmitted to David. Once he experienced his own original soul blueprint and purpose through this powerful activation, he returned home to begin the work he came for.Upon his return to Kenya in 2020, David was recognized by the Gikuyu elders as the 13th Seer of Mount Kenya and in 2022 he was inducted / initiated as an elder and the first ever 13th Seer in the Gikuyu society.Viivika Kalma - Like many light workers, Viivika was born into a family filled with drama and disharmony, which left deep wounds in her sensitive heart. Viivika was born as a highly sensitive empath and because of her very open body consciousness, she felt and experienced the feelings of others, different energies, the pain of others in her physical body, and also everything in the collective. She did not realize at the time that her strong empathy for all beings was due to a stronger connection with the heart of all Creation and the heart of the Cosmic Mother. On December 27. 2018, she experienced a spontaneous full body Kundalini awakening at the exact same moment that David was being initiated in Kenya. After this experience, she started getting different downloads, transmissions, and activations every night. Today, she is one of the conscious conduits of the Cosmic Mother."My role is to be a Holy mirror. If you experience others through the prism of Holy love, others will also experience themselves as you experience them, as Holy love.”The Eden Templatewww.theedentemplate.comResources:www.ClaudiuMurgan.comwww.SpirituallyInspired.cawww.LoveLettersToWater.caEmail: claudiu@claudiumurgan.comhttps://spirituallyinspired.buzzsprout.comhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1651807/supportFacebook: www.facebook.com/ClaudiuMurganAuthorSubscribe for more videos! youtube.com/channel/UC6RlLkzUK_LdyRSV7DE6obQSupport the Show.

We don't usually associate Africa with glaciers, but the continent has had glaciers on its highest peaks for the past 10,000 to 15,000 years.  Africa's glaciers are found in three regions:  the Rwenzori Mountains along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Kenya.  At the turn of […]

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Neues "Super-Antibiotikum" entwickelt +++ Afrikas Gletscher gehen stark zurück +++ Spionage hilft Naturforschern +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:An antibiotic preorganized for ribosomal binding overcomes antimicrobial resistance, Science, 15.02.2024Tropical glacier loss in East Africa: recent areal extents on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and in the Rwenzori Range from high-resolution remote sensing data, Environmental Research: Climate, 12.02.2024The potential of historical spy-satellite imagery to support research in ecology and conservation, BioScienceSolar Evolution Models with a Central Black Hole, The Astrophysical Journal, 13.12. 2023Developmental regulation of cellular metabolism is required for intestinal elongation and rotation, Development, 19.02.2024Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.

Discover how Jenn Drummond—a mother of seven and Guinness World Record-holder—turned a life-altering car crash into a catalyst for monumental change. Conquer towering summits and face rugged terrains with resilience in this inspiring episode with Lesley Logan. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:How Jenn transitioned from full-time motherhood to record-breaking mountaineering.What it takes to tackle The Seven Second Summits and set a world record.Tips on balancing rigorous training with the demands of family life.The importance of setting future goals while celebrating current successes.Understand the power of gratitude in daily life's pauses.Episode References/Links:Follow Jenn on IGFollow Jenn on FBJenn Drummond Official WebsiteTraining for the Uphill Athlete by Steve HouseThe Seven Second SummitsGuest Bio:Jenn Drummond is a Mom of 7, successful business owner and Guinness World Record holder. As the first woman to climb the second highest summits on each of the 7 continents, she now spends her time inspiring others to create a thriving business and lasting legacy of their own. She shares her story and strategies for success through her book, Quit Proof: 7 Strategies for Life Goals & Business Success, and her Seek Your Summit podcast, programs, and signature talks. Learn more about how she elevates devoted and determined entrepreneurs to go beyond a life of success to a life of significance  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. Get your free Athletic Greens 1 year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 and 5 free travel packsGet your discount for some Toe Sox using the code: LESLEY Be It Till You See It Podcast SurveyBe in the know with all the workshops at OPCBe a part of Lesley's Pilates MentorshipFREE Ditching Busy Webinar Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesFollow Us on Social Media:InstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Jenn Drummond 0:00  And I really wrote it to myself before I started on the quest because I named it Breakproof. And the reason why I named it Breakproof is because when you think of the term break, you can take a break and evaluate what's going on. Or you can be doing something and not really paying attention to things that aren't working and then all of a sudden, something breaks. Lesley Logan 0:21  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.  Lesley Logan 1:02  All right, Be It Babe. Welcome to the podcast. I am thrilled for you to listen to who is up next. Jen Drummond is our guest and I'm just so frickin glad I got to interview this woman, I am on a high and not just because let's pun intended, she, you're gonna hear why, because she did some pretty badass stuff with some really high mountains. And if you're like, I don't really care about the outdoors, you stop, you're gonna keep listening because there are so many amazing lessons along the way. And if you are someone who is busy, you've got lots of demands on your life, you must listen to this episode because our guest today (inaudible) is going to help you see what is possible. I can't think of a better person to tell a mom or a person who just has a lot on their plate to show them like what is possible in your life. And I'm just really friggin thrilled for you to listen to this amazing human being. So Jen Drummond is our guest today. Want you to listen to all of it. And then her Be It pod. Her bold, executable, intrinsic targets step is awesome. You're gonna love it. It made me smile. And it's going to, this is really going to change your life. I can't wait for you to hear it. Have an amazing time listening. Lesley Logan 2:10  All right, Be It babe. I'm really excited. I'm really excited about this interview today because this woman is well you're gonna hear in a second like she's a fucking badass. Like, I'm actually staring at incredible, like just so much achievement in this world. And she's a mom, you're in here how many children she's a mom to in just a moment. But Jenn Drummond, you are on the Be It Pod. Thank you so much for being here. Can you tell everyone who you are? And what you're rockin at?Jenn Drummond 2:32  Hmm. I'm Jenn Drummond. And I'm rocking at life right now. Whoo. Thank you for having me. Lesley Logan 2:39  Yes. Okay. So in your life? What are you like, what's your thing that you're so excited about right now? How are you? How do you show up in this world? How to like, what's the thing that you're most working on? Because I know that you are a climber and all these things, but like, How did that even happen?Jenn Drummond 2:55  Yeah, so let's bring us back. Right. So I had a car accident, which was a line in the sand. Right? So pre-car accident, post-car accident, pre-car accident, I graduated from college, took a job in financial services, built my own successful firm, hired myself out of a job to become a full-time mom. And I was a stay-at-home mom to seven children. And it was definitely fulfilling in the beginning when they needed me. But then also then everybody goes to school and I was kind of lost in this limbo land, and sold myself on the idea that once they got to college, I can get back to me. But right now I'm in a season of motherhood. Jenn Drummond 3:38  And then the car accident happened. So I got into a horrific car crash that should have taken my life but didn't. No one knows how I survived. Like the police rebuilt the accident, we couldn't build a scenario where I lived, let alone walk away. And in that experience, I realized, I don't get to choose when I die. But I sure get to choose how I live. And the choices that I was making at that time of putting my life on hold and waiting until my kids were in college was not good. Like not okay, like I was no longer okay with it. I was like, wait a minute. I don't care what people think anymore. Like, I'm glad you have an opinion. I'm more afraid of not being able to see, experience, explore taste like do all the things this life has to offer. Then, like whatever society thinks I should be doing. And so the car accident I say woke me up to living. And I had a conversation with my kids. And I said, Hey, Les, guess what? Mom's making some changes. I'm going to do you but I'm also going to do more me. And we're gonna have a little bumpy road as we figure out this rhythm, but I'm here for it. And let's have conversations and let's do this. So 2019 became a year of the bucket list. I would say, I'm like (inaudible).Lesley Logan 5:01  I'm so glad it was 2019 I'm so glad you weren't gonna do a 2020 a bucket list.Jenn Drummond 5:05  Yeah. So I was pre-COVID. I was prepared for COVID before I knew COVID was coming. And so I was making this bucket list of like, if I died tomorrow, what do I want to do? What do I want my legacy to say? What do I want to be known for? Being a stay at home mom? Not it. I'll be honest. I mean, I love people that thrive at that. I'm not thriving in that environment. That's just not how I'm wired. Yeah, so I had this huge list. And I'm 2020, I was turning 40. So I'm like, You know what honest list. I'm going to take mountain. And I'm going to climb a mountain for my 40th birthday to launch that decade and have it be significant and all these happy things. And so I'm getting ready to train. I call some friends that are into mountaineering. And I said, if you could climb one mountain in the whole world, what would it be? In the general consensus was a mountain named Ama Dablam. Like, okay, like, what's that? Like? Well, it's a mountain in the Himalayas. Well, Himalayas, were on my list. So that was when it meant the mother's necklace. I'm a mom to seven children that kind of felt appropriate. Yeah. And then my friends like, you know, it's the Paramount Pictures logo. I'm like, oh, (inaudible) like, yeah, let's do this mountain. So, I'm training and then COVID hits. And yes, you remember, none of us are traveling anywhere. And all of us that had children in school, our now homeschool teachers, because school shut down. Lesley Logan 6:33  And also to like seven. So what, can we just go like, what are the ages of these? Like, did you have triplets and an extra or like, what's going? How did you get to seven?Jenn Drummond 6:42  I know. And crazy story. Like I had, like, I couldn't have kids naturally, right? Like I was trying to get pregnant. It wasn't working. Like the one thing we're born to do. And of course, my body won't participate, figure that out. And I went to a fertility clinic, nothing works for a while. And then finally, one day, they came up with this chemical cocktail that turned me into a hen. And we got 28 eggs in one cycle. Anybody who's been through the fertility treatment stuff, like I hear you, I see you. I am so sorry. It is a horrible journey. It's hard. I got 20 eggs, the 20 eggs became 14 embryos. I viewed embryos as life. And so those 14 embryos became seven children. I'm here to survive and tell you about it.Jenn Drummond 7:29  One at a time. So you've one at a time? Jenn Drummond 7:31  I did two at a time and only one ever stuck. Except for, and if anybody's been on this journey, you know how they rank embryos. And so they use your best ones first, and then your worst ones are at the end, and they thought out of 14 embryos, I might get two or three kids based on the quality.Lesley Logan 7:48  You get one every time. Jenn Drummond 8:08  Yeah, I got one at a time. And then at the end, they plant the last two eggs. I get twins. So like figure that out. Right? So I have five boys and then twin daughters. Um, I'm grateful. It's amazing. I would have never planned it. But I couldn't imagine life without it. Lesley Logan 8:07  Yeah. Okay, thank you for sharing because my brain is like to be like, how, like, how far apart are these kids like do we, are, I know you have 14.Jenn Drummond 8:15  They are so close together. So for example, my oldest right now is 16. And my youngest are 10. So yeah, I was like afraid that somebody's gonna break into the embryo clinic and steal them or do your thing. So we're using them and we're using them now. Lesley Logan 8:31  You were like having Irish twins every year for six years.Jenn Drummond 8:35  Yeah, totally, 100%. My son went to school, and he's like, mom at school they tell us babies are blessings. I'm like, they are honey. He was like, are we gonna get a blessing every year? I think we're running out. I think we used our quota. We'll see.Lesley Logan 8:51  Oh my God, you're amazing. Okay, so so your year of like I'm a mountaineer. This thing. All of a sudden got like, probably like it probably felt like such a huge obstacle because now you are a homeschool teacher to sixth grades like different six different grades of kids. Jenn Drummond 9:06  Oh, yeah, totally. So I'm a homeschool teacher. And I'm like, what just happened? And one day my son is struggling with his math homework. I've given him the proverbial pep talk. Like we do hard things. You've got this like, don't you worry. And he looks at me in the face. And he goes if we do hard things, why you're climbing a mountain called I'm a dumb blonde instead of a real mountain like Mount Everest. And I said, honey, it's Ama Dablam, not I'm a dumb blonde. Okay. Finish your homework. We'll look at Everest. So he did. We did. He went to bed. I was still looking at Everest and I thought you know what? If Everest is like the hardest, biggest, most magnificent thing someone can climb. I'm gonna climb it. And I'm going to show him that whatever Everest is, we're capable of doing. So, by the end of the week, I had a coach hired to climb Ama and Everest. And this coach, right? Like go figure, this is my life, this coach sends me a book about becoming an uphill athlete because I was an athlete, but it's different when you're going vertical than just, you know, whatever. Jenn Drummond 10:16  And so I get this book and I'm reading it. And in the front of it, there's a lady who got a Guinness World Record for doing something in the Alps. And I remember thinking, Man, I could have done that, like, I can suffer. And I got a Guinness World Record. My kids would think I'm the coolest mom in the whole world because that's how they learned how to read. And right now homeschooling, I'm not cool. Like there's zero cool about this mom right here. I have this conversation with my coach. My coach is, like well think of something like Okay, fine. But listen, I'm not growing pumpkins or speed-eating hotdogs or doing like any of those weird things that people do to get into, like, the Guinness World Records. He was like, don't worry, don't worry, I'll come up with something. A couple of weeks later, he calls me and he's like, Jenn, Jenn, I've got the perfect record for you. Like totally forgetting our conversations. I'm like, what? Like, yeah, I think you should be the first female to climb the seven second summits. Like what are the seven second summits? Like what are you talking about? No, no other female has done this yet? No. So he goes, Listen, it's the second highest point on each continent. It's only been done by one male. It's harder than the first seven. And you would be the first female to do it. And you go seven continents, seven mountains, seven children. It sounds like a jackpot. Lesley Logan 11:43  Oh, I did one. I live in Park City. I skied a few mountains like, come on, but no, I mean, I hadn't slept in a tent. I hadn't done like any of these things that maybe you should do when you say yes to mountaineering.Lesley Logan 11:58  Yes, it's, it's not even like, it's not even like a tent that like I've camped in like, these are like little tiny, like, you just unravel it for one moment. And then you put it back up, but you go like, this is not, you know, some glamping.Jenn Drummond 12:11  Put details. So I looked it up, I talked to my kids. And it was you know, like, life's timing, like life is so much a timing. And so like, this is perfect. No one's done it. But so if I fail, who cares? Doesn't (inaudible) before, anyway. So whatever. And I wanted to travel, what a great way to go to see all the different continents. And I wanted to empower women, because I put myself on hold. And I wanted to do something where other women would watch and they'd be like, Wait, that thing that little girl right there climbed mountains, and she has how many kids like what I want to know more. I wanted to trigger that curiosity. Because when we're curious, we have power.Lesley Logan 12:56  Okay, you said a couple things in there. That one is amazing. Everyone hit rewind. And then also, I loved when you said when you talk about like, if I can't do it, who cares? Like if it doesn't work out. Like that is actually really interesting, because we put so much pressure on ourselves about doing somebody's gonna get started because we like put so much pressure but like, it's almost like, if you try and it fails, it's gonna be okay. Like it doesn't no one's gonna be like Jen Drummond failed, like no one's doing it. No one even knows you're doing this goal. Like No one's even aware that this is happening.Jenn Drummond 13:32  Right? And for me, like I think the big thing with the accident just going back to that time in my life, like I remember. I mean, you lose this, but I wish you didn't lose it. But for the beginning of time after the accident, everything was magical. Like I had to I have seven kids they fight. I mean, it's just part of life. And before when they would fight I'd be like, okay, like, let's stop fighting. Get along. Everybody be happy. After this accident. I caught myself watching the fight. I wasn't I didn't interrupt. I didn't care. I actually sat there in awe thinking isn't it amazing how I produced both of these children? And they're so passionate about their view that is opposite of their siblings, that they're angry that their sibling won't believe the same thing they believe. Like there's actually a beauty to that experience if you can get out of it and just witness it and be like this is living. This is doing you. I have an opinion. It's not going to be for everybody and that's okay. Lesley Logan 14:32  That's it. That's such a cool, it's such a cool way to look at your children fighting. I will never forget the time that my brother and I were like totally fighting. We were just like they were a hitting we got to like we're hitting each other we're screaming to each other, this whole thing. We're young guys, don't worry there's no like actual abuse and my mom watched and she's like, are you done? Did you did you figure that out? And she, for the first time, did not yell at us about it. She just like let that happened and we both were like, Okay, I guess I guess we're done there. Lesley Logan 15:03  Yeah. I guess that happened. Thank you. Onwards.Lesley Logan 15:07  I do love that you brought up like there is it's really hard to keep that. Or like everything is magical and you can observe it and go, wow, I'm here. It's kind of like anything that's new. Like we recently bought our house and like, when we first moved in, I was like, oh my God, I can't believe like we have this house all this stuff and like, it was like, you know, and then all of a sudden you're it's like the same place you wake up every day you forget, like, this is incredible achievement that I have. It's a really hard thing to keep the preciousness and the gratitude and the presentness there.Jenn Drummond 15:37  Yeah, I think you nailed it with the presentness. Right.Lesley Logan 15:40  So okay, so okay, this is, so 2020 your coach is like you're gonna this is the goal we're gonna have this is the Guinness World Record you can have. The second sevens. Okay, that's very, I've never heard of this. It sounds really cool. But it does sound how can it how can it be harder than the first one that seems really (inaudible).Jenn Drummond 15:57  It's they're judging them off a height. So for example, Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, not the hardest by any means. So K2 is the second tallest mountain in the world. And K2 is the difference between elementary school and college in difficulty for Everest. I mean, it's just a lot harder. And so uniquely, the second summits are harder than the first summits, and they're just harder to get to. They're not there's not as much information about them. They're harder to navigate just all the little pieces that go into it. Lesley Logan 16:31  Okay, got it. Thank you. So how, so then when so from the time you hired your coach to like you actually scaling up the first one, like, how long did that take you? What was like, What did you go through? Did your kids come? How did this go?Jenn Drummond 16:47  So this is not a kid sport. So they were spectators from home. It was interesting, because I took on this quest in 2020. A lot of where I climbed was determined on what countries open (inaudible) COVID. Right? So the first country that opened was Chile, in South America. And so I climbed Ojos del Salado, which is the second highest point there in December of 2020. The next mountain that opened and mountains have climbing seasons, you always see Everest climbed in May you always see K2 climbed in July. Like that's just how it works. So the next one that was in season opened was Mount Kenya, in Africa. So I did that one in February of 2021. Went to do Everest afterwards, even though it's not a second summit, I did it to train for K2. Jenn Drummond 17:37  After Everest, I came home and went to go to K2 and I didn't summit, we had a terrible tragedy happen, a teammate of mine died in an avalanche, and another one got hurt and that same avalanche. So when I had the choice to continue up the mountain or go down, I chose to go down. I truly believe that who we are as people is more important than what we achieve. And that the mountain will always be there. And it's really important in our pursuits, whether we're climbing mountains physically or metaphorically, that we put people over peaks. So I came home, headed off to Russia next. So Russia was in September of 2021. And this was like, go figure. So it's Russia. Attention was like not what it is today with Russia. But it was definitely like, can you get in as an American what's going on? And Russia is a very technical climb. So you want gloves that you can feel the mountain? Because you want to be able to get that feedback. You don't it's like tying tennis shoes with mittens on it's really hard to do. Yeah. So when you find you really want to feel the mountain. So I curated this perfect gear to go climb in Russia, because it was a technical climb. I land in Moscow and my bags are missing.Lesley Logan 18:52  Oh my God, no.Jenn Drummond 18:52  I'm like, what, no, that's cute. Where are my bags? They're like, No, they're not here. We don't know where they are. And the guide was at the airport. He's like, we need to go like you either climb now or you're not climbing because the weather is going to change. And this is our window. I'm like, Well, I don't have any of my stuff. We can go to a rental store and see what they have. Okay, I don't know if anybody skied in rental gear, but come on. Really? Okay, sweet. So we go to this rental store, and like Russia just opened from COVID It's September 2021. I don't know if anybody remembers COVID. But it kind of turned into this outdoor fanatical time period of life. So none of these stores have any gear whatsoever because there's no inventory because no one's shipping and making anything anywhere. Right? So I go into this store. I have to buy this jacket or I roll up the sleeves. I have to keep a backpack on and by a carabiner otherwise it falls off my shoulders. I got (inaudible) that are three sizes too big. I looked like an orphan. I'm like okay, and then I'm a girl. The coat that fit me was maroon. I hate maroon. I'm like I can't wear a maroon jacket. It's gonna look bad. And it's not my color. I have given up a lot right now, you've drawn the line.Lesley Logan 20:12  Oh my God, this is so crazy. Because also like with those things, like there's certain things that you like you feel good in, you feel competent in and do you don't feel confident in maroon. And now you've to go climb this mountain and shoot everything.Jenn Drummond 20:26  And let's just add this little detail that I don't share very often. I didn't have underwear, right? Because my underwear is in my bag. She's not there or whatever. And in Russia, they don't have normal, it's a different type of store. I don't know if I should say the word normal because that says it's negative, but it's just different. Yeah. And so the store that we're going in, you know, resembles more of a 7-11 than maybe a Target. And so they have like a few pairs of underwear. I walk out of the store with Scooby Doo underwear that has like a little penis pocket thing because they're for little boys. It's the closest thing that's gonna fit me so that's what we're wearing, friends. Let's party on.Lesley Logan 21:11  So did you okay, I want to know, did you get to that peak? Did that work? Did it work out with all that gear?Jenn Drummond 21:17  I summitted that mountain in Scooby Doo underwear, in gear that didn't fit. And here's the other thing, like I broke a toe going down because my feet kept slamming into the front of the boot. And so it's so painful. And for a part of this mountain like the second highest point in Europe, I'm butt scooting down the side because I don't want to bump my toe into the front of the boot anymore. I'm like, thank God, I didn't have my GoPro right now because it's gone in luggage land because there couldn't be one more thing that goes wrong at this moment in my life.Lesley Logan 21:50  Oh my God, I can't believe, but I love that, when you write your own book someday, or maybe you did already.Jenn Drummond 21:50  I did. Lesley Logan 21:56  You did. Did you have a Scooby Doo chapter I feel like you need it, likeJenn Drummond 22:01  No, they cut it out. Lesley Logan 22:02  Oh jeez, because that's so funny. There's so much like, it's so I can imagine it like it's I, my husband and I did the mountain in Jeju. And then the name is escaping me. But it's the highest mountain in South Korea which we used to hike all the time. And when L.A. we like stopped hiking, and we moved to Vegas, and it's six miles up six miles down. And six miles up is the easiest fucking thing in the world. The six miles down, I fell twice. My foot was shaking until it hit the ground. Because like you're just, it's going down the mountain is actually the hardest part. And I was like, I wish I wish I could go down on my butt right now. But that is not happening on this mountain. So I just was like trying to go sideways. I turned around. Like it was a whole thing just to get down and went there was like no way to get a cab there. And this girl was right in front of me. And she walked up to the only cab that was there. But she hesitated. I said, Oh, are you not taking that? And she's like, so kind. She's like, which is her fault? Not mine. She's like, Oh, you can have it. And I was like we're taking it and I just grabbed her I like get the fuck over here and get in this car, we're never gonna get a cab and we're going straight to a massage place right now.Jenn Drummond 23:14  What people don't understand is the downhill is when most of most of the accidents happen, like more people die on the descent than the ascent. It's crazy. Lesley Logan 23:23  That's so interesting. Thanks. So okay, so that was your second or third of theJenn Drummond 23:29  It was the fourth attempt, third summit. Okay. And then I went to Antarctica. And climbed the second highest point there. Yeah, that was a pretty epic adventure. That mountain has only been summited by one female before me. And only by about 15 people before me. And the two years prior to us going there had no success. So when we were looking at the notes, right, the notes are a few years old, snow has happened, weathers happen, whatever. And you're like, okay, well, is that rock missing? Because it rolled down the mountain? Is it underneath the snow? Did we take a wrong turn? Like you just it's very interesting when you don't have as much information? Yeah, when you're starting on a pursuit and how much energy it takes just to do all the little movements, because the path's not paved. And I really like LinkedIn to that mountain realizing that every step we all take is so significant for the next generation to be able to do it more efficiently and then go further than what what were you able to do in our (inaudible). And then from Antarctica. I wanted to climb Mount Logan, which is the second highest point in North America next to Denali. We didn't summit, we had terrible weather, terrible weather. It was too dangerous to continue. So we came home went back to K2 and summited so, woohoo. Lesley Logan 23:29  Okay, you did it. Yeah. Jenn Drummond 23:31  Did it? Yep. And then went to Australia to climb Mount Townsend. And then we waited till May again to climb out Logan because the climbing season is in May. And we had summit success on June 1st of 2023 and the record was set. Lesley Logan 25:10  Oh my God, you are a Guinness World Record holder right here and also you, that's three years from like, less than three years.Jenn Drummond 25:20  Yeah, two and a half years.Lesley Logan 25:20  Yeah. Two and a half years. Also, as someone who's used to flying to Southeast Asia a lot. I don't know how you got flights to half these places, because they're just because they opened up doesn't mean anyone's like to take boats. Like, that's just the journey to even achieving this goal is really cool. I feel and I just want to highlight what you said about Antarctica. It's like your, the footsteps you're taking, it's like you're, you are leaving a path for the next person. And we're all doing that. And so sometimes when we're like, I have to tell myself, it's not easy. I can't always accept it. But like when you're like, Okay, I'm doing this challenge, it's the fucking hardest thing I've ever done. But it is going to be easier for the next person behind me. And if that, some days I can help you just take one more step.Lesley Logan 25:21  Whatever you need to do to get your mind to allow you to do one more step. Right. Yeah. And that is where the magic lies. Lesley Logan 25:59  So okay, to your kids, do your kids think that you're the coolest like they do they, are they as excited about this asJenn Drummond 26:16  This is my, this is my son. This is like, this is my life in a nutshell. If I could give you a 32nd overview of what my life is like, I land in the airport. My son gives me a hug. Mom, congratulations. It's so awesome. You're gonna be at the book. Yeah, honey, I'm super excited. Mom, you have bad breath. What have you been doing? Like, I've been on a plane for like, 10 hours. Thank you. Love you too. That's life, like, you're like the coolest thing in the world. And then you're something gross. So that's how it goes. Lesley Logan 26:48  It's a balance. Yeah.Jenn Drummond 26:49  Yeah. It's a balance.Lesley Logan 26:50  I mean, this, but I have to imagine that the training for this is really hard at when it's any time of the year, especially when you have or ,anybody but also adding on all the kids you have and homeschooling them and getting them back into things. And they have needs. How, how are you? How are you able to, like add this into your life because I think that's a lot of people get stuck. Adding something new can be so hard, whether it's to the budget or to the time or the calendar. And you don't just like go for hikes in Park City and like learn how to mountaineer like, I'm sure there's like a lot of things you had to do hours probably every time you went to do it. So how is that? How was adding this into your life?Jenn Drummond 27:29  Yeah, so the nice thing is, is that it is accumulation, right. So at least I'm climbing seven mountains, it's not like, Oh, I'm gonna go swim a sea and sail a boat and hike them out, you know, like all of it is building off of each other. So you do have that endurance piece and just that knowledge that kind of accumulates. But my training did not look like my friends who had no children or who had no jobs, right? My training was very much intentional, and very structured. So on Sundays, I would put in my calendar for the week with my kids, I'd fill in all my work stuff. And sometimes I had to do it by the month. But then on the weekly basis, I'd break into it. And I'd be like, Okay, Coach, here's what I have left to train, and my coach would look at me like, okay, funny, like, what am I going to do with this? There's nothing I can work with. I'm like, well, I have to pay for my life, and I have to feed humans. So mountaineering is the third thing. And what would happen is we started to get creative. So when you have restrictions or limitations or whatever, that's not a no, that's a time to pull out the creativity bone and figure out what you're going to do. And so some of the meetings that I was on, I didn't have to be visually present. So I could walk on the treadmill and do the Zoom call. Right. And I had this little thing called this Firefly. I don't know if you met Fred, the Firefly. But yes, Fred, the Firefly, a very nice friend of mine. And he listens on all my Zoom meetings that we invite him to. And he takes all the notes for me so then I can be walking. I'm like, oh, Fred caught that. I'll make sure I look at it a little more detailed later on. And so that was helpful. And then when my kids had soccer games, right, soccer games are an hour and a half they're forever. Especially when your kids not good. They're even longer, an hour and a half. And so I would bring a 12-inch step to the game. I'd bring a backpack full of water bottles, and I was that mom like standing on the sideline, going doing my step up. So I was watching the game instead of the mom that was sitting there just watching. So I had to you know, I had to make it work.Lesley Logan 29:30  I think that's so cool. I love that you brought up the Firefly, we use Fathom, you guys, there's so many note-takers out there now and they're so great because they'll highlight all the questions that are being asked and you're like someone asked a question, what was that question? If you can't like, listen to the whole thing. It's, I love that there's so you utilize the tools that were out there to be as creative as possible. And I actually think that constraints. I actually think the busier you are, the more likely you are to succeed at the things you want to do because you you have to make it work, you can't go, Oh, I'll do that workout later because, you know, this came up or this came up, like I have friends. I'm on a, I'm on a thread on WhatsApp, like 50-something people, which is chaos. And I'm like when do these people sleep, and like, sometimes they're planning all these things and I'm like, they can't they they're like, Oh, I wasn't able to make it, this came up and I'm like, No, I don't this, I make everything happen. Because if I don't, there's no other opportunity later in the week to recap that, like I have to happen on the day it is. And I find that one, it makes me a person you can rely on for sure, because I'm gonna show up when I said I was because that's when it's gonna happen. But also, it really helps me hold myself accountable to the challenges I want to take on for myself, because I don't have a time to procrastinate. So I think that that can also be great. Jenn Drummond 30:44  Right. Like, I don't have an option it does now or does not ever happen. Lesley Logan 30:47  Yeah, yeah. Does now or does not. And then also, you know, your kids are seeing you still being there for them. But also, creatively find a way to be there for the things that you want to do, which I think is really cool for them to learn. Jenn Drummond 31:01  Yeah and we're doing life in parallel, right? Like before, it was me kind of appreciate, oh, do your homework, eat healthy exercise, blah, blah, blah, when you're doing it with them. Yeah, I don't want to eat healthy either honey, but I have to, or I don't feel like working out. But if I don't, I could die. So I have to work out and you need to do your math. And this is how it works. And so you can just relate to each other in those pain points, and motivate each other to continue on. And I think that's benefited our relationship at a level I didn't expect.Lesley Logan 31:28  Yeah, I imagine you're right. Because I think sometimes kids just want to feel seen. And they're things that don't actually need you to tell they know that do their homework. But like, they they want to say it's hard, and they want to be able to feel their feelings. And instead of us I'm like, Oh, just do it anyways, you're like, Yeah, I feel that too. Like, here's like, I think that's actually really healthy. Jenn Drummond 31:50  Yeah, you know it's been great. Lesley Logan 31:52  Yeah. So okay, so you did that you in two and a half years, you did something no woman has ever done, which is insane. Like when you think about it, two and a half years was not a long period of time. What did you do to celebrate that? Because I feel like it's so important. Did you have time? I mean, you have life that you'd go back to and work and kids about? Like, was there a time that you could like, celebrate what you did before you like made a new goal? Jenn Drummond 32:15  Yeah, I have not made a new goal. Yes. And I want to share that because I think our society preaches what's next, what's next, what's next. And we forget to enjoy what is. And so I made a promise to myself, like I was not picking up another goal for 12 months, because I'm a fast start and a hard stop. So I need to be very cautious of what I pick up. And for me, I was like, You know what I want to teach my kids to appreciate and respect the rest, and respect the recovery and respect, like the cycle of life, it's not always go, go go, we'd need to nurture and nourish ourselves to be able to go when the next thing calls. So I'm very much taking an attentional gap year, or whatever you want to call it. I do have a book coming out in January. So it's named, Breakproof: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals. I wrote that along the journey. And I really wrote it to myself, before I started on the quest, because I named it Breakproof. And the reason why I named it Breakproof is because when you think of the term break, you can take a break and evaluate what's going on. Or you can be doing something and not really paying attention to things that aren't working. And then all sudden something breaks, right? You don't get the job, the relationship has an issue or whatever else. But it's in those breaks, that we have the proof to know what's working, what's not working, how do we want to continue forward, what maybe we don't want to continue forward, and we want to pivot and go another direction, whatever that is, is fine, as long as you continue to pursue life. And so I wrote this book, and I take people on the adventure of the different mountains, I go to extract the different lessons that I think fall under the category of resilience. Help the reader figure out, oh, if I have a big goal, it's going to take a big team, because big mountains, take big teams and just all these little things that help you have those oh, yeah, I see that. Okay. Yeah, here's where it didn't work for me. Here's some things I can do to maybe get further up the mountain next time.Lesley Logan 32:16  Yeah. Oh, I'm so excited about this. Because I, I mean, even as you're talking about the different things that you like, learn how to do along the way, wear maroon but also, you know, like that you sometimes you show up to things and you don't have all the tools that you've been practicing with and like the show does go on and you have to decide how you're going to go through with that. I mean, I'm so glad that that one worked out because I don't know that you would have been able to get in again. But I am excited for this book. We'll make sure it's on the show notes for when this episode comes out and everything, because I think a lot of our listeners would love to, like, hear the story. I mean, it was just I hope someone makes a movie about it too. Like, there's just I hope you have a whole team doing that, because it's so fun to see that challenge, but also reflect upon what we learn along the way. It's not just like how to be a better mountaineer. It's like, everything can apply to the rest of your life. Jenn Drummond 35:25  100% Lesley Logan 35:26  Yeah. And I just am relishing that you, you're like, I'm going to take a gap year because one, it allows you to probably finish this book and also really kind of dislike just you. That's a frickin crazy accomplishment. And also, like, what do you want to do next? I think we do move so fast to the next thing we don't actually pay attention to like is this what I want to do, or is this like, what other people want for me to do?Jenn Drummond 35:52  Easy to get caught in that cycle? For sure. Lesley Logan 35:54  Yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh, well, you're amazing. We'll take a brief break, and then we'll find out where people can hear more about you. Lesley Logan 36:00  All right, Jenn, where do you hang out? I mean, if you have time to hang out on the socials or the websites, like where can people get more from you?  Jenn Drummond 36:08  Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my website is jenndrummond.com. And that's Jenn with two Ns. And if you head there, you can preorder my book, which gives you a whole bunch of fun freebies, and all that good stuff. I have some challenges there. I do speaking events, I have a course. And then also all of my social media are housed there. So depending on what platform you prefer to communicate on, reach out say hi, I love connecting with people. That's why I do podcasts. It's just so fun to hear other people's stories and what mountains they're taking on. Lesley Logan 36:40  Yeah. Oh, my gosh, I think that's a really great, I. It's really great. Before I let you go, you've given us like a lot of life lessons along the way. But in case people wanted to wait till the end for that last final bit, what bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?Jenn Drummond 36:58  Yes. Okay, so I have this red light by my house. And for the longest time I get so grumpy because I'm on the short side. So I always hit the light red. And I'm a person that's super busy. So these people who have morning routines that seem to take the whole darn day, and can journal and gratitude and all this kind of stuff. I don't know those people like I've never met one, I'm never going to be one I don't think so one day I'm sitting at the red light. I'm super grumpy because it's red. And then I sat to myself, I'm like, you know what, I'm the only person complaining about this red light. The red light is not mad that it's red. Only I'm mad that it's red. I'm done being mad at the red light, I'm gonna turn this light into my gratitude light. So every single time I hit the light read, I'm going to start going through my gratitude list, because I don't have time for gratitude journal. And this is a way to like get it into my day. And so everybody in my car knows, like, wow, we hit the red light. It's gratitude time. And everybody goes through their gratitude. And this has changed the switch on the story so much that now when we hit a green, we're like, oh, man, we don't get to like go do our gratitude now, we got the green light. So I'm sharing that for everybody listening, because I'm sure you hit red lights in your life. And when you do take the pause and be grateful.Lesley Logan 38:17  Yes. Yes, because gratitude and judgment can't live in the same space. So what a fabulous way to use that time. Oh my gosh, you're full of awesomeness. I'm so glad we met. I'm really just like, I'm touched by this whole interview. And I'm really excited for everyone to hear it. Lesley Logan 38:33  You guys, how are you going to use these tips in your life? What was your favorite takeaway? Tag Jenn Drummond. Tag the Be It Pod. Share this with a friend who needs some help climbing a mountain in their life. I mean, what a great way to inspire the people around us. And Jenn, just thank you for showing how you can be a mom of seven kids, and take on your amazing dreams and how you made it work because I know that that's gonna be so helpful for every single person who's listening to this. So thank you for being here. And until next time, everyone, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 39:03  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. Brad Crowell 39:34  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 39:39  It is produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo. Brad Crowell 39:43  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music, and our branding by designer and artist Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 39:50  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals and Ximena Velazquez for our transcriptions. Brad Crowell 39:56  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all the content to our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our minds are intricate prediction machines, but how do they really work? Today, we journey into the captivating world of neuroscience with Billy Martin. With an extraordinary background that spans from ski patrol, EMT, and paramedic to helicopter pilot, Billy's experiences are as vast as they are thrilling. He even shares insights from his upcoming adventure of climbing Mount Kenya.As Billy guides us through the fascinating intersections of medicine and the electric utility business, he introduces us to the profound concept of experiential blindness. This idea, that our brains create circuits based on our experiences, is profoundly shaping our ability to face new challenges. As we delve into the simulation world, we discover how this tool can help us prepare better for real-life situations by predicting various outcomes. We also investigate a major roadblock in our conversations - the 3Ds: defensiveness, divisiveness, and dismissiveness. By embracing clean language and the power of rituals, we can reshape our beliefs and behaviors.Finally, we turn to the psychological impact of our experiences. Hearing from a paramedic about the stress management challenges faced by linemen in the utility industry highlights the dire consequences of unpreparedness. We unravel the importance of simulation training in priming the brain for high-pressure scenarios and the need to be open to different perspectives. Join us as we call for a cultural shift in how we approach and prepare for stressful events. This episode promises a mind-expanding journey through neuroscience, human behavior, stress management, and much more. Come along with us and Billy Martin for an episode you won't want to miss!Innovative SimSolutions.Your turnkey solution provider for medical simulation programs, sim centers & faculty design.

We are relatively familiar with modern snake bite advice, but what snakes did the ancient Egyptians deal with? Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: McBride E, Winder IC, Wüster W. 2023. What Bit the Ancient Egyptians? Niche Modelling to Identify the Snakes Described in the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus. Environmental Archaeology:1–14. DOI: 10.1080/14614103.2023.2266631. Species of the Bi-Week: Liedtke HC, Malonza PK, Wasonga DV, Müller H, Loader SP. 2023. A new genus and species of toad from Mount Kenya illuminates East African montane biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society:zlad160. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad160. Other Links/Mentions: Ross Mcgibbon calendars https://rmrphotography.com.au/2024-fundraising-calendar/  Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

As a follow-up to the episode featuring Stephen Jennings, we're releasing two bonus conversations showing the daily life, culture, and politics of Nairobi and Kenya at large. This first installment features Harriet Muriithi. Harriet is a 22-year-old hospitality professional living and working in Tatu City, a massive mixed-used development spearheaded by Jennings. Harriet grew up in the picturesque foothills of Mount Kenya before moving to the capital city as a child to pursue better schooling. She has witnessed Nairobi's remarkable growth firsthand over the last decade. An ambitious go-getter, Harriet studied supply chain management and wishes to open her own high-end restaurant. In her conversation with Tyler, Harriet opens up about her TikTok hobby, love of fantasy novels, thoughts on improving Kenya's education system, and how she leverages AI tools like ChatGPT in her daily life, the Chinese influence across Africa, the challenges women face in village life versus Nairobi, what foods to sample as a visitor to Kenya, her favorite musicians from Beyoncé to Nigerian Afrobeats stars, why she believes technology can help address racism, her Catholic faith and church attendance, how COVID-19 affected her education and Kenya's recovery, the superstitions that persist in rural areas, the career paths available to Kenya's youth today, why Nollywood movies captivate her, the diversity of languages and tribes across the country, whether Kenya's neighbors impact prospects for peace, what she thinks of the decline in the size of families, why she enjoys podcasts about random acts of kindness, what infrastructure and lifestyle changes are reshaping Nairobi, if the British colonial legacy still influences politics today, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.  Recorded June 12th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze_dzFxy87E #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #photooftheday #volcano #news #money #food #weather #climate #monkeys #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRdwYMi3AEQ #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #photooftheday #volcano #news #money #food #weather #climate #monkeys #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready 

https://www.maraexpeditions.com/mount-kenya-a-spiritual-mountain/ #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #photooftheday #volcano #news #money #food #weather #climate #monkeys #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready 

In this episode of the Inner Edison Podcast, host Ed Parcaut sits down with guest Jenn Drummond. Jenn shares her experiences and insights about waving your flag on your journey, the importance of connections and opportunities, and her personal adventures in mountain climbing. From climbing Mount Kenya to planning trips to Everest Base Camp, Jenn's inspiring stories will leave you motivated to pursue your own goals and dreams. Tune in to hear her reflections on resilience, building strong teams, and the joy of exploring the world. Don't miss this insightful and exciting conversation on the Inner Edison Podcast! #WaveYourFlag #InnerEdisonPodcast #JourneyGoals #SupportAndConnections #AdventureOpportunities #AdmitMistakes #SeekHelp #ClimbingMountKenya #RockClimbingTraining #CharityRelief #HomeschoolTeacher #MountainClimbing #TeamworkMatters #FunTeam #BondingExperiences #BucketListBeforeIDie #RoleModelParent #MountainHikingTrips #AMAdeBlom #MountaineeringExpeditions #ClimbingChallenges #BuildingStrongTeams #CommitmentToGoals #ResilienceAndSupport #EverestTourism #CommercializationOfMountaineering #DangerousIceField #AcclimatizationProcess #PhysiologicalChanges #SupplementalOxygen #TableMountainExperience #InspiredByEverest #TrainingForMountains #EndureAndSucceed

Archie Voorspuy, manager of Suyian Conservancy, paints a picture of this wild and untamed part of Africa and the exceptional game viewing opportunities that it offers. Learn more about the Laikipia Plateau, where Suyian is situated, and find out about the rare and endangered species that make this region their home. Get a glimpse of how this working cattle ranch and wildlife conservancy operates, as well as what travellers to this secluded destination can hope to see and do.

Principal Lisa and Chef Holly give us ideas on what and how to prepare our kids' lunch boxes just before the new school term startsMoorfields Eye Hospital's Dr. Ayesha Khan tells us how to ensure children's eyes are in the best health for learningWe meet a lady determined to summit Mount Kenya for a causeAnd Dr Joana Porto from Dogventure HQ answers all your pet-related queries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's episode Agi shares her passion for mountaineering as a woman. She takes us on her journey to the top. In this episode, Agi explains how she prepared herself, to increase her chances to summit this 5000er.   @drschwank @agichristine @unesurcent @optimalperformancezurich

In today's episode Agi shares her 13hours to the top of Batian Peak, Mount Kenya. The journey she took and prepared for herself, as an inspiring independent woman. Be prepared to hold your breath while Agi shares her adventures to the peak and back!   @drschwank @agichristine @unesurcent @optimalperformancezurich

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 14:18:28 +0000 https://alpenverein-basecamp.podigee.io/17-mount-kenya 33f515122988a2162466923cf58e8f86 Über die Kartographie der Zukunft Für diese Folge verlegen wir das alpenverein basecamp nach Afrika. Und steigen von dort aus auf den Mount Kenya (5.199 m), wo der Alpenverein nichts Geringeres will als eine neue Ära der Kartographie einläuten. Warum ist ausgerechnet dort die digitale Wanderkarte der Zukunft entstanden? Und warum findet man am Normalweg zum Gipfel eine „Austrian Hut“? In diesem Podcast-Feature geht Redakteur Michel Mehle dem Beginn der digitalen Kartografie nach – von Innsbruck bis zur Spitze des Mount Kenya. In seiner Geschichte hat der Alpenverein über 70 topografische Karten von Gebirgen auf der ganzen Welt erstellt. Pioniere der Kartographie sind noch selbst mit dem Kleinflugzeug über den Himalaya geflogen, um Luftbildaufnahmen für Karten zu machen. Heute kommen die Bilder per Satellit, aber die Erstellung ist kaum leichter. Denn die Ansprüche an Wanderkarten haben sich verändert. In Zukunft müssen Wanderkarten vernetzt und responsive sein. Sie sollen Wanderer über Abfahrtszeiten und Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten informieren und sogar vor Unwettern warnen. Der Österreichische Alpenverein muss seine Kartographie verändern, um diesen Ansprüchen Gerecht zu bleiben. Gemeinsam mit der Universität Innsbruck haben Kartographen in einem außergewöhnlichen Forschungsprojekt am Mount Kenya zwei Monate neue Methoden der Kartographie getestet. Herausgekommen ist vielleicht eine der letzten analogen Karten, die gleichzeitig die Grundlage bildet für eine „neue Ära der Kartographie“. Hier erhältlich: Die Alpenvereinskarte 0/16 Mount Kenya +++++ Wen sollen wir ins alpenverein basecamp einladen, mit welchem Thema der Höhe in die Tiefe gehen? Wir freuen uns über Vorschläge via basecamp@alpenverein.at! Alle Folgen des alpenverein basecamps unter www.alpenverein.at/basecamp +++++ Das alpenverein basecamp wird unterstützt von der Generali. 17 full Über die Kartographie der Zukunft no alpenverein,basecamp,alpenverein basecamp,mount kenya,afrika,kartographie,karten,maps Österreichischer Alpenverein

Classic ascend by three Italians --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juliusmanuel/message

I dagens episode snakker vi blandt andet om skjulte budskaber i sange, dårlige gaver at give, dit teenage crush og har Lasse besteget Mount Kenya? Lyt med og find ud af det;)

James Kagambi(KG), the founder and owner of KG Mountain Expeditions, has become the first Kenyan to summit the Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Kagambi reached the 29,032 feet peak on Thursday, May 12, 2022 after a gruelling 40-day journey. Since the 1990s, KG has led climbs on Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, Ruwenzori and the most recent Mount Everest. KG has received recognition and honors in Kenya for his long-term contributions to the fields of rock climbing and mountaineering. In 1987 KG (James Kagam­bi) began his guid­ing career in Kenya as a NOLS field instruc­tor. His patience and teach­ing abil­i­ty grew from his expe­ri­ence as a grade school teacher, coach­ing sports, and teach­ing tra­di­tion­al Africa music. Since his first trips as a guide he reached the ranks of a senior moun­taineer­ing instruc­tor at NOLS. In addi­tion to his work at NOLS, he leads Moun­tain Mad­ness trips to Mount Kenya and the Rwen­zoris in Ugan­da. He has also com­plet­ed three of the Sev­en Sum­mits and in 1992 rep­re­sent­ed Africa in the U.N Peace Climb for the World on the Eiger. KG has sum­mit­ed the Eiger three times, was the first black African to sum­mit Denali in 1989, and was the first black African to sum­mit Aconcagua in 1994. He is active­ly involved in train­ing Kenya's moun­tain res­cue teams. Most recent­ly he had the plea­sure of meet­ing Kenya's pres­i­dent after car­ry­ing the 50th Anniver­sary flag cel­e­brat­ing the country's inde­pen­dence to the sum­mit of Mount Kenya. Home - KG Mountain & Safaris Expeditions (kenyaexpeditions.com) MasterMine Website- https://mastermine.podcastpage.io YouTube Channel- MasterMine Podcast on YouTube --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mastermine-mrg/message

Today our guest is James "KG" Kagambi, Senior NOLS Instructor and the owner of KG Mountain Expeditions. He joined NOLS  as a field instructor in 1987. KG has worked many curses types over the years but regularly works in NOLS mountaineering programs in Patagonia, Alaska, East Africa, and India. KG is not only a senior NOLS instructor; he is the most senior, having more weeks in the field than any other instructor in the history of the school! He has over 870 weeks in the field working for NOLS, that is more than 6000 nights!! He has also completed four of the Seven Summits and in 1992 represented Africa in the U.N Peace Climb for the world on the Eiger. In addition, KG has summited the Eiger three times, became the first black African to summit Denali in 1989 and was the first black African to summit Aconcagua in 1994. KG has guided on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro since the 1990s and Today trains search and rescue teams on Mount Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and Rwenzori. KG's long-lasting commitments to the field of rock climbing and mountaineering in Kenya have prompted acknowledgment and respect in his country. While he is away from the field, he enjoys spending time with his family and children. In May, at 62 KG became the first Kenyan to submit Mt. Everest. Today he shares his story. https://www.fullcircleeverest.com/

Touch The Top CEO Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to summit Mount Everest, climbs hundreds of mountains every year. And he's learned over the years that sometimes, the smartest thing to do in the face of adversity is stop, turn around, and go home; but in other situations, like an unexpectedly icy day climbing Mount Kenya, one only has to change their approach. “The mountain doesn't care, the mountain's not gonna change,” he says. “We could still maybe get to the summit, even though the mountain gave us absolute, unforeseen challenges.”In this episode, Erik and Joubin discuss climbing Mount Everest, kayaking the Grand Canyon, how Erik went blind, the “seven summits,” his relationship with his father, turning back vs. changing your approach, continually growing and scaring yourself, the Khumbu Icefall, what's different about ice climbing, how to be OK with the small things, and what Erik learned from watching Canadian athlete Terry Fox.In this episode, we cover: Are blind people's other senses heightened?  (05:56) The different types of blindness and how Erik perceives the world — and dreams (09:17) The “double-knockout blow” of going blind and losing his mother (19:07) “No-mistakes moments” and pushing yourself to your limit (24:49) Erik's relationship with death, and with the calm times between accomplishments (30:18) Needing to stand on the summit (36:31) Learning how to be miserable and training yourself to suffer (47:55) The importance of having a team you can trust with your life (52:05) The personal toll of climbing, and the terror of kayaking blind (55:20) Erik's story's resonance with the business community (01:00:46) Not letting yourself be imprisoned by fear, and realizing your full potential (01:04:06) Links: Connect with Erik Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

+++News+++Kenyan elections+++Why do young Kenyans feel disillusioned about vote+++Candidate Susan Gitari battles the odds+++Sports round-up

"Das Klima”, der Podcast zur Wissenschaft hinter der Krise. Wir lesen den aktuellen Bericht des Weltklimarats und erklären den aktuellen Stand der Klimaforschung. In Folge 41 geht es um Afrika. Kapitel 9 des zweiten Teils im IPCC-Bericht beschäftigt sich mit der Klimazukunft des großen Kontinents. Afrika ist am stärksten betroffen und hat am wenigsten Schuld. Wir sprechen über die Ungleichheit in Klimaforschung und Forschungsförderung. Und über den Tourismus in Afrika, der erstens wichtig ist und zweitens in Zukunft große Probleme kriegen wird. Ebenso wie die vielen Weltkulturerbestätten und vor allem das immaterielle Weltkulturerbe. Wenn Afrika verliert, verlieren wir alle.

THINGS TO DO IN NAIROBI In the last post, I was talking about Shane and Monica who I met in Nairobi. They both gave us tips on all the amazing stuff there's to see around the country, but there's also a lot to do in the capital. VISIT THE KAREN BLIXEN MUSEUM The museum is located in the town Karen at the Ngong Hills slopes just outside Nairobi. It was owned by Danish author Karen and her Swedish husband Baron. It became more famous after the renowned “Out of Africa” film. It's open to the public and you can enjoy guided tours and lots of materials to buy. You can learn more here. DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is one of the largest and most successful orphan elephant rescue centres in the world. They have successfully cared for 282 elephants and here, you can also get to adopt a calf (baby elephant). NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK Nairobi National Park is a few minutes away from the city centre. You can see rhinos, zebras, giraffes, baboons, wildebeest, and many other animals against a backdrop of the city skyline. Learn more from their website. BOMAS OF KENYA This is a cultural village representing the 42 tribes of Kenya. If you want to learn about the ethnic tribes and history of the country, this a tour that you should not miss. You also get to learn about the clothing, dances, and economic activities of each tribe. You can also try diverse Kenyan cuisine at the Utamaduni Restaurant. Learn more here. THE GIRAFFE CENTRE The Giraffe Centre is run by the Kenya non-profit organisation, the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, whose main purpose is to educate Kenyan children about their environment and wild animals. They also give visitors and opportunity to come into close contact with the world's tallest animal. I went there and spoke to Daniel Mutua the educator who shared lots of information about this majestic animal. When visiting the centre, you will get some pellets, walk on the platform, and get ready to feed the giraffes. David mentioned that the pellets are made from dry grasses, molasses, and corn. These act like snacks for the animal whose main food is grass, leaves and water. Kenya has three subspecies of giraffes: Maasai, Rothchild and the Reticulated, and in the late 1970s there were only about 130 Rothchild giraffes left on the grasslands of East Africa. The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife was founded in 1979 by the late Jock Leslie-Melville, a Kenyan citizen of British descent, and his American-born wife, Betty Leslie-Melville. They began the giraffe centre after discovering the sad situation on the deteriorating animal population. However, from the centre's efforts, today there are over 300 Rothschild giraffes which are safe and breeding well in Kenyan parks. Twelve of them are in the giraffe centre. The difference in the three species is notable on body spots and the animal habitats. Each giraffe has a different personality just like humans ranging from gentle, kind, playful and so much more. At the centre, they know them by name and by their characters. Inside the Giraffe centre there is the Giraffe Manor Hotel. Its resident herd of giraffe will poke their long necks into the window before retreating in the wild. You get to dine with the lovely animals. VISIT KICC On a clear day you can see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro from the rooftop of the tallest building in the city. The KICC (Kenyatta International Convention Centre) Tower is an icon and a landmark for Kenya. It is a leading facility in the meeting industry in East Africa. I went up there and I got amazing views of the stunning city. It was a bit cloudy so I couldn't see the two biggest mountains in Africa, but I still saw a lot. I spoke to two of the four people that I met on the tower, and we had a great chat about the best and the worst about living here. SOME TIPS ON SAFARIS Choose a good car: The type of vehicle you use is very important. If you are in the 4-wheel drive normal vehicles, your viewing experience will be normal. For a spectacular experience, go for a higher wheelbase and a lot of window space. With this, you will have a 360-degree views. You will be driving for long hours a day and you need a comfortable vehicle. Choose a good package: Check a trip and package where you can enjoy a lot of time in the wild as much possible. Choose carefully and look at the itinerary and their professionalism. Your guide and the company you choose has a great influence on your overall experience. When it comes to the great migration, splurge a little bit more if possible and it will be an unforgettable experience. GAME DRIVE IN MASAI MARA Then we're off on the first game drive in the Masai Mara. It's one of the places with the highest photographic potential in Africa and the world. We saw lions throughout the park, and elephants, giraffes, a variety of gazelle species and zebras. Two cats that can be a bit tricky to tell apart are cheetahs and leopards. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the leopards (one of The Big Five) but many cheetahs. The rhino is another animal that is part of the Big Five which is not easy to spot. The Masai Mara shares its border to the south with the Serengeti in Tanzania. It's a huge area – 1,510 square kilometres (583 square miles), so it's good to have an experienced driver, like Dennis. He's in constant radio contact with the other drivers giving each other tips on where the animals are. OUR MEETING WITH A LONE RHINO I've been on safaris before and never seen rhinos. But suddenly, Dennis spotted one. Standing alone grassing on the savannah close to a waterhole with no one around him. We were also the only van there, and to be honest I think that this was so rare that our driver didn't go straight on the radio to alert the other drivers. Instead, we drove slowly on a circle around him. Not too close, I think around 30-40 metres away from him, and we all stood up in the van to start taking pictures. I decided to shoot a video – and I'm glad I did because what happened next was unbelievable and I'm happy I caught it on film. The rhino saw us and wasn't happy with having his quiet time interrupted, so he came charging at us. Full speed ahead right towards us. Here's the video. Thank God, Dennis saw it because he drove off before it was able to slam into the side of the van. And according to Dennis he would have. It would also have made a big hole in the side of the car and would have been life threatening for the people sitting on that side of the bus. Dennis also told me that he'd never experienced anything like this in his many years of doing game drives here in The Mara. DISCLAIMER The trip to Masai Mara is made possible with support from Scenery Adventures. You can find all their different packages and prices on their website sceneryadventures.com. If you want to have a scenic adventure with Monica and her team, you can book and pay online, and they take care of you from the airport and back. They can even help you fix your visa to Kenya. In the next one we're going hot air ballooning high above the savannah as the sun is rising. My name is Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.   See pictures and video on TheRadioVagabond.com/228-kenya/  

TING AT SE I NAIROBI I den seneste episode talte jeg med Shane og Monica i Nairobi om alt det fantastiske, der er at opleve rundt omkring i Kenya. Men der er også en masse at opleve i hovedstaden. KAREN BLIXEN MUSEUM Vores berømte danske forfatter, Karen Blixen havde sin afrikanske farm i den by, der i dag også hedder Karen i udkanten af Nairobi. I huset, hvor hun boede med sin mand, Baron ved foden af Ngong Hills, er der i dag et museum, som bestemt er værd et besøg. Under navnet Isak Dinesen udgav hun bogen, Den afrikanske farm om de sytten år hun boede på farmen i Kenya. Det er hendes poetiske hyldest til naturen, dyrelivet og ikke mindst de indfødte, for hvem hun blev leder, lærer, læge og dommer. Og så er det naturligvis historien om mødet med hendes store kærlighed, Denys Finch Hatton. Bogen blev en succes i det meste af verden og endnu mere kendt efter filmen ”Out of Africa”, som delvist er optaget her. DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust er et af de største og mest succesrige redningscentre for forældreløse elefanter i verden. De har med succes passet 282 elefanter, og her kan du også ”adoptere” en elefantunge. NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK Nairobi National Park ligger få minutter fra byens centrum. Du kan opleve næsehorn, zebraer, giraffer, bavianer, gnuer og mange andre dyr med byens skyline i baggrunden. BOMAS OF KENYA Bombas of Kenya er en kulturel landsby, der repræsenterer de 42 stammer i Kenya. Hvis du vil lære noget om landets etniske stammer og historie, er dette en tur, du ikke bør gå glip af. Du kommer også til at lære om hver stammes tøj, danse og økonomiske aktiviteter. Du kan også prøve forskellige kenyanske retter på Utamaduni Restaurant. THE GIRAFFE CENTRE The Giraffe Centre drives af en kenyansk non-profit-organisation, African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, hvis hovedformål er at uddanne kenyanske børn om deres miljø og vilde dyr. De giver også besøgende og mulighed for at komme i nærkontakt med verdens højeste dyr. Jeg tog dertil og talte med guiden Daniel Mutua, som kunne fortælle mig en masse om dette majestætiske dyr. Ved indgangen fik jeg nogle foderpiller lavet af tørt græs, melasse og majs i en halv kokosnødskal, og går på platformen, hvor jeg kunne fodre girafferne. Disse er blot snacks til girafferne, hvis hovedføde er græs, blade og vand. Kenya har tre underarter af giraffer: Masai, Rothchild og Reticulated, og i slutningen af ​​1970'erne var der kun omkring 130 Rothchild-giraffer tilbage på græsarealerne i Østafrika. African Fund for Endangered Wildlife blev grundlagt i 1979 af den afdøde Jock Leslie-Melville, en kenyansk statsborger af britisk afstamning, og hans amerikanskfødte kone, Betty Leslie-Melville. De startede girafcentret efter at have opdaget den triste situation. Men efter centrets indsats er der i dag over 300 Rothschild-giraffer, som er sikre og yngler godt i kenyanske parker. Tolv af dem er her i girafcentret. Forskellen på de tre arter er bemærkelsesværdig på kropspletter og dyrenes levesteder. Hver giraf har en anden personlighed ligesom mennesker lige fra blid, venlig, legende og meget mere. I centrum kender de dem ved navn og ved deres karakterer. Inde i The Giraffe Centre er der et luksushotel, der hedder Giraffe Manor. Centrets giraffer kigger ofte forbi og stikke deres lange halse ind i vinduet i håbet om at få en snack, før de trækker sig tilbage i naturen. BESØG BYENS HØJESTE BYGNING På en klar dag kan man se Mount Kenya og Kilimanjaro fra taget af den højeste bygning i byen. The KICC (Kenyatta International Convention Centre) Tower er et ikon og et vartegn for Kenya. Det er et af de førende konferencecentre i Østafrika. Jeg tog elevatoren til toppen, og jeg fik en fantastisk udsigt over byen. Det var lidt overskyet, så jeg kunne desværre ikke se de to højeste bjerge i Afrika, men jeg så stadig en masse. Jeg talte med to af de fire personer, som jeg mødte på tårnet, og vi fik en god snak om det gode og dårlige ved at bo i Kenya. GODE RÅD OM SAFARI-TURE Vælg en god bil: Den type køretøj, du vælger, er meget vigtig. Hvis du er i de normale 4-hjulstrukne køretøjer, vil din oplevelse være normal. Hvis du vil have en mere spektakulær oplevelse, bør du gå efter en højere akselafstand og mere vinduesplads. Med dette vil du have en 360 graders udsigt. Du kommer til at køre i mange timer om dagen, og et mere komfortabelt køretøj vil være en god investering. Vælg en god pakke: Gå efter en pakke, hvor du kan nyde en naturen så meget som muligt. Brug tid på research og vær omhyggelig med at vælge. Din guide og den virksomhed, du vælger, har stor indflydelse på din samlede oplevelse. Når det kommer til den store migration i sensommeren, så vær forberedt på at betale en smule mere. Det vil være en uforglemmelig oplevelse. GAME DRIVE I MASAI MARA Så er det tid til den første game drive i Masai Mara – et af de steder i Afrika og verden med den højeste mulighed for at opleve få gode billeder af de vilde dyr. Vi så løver, elefanter, giraffer, zebraer og en masse forskellige gazellearter. To katte, der kan være lidt svære at skelne fra hinanden, er geparder og leoparder. Desværre lykkedes det mig ikke at se leoparderne (som er en af The Big Five), men vi så mange geparder. Næsehornet er et andet dyr, der også er en del af ”de fem store”, som man også skal være lidt heldig for at få øje på. Masai Mara deler sin grænse mod syd med Serengeti i Tanzania og er et enormt område på 1.510 km2, så det er godt at have en erfaren chauffør, som vi har i Dennis. Han er i konstant radiokontakt med de andre chauffører, og de giver hinanden tips om, hvor dyrene er. VORES MØDE MED ET NÆSEHORN Jeg har været på safari før og aldrig stødt på et næsehorn. Men pludselig fik Dennis øje på en. Den står alene og græsser på savannen tæt på et vandhul uden nogen omkring sig. Vi var også den eneste bil der, og for at være ærlig tror jeg, at det var så sjældent, at Dennis ikke gik direkte på radioen for at fortælle det til de andre chauffører. I stedet kørte vi langsomt på en cirkel omkring ham. Ikke for tæt på – jeg tænker omkring 30-40 meter fra ham, og vi rejste os allesammen for at begynde at tage billeder. Jeg besluttede mig for at optage en video – og det er jeg glad for, at jeg gjorde, for det der skete herefter, var så utroligt, og jeg er glad for, at jeg fangede det på film. Næsehornet fik øje på os og var ikke tilfreds med at få sin stilletid afbrudt, så han kom buldrende imod os. Fuld fart direkte mod os. Her er videoen. Heldigvis så Dennis det, og han kørte videre, inden næsehornet smadrede ind i siden af ​​bilen. Og ifølge Dennis ville han have gjort det. Det ville have lavet et stort hul i siden af ​​bilen og ville have været livsfarligt for de personer, der sad på den side af bussen. Dennis fortalte mig også, at han aldrig havde oplevet noget lignende i sine mange år med game-drives her i The Mara. DISCLAIMER Turen til Masai Mara er gjort mulig med støtte fra Scenery Adventures. Du kan finde alle deres forskellige pakker og priser på deres hjemmeside. Hvis du vil have et eventyr med Monica og hendes team, kan du booke og betale online, og de tager sig af dig helt fra lufthavnen og tilbage. De kan endda hjælpe dig med at ordne dit visum til Kenya. I den næste skal vi flyve i luftballon højt over savannen, mens solen står op. Jeg hedder Palle Bo, og jeg skal videre. Vi ses.   Se billeder og video på Radiovagabond.dk/276-kenya

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 443, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Singers And Their Roles 1: When Sonny gets blue, he can think of "Good Times", the film in which he and this partner played themselves. Cher. 2: On stage, he was Ziggy Stardust, the king of space rock, and on film, an alien in "The Man Who Fell to Earth". David Bowie. 3: She earned an Oscar nomination for starring in "The Rose" and an Emmy nomination for playing Mama Rose in "Gypsy". Bette Midler. 4: She was the Acid Queen in "Tommy" and Auntie Entity in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome". Tina Turner. 5: He made 2 films, "Come September" and "That Funny Feeling", with his wife, Sandra Dee. Bobby Darin. Round 2. Category: Right On The Money 1: The current $2 bill features Thomas Jefferson on the front and the signing of this document on the back. the Declaration of Independence. 2: The 2004 silver dollar honoring Thomas Edison was inscribed on the reverse side, "125th anniversary of" this invention. the light bulb. 3: This cabinet department's seal appears on all U.S. paper currency. Treasury. 4: Federal Reserve notes bear the statement "This note is legal tender for all" these, "public and private". debts. 5: Bills printed in 2008 bear the signatures of Anna Cabral, U.S. Treasurer, and Henry Paulson, this official. Secretary of the Treasury. Round 3. Category: Group Therapy 1: A group of students at the same grade level. Class. 2: A group that meets for a common purpose; Groucho wouldn't join one that would have him as a member. Club. 3: The Mistick Krewe of Comus has been participating in parades in this city since 1857. New Orleans. 4: alt.tv.game-shows is one of these "groups" in which you may find comments on this clue tomorrow. Newsgroup. 5: Wolfe and over 999 others are part of this group in the St. Lawrence. Thousand Islands. Round 4. Category: Musical Matters 1: At age 14 Wynton Marsalis performed Haydn's concerto for this instrument. trumpet. 2: The Dixie Chicks' first CD had the rhyming title "Thank Heavens for" this TV cowgirl. Dale Evans. 3: It sounds like a small trench around a castle, but it was the major type of late medieval composition. motet. 4: The 19th century composer of the following, he basically wrote for only one instrument. Frederic Chopin. 5: James Blake, who wrote the song "I'm Just Wild About Harry", was better known by this nickname. Eubie. Round 5. Category: Kenya Feel The Love 1: Kenya's official languages are English and this one, whose name means "people of the coast". Swahili. 2: Traditionally, the nomadic Masai of Kenya live almost entirely on their herds of these. cattle. 3: At over 17,000 feet, Mount Kenya is eclipsed by only this other peak as the highest in Africa. Kilimanjaro. 4: To the southwest, Kenya borders this 27,000-square-mile body of water. Lake Victoria. 5: Now the chief port of Kenya, Mombasa was visited by this Portuguese explorer in 1498. (Vasco) da Gama. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

Welcome to this mini-series about Kenya and Masai Mara. This is part 1 On December 31st, I was excited to go to Masai Mara. I went on a 5-hour drive from Nairobi, Kenya, to Masai Mara National Reserve (often referred to just as The Mara). I knew that the game drives would start early in the morning, and I would not be partying too hard for New Year. The two-night/three-day safari trip was partly made possible by Scenery Adventures Ltd, which is owned and operated by Monica Musungu. Scenery Adventures does inbound and outbound travel. They take visitors to Congo, Tanzania, Seychelles, Egypt, and many other places. I got to know Monica when we were in Berlin in March 2020, just as the Corona pandemic was beginning to rear its ugly head. We were both there for a big travel event called ITB, which was canceled days before the event. As we had our tickets ready, we decided to travel anyway and that's how our paths crossed. MEETING THE TRAVEL CAMEL I also met Shane Dallas who I knew from the travel industry, and TBEX, which does conferences for travel content creators around the world. Shane is the conference director of TBEX Europe, Asia, and Africa. As I'm the co-host and producer of the TBEX podcast, Travel Matters, you can say that we're colleagues. Shane has been traveling worldwide for years – calling himself and his travel blog “The Travel Camel”, but when he came to Kenya, he fell in love with the country and his wife, Maureen. He's been living here for a number of years with her and their daughter. He knows a lot about this country, but he's originally from Australia. It has been nine years since he went back to Australia. He is probably getting away from all the poisonous snakes and spiders. However, he misses his family, friends, cricket, and rugby. I asked Shane to give me some insights into what Kenya means to him. “Kenya is complex with more than 40 tribes, and each has its food, customs, and activities. I love it”. That morning, I finally met Dennis, my driver, in Nairobi for the next few days. We got on the van with an open roof which would come in handy when we went on game drives in the park. That way, we could stand up and get a good view of the wildlife for taking photos. We were a group of 7 or 8 – a few from Kenya, and besides me was a guy from San Francisco. Not only was I going on game drives, but I also decided to spend a little extra time by visiting a Maasai Village and then start 2022 by going on a hot air balloon safari over the savannah early in the morning on January 1st. Here are some facts about Kenya FACTS ABOUT KENYA How Big and How Many People At 580,367 square kilometers (224,081 sq mi), Kenya is the world's 48th largest country by area. It is slightly smaller than Ukraine and a bit bigger than Spain. With more than 47.6 million people, Kenya is the 29th most populous country globally. Kenya is the World's Leading Safari Destination Kenya has been recognized by the World Travel Awards as the world's leading safari destination for 2021, a position it has held for seven years now! The country has 50 epic national parks and reserves home to diverse wildlife, including the renowned Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffaloes). Official Languages There are more than 69 different languages spokenKenya, but they only have two official languages, English and Swahili. English is widely spoken in commerce, schooling, and government, and you can totally get by here. The English level on the street is very good – even though they do have a local dialect that can be a bit hard to catch sometimes for a western speaking ear. The Flag The flag is a horizontal tricolor with black, red, and green from the top and thinner white lines. The black stands for the country's people, the green stands for the landscape, the white lines represent peace, and the red in the middle symbolizes war. And then what is most unique of the flag: a Maasai shield and spears in the middle – and it symbolizes the defense of all the things mentioned in the colors. All in all, it's a cool flag. Religion Most Kenyans are Christian (86%), with 54% Protestant and 21% Roman Catholic. Islam is the second-largest religion, with 11% of the population. Famous Proverbs from Kenya They have quite a few sayings, but here are a few of my favorites: ”Because a man has injured your goat, do not go out and kill his bull.” ”Do not slaughter a calf before its mother's eyes.” ”A hyena cannot smell its own stench.” And the last one is a twist of one I've heard many times where I come from … that “a captain should go down with his ship”. But Kenyans have a saying that goes like this: ”A sinking ship doesn't need a captain.”   THINGS TO SEE IN TWO PERFECT WEEKS IN KENYA I also asked Monica and Shane about their recommendations on what to see in two perfect weeks here in Kenya. These were some of their recommendations. TURKANA It is Kenya's largest county by land area in the north-western part of the country. It's bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north and there is a a 27 km border with Ethiopia just north of the amazingly beautiful Lake Turkana. I've been told that a trip to Turkana County needs guts and a passion for lengthy road trips. It also needs an adventurous heart and gallons of water to live through the harsh, dry climate. Overall, Turkana is an idyllic location and is well worth a visit, according to Monica. SAMBURU Both Monica and Shane recommended Samburu. The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve famous for an abundance of species of animals such as zebra, ostrich, giraffe, and many more. The reserve is also home to a population of close to 900 elephants. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi, just on the other side of the majestic Mount Kenya. With peaks of 5,199 meters or 17,057 feet, it's the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. AMBOSELI And speaking of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, just south of the border, you find the Amboseli National Park – another one of Kenya's most popular parks. TSAVO Tsavo West National Park is located in the south-eastern part of Kenya and covers an area of 9,065 square kilometers. It's ”sister park”, Tsavo East National Park a little bit north, is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya at 13,747 square kilometers. Both parks are between Nairobi and the east coast of Kenya. And there are a few places worth visiting on the east coast – or as Monica calls it “The Big Side”. EAST COAST Mombasa, that's also known as the white and blue city in Kenya. It is the country's oldest town and has about 1.2 million people. It is the second-largest city, after the capital Nairobi. Other places to visit are Diani Beach, Malindi, and Watamu. LAMU Shane agrees that the east coast is wonderful, and he moved there just a few days after our chat with his family after having stayed for years in Karen, Nairobi. But he mentioned a small island even more north just off the coast called Lamu. Old Lamu Town gives you a sense of stepping back in time. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and there are many activities to do there, including snorkeling, mangrove tours, visiting the Gedi ruins, beach walks in Shela, show races, donkey rides, etc. KISUMU Kisumu is a port city situated on Lake Victoria. Here there are beautiful lakeside views at Hippo Pint and Dunga Hill Camp. You can also visit the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary to see impalas, zebras, cheetahs, and more wildlife. You can visit the Kakamega Forest National Reserve to hike or see wildlife. Another interesting thing to do is to visit the 44th US president Barack Obama's village in Nyangoma, Kogelo. WESTERN REGION Western Kenya has tea plantations, and forests and is home to the largest lake in the continent. You can visit the Mr. Elgon National Park, Saiwa Swamp National Park, Kakamega Forest reserve and Lake Victoria. You can also see the famous Crying Stone of Ilesi, which is a stone that resembles a person in tears. NAIVASHA Naivasha is a town in Nakuru county, and it is known for its beautiful flamingos and large population of hippos. It is home to over 400 bird species. Lake Crescent, Hells Gate National Park, and Lake Naivasha are must-visit for travelers. NANYUKI Nanyuki is a town in central Kenya is a great gateway to Mt. Kenya and includes several trails. You can visit Mt. Kenya National Park, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and hike the mountain. As you probably see, there's a lot to see and do in Kenya. You can also just reach out to Monica and the team at Scenery Adventures. Tell her I said hi. THE WEATHER Kenya lies on the equator and has a pleasant, tropical climate. The daytime temperatures average between 20° and 28°C (68° and 82°F), but it's warmer on the coast. Kenya is too close to the equator to experience a real winter and summer. But there is both a dry and wet season. The hottest months are December to March, and July to September are perfect for a sunny holiday. ARRIVING TO MASAI MARA We arrived at 2 pm in Narok town and at 4 pm to Masai Mara and Lenchada Tourist Camp – our home for the next two nights. It was raining heavily when it got here and having lunch. At the Mara, you experience the Big Five and many other animals. The Mara is run by the Massai community who you will see from the entrance to the camps. In fact, our camp was guarded by about seven Maasai warriors at night.  The Maasai who are pastoralists, do not fear wild animals and they seem to coexist with them. You will often see them with their large herds of cattle looking for grazing grounds within the conservancy. We stayed in a tent and there was a bed and a concrete floor and a bathroom. There was no electricity in the tent, and you would only charge your phone in the evening. The best time to visit is in the peak season is from July to November, during The Great Migration where there are about two million animals. During peak season, you also get a lot more traffic with many more cars. Although this was around new year, I would still get to see some animals. And our evening game drive was no disappointment. Stay tuned for part 2 of this mini-series where we get “attacked” by an angry rhino. My name is Palle Bo and I gotta keep moving. See you.

Velkommen til en miniserie om Kenya og Masai Mara. Dette er del 1. Nytårsaftens morgen 2021 står jeg på gaden i Nairobi og er på vej til en længere køretur til safariparken Masai Mara, fem timers køretue vestpå. Jeg kommer nok ikke til at feste så meget dette år, da turene ud på savannen starter tidligt om morgenen. Det er en tredages tur med to overnatninger inde i parken, som er gjort muligt med hjælp fra Scenery Adventures, som er ejet og bliver drevet af Monica Musungu. Ud over Kenya laver hun ture til lande som Congo, Tanzania, Seychellerne, Egypten og mange andre steder. Jeg lærte hende at kende, da vi begge var i Berlin i marts 2020 lige før Corona pandemien lukkede verden ned. Vi var begge taget dertil for at deltage i en stor rejsemesse, der hedder ITB. Den blev aflyst, men da vi begge havde booket billetterne, valgte vi at tage dertil. Monica fra Kenya og mig fra Danmark. Og så krydsede vores veje i den tyske hovedstad. MØDER EN REJSE KAMEL Jeg møder også min gamle ven, Shane Dallas, som jeg kender fra rejseindustrien og TBEX, der laver konferencer for rejsebloggere rundt omkring i verden. Shane er Conference Director for TBEX Europa, Asien og Afrika. Da jeg er medvært og producer på den officielle TBEX podcast, ”Travel Matters” kan man med lidt god vilje sige, at vi er kollegaer. Jeg har rejst kloden tynd i mange år med sin rejseblog, The Travel Camel, men da han kom her til Kenya, blev han forelsket i landet og i Maureen. De er nu gift, har en datter og har boet i Karen i udkanten af Nairobi i flere år. Han ved derfor en masse om landet. JEG MØDER MIN CHAUFFØR Tilbage på gaden i Nairobi møder jeg Dennis, der skal være min chauffør de næste par dage. Jeg stiger ombord i en minibus med et tag, der kan løftes og give os godt udsyn. Det bliver nyttigt når vi skal på ”game-drive” i parken. Med det løftede tag kan vi stå på og tage gode billeder. Vi er en gruppe på 7-8 personer – de fleste fra Kenya og en fyr fra San Francisco. Ikke alene skal jeg se en masse vilde dyr og natur, jeg har også besluttet mig for at bruge lidt ekstra på at besøge en Masai landsby og så starter jeg 2022 med at flyve varmluftsballon over savannen meget tidligt om morgenen den 1. januar. FAKTA OM KENYA Hvor stor og hvor mange mennesker Kenya er 580.367 km2 stor og er verdens 48. største land. Det er lidt mindre end Ukraine og lidt større end Spanien. Og med 47,6 millioner indbyggere er det den 29. mest befolkede land i verden. Kenya er verdens førende safari destination Kenya har fået World Travel Award for at være verdens førende safari destination hele syv år i træk. De har ikke mindre end 50 fantastiske nationalparker, hvor man finder en masse fantastisk natur og ”The Big Five” (løver, leoparder, elefanter, næsehorn og bøfler). Officielle sprog Der bliver talt hele 69 sprog her i Kenya, men de har kun to officielle sprog: Engelsk og Swahili. Engelsk er det normale at bruge i handel, skoler og regering – og du kan sagtens klare dig med engelsk. Langt de fleste taler engelsk, selvom deres dialekt kan være en smule svær at forstå når det går hurtigt. Flaget Deres flag er stribet med sort, rødt og grønt fra toppen, med tyndere hvide linjer imellem disse. De sorte står for befolkningen, det grønne for naturen, de hvide linjer for fred og den røde farve symboliserer krig. Og så det mest specielle ved flaget: Et masaiskjold og spyd i midten. Dette symboliserer forsvar af alle tingene nævnt i flaget. Alt i alt er det et ret sejt flag. Religion De fleste kenyanere er kristne (86%), hvoraf 54% er protestanter og 21% katolikker. Islam er den næststørste religion med 11% af befolkningen. Berømte ordsprog fra Kenya De har en del specielle ordsprog, men her er et par af mine favoritter. ”Bare fordi en mand har såret din ged, behøver du ikke at slå hans tyr ihjel”. ”Du bør ikke slagte en kalv mens dens mor ser på”. ”En hyæne kan ikke lugte sin egen stank”. Den sidste er en variant af noget, jeg har hørt hele mit liv, nemlig at en kaptajn bør gå ned med sit skib. Kenyanerne siger noget lidt andet: ”Et synkende skib har ikke brug for en kaptajn”. TING AT OPLEVE I TO PERFEKTE UGER I KENYA Jeg beder Monica og Shane om at komme med gode råd om, hvad der er værd at se, hvis man kommer hertil og skal planlægge to perfekte uger. TURKANA Turkana er Kenyas største region i den nordvestlige del af landet. Den grænser op til Uganda mod vest, Sydsudan mod nord og en lille 27 km grænse mod Etiopien lidt nord for den smukke Lake Turkana. Jeg får at vide, at en tur til Turkane kræver lidt hård på brystet og mod på en længere køretur. Husk også at medbringe masser af vand, hvis du begiver dig igennem dette store, tørre område. Men Turkana er et idyllisk sted og ifølge Monica er det helt klart værd at besøge. SAMBURU Både Monica og Shane er enige om at Samburu også skal på listen. Samburu National Reserve er en safaripark, der er berømt for at have masser af dyr som f.eks zebraer, strudser, giraffer mere end 900 elefanter. Parken er 165 km² stor og ligger 350 km fra Nairobi lige på den anden side af det majestætiske bjerg, Mount Kenya. Det er mere end 5 km højt og er det næsthøjeste bjerg i Afrika efter Kilimanjaro. AMBOSELI Og apropos Kilimanjaro lige på den anden side af grænsen til Tanzania, så kan det ses fra Amboseli National Park – en anden af Kenyas mest populære parker. TSAVO Du finder også Tsavo West National Park i den sydøstlige del af Kenya og dækker et område på godt 9.000 km². Dens ”søsterpark”, Tsavo East National Park der ligger lidt nord herfor, er den ældste og største nationalpark i Kenya med næsten 14.000 km². Begge parker er mellem Nairobi og østkysten, hvor der også er ting, der er værd at besøge. ØST KYSTEN Mombasa, der også er kendt som den hvide og blå by i Kenya. Det er landets ældste by og med 1,2 millioner indbyggere er det også den næststørste by efter hovedstaden. Monica nævner desuden Diani Beach, Malindi og Watamu, som steder, der er værd at besøge. LAMU Shane er enig med Monica i at østkysten er skøn (faktisk flyttede han dertil med familien et par dage efter jeg mødte ham i Karen, hvor de har boet i mange år. Men han fremhæver Lamu, en lille ø lidt længere nordpå. Den gamle by på Lamu giver dig en følelse af at træde tilbage i tiden. Det er et UNESCO World Heritage sted, og der er meget at tage sig til på øen – så som snorkling, sejlture, ruiner, strande, rideture på æsler og meget andet. KISUMU Kisumu er en havneby ved Lake Victoria. Der er en smuk udsigt til søen ved Hippo Pint og Dunga Hill Camp. Du kan også besøge Kisumu Impala Sanctuary for at se impalaer, zebraer, geparder og andet dyreliv. Du kan besøge Kakamega Forest National Reserve for vandreture med endnu mere dyreliv. En anden interessant ting at gøre er at besøge den 44. amerikanske præsident Barack Obamas landsby i Nyangoma, Kogelo. Nej, han er ikke født her, men meget af hans familie er. DEN VESTLIGE REGION Det vestlige Kenya har teplantager og skove og er hjemsted for den største sø i Afrika. Du kan besøge Mr. Elgon National Park, Saiwa Swamp National Park, Kakamega Forest Reserve og Lake Victoria. Du kan også se den berømte grædende sten ved Ilesi (”Crying Stone of Ilesi”), som er en sten, der ligner en grædende person. NAIVASHA Naivasha er en by i Nakuru regionen, som er kendt for sine smukke flamingoer, mange flodheste og for at være hjem for mere end 400 fuglearter. Lake Crescent, Hells Gate National Park og Lake Naivasha er også et must-besøg for rejsende. NANYUKI Nanyuki er en by i det centrale Kenya og er en fantastisk indgang til Mt. Kenya med mange naturskønne stier. Du kan besøge Mt. Kenya National Park, Ol Pejeta Conservancy og vandre på bjerget. Som du sikkert kan fornemme, er der utrolig meget at se og opleve i Kenya. Du kan også bare kontakte Monica og teamet hos Scenery Adventures. Hils fra mig. VEJRET Kenya har et behageligt, tropisk klima. Dagtemperaturerne er i gennemsnit mellem 20° og 28°, og lidt varmere ved kysten. Kenya er for tæt på ækvator til at de oplever en egentlig vinter og sommer. Men der er både en tør og våd sæson. De varmeste måneder er december til marts, og juli til september er perfekte til en solrig ferie. ANKOMMER TIL MASAI MARA Kl. 14 kommer vi til byen Narok og kl. 16 til Masai Mara og Lenchada Tourist Camp, som var vores hjem de næste to nætter. Det regnede kraftigt, da vi ankom, og spiste frokost. På Masai Mara oplever du ”The Big Five” og mange andre dyr. Maraen drives af Massai-samfundet, som er meget synlige i landskabet fra indgangen til lejrene. Faktisk blev vores lejr bevogtet af omkring 7 Masai-krigere om natten. Masaierne frygter ikke vilde dyr, og de ser ud til blot at leve sammen med dem som naboer. Du vil ofte se dem med deres store flokke med køer på udkig efter gode steder med græs. Vi boede i et telt, og der var en seng og et betongulv og et badeværelse. Der var ingen strøm i teltet, og man opladede kun sin telefon om aftenen. Det bedste tidspunkt at besøge er i højsæsonen fra juli til november under The Great Migration, hvor der er omkring 2 millioner dyr. Men selvom dette var omkring nytår, var der stadig mange dyr at se og vores aften-game-drive var bestemt ikke en skuffelse. Følg med i del 2 af denne miniserie fra Kenya, hvor vi bliver "angrebet" af et vredt næsehorn. Du kan også tage med på besøg i The Giraffe Centre i Nairobi og op i den højeste bygning i byen. Mit navn er Palle Bo og jeg skal videre. Vi ses.

This episode of The Checkpoint podcast is supported by Adidas Terrex. In episode 34 Marcus and Sabrina speak with Sophia Danenberg, an American mountain climber. In 2006 Sophia became the first African American and first Black woman to climb Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Additionally she has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Rainier, The Matterhorn and Cotopaxi plus many more. Born in Japan to her Japanese mother and African American father, who was stationed at a U.S. military base in Japan at the time, Sophia and her family eventually settled stateside, in the Chicago area. She went on to Harvard University and became one of the first five students to earn an environmental sciences and public policy degree from the prestigious institution. In her day job she specialises in environmental sciences and public policies. Whilst we cover the topics previously mentioned, we also have to talk about the time that she partied with Jay-Z, Beyoncé, President Obama to name a few. It is a really honest and insightful conversation into what it means to be a pioneer in your field, all whilst being true to who you are and what you believe in. Sophia talks about the importance of using her role to inspire the next generation, to show that the climbing world is a space for young girls, demonstrating that women have the power to accomplish incredible things. You can learn more about these groups by going to the links below. https://www.browngirlsclimb.com/ https://www.flashfoxy.com/ https://www.fullcircleeverest.com/ You can follow her on Instagram: https://instagram.com/sophiaclimbs?utm_medium=copy_link You can watch her Ted talk here: https://youtu.be/mMDr9Psdmrw TEDxUChicago

The Kenya Forest Service has attributed a wildfire that has destroyed thousands of acres of forest moorland at Mount Kenya, to extreme weather conditions in the region. Tigrayan rebel forces have agreed to an offer of a truce to allow aid delivery through, but an official from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) tells us promises by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government must be upheld. Plus, after a South Africa court ruled in favour of the indigenous Khoi and San peoples in Cape Town and put a temporary stop to the construction of Amazon's Africa headquarters, a spokesperson for the communities explains why the land is so important. And we drop in on the Resident Presidents. This week, Olushambles is having a problem with ants.

Pozdravljeni, prispeli smo Kenijo, država v vzhodni Afriki, ki nosi ime po gori Kenya.

SHOW NOTES:   How many CE conferences have you attended that bored you to death? When was the last time you sat in a stuffy, overcrowded room in the middle of a city you've visited too many times—just so you could get some CE credits? How awesome would it be if you could get your CE at a “destination location” instead? How excited would you feel if you could pair adventure with CE credits? That's why Dr. Glenn Vo was excited to sit down with Maurice Mogo as Maurice was just as happy to sit down with Glenn, as a big fan of his books! Glenn's good friend Elijah Desmond met Maurice on a safari in Africa. Why was Maurice on a cruise with Elijah? Well, Maurice is the founder and owner of Safari N Smiles—the means by which Elijah was getting his CE! Through his company, Maurice enables dental professionals (and their families, if they want to have them tag along) to experience a safe safari vacation in Kenya all while getting CE credits. So, what inspired Maurice to start up an idea like Safari N Smiles?  Maurice grew up in Eastern Kenya in a very small village named Meru, at the slopes of Mount Kenya. His grandfather was a Game Warden for close to three decades—a good indication of his family's long-lasting love for wildlife conservation efforts. However, Maurice had never visited the dentist until he was 12 or 13 years old. The dentist numbed his gums, prepared to extract some teeth, and Maurice quickly bolted out the door. Of course, Maurice had to go back to the dentist and get the life-changing treatment he needed. As a result, Maurice and the dentist ended up becoming two peas in a pod. Maurice started volunteering at the dental practice. His job was to interpret when there was a dental/medical mission trip coming to Kenya, he spoke four native languages! Maurice translated for the dentist and talked about lots of medical matters, but he didn't really get into the profession of dentistry until he came to the U.S. in 2013.  After finishing Dental Hygiene school in Erie, Pennsylvania, Maurice moved to the Washington D.C. area and has been practicing as a dental hygienist for four years now. Maurice's love for animals and safari didn't end when he moved to the U.S. He'd constantly talk to his patients about the animals over in Africa—lions, elephants, giraffes, you name it—and even guide his patients on how to go on a safe safari in Africa. After helping a few patients with going on a safari, Maurice thought he might be able to do the same for his colleagues. Thus, the idea of Safari N Smiles was born!Kenya isn't just Maurice's home—it's also the place where safari travel originated. The best Kenya tours and safaris include Big 5 game viewing, incredible natural beauty, and cultural encounters, often combining Kenya's top attractions with Tanzania and the tropical beaches of the Kenyan coast.For many dental professionals, we're in this industry because we want to help—a great reason to partake in the next Safari N Smiles trip. Maurice is offering a CE conference, vacation, and dental/medical mission trip all in one—he has plans to help an orphanage for young girls who've been victims of abuse. Learn about: What made Dr. Glenn Vo get into dentistry? What part of Maurice's story inspired Glenn to talk about it?How did Maurice's experiences in Kenya inspire him? Who inspired him specifically, and how?What can you expect on a safari through Safari N Smiles?How does Maurice ensure everyone is totally safe during the safari?How long did it take Maurice to start Safari N Smiles? How much time and effort did it take to foster this brainchild into a booming enterprise? What were his moments of doubt, and how did he overcome them?How did the Nifty Thrifty community help Maurice to maintain his flame of inspiration and keep it from extinguishing?Why does Maurice think it's important to witness Africa through the guidance of a local? Why do the books and videos create poor expectations?And more!

Felice Benuzzi caught his first glimpse of Mount Kenya from behind barbed wire at Camp 354, a British POW Camp near Nanyuki, Kenya.  It was love at first sight. Over the course of eight months, Benuzzi convinced two other Italian POW's to join him in preparing for the adventure of a lifetime: to escape from prison camp with the sole purpose of climbing the second highest peak in Africa.

Travel Gluten Free Podcast Episode 154 Gluten-Free African Safari Eco-Travel    Welcome to the Travel Gluten Free Podcast, where you can listen in on how to lead a gluten-free lifestyle with more fun and ease! James Mwenda, a native of Kenya, is with me today, and we talk about his fantastic gluten-free, eco-safari tours, which are one of the items on my bucket list for next year! Find out how you can experience Kenyan culture, wildlife, and delicious, fresh, local foods on a Jemu Expeditions tour!   Growing Up Next to Mount Kenya   As a child, James grew up in a village next to Mount Kenya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Elephants would routinely come into his village and eat everything they could get their trunks around! Finally, rangers came and moved the elephants back into the forest to be in the natural habitat. James enjoyed watching the rangers as a child and knew he wanted to work with wildlife as a ranger ever since.   Saving the Last of the Endangered White Rhinos in Africa   James became a ranger as an adult, and by the time he was able to work with the white rhinos, there were seven of them left on the planet. “My whole perspective changed when I landed being the caretaker of the last of the northern white rhinos. I refused to be the normal caregiver, giving them food and going to sleep and feeling sorry for them. Instead, I wanted to do something for them.” This gave James the motivation to speak up for them and utilize the opportunities available to raise as much awareness as possible for the rhinos and other species he was working with at the time.   Take a Life-Changing Vacation on an African Eco-Safari with Jemu Expeditions   An outstanding safari experience is a life-changing event; James will take you to untouched destinations and meet the local people with unique cultures along the way. This spurs a reality of how we humans are finite in an infinite intricate world. Jemu Expeditions will take you to spots with beauty to see wildlife with stunning backdrops and unbelievable sunsets.   Happy 30th Birthday to Our Sponsor Kinnikinnick!   Kinnikinnick is celebrating its 30th birthday and is offering Travel Gluten Free listeners a 10% discount when you use the code TravelGlutenFree at checkout! Order $55 or more and receive your discount when you checkout in your cart! Then, fill your cart with one of Kinnikinnick's new goodies, such as their chocolate chip cookies, their soft and fluffy hot dog buns, and their flatbread crusts.    Connect with James from Jemu Expeditions Connect with James on Jemu Expeditions Follow James on Instagram   Journey with Travel Gluten Free Get the BEST all-natural gluten-free travel cosmetics at Lemongrass Spa!  Find cool gluten-free swag at my gluten-free swag shop The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free will walk you through planning and enjoying your next gluten-free travel adventure!   Follow Travel Gluten Free on Social Media  Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram   Spread the love of Travel Gluten Free podcast and share this episode with a friend

Today our guest is James "KG" Kagambi, Senior NOLS Instructor and the owner of KG Mountain Expeditions. He joined NOLS  as a field instructor in 1987. KG has worked many curses types over the years but regularly works in NOLS mountaineering programs in Patagonia, Alaska, East Africa, and India. KG is not only a senior NOLS instructor; he is the most senior, having more weeks in the field than any other instructor in the history of the school! He has over 870 weeks in the field working for NOLS, that more than 6000 nights!! He has also completed three of the Seven Summits and in 1992 represented Africa in the U.N Peace Climb for the world on the Eiger. In addition, KG has summited the Eiger three times, became the first black African to summit Denali in 1989 and was the first black African to summit Aconcagua in 1994. KG has guided on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro since the 1990s and Today trains search and rescue teams on Mount Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and Rwenzori. KG's long-lasting commitments to the field of rock climbing and mountaineering in Kenya have prompted acknowledgment and respect in his country. While he is away from his beloved duty, he enjoys spending time with his family and children.   [3:50] KG talked about two jogging students and how one of them was chased by some Maasai. They were hiking in Kenya, and 2 of the female students wanted to go for a jog. KG allowed them to go but under some rules. They agreed to all of the rules and started their jog. When they reached the point which they promised not to go any further, one of the girls didn't stop and kept jogging even after the other girl told her that they should not go any further. While she was jogging, some Maasai saw her and tried to help her get back to her camp. They ran toward her to help her, but she thought they were trying to chase her.    [18:42] KG talked about his bizarre experience in Patagonia in 1994. It was KG'S second mountain course. After a very long bushwhacking on a rainy day, they got to treeline on a sunny and clear day. So they set up their tents on snow and got some rest. In the morning, everyone was ready to climb the peak, so they started their journey, and by ten, they reached the top of the peak. After hanging out for a while, KG and two of his fellow instructor made a group of 2 students head back down. As they were going down, KG and one of the instructors saw a small dark cloud, and just in minutes, a major wind storm descended upon them. So they started running while yelling to head back down fast and dig the tent's cord even deeper. As they got down, everyone began to dig into securing their tents, and KG was digging a deeper hole when suddenly the wind changed its direction, which made the tent flew up in the sky like a kite and kept going up. As the tent was in the sky, his stuff started to fall out, and his sleeping bag fell into a waterfall that made KG sleep in a wet sleeping bag for days. But eventually, everyone got out of that trip safe. Later in the show, KG answers the rapid-fire questions that reflect his jolly personality.

The Tana River is the longest river and most important waterway in Kenya.  It flows 620 miles from its headwaters in the Abderdare mountain range and Mount Kenya to the Indian Ocean.  The Tana River produces approximately half of the country’s electricity, and supplies Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, with 80% of its water.    According […]

"Kenya exceeded my wildest dreams. And I knew it would from the moment I landed in Nairobi and the Deputy President shook my hand. “Welcome home,” he said.Our adventure travel guru Katherine Parker Magyar joins us to describe her journey to Kenya. From Nairobi to the Maasa Mari, Mount Kenya to Ol Pejeta we discuss it all. While a safari might be what gets you to Kenya, but the country is more than its majestic wildlife. Katherine had equal reverence for the culture and the people of Kenya.  Nairobi is one of the most robust cities in the world, with a rapidly growing middle class, faster than the United States. We delve into that and more in this podcast."Kenya is where we first became human, where mankind developed, and—to me—it was the place I needed to visit to feel human again," says Katherine,"only, I didn't know that would be the outcome," at the time.

“Kenya exceeded my wildest dreams. And I knew it would from the moment I landed in Nairobi and the Deputy […] The post Kenya – Welcome Home appeared first on TripCast360.

In this episode I am joined by Alex Michaelis, one of the co-founders of Michaelis Boyd architects. we talk about their project, Arijuju, located in Kenya.This house has been referred to as the most beautiful bush house in Africa. It is located on the Boranan Lewa Conservancy, a 90,000 acre conservation area in Kenya, and is situated next to a watering hole frequented by elephants, baboons and lions.The concept of the courtyard house is simple, to nestle and merge in the landscape so that it is almost imperceptible, and it has been designed to focus on what Alex describes as, the holy trinity of views, sunrise, sunset and. Mount Kenya.In the interview I find out how Alex helped the client find the perfect location for the villa, what his influences were for the design and how they constructed this off-grid villa, under the watchful eye of some very curious and hungry animals.At the end of the episode, I ask Alex the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?If you would like to find out more about Michaelis Boyd, the Arijuju project and some of the references in the interview, you can find information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com.I hope you enjoy listening.

Wakanyi Hoffman is an artist of life who paints the shades of each day as a storyteller, author, mother, global citizen, journalist, and keeper of indigenous wisdom. While serving in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya in her early twenties, she came to a profound insight: "Compassion is a two-way act of service. The more you give of yourself, the more you receive of someone else." Wakanyi's life is a vibrant ode in that spirit. Wakanyi is nurturing the African Folktales Project, an ongoing open-sourced resource of indigenous wisdom and knowledge for school children. Currently based in the Netherlands, she teaches the art of oral storytelling to promote a values-based education for young children and diversify the knowledge base of global citizenship education.  A "global nomad" with strong African roots, Wakanyi and her husband have been raising their four multicultural and mixed race children across seven countries, three continents, on a mission to teach them to embrace the whole world as their home. They have called Kenya, United States, Nepal, Philippines, Ethiopia, Thailand and now the Netherlands home. Along the way, Wakanyi's educator's heart has found her initiating a children's library in Kathmandu and holding "ubuntu circles" to hold space for deepening awareness for youth. Wakanyi recalls childhood school breaks among coffee trees in the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kenya, listening to grandmothers share palpable folk tales while grinding corn on a hand-carved wooden mortar. Returning to school outside of Nairobi, she recollects, "During unbearably long school days, or when friendships failed, these stories transported me into a boundless world filled with unlimited possibilities."  Today, she harnesses the ancient wisdom of those cultural roots for today's globalized and internet inundated youth through African Folktales Project. “Throughout our travels, it became apparent just how little literature exists about most of the world,” she says. “In many of the schools that our children have attended so far, most of the books that they learned to love were all English or American tales, detailing lifestyles that were quite foreign to my children and to many other children that went to these international schools. As a storyteller, I am aware of how important it is to see oneself or hear familiar voices in stories, books and film.” Guided by the African Ubuntu philosophy, Wakanyi reflects on new cultural values and practices that she encounters as “an opportunity to learn about the many ways that we express being and becoming more human.” Formerly a journalist with Kenya’s largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, Wakanyi's writings have been published in Dutch News, The Northern Times, and on the International Organization of Migration's (IOM) web blog of global migration stories. She holds a Masters in Global Education from University College London (UCL), where her thesis focused on how to embed indigenous knowledge and wisdom into formal school curriculum in Africa. She continues to actively research cross-cultural identity narratives, and their impact on global citizenship. She also sits on the board of the Kenya Education Fund, an NGO that provides gifted children from low-income backgrounds in Kenya with access to a fully-funded high school education and life skills. With her characteristic spark of creativity, in December 2020, she authored a captivating children's book set amid the vast landscapes and enchanting folktales of her birth country: The Twelve Days of Christmas Safari. “Every human encounter that I make anywhere in the world is an encounter with my own humanity,” Wakanyi describes. Indeed, an encounter with her inevitably infuses one with a sense of possibility, a spirit of solidarity, and a heart that suddenly remembers its inextricable connection to the human spirit, of our infinite Ubuntu -- the African ethos of oneness and togetherness.  Join Audrey Lin and Brian Conroy in conversation with a keeper of stories, weaver of culture, and convener of Ubuntu.

Wakanyi Hoffman is an artist of life who paints the shades of each day as a storyteller, author, mother, global citizen, journalist, and keeper of indigenous wisdom. While serving in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya in her early twenties, she came to a profound insight: "Compassion is a two-way act of service. The more you give of yourself, the more you receive of someone else." Wakanyi's life is a vibrant ode in that spirit. Wakanyi is nurturing the African Folktales Project, an ongoing open-sourced resource of indigenous wisdom and knowledge for school children. Currently based in the Netherlands, she teaches the art of oral storytelling to promote a values-based education for young children and diversify the knowledge base of global citizenship education.  A "global nomad" with strong African roots, Wakanyi and her husband have been raising their four multicultural and mixed race children across seven countries, three continents, on a mission to teach them to embrace the whole world as their home. They have called Kenya, United States, Nepal, Philippines, Ethiopia, Thailand and now the Netherlands home. Along the way, Wakanyi's educator's heart has found her initiating a children's library in Kathmandu and holding "ubuntu circles" to hold space for deepening awareness for youth. Wakanyi recalls childhood school breaks among coffee trees in the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kenya, listening to grandmothers share palpable folk tales while grinding corn on a hand-carved wooden mortar. Returning to school outside of Nairobi, she recollects, "During unbearably long school days, or when friendships failed, these stories transported me into a boundless world filled with unlimited possibilities."  Today, she harnesses the ancient wisdom of those cultural roots for today's globalized and internet inundated youth through African Folktales Project. “Throughout our travels, it became apparent just how little literature exists about most of the world,” she says. “In many of the schools that our children have attended so far, most of the books that they learned to love were all English or American tales, detailing lifestyles that were quite foreign to my children and to many other children that went to these international schools. As a storyteller, I am aware of how important it is to see oneself or hear familiar voices in stories, books and film.” Guided by the African Ubuntu philosophy, Wakanyi reflects on new cultural values and practices that she encounters as “an opportunity to learn about the many ways that we express being and becoming more human.” Formerly a journalist with Kenya’s largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, Wakanyi's writings have been published in Dutch News, The Northern Times, and on the International Organization of Migration's (IOM) web blog of global migration stories. She holds a Masters in Global Education from University College London (UCL), where her thesis focused on how to embed indigenous knowledge and wisdom into formal school curriculum in Africa. She continues to actively research cross-cultural identity narratives, and their impact on global citizenship. She also sits on the board of the Kenya Education Fund, an NGO that provides gifted children from low-income backgrounds in Kenya with access to a fully-funded high school education and life skills. With her characteristic spark of creativity, in December 2020, she authored a captivating children's book set amid the vast landscapes and enchanting folktales of her birth country: The Twelve Days of Christmas Safari. “Every human encounter that I make anywhere in the world is an encounter with my own humanity,” Wakanyi describes. Indeed, an encounter with her inevitably infuses one with a sense of possibility, a spirit of solidarity, and a heart that suddenly remembers its inextricable connection to the human spirit, of our infinite Ubuntu -- the African ethos of oneness and togetherness.  Join Audrey Lin and Brian Conroy in conversation with a keeper of stories, weaver of culture, and convener of Ubuntu.

CEO of Coalition Snow, Editor of Sisu Magazine, Founder of Zawadisha, and Juicy Bits Co-host. Awarded Does The Most Things Ever from The Universe. Jen is actually five people.We bow down, and are not worthy.Gurecki talks:still being a dirtbag,Zawadisha (providing small loans to rural Kenyan women to help finance their livelihood),naked ski parties at Arizona Snowbowl,tuning skis & being told - "Girls can only sell clothes." #TahoeGregSucks,using your voice on social media,building a ski & snowboard company as a social experiment - and creating a movementThe Coalition Snow movement,meeting fans in the bathroom,Riding on Mount Kenya,and Orgasms being the closest thing to Powder Daze - introducing Aprés Delight (a CBD sexual intimacy essential) .

Flick Taylor is currently living in a tent on her and husband Sam's plot in Laikipia County in Kenya while the family build a new home. It's a world away from her early upbringing on a farm in rural Canterbury. She's Calling Home this morning. 

Flick Taylor is currently living in a tent on her and husband Sam's plot in Laikipia County in Kenya while the family build a new home. It's a world away from her early upbringing on a farm in rural Canterbury. She's Calling Home this morning. 

In this narrated essay, Tristan McConnell ventures into the shrinking mountain forests that surround Mount Kenya, home to medicinal plants, ancient trees, rivers, and rainfall. In the wake of the legacies of colonialism and rampant poverty that have stripped much of the country of its trees, he encounters Kenyan foragers, conservationists, and elders who are working to restore the forests and safeguard its value.

Staying in the US Military ater a type 1 diabetes diagnosis isn't easy, but it can be done. Meet Jason Cyr. Diagnosed in 2011 while deployed in Africa, he was able to return to the Army and retire on his own terms a few years later. Jason is an élite cyclist and now a cycling coach. Stacey mentions another veteran who was able to stay on active duty after a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. You can listen to our episode with Mark Thompson here.   In Tell Me Something Good diabetes month stuff, a big milestone for the college diabetes network and a new podcast about diabetes and mental health. This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider. Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom! Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group! Sign up for our newsletter here ----- Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! ----- Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go! Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android Episode Transcription   Stacey Simms  0:00 Diabetes Connections is brought to you by One Drop created for people with diabetes by people who have diabetes by Gvoke HypoPen, the first premixed auto injector for very low blood sugar, and by Dexcom take control of your diabetes and live life to the fullest with Dexcom.   Announcer  0:22 This is Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms.   Stacey Simms  0:28 This week, we're celebrating Veterans Day by sharing the story of Jason Cyr. He was diagnosed with type one while serving in the US military deployed in Africa in 2011.   Jason Cyr  0:40 You know, I was like oh my gosh, this is like my career is on this trajectory to continue to serve whether it's special operations or just back to the regular army. I really enjoy this I started because I really love working with soldiers mentoring soldiers leading soldiers and I was like this is all over now. So now what am I gonna do?   Stacey Simms  0:56 Cyr was able to stay in the military. He shares that story what he's doing now and why I have a photo of him on a unicycle In Tell me something good. Lots of Diabetes Awareness Month stuff and a big milestone for the college diabetes network. This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider. Welcome to another week of the show. I am so glad to have you along. I am your host, Stacey Simms, and we aim to educate and inspire about type 1 diabetes by sharing stories of connection. My son was diagnosed with type one right before he turned two, we are getting close to his 14 year diversity. My husband lives with type two, I don't have diabetes, but I have a background in broadcasting and local radio and television news. And that is how you get the podcast. It is of course diabetes Awareness Month. So there's lots of things you're seeing if you follow me on social media. I'm posting as I do every year, photos, stories of people in the Charlotte, North Carolina area where I live, who live with diabetes. And I also and this is the first time I'm doing this in diabetes Awareness Month, I'm running a contest, I'm running two contests, and they have started as this episode first airs, if you're listening to it, the week of veterans week of 2020, the contests are going so I'm not gonna spend too much time on them here because they are social media only one of them is in the Facebook group Diabetes Connections, the group you have to be in the group to take part and the other one is on my Instagram and Instagram for me is only Stacey Simms, I do not have a separate one for the show. It's enough. So you get pictures of me walking my dog and pictures of my husband cooking and diabetes awareness stuff and podcast stuff all in one Instagram feed. I want to give a brief shout out and thank you to the companies that are helping out with the Instagram contest. This is a multi company prize giveaway, we've got a lot of people taking part, it's possible that I may add to this list, and I will certainly revisit it. But big thank you to the folks at NRG bytes. Pump Peelz RX Sugar, Dia-Be-Tees, Wherever EuGO, T1D3DGear and GTTHL Apparel and to the world's worst diabetes mom, the book we're giving that away to I will list all of those fabulous people with links to the companies in the show notes Just go to Diabetes connections.com. But the best way to find out more about them is to head on over to Instagram and take part in that contest. big thank you to everybody for taking part in that. Kind of a subdued Diabetes Awareness Month, I think for many people with the election in the US and just a lot of diabetes burnout out there. So I hope the contest is a bright spot. But I'm also doing a panel that is this Friday, as you listen on November 13. And that is with my friends at One Drop. We've put together a great panel, we're going to be talking about community, how to get more involved, what we get from community and some surprises there. And we are talking to people with type one, type two and parents of children with type one. And that's going to be a lot of fun that is live on the Diabetes Connections Facebook page, and One Drop will be amplifying it as well. And speaking of One Drop Diabetes Connections is brought to you by One Drop and I spoke to the people there. And I've always been really impressed at how much they get diabetes. It just makes sense. Their CEO Jeff was diagnosed with type one as an adult. One Drop is for people with diabetes by people with diabetes. The people at One Drop work relentlessly to remove all barriers between you and the care you need. Get 24 seven coaching support in your app and unlimited supplies delivered. No prescriptions or insurance required. Their beautiful sleek meter fits in perfectly with the rest of your life. They'll also send you test strips with a strip plan that actually makes sense for how much you actually check. One Drop diabetes care delivered. learn more, go to Diabetes connections.com and click on the One Drop logo. My guest this week is a member of a very small club. Not only was Jason Cyr diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while he was in the military, he was allowed to stay in. And you may recall, I met Mark Thompson last year I spoke to him last November. And until this interview, Mark was the only other veteran I've ever talked to personally, who was able to stay in the military. After a diagnosis Mark story is slightly different. His career path after is different as well. I will link up more about mark in the show notes for this episode, you can go back and listen to the prior episode, and learn more as well. And those show notes and the transcript as always, at Diabetes connections.com. Now the military policy in the US is pretty straightforward for enlisting, you cannot enlist in the military with a chronic condition like type one. But there is just just a bit more wiggle room if you're diagnosed while you're already in. So Jason Cyr was diagnosed while deployed in Africa. And he thought as you can understand that his symptoms were you know, from the weather or the altitude or all of the extra activity, he always does big runner and a big biker. He's going to tell that story and what he's been doing since he retired from the military in 2016. Jason, thank you so much for joining me, your story is pretty remarkable. I'm excited to talk to you.   Jason Cyr  6:16 Oh, well, thanks for having me, Stacy. I really appreciate I don't know if it's a remarkable story. But I appreciate you saying that. I'm flattered.   Stacey Simms  6:22 You're the second person that I've interviewed or even have known with all the hundreds of maybe thousands of people that we've been lucky to meet the diabetes community who has been able to stay in the military after a type one diabetes diagnosis. So I'd say that's pretty remarkable. And I'd love let's just start right there. Can you tell me what happened where what was going on when you were diagnosed?   Jason Cyr  6:42 This was, oh, gosh, it was 2011. I was deployed to sock see the Special Operations Command Horn of Africa. And I was working in Kenya for that organization, basically, helping to do some work with with the Kenyan military. And we kind of set up well, that kind of we had set up an American style Ranger School there. And I was helping a lot of the officers and enlisted folks just make that organization and that school run more smoothly. I am a Ranger School graduate. My career started actually, in the 75th Ranger Regiment, specifically a third Ranger Battalion, spent most of my time at sea company. But so I was there. And we were, were doing some training. And because we were living in the Mount Kenya area of Kenya, it was that elevation. If I recall correctly, this is going back a few years now. I think it was about 11,000 feet or living that. And so I and I was running every day, I was probably running 10 miles a day or something like that, just because I didn't have my my bicycle there. And I was running with some Kenyans. And so I just kind of had some signs and symptoms, you know, the polydipsia polyuria weight loss, and I just sort of chalked it up to Hey, I'm eating different foods, and I'm living in at times in an austere environment and running every day. And like I said, at elevation, so I just kind of dismiss those things.   Stacey Simms  8:06 And I'm gonna just jump in polydipsia polyuria really thirsty really have to pay?   Jason Cyr  8:10 Yeah, exactly. just translate for me and drink. Yeah, sure. And drinking like a gallon of water that you know, cup. You know, I don't know. I betcha I was drinking a gallon of water a day. But I just sort of chalked it up to like, Oh, it's fine. I'm a special forces guy. This is normal. You know, we're supposed to be able to just sort of, I guess suck it up. Anyway, I did have a medic with me on the deployment of Special Forces medic at 18 Delta. And he multiple times said, Hey, you should there's something wrong with you. You've got to go get checked out. So I think he had reached out to the our battalion surgeon and the surgeon had had come down to to actually go and climb Mount Kenya with me. Like on a weekend, a four day weekend we had off. And so anyway, we went climbing mountain and after that, he said, Hey, you got to go get looked at so I had a meeting with I think that defense attache at the at the embassy in Nairobi A few days later. And so I said, Yeah, when I go down there, I've got to meet with him. I've got to brief him on some stuff that we're doing. And I'll go get checked. So I go down to the hospital after the briefing. And I present with like a blood sugar of like 840 I think, a one C of like 14. So at that point, obviously we knew something was wrong. superfit guy didn't think it was type two, but I was thinking I can't be type one. I'm 36 years older, or whatever it was 37 maybe at the time, wow. That of course starts a cascade effect where they evacuate back to I think we're in Djibouti at that time, and then eventually on to launch to Germany, where, you know, I got some more testing, done some more formal testing done and they said, hey, you've got type 1 diabetes. So you know, after probably a 15 minute pity party, I said Well, I'm gonna have to own this. So I went from there. Yeah, I guess at that point, I went to Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed Medical Center and got some more things done, figured out and then I went into the what's called the ward Transition battalion where they basically start proceedings to, you know, put you out or medically retire or whatever out of the military. And I guess long story short, I had some great officers that I worked for a two star, and at the time a full bird Colonel that that just said, Hey, you know, you can stay and we've just invested all this time and money in you. I was just about through grad school later on while I was there, and they just said, Hey, we know we're going to retain you. So you go to this medical board, and the board decides, hey, we're gonna put you out. But if you can provide overwhelming evidence that you can stay in and do it safely, and you're going to have these folks that are going to, I guess, you know, not deploy you or put you in an environment where you can make a bad decision if you're hypoglycemic, or something will let you stay in. And so, you know, I think at that point, I was probably at 17 years or something like that. So I really only had three years ago, and my company command was up, I was in a staff position. So there's probably little harm I could do if I had a had a low or something like that. And I think at that point, I had displayed that I you know, had run a marathon I was racing factor racing and a category one and, you know, elite level of still doing some like UCI races. And I think I had displayed that I owned the disease as well as you can, in that short amount of time. And the board made a decision to let me stay in 220. I actually ended up doing I think, 23 years all together. So I ended up staying, and probably six more years, and then retired.   Stacey Simms  11:26 All right. It's an incredible story. I have questions. You mentioned, when you were diagnosed, you had a 15 minute pity party. And I'm just curious. Now I'm assuming that's a little bit of an exaggeration. I'm not taking anything away. If it was 15 minutes and moved on. That's fantastic. It's amazing. But what what really went through your mind, because you had been, as you said, 1718 years in, you didn't know yet that you were going to stay. You didn't know yet that you'd be able to continue with marathons and bike riding and doing everything that you did, do you mind and I hate to get so personal. But just from my own experience, I had a little bit more than a 15 minute pity party when my son was diagnosed. I'm curious what really went through your mind at that moment?   Jason Cyr  12:06 Oh, well, you know, I think after 17 or 16, whatever it was probably 17 years of service, you're kind of like, Man, I've done all this stuff. I've served in all these great units. Why me? I've always been super fit. I think I just, you know, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is like my career is on this trajectory, to continue to serve. And you know, whether it's special operations, or just back to the regular army, I really enjoy this. I don't necessarily serve I mean, obviously, I serve because I love my country. But I serve because I really love working with soldiers, mentoring soldiers, leading soldiers. And I was like, this is all over now. So now what am I going to do? Because this has sort of been who I am and what I've done. In a nutshell that that is what it is. That said, I can't say that I wouldn't if my if my son is diagnosed with Type One Diabetes, I'm going to have a longer than 15 minute pity party, for sure. I can empathize with you. 100%. I think for me, it was just like, hey, let's just get on with it. Let's own this as much as we can.   Stacey Simms  13:02 That'd be just be the perspective of a parent versus family   Jason Cyr  13:05 Yeah. It's very different than me. Yeah. But yeah, I don't even Oh, gosh, I can't even imagine. I mean, I think it's difficult day to day. And I'm one of these people who probably there couldn't be a better person to get it. In my own opinion, because I'm just one of those people who constantly looks at my Dexcom. I'm constantly, you know, weighing what I shouldn't shouldn't put in my body. You know, how hard should I go? I'm constantly thinking about the dosages of insulin I'm taking. So I don't think it would be there's a better person to get it. But yeah, I mean, that's generally what went through my mind.   Stacey Simms  13:37 When you went back when you were clear to go back into what you were doing. I'm curious, what was your routine at the time? Because we're talking about what, seven or eight years ago you mentioned Dexcom? Did you have that then I think I read you were checking your blood sugar like 20 times a day at one point, you know, take us through the routine of that initial first year back in the service.   Right back to Jason answering that question. But first diabetes Connections is brought to you by Gvoke HypoPen, and almost everyone who takes insulin has experienced a low blood sugar and that can be scary. A very low blood sugar is really scary. That's where Gvoke HypoPen comes in. Gvoke is the first auto injector to treat very low blood sugar Gvoke hypo pen is pre mixed and ready to go with no visible needle. That means it's easy to use how easy you pull off the red cap and push the yellow end onto bear skin and hold it for five seconds. That's it. Find out more go to Diabetes connections.com and click on the Gvoke logo joke shouldn't be used in patients with pheochromocytoma or insulinoma visit gvoke glucagon comm slash risk. Now back to my conversation with Jason. He is talking about what it was like when he first went back into the army after being diagnosed.   Jason Cyr  14:58 I didn't have a CGM Immediately, and obviously, they didn't put me on a pump either. So I was, you know, manually doing this stuff, I was actually buying extra strips, you know, because I was testing like 15 or 20 times a day. And so the prescription that I had wouldn't, wasn't lasting that, you know, as long as it normally would. But part of the reason I was doing that is because I was also trying to figure out how to get back to racing at at least the highest level I could do. And at the time, I did have a USAC, or United States cycling Association, or USA cycling pro license. And so you know, as a pro, I was pretty mid pack fodder. But definitely fast enough that I was, you know, winning expert level races at Nationals, or at least getting on the podium. So I wanted to at least see if I could get back to that. And the way to do that, as far as I was concerned, is just collect data. And so my, my wife, who is a scientist helped me build this really wild looking Excel spreadsheet that had like linear regression on it. And I was just plotting points and figuring out, okay, if I go for 20 minutes at max effort, anaerobically, what happens to my blood sugar, and then if I go 40 minutes, what happens? And if I feed at 45 minutes, you know, what happens after that. And so I just was, I guess, in the course of training six days a week, I was just trying to figure out what happens, you know, if I have this much, you know, slow acting insulin on board, you know, what happens with that race effort. And then what happens if I have, you know, from working out or in a periodized stage, where I'm doing like six days of really hard training, and then taking a break? Is the insulin a lot more sensitive. And, you know, I found out obviously, that it was, so just things like that I was just trying to figure it out. my saving grace really was that my wife, unbeknownst to me, wrote a letter to Phil Sutherland that at the time team type one, and he immediately invited me at the time I think we were Sanofi or Sena Fie team type one. So I was on that team, I think, for a year. And then I got on to the team Novo Nordisk elite team. And just being around type one athletes at training camp in Spain, or in California, we did, we did quite a few training camps over the, I think, five years I was with that team. That was a huge help, because it was just a depth and breadth of knowledge and institutional knowledge that I just didn't have. I didn't know any other type one, athletes, I just started asking those guys questions. And then I also had unfettered access to a an endocrinologist, who's who was on the team, and I just started firing off questions and trying to figure it out. And so the trajectory that I had for learning how to race and deal with diabetes and still maintain a 12, or 14 hour week training schedule was great. And I couldn't have done it. Or I mean, I could have done it, but it would have taken I take a lot longer to figure out those variables. So I think having access to those guys was just great.   Stacey Simms  17:55 When you got your Dexcom, having been someone who already kept their own spreadsheet, and pretty detailed ones, I'm curious what you've done with your data, I famously on the show, have the perspective of my son and I, we're really not big data, diabetes, people we are go by feel, you know, we do great, it's all good. But I love respect and marvel at people like you who really dial into it. So with that being said, when you got the Dexcom, and you opened up clarity, or you looked at these things, what was that like for you?   Jason Cyr  18:29 Oh, it was huge. It's even better now with the six. I mean, I started off with before, you know, went through the five transition to the six. And the six is just like it's almost overwhelming the data that that? Well, it is overwhelming, but it's just great. It's also really great to see the the amount of stuff that's available to you. And so yeah, I use the data all the time. It's great. When I'm racing, we just, we didn't have much of a race season this year. But I think I did five races, and three of them were enduro racing, which is the it's a mountain biking discipline that I focus on. And those races can last for four to six hours, seven hours, you're only racing stages. But you're you're riding from the end of a stage all the way back up the mountain to another stage to race back downhill with these chips on your bike where they they're collecting time. And so seeing the trends, whether it's going up or down or it's really good to see it helps immensely. And then I also look at that data after the race to see it because that racing discipline is very anaerobic and going full gas for the three this to seven minutes or eight minutes that the stage lasts. When you finish because your anaerobic, you know you're you're dumping glycogen in your blood, you're getting these huge spikes that you know your body has to test to deal with later on. And so knowing exactly how much insulin to take, after, say two stages and maintain a good blood glucose level is really important. And obviously you couldn't do that with just by finger sticks, trying to figure it out. So it just Yeah, the data that I get from that informs my decisions and racing, especially over a long day, or days leading up to it, I couldn't do without it. So I think the CGM is really important.   Stacey Simms  20:12 I must have sounded ridiculous to you, I promise we don't just wing it with my son,   Unknown Speaker  20:16 or just   Jason Cyr  20:19 also get that I am a total geek. I mean, that's I think there's reasons to push me to cycling coaching, because I just love looking at heart rate data and power data and overlaying these things and figuring out the puzzle of how we make someone stronger and faster.   Stacey Simms  20:33 Yeah. And I'll tell you what podcast listeners are my listeners are super data people, which I feel bad sometimes that I'm their host, because people that listen to podcasts in general want more and more and more information. So sometimes I'm like, sorry, but you know, we do the best we can, and want to go back if I could, to some military questions. Because there are so many young people who were diagnosed with type one who unfortunately, cannot serve in the military. This has been their dream. And curious what your perspective is, do you think that will change? I know that there's they're looking at it. I mean, there was a study a year or two ago that they were doing at Fort Bragg, with people with type one trying to kind of see how more modern diabetes technology might help. What's your perspective on that?   Jason Cyr  21:16 Yeah, I think, and obviously, I'm not a physician, or a doctor in any way, or probably an expert, I'm probably an expert on my body and how it reacts, I think that maybe technology could fix the problem. That said, I make silly decisions. When I'm hypoglycemic, and soda, I think, to put a combat leader in a position where they have to make life and death decisions. And there's potential that you could be hypoglycemic in the moment, obviously, is detrimental. And that's just on face value. And I haven't looked at how the technology could change it. But I will say that it has made me much more aware of highs and lows just because of the alarms that are associated with a continuous glucose monitor. So yeah, I think it's possible. Yeah, for sure. But I would let you know, the experts make those decisions that said, I can empathize with someone who just really wants to be have a career in the military, because it's made me who I am. I mean, it does. Obviously, my military service doesn't define me as a person, but it is a huge part of my life. There's very few moments I will say that I did not enjoy in my 23 plus year career in the military. So yeah, I hope that we get to the point where that's technology fixes that or perhaps there's a cure someday, I certainly wouldn't enjoy that. Because I tell you what, the first thing I'm gonna do is eat a whole cheesecake.   Stacey Simms  22:39 When you return to the military, if your diagnosis what you do, what was your job? What were your duties? Um, I   Jason Cyr  22:45 think what was my first my, I think I was the, the Operations Officer for this critical infrastructure protection Battalion, which we started, we use a lot of 18 series, guys. 18 series guys are special forces, guys. And we modeled that program off of what the defense Threat Reduction agency does. And they typically use a, or at least in the past to have I'm not sure what they do now. They use a soft guy like a Seal or a Green Beret to do the targeting piece when we look at how we would defeat or take down like, say, a facility. And so I was I think I was an operations officer. And then I moved to the executive officer, the deputy commander of the that critical infrastructure protection Battalion, and I spent the rest of my career there, basically, because I was working for these two officers that wrote letters recommendation that keep me in the military and so that I finished my career out there. And you know, probably one of the reasons I did retire is I was never going to go and command a combat unit ever again. That was not going to happen. You know, I wanted to be obviously I joined the Ranger Regiment and then spent time as a special forces guys starting as an 18. Charlie, which is a special forces engineer. You know, I did those things because that's what I wanted to do.   Stacey Simms  23:55 You mentioned that now you're coaching your coaching other cyclists? Yeah, correct. How so? How is that going? And I'm struggling to think of how to ask this because you started doing that during this pandemic.   Jason Cyr  24:06 They I did and I have to say it's been it's been incredibly successful. The company is cycle strategies. We coach road cyclists, cyclocross, but we focus on you know, the mountain bike discipline, so enduro, downhill, cross country, mountain biking, and I thought, hey, because we're in the middle of a pandemic, this will give me some time to get my feet on the ground, figure out the business aspects, you know, subs, figure out the books, figure out how we're going to deliver the coaching process, and it's been busier than I ever thought maybe that's that is because of, of this. In the process of coaching. Most of it is online, I use an online platform called training peaks to coach my athletes, and I do do the other side of the business is the skills piece. And so I do do skills training with adults and kids, but we're wearing masks. I don't touch it. You know, we don't there's no contact. We just I'm really trying to do our best to stay six feet away in cycling is sort of a socially distance thing anyway. So   Stacey Simms  25:06 it's been amazing though, because cycling has been so popular. I mean, it's been more and more popular every year. But during the pandemic, we tried to get my son's bike repaired. And it was unbelievable. how busy everybody is there at a party. You know, everybody wants to bike ride right now.   Jason Cyr  25:21 Yeah, yeah, I know, our local bike shop has had a really difficult time, trying to come up with way logistically to come up with ways to find parts for folks and just keep the item. Yeah, so it's been great for the sport. I think it's Yeah, it's helped me with a few clients that have just decided, Hey, I'm going to take up cycling, I really enjoy this. Oh, I think I need a coach. And I'm getting an email. And yeah, it's, it's, it's been great. I love it.   Stacey Simms  25:46 What is your advice for people with type one who are reluctant to get active? Because it is a lot of work? And frankly, even with all the technology, there is still some fear, right? It's hard to do a two hour bike ride without going low. If you haven't done that already.   Jason Cyr  26:03 Yeah, my recommendation is, well, first off, I just think living a healthy lifestyle helps you control your blood sugar, much better. And isn't that the intent, obviously, we don't have a pancreas that functions, at least that part of the pancreas doesn't function properly, to provide insulin and the glucose back in the cells. And so exercising helps you a treat some of that out of your system to help to put it back in. It makes you more responsive to insulin. And again, I will full disclosure here, I'm not a physician at all. I'm not an endocrinologist. But that has been my experience. So yeah, that's the first point is it really helps me at least control my blood sugar by just exercising and being consistent about it. Second, it's, it's just a healthy thing to do. And the third thing I would add is that taking it slow. So you may start with 15 minutes of writing and see how your body responds to that. And then add another 15 minutes until you get to an hour something that would be my recommendation. And I just feel like it's a great way to live. Anytime I'm sedentary, I am now chasing numbers. But if I just stay active, generally active and I'm not saying I go out and you don't have to go out and train for two or three hours every day. That's nice. And I know folks that do do that. But I don't do that. I may go for a couple hour ride to three times a week. Otherwise, I'm just doing an hour and maybe a little bit of weightlifting or something in nowadays in the garage.   Stacey Simms  27:27 What do you still like after all this time about riding your bike about cycling?   Jason Cyr  27:32 Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I don't know I'm sure my wife would have. She would say I'm obsessed. I don't know. All things. two wheels. We have dirt bikes. We've got cyclocross bikes. I even got a unicycle this year, as a way to figure out how to work on some balance. I don't know I think for me, cycling creates an experience where I can think about the day I can decompress. I've always used cycling when I was in the military, especially command to decompress. So I would come home, I get on my bike for an hour, and I go just smash out some laps, and really get my heart rate up high a few times, do some intervals. And I would be completely decompress to come home and have dinner with the family and being a good husband and a good father. So for me, I think it's just a bit of an escape, perhaps the endorphins that are released in the process of of executing some physical activity. I'm not sure but I do know that I do a lot of thinking. When I'm while I'm writing,   Stacey Simms  28:27 how's the unicycling going?   Jason Cyr  28:29 Good. I took it took me a solid hour of falling before I figured it out. I put knee pads on and shin pads is pretty funny. The helmet everything. And I just went out there. I just started getting after it. But now I can ride all the way around town on it. Wow. Sure, my neighbors thought that I was   Stacey Simms  28:48 gonna say does anybody stop you? Or take Oh, yes.   Jason Cyr  28:50 Well, interesting enough. My neighbor lives right across the street. He's a really cool guy. He's probably in his maybe mid 50s or something like that here. This is all Jason Let me try that thing. And as I said, God, be careful this thing you'll get hurt. And he jumped right on it and wrote it right down the road massive. Oh, look at that. That's awesome. And he knew, you know, he, he had spent his his youth riding in them. But I didn't know that. So I thought it was great. I was amazed. That's awesome. That's fine.   Stacey Simms  29:16 Yeah, you just cycling isn't the kind of thing that you just jump on and go, that's somebody who had a little bit of experience?   Jason Cyr  29:21 No. And I've got a few kids that I coach, and they all ride unicycles. So I said, Well, hey, you know, if they're gonna do it, I've got to figure this out. So every time in between, like after races or before races, they're just riding around on the unicycle. And I have to say, what it really engages your core. I thought that was really cool. And then the second piece that you get out is this great building of motor skills, and motor schemata or proprioception that you're kind of building and so the balance that comes from that is great for cycling, especially the offer of disciplines.   Stacey Simms  29:52 So listen, I went all over the place. Was there anything you want to talk about that I didn't mention?   Jason Cyr  29:56 No, I would I would add that, you know, thank you so much for letting me You know, I guess, Share, share my story. I don't think it's remarkable. I'm flattered that you think it is. The last thing I would add is that service and the military and service to your country is one, it is just a great privilege to lead and serve one serve, but to lead and be given the great responsibility to lead men and women, I think is just it's a privilege, really, and I wouldn't have done anything else had I had a had an opportunity. I just I've really enjoyed my service to the military and just serve with all those people. Obviously, there's ups and downs. You know, I've lost friends along the way, you know, in Afghanistan and deployments, and just other places, training accidents, those kinds of things. But it's just been a great opportunity. And, and I enjoyed every bit of it.   Stacey Simms  30:42 Well, we can't say thank you enough for your service, and how much we appreciate everything that you've done. And thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. And if you don't mind me asking, I would love to have a unicycle picture. Oh, sure. Next time you're on.   Jason Cyr  30:56 Absolutely. I've got your your number. I'll text you one.   Unknown Speaker  30:59 That'd be great. Thanks   Unknown Speaker  31:00 so much for joining me.   Jason Cyr  31:01 Thank you, Stacey. Thanks very much.   Unknown Speaker  31:09 You're listening to Diabetes Connections with Stacey Simms.   Stacey Simms  31:14 More information about Jason's story, he was written up quite a bit for bike riding with the Novo Nordisk folks, as he mentioned, I mentioned that unicycle shot, I will put that in the Facebook group as well. Many of you who gosh years ago used to follow my blog may recall that my kids elementary school had a jump rope club. And stay with me, there's a point here, the jump rope club was featured, we put them into the Big Blue test two years ago, which was a wonderful effort from the diabetes hands foundation to get people to exercise and check blood sugar. And it was a really great outreach efforts. So the jumper club was featured in that. But another elementary school where a lot of my friends kids went, had a unicycle club. And that always blew my mind. Because, first of all, who had the idea to start the unicycle club, and it was very popular, and they did just as much with those unicycles as my kids did with the jump ropes we had, like 40 kids, fourth and fifth graders zipping around on unicycles. It was bonkers, but good for you. Cornelius Elementary School in North Carolina, we salute you. Tell me something good coming up in just a moment. But first diabetes Connections is brought to you by Dexcom. And we started with Dexcom back in the olden days before share. Yeah, there were two years almost, I think we used it before share. Trust me when I say using share and follow apps has made a big difference. Then he and I now set parameters about when I'm going to call him or text him you know how long to wait, that kind of stuff. But it really helps us talk and worry about diabetes less. You know, if he's away on a trip or at a sleep over, it gives me peace of mind. It also helps I love this if I need to troubleshoot with him, because we can see what's been happening over the last 24 hours and not just at one moment. The alerts and alarms that we set also help us from keeping the highs from getting too high and help us jump on loads before there were a big issue. Internet connectivity is required to access the separate Dexcom follow app. To learn more, go to Diabetes connections.com and click on the Dexcom logo.   And tell me something good this week Happy Anniversary diaversary. Happy 10 years to the college diabetes network. I can't believe this organization is 10 years old. We have been following their progress from the beginning. The college diabetes network started when Christina Roth basically started a campus group by herself wanting peer support on college campuses. And then she expanded into a national nonprofit which only served the young adults it really was geared towards college kids. But as it grew, and Christina saw the need, it continued to expand and now includes information for high school students, college students, young professionals and people like me, parents and family who are trying to stay informed, stay calm, learn more about sending their students, their kids with T Wendy off to college. So congratulations to the college diabetes network with more than 224 chapters now on campuses across the country. They are just doing an incredible job. They have a bunch of celebrations going on this month. And Benny is he's a sophomore in high school. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I have learned with all these years with type one, you know, in my family, that while it's good to be prepared and think you know what's coming, you really don't know what each stage is going to bring with your child because every kid is different. So I've stayed away from college type one stuff as much as I can until we get just a little bit closer. another bit of good news this month. The diabetes psychologist podcast has launched and this is with Dr. Mark Heyman and I spoke to him earlier this year. And then kind of off the year we talked about his podcast and I'm thrilled that he took the dive It has done this, I will link it up in the show notes. There's just not enough in terms of resources right when it comes to mental health and diabetes. So kudos to him for launching this. He has launched it as a limited series. He has a bunch of episodes out, and we shall see if he continues, but I'm thrilled that he put these important episodes and good help out there. And this last one isn't really a concrete Tell me something good, but it's just something I love. You know, every year, there are diabetes challenges on Instagram and Facebook, you know, social media stuff, I'm sure there's stuff happening on tik tok and snapchat that I will never say, but it's all about, you know, post every day, and they give you something to post. And if you're interested, I mean, we're almost halfway through the month. But there's still a long way to go. I'll link up a couple in the show notes. And I'm sure you've seen them on Instagram, but I, I love these. I don't participate anymore, because I have a lot of other stuff going on. And you know, it's Benny's type one. I mean, it's really not something I can take pictures of all day long anymore. I'm not taking care of him in the same way. But I love to see these posts. I don't care if you're posting twice in a month or every single day, your posts are seen. They matter. And they make me smile. They're not all happy posts. Certainly they're all good news posts. That's not what diabetes is all about. But it really is heartening to remember that this community is still the DRC it's the diabetes online community, and your voice matters, your pictures matter. So thanks for letting me take part a little bit in what's going on in your diabetes life. That way, if you haven't told me something good story, you can always reach out Stacy at Diabetes connections.com. And I regularly asked for submissions in the Facebook group, Diabetes Connections group. A couple of reminders of things I've been telling you about in past episode First, the contests are going on right now I've got two contests this month, one on Instagram one on Facebook. So the Facebook one is only in the group. It's in our podcast group. But the Instagram one is on the Stacey Simms account, it's the only account I have over there. So definitely check those out. Again, links in the show notes, any app you're listening to will have the show notes. So you can always go back to Diabetes connections.com. And the second thing I want to make sure you know about is the ebook, Diabetes Connections extra. I'm giving this away for free. Yes, you do have to sign up for my newsletter. And if you already signed up for the newsletter, you can still sign up and get the book you will not get double the newsletter. Although, you know, would you really mind hearing from me more than once I know. But definitely sign up and get that ebook. I think it's really good for newer diagnosed families, for people who have maybe just started a CGM who have never really figured out what ketones are. And I think for veteran families, and really well educated people, let's face it, like yourself, probably who listened to this podcast every week. It's fantastic to give to the other people in your life, who may not really understand diabetes, because Diabetes Connections extra is full of conversations about the basic building blocks of diabetes management. And some people just learn better when they read a book, rather than sitting down with a grandma, or sitting down with your best friend who's interested and kind of explaining. And that's what I think it's really going to be good for. But   you tell me I'm interested to see what the reaction is to this. That is Diabetes Connections extra and we are giving it away for free, it will not be free forever. I'm going to put it on Amazon as an E book in a couple of weeks. Okay, thank you so much to my editor John Bukenas from audio editing solutions. And thank you so much for listening. It means the world to me that you're here week after week. I appreciate it so much. I'm Stacey Simms. I'll see you back here next week. Until then, be kind to yourself.   Unknown Speaker  38:38 Diabetes Connections is a production of Stacey Simms Media. All rights reserved. All wrongs avenged

Part 3.What can recovery and resilience in our food and farming systems look like in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic? After investigating our dominant industrial food system, its roots in colonialism and its relevance to the pandemic in episodes 1 and 2, we now look beyond to what true resilience can look like. Leading the way in the indigenous community of Tharaka in Kenya, is Simon Mitambo and his team at SALT (Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation). Through the revival of lost traditions, seed, craft and spiritual practices, Simon tells us their inspiring story of resilience in the red, dusty foothills of Mount Kenya. Don't forget to share, review and subscribe! Follow @georgie.styles on InstagramSupport the show

It’s cryptid time, Legends! In this episode, we wander around the swamps and wetlands of Zambia, climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and parachute down Mount Kenya in an attempt to find the legendary Kongamoto! Come listen to eyewitness accounts from fisherman, ichthyologists and journalists, and decide for yourself whether the Kongamoto is a living dinosaur or not. Enjoy and thanks for listening! Promo: Casting Through Ancient Greece https://castingthroughancientgreece.com/ **FOLLOW US*** Instagram: @legendarypod Twitter: @Legendarypod1 Main link: https://linktr.ee/legendarypodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFFYuCPlslKyYubJFs_77Q Website: https://theshirapather.wixsite.com/legendaryafrica Podcast recommendations! History and Folklore https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/history-and-folklore-podcast/id1511870197 It’s a Continent https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/its-a-continent/id1501568892 Defining Disney https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-disney-podcast/id1517335212 Music credits: ‘African’ - AShamaluevMusic. Music Link: https://youtu.be/bECszEydRKg ‘At The Shore’; ‘Infados’ - Kevin MacLeod Website - http://incompetech.com/ Royalty Free Link - http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Genre Link - http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

Hello Listeners! It's Episode 8! Thank you for tuning in. I hope you will enjoy our latest folktale - from the East African nation of KENYA! The story is from the Agikuyu people who hail from the central region - stretching out from the base of the famous Mount Kenya. A huge thanks to my guest narrator, Muthoni Sophia Kamere, for featuring on the show....AfriWetu appreciates you :) This story is sourced from 'A Communal Sacrifice in the Lake' as originally written by Rose Mwangi, a Kenyan author, & published in her book: Kikuyu Folktales. You can order the book from the links on her website - http://rosemwangi.com/ A link to the tale on the 'Blue Gecko' website - http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/kikuyu/stories-lakesacrifice.htm Credits - Director: Mwendwa Mbugua; Podcast Producer: Lee Kanyottu; Creative Producer: Big City Ltd Recorded at Big City Studios. Music Playlist: The Singing Well Project: Song - Ndumu - Gacharaigu Gitiro The Singing Well Project: Song: Ndumo (Ya Iritu) - Kangema Urban Group Song: Guku ni Kwau - Kikuyu Cultural Dancers Until next time, Mubarikiwe --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afriwetu/message

Donnie has won the British trail running championships, a Skyrunning world series race, represented Great Britain, has made speed ascents of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, and now coaches runners.Here he share stories of those adventures and in particular his record breaking winter Ramsay Round of 24 Munros in 24 hours in hash, dark, winter conditions.  He'll also share some ideas of staying fit during a lock-down.  Donnie's website is GetActiveRunning.comTwitter  Facebook InstagramPlease buy me a virtual coffee and support the podcastCheck out our YouTube channel

From instant messaging, to online shopping and even smart fridges, we live in a connected age where all of life's essentials can be obtained at the click of a button. So why do so many people ditch the trappings of modern life and head off into the countryside with a tent? In this week's episode of the Why Factor adventure journalist Phoebe Smith sets out on a journey to discover what makes camping so special. Along the way she discovers a camper in Kenya who spends his weekends alone immersed in nature, a family in Greenland who turned their backs on the rat race to live in a tepee and she even convinces her dad to join her for a night's wild camping on an island in the River Thames in England. She discovers that leaving our phones and tablets behind to spend a few peaceful nights under the stars might not just be a good way to unwind but research shows it can improve our sleep patterns and well-being. So the question is why aren't we all doing it? Reporter: Phoebe Smith Producers: Nicola Dowling, Oliver Newlan and Ben Robinson Editor: Carl Johnston (Photo: Camping at Mount Kenya. Credit: Martin Ngugi / Getty Images)

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again - not a bad motto for family travel, or for multi medal-winning Olympian Anna Hemmings MBE. The Kidventures family travel podcast hosts chat to Britain's most successful female kayaker, who recently tackled Mount Kenya in a climb that didn't go according to plan - and hear her stories of venturing onto the New York subway with a pushchair and discovering hidden Mexican beaches with her kids.From inspiration about motivation and perseverence to how soon to consider hiking and climbing with your kids, as well as why you have to slow down a bit to travel as a family, Anna shares her tips and insight.Find out more about Anna from her website at annahemmings.com or about the podcast at https://www.kidventures.co.uk Check out the other podcast episodes or subscribe for more family travel inspiration, tips, destination advice and recommendations from some of the UK's top family travel experts, including hosts Cathy and Ting from family travel blogs MummyTravels.com and My-Travelmonkey.com.

In this episode we meet filmmaker Miles Rowland who stumbled across an ancient Maasai ceremony in which boys become men and the celebratory banquet where drinking blood is part of the ritual.Explore your boundaries and discover your next adventure with The World Nomads Podcast. Hosted by Podcast Producer Kim Napier and World Nomads Phil Sylvester, each episode will take you around the world with insights into destinations from travelers and experts. They'll share the latest in travel news, answer your travel questions and fill you in on what World Nomads is up to, including the latest scholarships and guides.World Nomads is a fast-growing online travel company that provides inspiration, advice, safety tips and specialized travel insurance for independent, volunteer and student travelers, traveling and studying most anywhere in the world. Our online global travel insurance covers travelers from more than 135 countries and allows you to buy and claim online, 24/7, even while already traveling.The World Nomads Podcast is not your usual travel Podcast. It's everything for the adventurous, independent traveler.

What does Christ & Eagles have in common and is Kenya the land of the Holy?

In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some more curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a misplaced elephant, a momentous biscuit failure, a peripatetic ax murderer, and the importance of the 9 of diamonds. We'll also revisit Michael Malloy's resilience and puzzle over an uncommonly casual prison break. Intro: In 1846, geologist Adam Sedgwick sent his niece some tips on pronouncing Welsh. In 1961, psychologist Robert Sommer reflected that a person's importance is reflected in his keyring. Sources for our feature on notes and queries: Justin Kaplan and Anne Bernays mention the naming of Deathball Rock, Oregon, in their 1999 book The Language of Names: What We Call Ourselves and Why It Matters. The anecdote about the King Kong animator is from Orville Goldner and George E. Turner's 1975 book The Making of King Kong. The anecdote about Fred Astaire and the editor is from Brian Seibert's 2015 history of tap dancing, What the Eye Hears, supplemented by this New Yorker letter. Oxford mathematician Nick Trefethen's jotted thoughts are collected in Trefethen's Index Cards, 2011. The identity of the "bravest man" at the Battle of the Little Bighorn is discussed in Thom Hatch's 2000 Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn: An Encyclopedia and Frederic C. Wagner III's 2016 Participants in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. But I don't know any source that makes a decided claim as to his identity. "Icy Mike," the bull elephant skeleton discovered on Mount Kenya, is mentioned in Matthew Power and Keridwen Cornelius' article "Escape to Mount Kenya" in National Geographic Adventure 9:7 (September 2007), 65-71. Bernard Suits defines games in The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, 1978. The anecdote about Maidenhead, Berkshire, is from Gordon Snell's The Book of Theatre Quotes, 1982. The observation about William Byrd's diary is in Margaret Fleming's "Analysis of a Four-Letter Word," in Maledicta 1:2 (1977). Bill James' book about the Villisca ax murders is The Man From the Train, co-written with his daughter Rachel McCarthy James. Richard O. Jones describes the Cincinnati privy disaster of 1904 in this Belt Magazine article of Nov. 4, 2014. (Thanks, Glenn.) Here's a diagram of the Woodingdean Well, the deepest hand-dug well in the world. Barry Day mentions P.G. Wodehouse's characterization of his comic novels in his 2004 book The Complete Lyrics of P.G. Wodehouse (according to N.T.P. Murphy's 2006 A Wodehouse Handbook). Wikipedia gives a long list of reputed reasons the 9 of diamonds is called the "curse of Scotland." English curate Francis Kilvert mentions a mysterious organ grinder in his diary entry for May 12, 1874. Horace Walpole's owl whistles are mentioned in Arthur Michael Samuel's Mancroft Essays, 1912. The story about the Dabneys' clothesline telegraph appears in David Williams' I Freed Myself: African American Self-Emancipation in the Civil War Era, 2014, among other modern sources. Williams cites John Truesdale's The Blue Coats, and How They Lived, Fought and Died for the Union, from 1867. I'd be more sanguine with more authoritative sources. Listener mail: Nidhi Goyal, "Your Stomach Acid Can Dissolve Metal," Industry Tap, Feb. 3, 2016. Wikipedia, "Hydrochloric Acid" (accessed June 2, 2018). S.E. Gould, "What Makes Things Acid: The pH Scale," Lab Rat, Scientific American, Dec. 3, 2012. Charles Herman Sulz, A Treatise on Beverages, Or, The Complete Practical Bottler, 1888. "Properties of Some Metals: Tin," James P. Birk, CHM-115: General Chemistry with Qualitative Analysis, Arizona State University. P.K. Li et al., "In Vitro Effects of Simulated Gastric Juice on Swallowed Metal Objects: Implications for Practical Management," Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 46:2 (August 1997), 152-155. IMDb, "Open Water 2: Adrift." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470055/ Wikipedia, "Open Water 2: Adrift" (accessed June 2, 2018). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

supremacysounds.com

supremacysounds.com

For episode number seventeen it is my pleasure to introduce Becky Summers from the Mount Kenya Trust, Africa. We will be chatting about their annual 10to4 Mountain Bike Charity Challenge. The racing is held over the weekend and comprises of many different categories, skill levels and even includes family friendly challenges. The funds raised all go to causes within the region to help many different projects including education and animal welfare. It was great to chat with Becky regarding not only the race weekend but also the mountain bike scene in Africa. We chat about how popular mountain biking is in Africa, how it is helping the communities and how the 10to4 challenge works plus lots more.

In a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, a little girl worked in the fields with her mother. She worried as she saw the big forests disappearing, but she knew the power of a tiny seed. Story written by Nicola Rijsdijk, illustrated by Maya Marshak, originally published by BookDash and later on Pratham Books Storyweaver platform. Narrated by Asawari Doshi Storyweaver link: https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/13814-a-tiny-seed-the-story-of-wangari-maathai YouTube link for this story: https://youtu.be/YeSudeDImUw To know more about Books That Speak: Our website: http://www.booksthatspeak.com/ Listen to the podcast: iTunes : http://apple.co/2fVfELt Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/books-that-speak Player.fm: https://player.fm/series/books-that-speak-childrens-stories-in-marathi-hindi-and-gujarati SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/booksthatspeak Watch Videos: YouTube: http://bit.ly/2x4LIGX Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksThatSpeakPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/booksthatspeak

Welcome to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it. I’m Robin Lofton, the Chief In-house Historian and host of this great and groundbreaking show that will inspire YOU and your FAMILY with true stories, real experiences, practical lessons, cultural traditions, and fun celebrations—all inspired by African American history. I find history to BE inspirational, instructional and entertaining. And African American history fits the bill in all of these ways. Personally, I hate boring stuff. So boring stuff is not allowed at rememberinghistory.com or at this Wiki history podcast show.   Speaking of the show, today’s podcast show is about Black explorers and adventurers. I think that this is a great time to learn about Black explorers. Why? Because it’s October. In the United States, October is the month that many people celebrate Columbus’s birthday. Yes, it’s a federal holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October. But it’s important to know many individual states are celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ day instead of Columbus’s birthday. And I think that we all know the reason for that.   Here at rememberinghistory.com, we are celebrating Black explorers as we have for the past several years by discussing a few Black explorers and their inspirational stories. However, this year, we’re doing something a bit different. We are going to examine WHY people explore, why exploration is so important, and then we’re gonna ask for your thoughts about what exploration means to you and where you might like to explore one day.   During this podcast, you will hear about people, places, events and issues. You will HEAR about them, but I completely understand if you want to actually SEE them, too. You can find pictures of them on the Wiki History Podcast Page on Facebook. You will find pictures, animated videos and a community of history lovers. There is also a place for comments, which I hope that you will leave for me because I really appreciate them and I do respond. Also, if you enjoy this show, please let others know about it. They might like it and find it inspirational too. Let’s change the way that we think of history—one friend at a time.   So, why is exploring important? First let’s look at what exploring actually is.   To explore means to travel to an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it.   Throughout the centuries, exploring has taken different forms. Yet there was always the aspect of a “new and unfamiliar” place. In days past, many people explored new areas to find new riches and wealth like gold or other precious minerals. Others explored new areas to acquire land that they could homestead and farm. Still others were interested in the peoples of new and unfamiliar lands for reasons such as enslavement, slave trading or promoting “civilization.”   Wow, these past purposes of exploration were not so noble or endearing. Exploitation was the focus. And we know the damage and destruction that was done to indigenous peoples and their land. Gee, this makes me think of the quote “I fear the evil that men do in the name of evil but God save us from the evil that men do in the name of good.” Lots of death and destruction in the wake of many early explorers. Columbus included. But did you know that there were several Black explorers who traveled with Columbus like the Nina brothers Juan (he actually helmed La Nina), Francisco who was a sailor and Pedro who was actually with Columbus when he landed in Trinidad. Another Black explorer, Juan Guarrido, accompanied Vasco de Gama in his search of the Fountain of Youth. Juan Guarrido was also part of the Cortez-led invasion of Mexico, which led to the conquest of the Aztecs in 1519. (Okay, that’s not a great legacy for an explorer but he is also credited with harvesting the first commercial wheat crop in the Americas.)   Modern exploration is MUCH different from exploring in days long past. (Unless perhaps you’re thinking of exploration for oil, rubber or other precious commodities.)   Modern explorers focus more on the educational and observational aspects of exploring. Today’s explorers really want to learn about a new place or to discover the existence of the new place. Take Matthew Henson for example. He is credited as being the first African American to reach the North Pole. (Some say that he was actually the first person from anywhere to reach the North Pole!)   But Matthew Henson was an able and experienced sailor, navigator and craftsman. He learned the Inuit language and culture, married an Inuit woman and learned to build igloos and drive dogsleds in the Inuit way. I remember an iconic quote from Henson saying, “I think that I am the first man to sit on the top of the world!”           And, of course, there was William Henry Sheppard who explored the Congo river area in Central Africa. Born a free man in Virginia in 1865, he attended a “colored” school where he learned to read and write then actually took classes with Booker T. Washington at Hampton College. After becoming a Presbyterian minister, he developed a burning desire to become a missionary in Africa. He was finally allowed to go to the Congo river basin in what is today called the Democratic Republic on Congo. He settled in a village called Luebo.   He met the Bakuba people and learned their methods of survival and culture. He studied their crops, textiles and music. He studied the way that the Bakuba people worshipped their ancestors. He learned to hunt and killed snakes and large game to help feed the villagers. He even killed a hippopotamus and learned to dry the meat to trade and share with the villagers.   Sheppard learned to speak the Kuba language, which helped him to discover parts of the Congo region where no American or European had ever gone. Sheppard and his local Bakuba guide would go from village to village buying eggs at different markets. For three months, he would buy and eat eggs and preach the gospel at every village where he stopped. For years, he stayed and studied the culture and, because of his excellent language skills and respectful manner, he was welcomed into the villages by the local leaders. William Henry Sheppard was definitely an explorer!   As a boy, Sheppard had often said of Africa, “When I grow up, I shall go there.” And that’s exactly what he did!   Barbara Hillary also went there! Not to the Congo but to the North Pole. Then to the South Pole. Many people told her that she was too old and that she would die from the cold and hardships. That the North Pole was no place for a 75-year old woman from New York who had reduced breathing capacity about a bout with lung cancer. But she went there anyway. At the age of 75, she went to the North Pole. Then at 79 years old (in her case, 79 years young), she went to the South Pole! She always said that age was just a number. To get out a challenge yourself. That was exactly what she did.       Another explorer who wouldn’t let age stop her was Sophie Danenberg who at age 34 became the first African American woman to climb Mount Everest. Through the urging of a childhood friend, she started mountain climbing while living in Illinois.   Danenberg's first major climb was at Mount Rainier in Washington State in 2002.  Over the next two years, she scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Baker in Washington state, and Mount Kenya, 2003.  In 2005 she scaled five more major peaks including Denali and Mount Tasman.   But 2006 proved to be her big year!   Sophie received a surprise phone call to inform her that she was permitted to join the expedition that was going up Mount Everest. And she only had one week to prepare! Yes, it was a struggle. On the mountain of mountains, she developed bronchitis, frostbite and a clogged oxygen mask. Yet but she persisted and prevailed. And, on May 19, 2006, she became the first Black woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.   Sophie was the first Black person but definitely NOT the last. With privately raised funds and sheer focus and determination, men and women from the African continent have scaled Mount Everest. Notably, Saray Khumalo from South Africa climbed Kilimanjaro, Mera Peak, LoBuche East, Elbrus and Aconcagua—all in four short years. She has faced Everest but, unfortunately, nature stood in the way. In 2014, she was deterred by deadly avalanche that killed 16 sherpa. The following year, an earthquake prevented her from climbing Everest. But Saray Khumalo will not be forever deterred and she’s already started raising the money for her next excursion—this time to the summit!—going up Everest, encouraged by a quote from Nelson Mandela: It always seems impossible until it’s done! Saray climbs for herself but also for others: she has raised money to building libraries and schools in South Africa and to provide lunches for school children. And, by the way, another South African, SibuSiso Vilane, became the first Black man to climb Mt. Everest in 2003 and has actually climbed all seven major peaks and completed the 3 Poles Challenge (you know, North Pole, South Pole and Everest).     But explorers have not stopped with Mount Everest. That’s the highest peak offered on this planet but other Black explorers went beyond the limits of planet Earth. Where did they go? They went into space! African American astronauts are a group of extreme explorers and have gone “where no man (or no ONE) has gone before!” (Sorry I just couldn’t resist that Star Trek quote!)   Let’s quickly meet them:   *Colonel Frederick Gregory—an accomplished pilot and test pilot BEFORE joining NASA. He spent more than 18 days in space and he was the first African American to pilot and command a space shuttle mission.   *Mae Jemison was a scientist and medical doctor before joining NASA. She spent 190 hours in space as a mission specialist and conducted groundbreaking experiments in space on weightlessness and motion sickness. In 1992, she became the first African American woman to go to space.   *Major General Charles Bolden was an experienced marine aviator and test pilot before joining NASA. He went on 4 flights and served as commander and pilot on the different flights. Major General Bolden spent more than 28 days in space.   *Colonel Guion Bluford, Jr.—a fighter pilot and engineer before joining NASA. In 1983, Colonel Bluford became the first African American to go to space, logging in more than 28 days in space as a mission specialist.   *Stephanie Wilson was an aerospace engineer before joining NASA as an astronaut. She has spent more than 42 days in space as a mission specialist and was responsible for robotics for spacewalking support. Ms. Wilson is still in active duty with NASA.   *Joan Higginbottam was an electrical engineer before joining NASA. She logged in more than 12 days in space where she operated the space station remote manipulator system.   *Robert Satcher was a surgeon, chemical engineer and professor at Feinburg School of Medicine before joining NASA. He was a mission specialist logging in 10 days and 2 walks in space. *Robert Curbeam was a Naval flight officer, pilot and engineer before joining NASA as an astronaut. He worked as the spacecraft communicator and spent 37 days in space, including 45 hours on 7 walks in space. And yes THAT is the record for time spent walking in space!   *Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Anderson was a physicist before joining NASA as an astronaut. He spent more than 593 hours in space as a mission specialist, payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments.   *Captain Winston E. Scott is an engineer, pilot and (today) Dean of the Florida Institute of Technology before joining NASA. Captain Scott logged in 24 days in space, including 19 hours spent on 3 WALKS in space.   *Alvin Drew was a physicist and aeronautical engineer before joining NASA. He spent more than 25 days in space as a mission specialist and CAPCOM officer. He also did 2 walks in space for 12 hours!   *Leland Melvin was a materials science engineer before joining NASA. He has since logged in more than 23 days in space as a mission specialist.   *Bernard Anthony Harris was a biologist, medical doctor and pilot before joining NASA. He logged in 18 days in space as mission specialist and payload officer. In 1995, he became the first African American to do extra-vehicular activities, meaning that he actually WALKED in space.   Wow, we could make an entire show of the African American astronauts who have graced the NASA program AND ventured into outer space.   I want to give a special salute to two astronauts who died during their explorations:   *Major Robert Lawrence, Jr. was a skilled pilot and scientist. He was the First African-American astronaut; the first to be selected for astronaut training in 1967 in the Manned Orbital Laboratory program, which predated NASA. Major Lawrence was killed in a jet accident.   *Ronald McNair—was an optical physicist when he was selected by NASA. McNair was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster mission in 1986.   Before we move on to another interesting group of explorers, I do want to mention one more astronaut: Jeannette Epps. She has not yet gone into space but her time is coming. In 2016 NASA announced that Ms. Epps will launch on her first spaceflight in May 2018. She will be a flight engineer on Expedition 56, remaining on board for Expedition 57. Ms. Epps will become the first African-American crew member on the space station!   Let’s cheer her on in May of 2018. Great to watch a first flight AND a great step forward for African Americans and women everywhere!   But African American explorers didn’t only just aim higher and higher. They also set their sights on what lies beneath. In this case, they aimed—and conquered—the Mammoth caves in Kentucky.   We’re gonna stop here in this podcast show. We’ve covered a lot of great explorers; people who explored the North and South poles and the Congo. We just discussed people who have explored outer space and even walked in space! I think that we’ve gone high enough for now. In the next podcast show, we’re gonna explore another dark and untouched part of THIS planet. And we’re gonna continue our discussion about why we explore and why exploring is so important. I hope to see you at Part II of this great and groundbreaking discussion.   Also, please remember that you can “meet” many of these people on Facebook at out Wiki History Podcast page. Or at least you can see them. Pictures really do say a thousand words and seeing these people can help to bring them to life. You will also find our newsletter that helps you to learn history and teaches ways that you can MAKE history. Remember, we’re all history makers. We all have something to contribute. These stories show that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and live extraordinary lives.   So, I look forward to seeing you at Part II of the Black explorers podcast show at rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it every day. Bye for now!                                                                           Welcome back to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it. I’m Robin Lofton, the Chief In-house Historian and host of this great and groundbreaking show that will inspire YOU and your FAMILY with true stories, real experiences, practical lessons, cultural traditions, and fun celebrations—all inspired by African American history.   This is part II of the podcast show on Black explorers. In the previous show, we discussed the importance of exploration and how exploration has changed over the centuries. And we discussed people who had aimed high (Mount Everest high) and even higher (outer space). Those were such interesting and inspirational stories. I hope that you’ve listened to part I of this series. I promise that you’ll be ready to stand and salute these brave men and women. But for now, I think that we should continue with the discussion of Black explorers.   Remember at the end of the show, I introduced the next group of explorers. They didn’t aim to go higher and higher. They were focused on discovering a part of this planet that had been ignored and feared: the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky. Let’s get straight to their fascinating stories and then we’ll end with a discussion of why exploring is important and why it’s important to learn the stories of these great explorers.   The Mammoth caves make up the longest known cave system in the world, with more than 400 miles explored. Did that stop or scare these explorers? Not for a minute. In fact, many African Americans (some former enslaved persons) extensively explored this grand, gloomy and peculiar place.   Let me just mention a few of these courageous and skilled cave navigators.   Although human activity has been recorded in the Mammoth caves for more than 6,000 years, Stephen Bishop was one of the lead explorers and guides in the complex and yes dangerous subterranean cave system. In fact, he is the person who coined the “grand, gloomy and peculiar” term to describe the Mammoth Caves.   Stephen Bishop came to the Mammoth caves in 1838. He was African American, 17 years old and enslaved. Yet because of his great exploration and guiding skills, he did enjoy some freedoms and privileges in the Mammoth caves—and avoided the grueling physical work and suffering endured by other enslaved people. In fact, he was first introduced to the Mammoth caves by a white explorer. This developed Bishop’s love of exploration—and he spent the next two decades exploring the Mammoth caves.   Although he was introduced to the caves by other explorers, Stephen Bishop went far beyond those explored and toured areas. Bishop discovered miles of new routes that no human eye had ever seen. And he opened the gateway for modern exploration of these vast and incredible caves. Bishop also worked to draw a map from memory of the different passages in the caves. It was published in 1844 and was the defining map of the caves for over 40 years!   Yes, he made history: Stephen Bishop was the first to cross the “Bottomless Pit” which was a series of deep vertical shafts. Other explorers had stopped at the Bottomless Pit, refusing to cross over that dangerous abyss. Quite understandable but Bishop was not scared or stopped. He continued past the Bottomless Pit and into areas that had been completely unexplored. And he later safely guided others over the Bottomless Pit and into new regions of the caves. Bishop also explored and guided others into areas of the Mammoth Caves called Fat Man’s Misery (I can only guess why it was given that name!), Cleveland Avenue and the Mammoth Domes. Those are some of the most famous areas of the caves, made famous and popular by Stephen Bishop. Other popular attraction discovered by Stephen Bishop He discovered strange blind fish, snakes, silent crickets, and the remains of cave bears.     He absolutely loved the Mammoth caves and had a real drive for exploration. Still it was hard work and he crawled through tight winding passageways, discovered an underground river, scaled huge rocks, and dared to walk on a rickety nature-made ladder across the "Bottomless Pit."   In 1856, Stephen Bishop received his freedom but unfortunately died the following year at the age of 37.   Stephen Bishop might have been born into slavery, but he was never a slave. He was an explorer! And today he is a legend!   Another Black explorer who came to the Mammoth caves in 1838 was Nick Bransford. However, Bransford didn’t become a full-time explorer for nearly 20 years after moving to the caves. He started full-time guiding in 1857, after the death of Stephen Bishop.   Nick Bransford was an enslaved person (born during the period of slavery). Like Bishop, he was leased out and sent to the Mammoth caves to work. And interestingly there were records showing that he was valued at $800, which was substantially more than for other enslaved persons. This was most likely because of his skills as an explorer and guide.   Bransford later purchased his freedom by selling eyeless fish that he captured in the underground rivers within the caves.   The Mammoth Caves attracted many formerly enslaved people. Ed Bishop for example. No relation to Stephen Bishop. He came to the Mammoth caves in 1886.   Among his greatest achievements was to guide the German cartographer, Max Kamper, into the Mammoth Caves. For 8 months, he and Kamper remained at the cave, visiting all the known sections. But Ed Bishop also discovered new sections that he presented to Max Kamper. One such newly discovered point (located on the Violet City Lantern route) was named Bishop’s Pit in 1908, in honor of Ed Bishop. Together Bishop and Kamper produced a map representing more than 35 miles of passages in the cave. Ed Bishop was widely recognized for his knowledge of the cave and as a teacher for the guides.   Ed Hawkins discovered a monumental series of vertical shafts. The passage leading up to these incredible shafts was later named Hawkins Pass. A great honor to this great explorer. And, yes, visitors can still see these shafts. Just take the Wild Caves Tour!         The last person that we’ll discuss who was important at the Mammoth Caves was Will Garvin. He was a private in the army, serving in a Colored Troop during the Civil War. Will Garvin was never an enslaved person. Following the Civil War, he began exploring and guiding in Mammoth caves where he made his mark for discovering an area later call the Corkscrew. This was actually a maze through collapsed rubble that linked the upper levels of the cave system to the lower levels near the water table. This area also provided an exit from the cave so visitors wouldn’t have to retrace their steps.   Some people say that Will Garvin also discovered the Colossal Caverns. This area was so treacherous that it even wasn’t opened to the public until 1972 (some 70 years after its discovery). It is one of the caves still protected within Mammoth Cave National Park.   But Will Garvin also made another important discovery—or had an important experience. This is really interesting.   He was the first person to experience the optical illusion called the Statue of Martha Washington. As he was exiting the cave, he saw a spectral silhouette of a woman who looked just like Martha Washington! I know strange things can be seen in the caves but this was one of the strangest! And it is still occasionally seen on certain tours in the historic section!   So, that concludes the discussion about Black explorers at the Mammoth Caves. And it concludes the presentation of Black explorers.   Now I just have one question:     Why do we care about these explorers?   Because they faced their challenges with honor, courage, and determination.   Whether it was Mount Everest, the Mammoth caves, the mighty Congo River, the North and South poles or outer space, they went there (using the words from Henry Sheppard in the Congo!) And they went boldly!   Everyone has an Everest. Everest can take many forms: going to school, applying for a job, fighting injustice, writing a book, public speaking or fighting an addiction. We all have our Everests. We are ALL explorers. The personal accounts in this podcast are stories of REAL people. And we can have a story too. We just have to find our challenge and face it. Victory is inevitable.   So we have much to learn from explorING and from exploRERS. Like many other people, I have done my share of exploring. And I think that the main thing that explorers discover is actually something within themselves. It is strength, courage, determination, creativity, persistence and other qualities that helped them to endure hardships, face their fears and rise to new heights. As Barbara Hillary said, when she reached the North Pole at the age of 75, there are no limits to what we can do and we can all challenge ourselves to do great things.   On that high note, I think that this is a great place to conclude this podcast. I hope that you have found it fun, educational and inspirational. I definitely have!   One interesting thing that I noticed about all of these great explorers is that they had so many different interests. Of course, they were completing committed to their explorations and their time, energy and focus were always in that direction. But they were multi-dimensional people in every respect. Matthew Henson—who went to the North Pole—was also a survivalist and linguist who loved the Inuit culture.   William Henry Sheppard –who explored the Congo—was also an avid art collector.   Mae Jemison—the first African American woman in space—loves African history and dance and speaks four languages: Swahili, Russian and Japanese in addition to English.   Others are voracious readers, cartologists, scuba divers, marathon runners, musicians, public speakers, sculptors and so many different interests. So, it’s important to remember that we can have many interests—some might be consistent with your dharma (life’s purpose) but others might conflict. Yet these interests make us complete people.   And, since I mentioned Mae Jemison, I read a story about her. After she had finished her medical studies and returned from the Peace Corps, she received a phone call. It was from NASA. She had submitted an application to NASA years before. On the phone call, they asked her: “Are you still interested in becoming an astronaut?” She answered simply “yeah”. That answer opened up a whole new world to her and within 2 years she went to outer space. Lesson here: Say “yes!”.   All of these explorers said yes to new experiences even when others were telling them to say no. But saying yes opened them to becoming great explorers.   Finally, Charles Bolden, the astronaut who was the first African American to become head of NASA, showed how there are no limits except what we can envision. He said,   "You know, the universe is a big place. I'm a practicing Christian, so in my faith, I learn about omnipotent, omnipresent God, which means he's everywhere. He's all-knowing. He does everything. And I just cannot bring my little pea brain to believe that a God like that would pick one planet of one of millions of suns and say that's the only place in the vast universe that I'm going to put any kind of life. And so the problem is I haven't been far enough away." [29]   I realize that I mentioned lots of names, places, events, experiences and other information that you might want more information about. The rememberinghistory.com team has you covered. You can get more information, see the people and places, read the “What You Can Do” list, see great pictures and even find good a book list at the Wiki History podcast page on Facebook. You can also find the newsletter called Making History Today! which discusses practical ways that you can actually MAKE history through education, the arts, political activism or whatever interests you.   Finally, I just want to remind you that 2017, the Wiki History podcast show is dedicated to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Located in Washington, DC, the National Museum of African American History & Culture opened in 2016. This kind of museum was long overdue but it finally happened and it is a place that everyone should visit and explore. Museums are a great way to bring history to life and to keep it alive for future generations. Wiki History is honored to be a part of this important process. For every person that listens to this podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will donate $1 to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.   Come back soon to Remembering History where we ARE remembering history and we’re making it. Every day! And, like Matthew Henson, get ready to sit on top of the world! Bye for now!    

Stuck in an East African prison camp in 1943, Italian POW Felice Benuzzi needed a challenge to regain his sense of purpose. He made a plan that seemed crazy -- to break out of the camp, climb Mount Kenya, and break back in. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Benuzzi and two companions as they try to climb the second-highest mountain in Africa using homemade equipment. We'll also consider whether mirages may have doomed the Titanic and puzzle over an ineffective oath. Intro: Under the law of the United Kingdom, a sturgeon when caught becomes the personal property of the monarch. On July 4, 1853, 32 people held a dance on the stump of a California sequoia. Sources for our feature on Felice Benuzzi: Felice Benuzzi, No Picnic on Mount Kenya, 1953. Dave Pagel, "The Great Escape," Climbing 215 (Sept. 15, 2002), 87. Matthew Power and Keridwen Cornelius, "Escape to Mount Kenya," National Geographic Adventure 9:7 (September 2007), 65-71. Stephan Wilkinson, "10 Great POW Escapes," Military History 28:4 (November 2011), 28-33. Jon Mooallem, "In Search of Lost Ice," New York Times Magazine, Dec. 21, 2014, 28-35. "Because It Was There; Great Escapes," Economist 417:8965 (Nov. 21, 2015), 78. This is the package label that showed the prisoners the southern face of the mountain: Listener mail: Tim Maltin and Andrew T. Young, "The Hidden Cause of the Titanic Disaster" (accessed March 24, 2017). Smithsonian, "Did the Titanic Sink Because of an Optical Illusion?" (accessed March 24, 2017). Telegraph, "Titanic Sank Due to 'Mirage' Caused by Freak Weather" (accessed March 24, 2017). Matt Largey, "He Got a Bad Grade. So, He Got the Constitution Amended. Now He's Getting the Credit He Deserves," kut.org, March 21, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please go to http://podsurvey.com/futility to take a quick, anonymous survey to help us get the best advertisers for the show. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

On this date in 1952, Elizabeth II became queen regnant of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms when her father, George VI, died. Here are some things you may not have known about Queen Elizabeth II. She was born by cesarean section on April 21, 1926, at her maternal grandfather’s home in Mayfair, London. Her full name, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, is in honor of her mother, her paternal great grandmother, and her paternal grandmother, respectively. Early, she had difficulty pronouncing her name and called herself “Lilibet,” which is what her immediate family ended up calling her. As a child she was described as being responsible, organized, sensible and well-behaved. In 1952, Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were beginning a tour of Australia and New Zealand with a stop in Kenya. They were staying in a treehouse at Treetops Hotel, near Mount Kenya, when George VI died at Sandringham House in Norfolk. She didn’t get the news until the next day. She chose to retain the name Elizabeth as her regnal name, and the royal party returned home to the UK. On the advice of Winston Churchill and Queen Mary, it was decided that instead of a new royal house bearing Philip’s name of Mountbatten, the house would continue as the House of Windsor. Philip responded that “I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.” Following Churchill’s resignation and Mary’s death, it was decided the last name of Mountbatten-Windsor would be given to all male descendants without royal titles. Mary died about two months before Elizabeth’s June 2, 1953, coronation at Westminster Abbey. That ceremony was the first to be televised, with the exception of the anointing and communion portions. Here are some quick facts about Elizabeth II: In 1991, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress. In 2015, she became the longest reigning British monarch and the world’s longest reigning queen regnant and female head of state in history. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch and head of state following the death of the King of Thailand. As of 2015, it was estimated that Queen Elizabeth’s estate is valued at about 340 million pounds, making her the 302nd richest person in the U.K. Despite widespread criticism of the British monarchy as a system of government, Elizabeth remains personally popular. Some polls show she has favorability ratings as high as 90 percent. In 2016, a story revealed Elizabeth’s still quick wit. She was walking near her 50,000-acre private estate of Balmoral in Scotland, dressed in tweeds and a headscarf, when a group of American tourists approached her and her bodyguard. The tourists, not recognizing her, asked if she lived in the area. She replied that she had a house nearby. One of the tourists supposedly asked her if she had ever met the queen. She replied truthfully, “No, but he has,” gesturing to the bodyguard. Our question: How are Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle different from other British royal residences? Today is Waitangi Day, commemorating the founding of New Zealand; and International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation Day. It’s unofficially National Frozen Yogurt Day, and Pay-A-Compliment Day. It’s the birthday of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who was born in 1911; musician Bob Marley, who was born in 1945; and musician Rick Astley, who is 51.   This week in 1991, the top song in the U.S. was “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C+C Music Factory. The No. 1 movie was “Home Alone,” while the novel “Cold Fire” by Dean Koontz topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.  Weekly question: What country did the world’s longest-reigning monarch rule over? Submit your answer at triviapeople.com/test and we’ll add the name of the person with the first correct answer to our winner’s wall … at triviapeople.com. We'll have the correct answer on Friday’s episode.   Links Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website. Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here. iOS: http://apple.co/1H2paH9  Android: http://bit.ly/2bQnk3m  Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_VI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balmoral_Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_British_monarch http://www.inquisitr.com/3013003/queen-elizabeth-would-you-recognize-her-if-you-met-her-these-american-tourists-didnt-and-now-the-story-is-out/ http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/19/the-queen-went-undercover-and-fooled-tourists-at-balmoral-5826352/ https://www.checkiday.com/02/06/2017 http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/numberonesongs/?chart=us&m=2&d=6&y=1940&o= http://www.biography.com/people/groups/born-on-february-06

Black Explorers Part II   Welcome back to robinlofton.com for another Wiki History lecture. Today is the second lecture about black explorers. In the first Wiki history lecture, we discussed Matthew Henson, who was the first person to reach the North Pole. While there is some dispute about this, we recognized that Henson made incredible contributions as a navigator, ocean surveyor, and explorer.  There is a lot more to know about this great man and his explorations so I encourage you to listen to the first Wiki History lecture and to read his book, A Negro in the North Pole, which you can find on robinlofton.com.   In today’s wiki lecture, we will discuss explorations that are out of this world!  These black explorers went longer and farther than many people ever dream of going.  They are great examples of why we are studying explorers. We can learn so much from them. They had a grand vision and never-ending determination. They worked hard and never gave up. Remember it took 20 years and numerous failed attempts for Matthew Henson to reach the North Pole.  But he eventually made it. And that’s what we can learn from these explorers.   Let’s get started with today’s great Black explorers.   Today’s explorers won’t go north or south. Today, they go up!   We begin with Guion Bluford, who on August 30, 1983, was the first African American astronaut to make a space flight.  But let’s back up for a minute. Dr. Bluford was born in Philadelphia in 1942. He earned his pilot’s license when he was just 24. Then he went on to earn his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978.  He also joined NASA in 1978. And made his maiden voyage in space was just 5 years later. He operated the remote manipulator system, Spacelab-3 experiments, shuttle systems, and the flight systems lab. During his career, Dr. Bluford made numerous space flights and spent a total of 688 hours in space before his retirement from NASA in 1993.      Other African Americans also dedicated themselves to space flight and exploration.   Frederick Gregory was the first Black person to actually command a space shuttle mission. In 1985, he served as a pilot on Challenger for a 7-day mission. Commander Gregory joined NASA shortly after receiving his masters degree in information systems. In 1989, he was given command of the Discovery mission, which orbited the Earth 79 times in 120 hours. In total, he commanded 3 major space missions and spent over 450 hours in space. By the end of his career, he reached the rank of Colonel in the United States Air Force.   In 1987, Mae Jemison was the first black woman astronaut and the first Black woman to fly in space. She was the science mission specialist on the historic 8-day mission on the Endeavor space shuttle. By her retirement from NASA, Dr. Jamison logged in 190 hours in space. Her educational background is as varied as it is impressive having graduated from Stanford University with a degree in both chemical engineering and African American studies.  She also earned a doctorate degree from Cornell University and worked as a staff doctor for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone.  Today, Dr. Jamison owns a private firm, called the Jamison Group, and teaches at Dartmouth University.   Coming out of the shuttle, Bernard Harris, Jr. became the first black astronaut to actually walk in space. He walked in space for 5 hours and logged in more than 230 hours in space.  He was also a medical doctor and trained as a flight surgeon.  After leaving NASA, he founded the Harris Group, which is a Texas-based organization that works to empower individuals, in particular minorities and other economically and/or socially disadvantaged, to recognize their potential and pursue their dreams. Dr. Harris first became interested in being an astronaut watching the Apollo 11 mission on TV in 1969. Twenty years—and lots of hard work and determination later—he was asked to join NASA. By the end of his career, he logged more than 4,164,183 miles in space.   Finally, and sadly, in 1986, Ronald McNair became the first black astronaut killed during a space mission. He was aboard the ill-fated Challenger when it exploded shortly after liftoff. Dr. McNair was an extraordinary explorer who was born in South Carolina and able to read and write by the age of three.  At the age of four, he successfully challenged the whites-only borrowing privileges at the local library. In 1976, he received a scholarship to MIT where he graduated magna cum laude with a doctorate in physics. He was invited to join NASA in 1978. Dr. McNair is remembered as having encouraged and supported young black engineers and scientists in the aerospace program. In his short life, he was an extraordinary student, physicist, and astronaut.    He once said, "Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them. . . ..You're eagles! Stretch your wings and fly to the sky."   Words to live by!   There are so many others that have contributed to space exploration. However, we only have time to acknowledge the contributions of these five astronauts who committed themselves to exploring where no one had gone before. And they also made great contributions on earth too.   Remember the names: Guy Bluford, Frederick Gregory, Mae Jamison, Bernard Harris, and Ronald McNair.  Great explorers. Great scientists. Great people!   Now here is another great explorer. She was not an astronaut. She did not go into outer space. But she set her sights high and she reached incredible heights: The top of Mount Everest!   Sophia Danenberg was always a high flyer and explorer.  Born in Illinois in 1972, Sophia became the first African American woman and the first Black woman from anywhere in the world to climb Mt. Everest.   Sophia became involved in mountaineering after receiving her degree from Harvard University. For 2 years, she did technical rock climbs with her local Appalachian Mountain Club.   Danenberg's first major climb was at Mount Rainier, in Washington State in 2002.  Over the next two years she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya, Mount Baker in Washington state and Mount Kenya.  In 2005 she scaled five peaks plus Mount McKinley in Alaska. That’s right, she climbed the highest peak in North America.   But her great challenge was yet to come. In the spring of 2006, at the age of 34 and with only one week of planning, she started climbing Mount Everest—the highest mountain in the world.    She signed up for an unguided climb, which meant that she had to carry all of her own gear, pitch her own tent, and make all the decisions, and basically find her own way. On May 19, 2006, after two months of climbing, she reached the summit of Mount Everest at 29,000 feet. She was suffering from bronchits, a stuffed nose and frostbitten cheeks but she was determined to push through the bad weather and sit on top of the world!   But she did not stop with Everest. She has now climbed more than 19 peaks around the world.   Back on lower elevations, Sophia Danenberg has continued her upward journey. She received her masters in economics from the University of Connecticut and works with inner city children.   About her historic climb, she says, “It’s not really about having the ability to climb. It’s about this ability to say, ‘I can do it really well.”   That’s a great goal.  Whatever you do, do it really well.   Thank you for visiting robinlofton.com for this Wiki history lecture about great Black explorers.  Remember to subscribe so that the Wiki History lectures will come directly to your mailbox. Please visit robinlofton.com and leave your comments.  I would love to hear about your explorations. Future Wiki History lectures will focus on Blacks in the Military (lots of interesting information and lessons from the African Americans who fought in America’s wars beginning with the Civil War) and we will post Part II about the importance of African American history and how it can inspire and motivate us.   Remember that we can learn a lot from the great explorers. We can learn from their courage, vision, determination, and positive outlook.  Life is an exploration. Keep exploring higher and farther! See you again soon.

Baptized “Hifadhi”, which means “to keep” or “to preserve” in Swahili, this project aims to distribute 60,000 improved cookstoves in three districts in Embu County (Embu East, Embu North, Mbere South), located at the foot of Mount Kenya. The improved “Hifadhi” cookstoves are made from locally-sourced metal and ceramic materials. It is highly energy-efficient because … Continue reading Clean Cookstove Project in Kenya →

Sarah Winters Papsun has figured out how to travel while helping others and that skill has brought her to nearly every continent and to 40 countries.  In January of 2010, Sarah traveled to Africa to climb with the 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Challenge team.  The goal was to climb Mount Kenya, Mount Meru, and Mount Kilimanjaro to support, encourage, and raise awareness for grassroots community organizations in Kenya and Tanzania that are focused on health, environmental, and educational development.  You can learn more about the challenge at 3peaks3weeks.wordpress.com.  Sarah Winters Papsun welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

We were able to sit outside on the balcony of our hotel room that overlooked a natural watering hole. Earlier in the day there were water buffalo, gazelles, warthogs and many birds. The night sounds were incredible. Be sure to listen toward the end of the clip as it has some very interesting sounds. Makes you wonder what was outside!

Interview with Peter Murage, founder of MOOF (Mount Kenya Organic Farming). MOOF is a farm and demonstration/training center for small holder farmers located in Nanyuki, Kenya. Margie Bushman and Wesley Roe of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network join Jill Cloutier and Peter Murage for this interview.