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Today's guest is Peter Moskos, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He spent two years as a police officer in Baltimore. I asked him to come on and talk about his new book, Back from the Brink, Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop. It's one of my favorite books I've read this year (and it was one of my three book recommendations on Ezra Klein's show last week).Peter spoke with hundreds of police officers and NYC officials to understand and describe exactly how the city's leaders in the early 1990s managed to drive down crime so successfully.We discussed:* How bad did things get in the 1970s?* Why did processing an arrest take so long?* What did Bill Bratton and other key leaders do differently?* How did police get rid of the squeegee men?I've included my reading list at the bottom of this piece. Thanks to Harry Fletcher-Wood for his judicious transcript edits.Subscribe for one new interview a week.Peter, how would you describe yourself?I would say I'm a criminologist: my background is sociology, but I am not in the sociology department. I'm not so big on theory, and sociology has a lot of theory. I was a grad student at Harvard in sociology and worked as a police officer [in Baltimore] and that became my dissertation and first book, Cop in the Hood. I've somewhat banked my career on those 20 months in the police department.Not a lot of sociologists spend a couple of years working a police beat.It's generally frowned upon, both for methodological reasons and issues of bias. But there is also an ideological opposition in a lot of academia to policing. It's seen as going to the dark side and something to be condemned, not understood.Sociologists said crime can't go down unless we fix society first. It's caused by poverty, racism, unemployment, and social and economic factors — they're called the root causes. But they don't seem to have a great impact on crime, as important as they are. When I'm in grad school, murders dropped 30-40% in New York City. At the same time, Mayor Giuliani is slashing social spending, and poverty is increasing. The whole academic field is just wrong. I thought it an interesting field to get into.We're going to talk about your new book, which is called Back from the Brink, Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop. I had a blast reading it. Tell me about the process of writing it.A lot of this is oral history, basically. But supposedly people don't like buying books that are called oral histories. It is told entirely from the perspective of police officers who were on the job at the time. I would not pretend I talked to everyone, because there were 30,000+ cops around, but I spoke to many cops and to all the major players involved in the 1990s crime drop in New York City.I was born in the ‘90s, and I had no idea about a crazy statistic you cite: 25% of the entire national crime decline was attributable to New York City's crime decline.In one year, yeah. One of the things people say to diminish the role of policing is that the crime drop happened everywhere — and it did end up happening almost everywhere. But I think that is partly because what happened in New York City was a lot of hard work, but it wasn't that complicated. It was very easy to propagate, and people came to New York to find out what was going on. You could see results, literally in a matter of months.It happened first in New York City. Really, it happened first in the subways and that's interesting, because if crime goes down in the subways [which, at the time, fell under the separate New York City Transit Police] and not in the rest of the city, you say, “What is going on in the subways that is unique?” It was the exact same strategies and leadership that later transformed the NYPD [New York Police Department].Set the scene: What was the state of crime and disorder in New York in the ‘70s and into the ‘80s?Long story short, it was bad. Crime in New York was a big problem from the late ‘60s up to the mid ‘90s, and the ‘70s is when the people who became the leaders started their careers. So these were defining moments. The city was almost bankrupt in 1975 and laid off 5,000 cops; 3,000 for a long period of time. That was arguably the nadir. It scarred the police department and the city.Eventually, the city got its finances in order and came to the realization that “we've got a big crime problem too.” That crime problem really came to a head with crack cocaine. Robberies peaked in New York City in 1980. There were above 100,000 robberies in 1981, and those are just reported robberies. A lot of people get robbed and just say, “It's not worth it to report,” or, “I'm going to work,” or, “Cops aren't going to do anything.” The number of robberies and car thefts was amazingly high. The trauma, the impact on the city and on urban space, and people's perception of fear, all comes from that. If you're afraid of crime, it's high up on the hierarchy of needs.To some extent, those lessons have been lost or forgotten. Last year there were 16,600 [robberies], which is a huge increase from a few years ago, but we're still talking an 85% reduction compared to the worst years. It supposedly wasn't possible. What I wanted to get into in Back from the Brink was the actual mechanisms of the crime drop. I did about fifty formal interviews and hundreds of informal interviews building the story. By and large, people were telling the same story.In 1975, the city almost goes bankrupt. It's cutting costs everywhere, and it lays off more than 5,000 cops, about 20% of the force, in one day. There's not a new police academy class until 1979, four years later. Talk to me about where the NYPD was at that time.They were retrenched, and the cops were demoralized because “This is how the city treats us?” The actual process of laying off the cops itself was just brutal: they went to work, and were told once they got to work that they were no longer cops. “Give me your badge, give me your gun."The city also was dealing with crime, disorder, and racial unrest. The police department was worried about corruption, which was a legacy of the Knapp Commission [which investigated NYPD corruption] and [Frank] Serpico [a whistleblowing officer]. It's an old police adage, that if you don't work, you can't get in trouble. That became very much the standard way of doing things. Keep your head low, stay out of trouble, and you'll collect your paycheck and go home.You talk about the blackout in 1977, when much of the city lost power and you have widespread looting and arson. 13,000 off-duty cops get called in during the emergency, and only about 5,000 show up, which is a remarkable sign of the state of morale.The person in my book who's talking about that is Louis Anemone. He showed up because his neighbor and friend and partner was there, and he's got to help him. It was very much an in-the-foxholes experience. I contrast that with the more recent blackout, in which the city went and had a big block party instead. That is reflective of the change that happened in the city.In the mid-80s you get the crack cocaine epidemic. Talk to me about how police respond.From a political perspective, that era coincided with David Dinkins as [New York City's first black] mayor. He was universally disliked, to put it mildly, by white and black police officers alike. He was seen as hands off. He was elected in part to improve racial relations in New York City, to mitigate racial strife, but in Crown Heights and Washington Heights, there were riots, and racial relations got worse. He failed at the level he was supposed to be good at. Crime and quality of life were the major issues in that election.Dinkins's approach to the violence is centered around what they called “community policing.” Will you describe how Dinkins and political leaders in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s thought about policing?This is under Ben Ward, the [NYPD] Commissioner at the time. The mayor appoints the police commissioner — and the buck does stop with the mayor — but the mayor is not actively involved in day-to-day operations. That part does go down to the police department.Community policing was seen as an attempt to improve relations between the police and the community. The real goal was to lessen racial strife and unrest between black (and to a lesser extent Hispanic) communities and the NYPD. Going back to the ‘60s, New York had been rocked by continued unrest in neighborhoods like Central Harlem, East New York, and Bushwick. Community policing was seen as saying that police are partly to blame, and we want to improve relations. Some of it was an attempt to get the community more involved in crime fighting.It's tough. It involves a certain rosy view of the community, but that part of the community isn't causing the problems. It avoids the fact there are people who are actively criming and are willing to hurt people who get in their way. Community policing doesn't really address the active criminal element, that is a small part of any community, including high-crime communities.Arrests increased drastically during this era, more than in the ‘90s with broken windows policing. If the idea is to have fewer arrests, it didn't happen in the ‘80s. Some good came out of it, because it did encourage cops to be a bit more active and cops are incentivized by overtime. Arrests were so incredibly time-consuming, which kind of defeated the purpose of community policing. If you made an arrest in that era, there was a good chance you might spend literally 24 hours processing the arrest.Will you describe what goes into that 24 hours?From my experience policing in Baltimore, I knew arrests were time-consuming and paperwork redundant, but I could process a simple arrest in an hour or two. Even a complicated one that involved juveniles and guns and drugs, we're talking six to eight hours.In the ‘80s, Bob Davin, [in the] Transit Police, would say they'd make an arrest, process at the local precinct, search him in front of a desk officer, print him, and then they would have to get a radio car off patrol to drive you down to central booking at 100 Centre Street [New York City Criminal Court]. Then they would fingerprint him. They didn't have the live scan fingerprints machine, it was all ink. It had to be faxed up to Albany and the FBI to see if it hit on any warrant federally and for positive identification of the person. Sometimes it took 12 hours to have the prints come back and the perp would be remanded until that time. Then you'd have to wait for the prosecutor to get their act together and to review all the paperwork. You couldn't consider bail unless the prints came back either positive or negative and then you would have that initial arraignment and the cop could then go home. There are a lot of moving parts, and they moved at a glacial pace.The system often doesn't work 24/7. A lot of this has changed, but some of it was having to wait until 9 am for people to show up to go to work, because it's not a single system. The courts, the jails, and policing all march to their own drummer, and that created a level of inefficiency.So much of the nitty-gritty of what cops actually do is boring, behind-the-scenes stuff: How do we speed up the paperwork? Can we group prisoners together? Can we do some of this at the police station instead of taking it downtown? Is all of this necessary? Can we cooperate with the various prosecutors? There are five different prosecutors in New York City, one for each borough.There's not a great incentive to streamline this. Cops enjoyed the overtime. That's one of the reasons they would make arrests. So during this time, if a cop makes an arrest for drug dealing, that cop is gone and no cop was there to replace him. If it's a minor arrest, there's a good chance in the long run charges will be dropped anyway. And you're taking cops off the street. In that sense, it's lose-lose. But, you have to think, “What's the alternative?”Bob Davin is a fascinating guy. There's a famous picture from 1981 by Martha Cooper of two cops on a subway train. It's graffitied up and they're in their leather jackets and look like cops from the ‘70s. Martha Cooper graciously gave me permission to use the picture, but she said, "You have to indemnify me because I don't have a release form. I don't know who the cops are." I said, "Martha, I do know who the cop is, because he's in my book and he loves the picture.” Bob Davin is the cop on the right.Davin says that things started to get more efficient. They had hub sites in the late ‘80s or ‘90s, so precincts in the north of Manhattan could bring their prisoners there, and you wouldn't have to take a car out of service to go back to Central Booking and deal with traffic. They started collecting prisoners and bringing them en masse on a small school bus, and that would cut into overtime. Then moving to electronic scan fingerprints drastically saves time waiting for those to come back.These improvements were made, but some of them involve collective bargaining with unions, to limit overtime and arrests that are made for the pure purpose of overtime. You want cops making arrests for the right reason and not simply to make money. But boy, there was a lot of money made in arrests.In 1991, you have the infamous Crown Heights riot in Brooklyn. Racial tensions kick off. It's a nightmare for the mayor, there's this sense that he has lost control. The following year, you have this infamous police protest at City Hall where it becomes clear the relationship between the cops and the mayor has totally evaporated. How does all that play into the mayoral race between Dinkins and Giuliani?It was unintentional, but a lot of the blame for Crown Heights falls on the police department. The part of the story that is better known is that there was a procession for a Hasidic rabbi that was led by a police car. He would go to his wife's grave, and he got a little three-car motorcade. At some point, the police look at this and go "Why are we doing this? We're going to change it." The man who made the deal said ‘I"m retiring in a couple weeks, can we just leave it till then? Because I gave him my word." They're like, "Alright, whatever."This motor car procession is then involved in a car crash, and a young child named Gavin Cato is killed, and another girl is severely injured. The volunteer, Jewish-run ambulance shows up and decides they don't have the equipment: they call for a professional city ambulance. Once that ambulance is on the way, they take the mildly-injured Jewish people to the hospital. The rumor starts that the Jewish ambulance abandoned the black children to die.This isn't the first incident. There's long been strife over property and who the landlord is. But this was the spark that set off riots. A young Jewish man was randomly attacked on the street and was killed.As an aside, he also shouldn't have died, but at the hospital they missed internal bleeding.Meanwhile, the police department has no real leadership at the time. One chief is going to retire, another is on vacation, a third doesn't know what he's doing, and basically everyone is afraid to do anything. So police do nothing. They pull back, and you have three days of very anti-Semitic riots. Crowds chanting "Kill the Jews" and marching on the Lubavitch Hasidic Headquarters. Al Sharpton shows up. The riots are blamed on Dinkins, which is partly fair, but a lot of that's on the NYPD. Finally, the mayor and the police commissioner go to see what's going on and they get attacked. It's the only time in New York City history that there's ever been an emergency call from the police commissioner's car. People are throwing rocks at it.It took three days to realise this, but that's when they say “We have to do something here,” and they gather a group of officers who later become many of Bratton's main chiefs at the time [Bill Bratton was Commissioner of the NYPD from 1994-1996, under Giuliani]: Mike Julian, Louis Anemone, Ray Kelly, and [John] Timoney. They end the unrest in a day. They allow people to march, they get the police department to set rules. It still goes on for a bit, but no one gets hurt after that, and that's it.It was a huge, national story at the time, but a lot of the details were not covered. Reporters were taken from their car and beaten and stripped. The significance was downplayed at the time, especially by the New York Times, I would say.That's followed by the Washington Heights riots, which is a different story. A drug dealer was shot and killed by cops. There were rumors, which were proven to be false, that he was executed and unarmed. Then there were three days of rioting there. It wasn't quite as severe, but 53 cops were hurt, 120 stores were set on fire, and Mayor Dinkins paid for the victim's family to go to the Dominican Republic for the funeral. The police perspective again was, “You're picking the wrong side here.”Then there's the so-called Police Riot at City Hall. Nominally, it was about the CCRB, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and setting up an accountability mechanism to control cops. But really it was just an anti-Dinkins protest. It was drunken and unruly. The cops stormed the steps of City Hall. I have the account of one of the cops who was on the top of those steps looking at this mob of cops storming to him, and he's getting worried he's going to be killed in a crush. There were racist chants from off-duty cops in the crowd. It did not reflect well on police officers. But it showed this hatred of David Dinkins, who was seen as siding with criminals and being anti-police. The irony is that Dinkins is the one who ends up hiring all the cops that Giuliani gets credit for.In the “Safe Streets, Safe City” program?Yes. That was because a white tourist, Brian Watkins, was killed in a subway station protecting his parents who were getting robbed. That led to the famous headline [in the New York Post] of “Dave, do something! Crime-ravaged city cries out for help.” He, with City Council President Peter Vallone, Sr., drafted and pushed through this massive hiring of police officers, “Safe Streets, Safe City.”The hiring wasn't fast-tracked. It might be because Dinkins's people didn't really want more cops. But it was a Dinkins push that got a massive hiring of cops. When the first huge class of police officers graduated, Bill Bratton was there and not David Dinkins.Some interviewees in your book talk about how there's physically not enough room in the police academies at this time, so they have to run classes 24/7. You cycle cohorts in and out of the same classroom, because there are too many new cops for the facilities.You have thousands of cops going through it at once. Everyone describes it as quite a chaotic scene. But it would have been hard to do what the NYPD did without those cops. Ray Kelly, who was police commissioner under Dinkins at the end [from 1992 to 1994] before he became police commissioner for 12 years under Bloomberg [from 2002 to 2013] probably could have done something with those cops too, but he never had the chance, because the mayoral leadership at the time was much more limiting in what they wanted cops to do.Crime starts declining slowly in the first few years of the ‘90s under Dinkins, and then in ‘93 Giuliani wins a squeaker of a mayoral election against Dinkins.One of the major issues was the then-notorious “squeegee men” of New York City. These were guys who would go to cars stopped at bridges and tunnel entrances and would rub a squeegee over the windshield asking for money. It was unpleasant, intimidating, and unwanted, and it was seen as one of those things that were just inevitable. Like graffiti on the subway in the ‘80s. Nothing we can do about it because these poor people don't have jobs or housing or whatever.The irony is that Bratton and Giuliani were happy to take credit for that, and it was an issue in the mayoral campaign, but it was solved under David Dinkins and Ray Kelly and Mike Julian with the help of George Kelling [who, with James Wilson, came up with broken windows theory]. But they never got credit for it. One wonders if, had they done that just a few months earlier, it would have shifted the entire campaign and we'd have a different course of history in New York City.It's a great example of a couple of things that several people in your book talk about. One is that disorder is often caused by a very small set of individuals. There's only like 70 squeegee men, yet everybody sees them, because they're posted up at the main tunnel and bridge entrances to Manhattan. And getting them off the streets solves the problem entirely.Another emphasis in the book is how perceptions of crime are central. You quote Jack Maple, the father of Compstat, as saying, “A murder on the subway counts as a multiple murder up on the street, because everybody feels like that's their subway.” The particular locations of crimes really affect public perception.Absolutely. Perception is reality for a lot of these things, because most people aren't victimized by crime. But when people perceive that no one is in control they feel less safe. It's not that this perception is false, it just might not be directly related to an actual criminal act.The other thing I try to show is that it's not just saying, “We've got to get rid of squeegee men. How do you do it?” They had tried before, but this is why you need smart cops and good leadership, because it's a problem-solving technique, and the way to get rid of graffiti is different to the way you get rid of squeegee men.This book is in opposition to those who just say, “We can't police our way out of this problem.” No, we can. We can't police our way out of every problem. But if you define the problem as, we don't want people at intersections with squeegees, of course we can police our way out of the problem, using legal constitutional tools. You need the political will. And then the hard work starts, because you have to figure out how to actually do it.Will you describe how they tackle the squeegee men problem?Mike Julian was behind it. They hired George Kelling, who's known for broken windows. They said, “These people are here to make money. So to just go there and make a few arrests isn't going to solve the problem.” First of all, he had to figure out what legal authority [to use], and he used Traffic Reg 44 [which prohibits pedestrians from soliciting vehicle occupants]. He talked to Norm Siegel of the NYCLU [New York Civil Liberties Union] about this, who did not want this crackdown to happen. But Norman said, “Okay, this is the law, I can't fight that one. You're doing it legally. It's all in the books.” And So that took away that opposition.But the relentless part of it is key. First they filmed people. Then, when it came to enforcement, they warned people. Then they cited people, and anybody that was left they arrested. They did not have to arrest many people, because the key is they did this every four hours. It was that that changed behavior, because even a simple arrest isn't going to necessarily deter someone if it's a productive way to make money. But being out there every four hours for a couple of weeks or months was enough to get people to do something else. What that something else is, we still don't know, but we solved the squeegee problem.So in 93, Giuliani is elected by something like 50,000 votes overall. Just as an aside, in Prince of the City, Fred Siegel describes something I had no idea about. There's a Puerto Rican Democratic Councilman who flips and supports Giuliani. Mayor Eric Adams, who at the time was the head of a nonprofit for black men in law enforcement, calls him a race traitor for doing that and for being married to a white woman. There was a remarkable level of racial vitriol in that race that I totally missed.10 years ago when I started this, I asked if I could interview then-Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams, and he said yes, and the interview kept getting rescheduled, and I said, “Eh, I don't need him.” It's a regret of mine. I should have pursued that, but coulda, woulda, shoulda.Giuliani is elected, and he campaigns very explicitly on a reducing crime and disorder platform. And he hires Bill Bratton. Tell me about Bratton coming on board as NYPD commissioner.Bratton grew up in Boston, was a police officer there, became head of the New York City Transit Police when that was a separate police department. Right before he becomes NYPD Commissioner, he's back in Boston, as the Chief of Police there, and there is a movement among certain people to get Bratton the NYC job. They succeed in that, and Bratton is a very confident man. He very much took a broken windows approach and said, “We are going to focus on crime.” He has a right-hand man by the name of Jack Maple who he knows from the Transit Police. Maple is just a lieutenant in transit, and Bratton makes him the de facto number two man in the police department.Jack Maple passed away in 2001 and I didn't know what I was going to do, because it's hard to interview a man who's no longer alive. Chris Mitchell co-wrote Jack Maple's autobiography called Crime Fighter and he graciously gave me all the micro-cassettes of the original interviews he conducted with Maple around 1998. Everyone has a Jack Maple story. He's probably the most important character in Back from the Brink.Jack Maple comes in, no one really knows who he is, no one respects him because he was just a lieutenant in Transit. He goes around and asks a basic question — this is 1994 — he says, “How many people were shot in New York City in 1993?” And nobody knows. That is the state of crime-fighting in New York City before this era. There might have been 7,000 people shot in New York City in 1990 and we just don't know, even to this day.One citation from your book: in 1993, an average of 16 people were shot every day. Which is just remarkable.And remember, shootings have been declining for two or three years before that! But nobody knew, because they weren't keeping track of shootings, because it's not one of the FBI Uniform Crime Report [which tracks crime data nationally] index crimes. But wouldn't you be curious? It took Jack Maple to be curious, so he made people count, and it was findable, but you had to go through every aggravated assault and see if a gun was involved. You had to go through every murder from the previous year and see if it was a shooting. He did this. So we only have shooting data in New York City going back to 1993. It's just a simple process of caring.The super-short version of Back from the Brink is it was a change in mission statement: “We're going to care about crime.” Because they hadn't before. They cared about corruption, racial unrest, brutality, and scandal. They cared about the clearance rate for robbery a bit. You were supposed to make three arrests for every ten robberies. It didn't matter so much that you were stopping a pattern or arresting the right person, as long as you had three arrests for every ten reported crimes, that was fine.This is a story about people who cared. They're from this city — Bratton wasn't, but most of the rest are. They understood the trauma of violence and the fact that people with families were afraid to go outside, and nobody in the power structure seemed to care. So they made the NYPD care about this. Suddenly, the mid-level police executives, the precinct commanders, had to care. and the meetings weren't about keeping overtime down, instead they were about ”What are you doing to stop this shooting?”Tell listeners a little bit more about Jack Maple, because he's a remarkable character, and folks may not know what a kook he was.I think he was a little less kooky than he liked to present. His public persona was wearing a snazzy cat and spats and dressing like a fictional cartoon detective from his own mind, but he's a working-class guy from Queens who becomes a transit cop.When Bratton takes over, he writes a letter up the chain of command saying this is what we should do. Bratton read it and said, “This guy is smart.” Listening to 80 hours of Jack Maple, everyone correctly says he was a smart guy, but he had a very working-class demeanor and took to the elite lifestyle. He loved hanging out and getting fancy drinks at the Plaza Hotel. He was the idea man of the NYPD. Everyone has a Jack Maple imitation. “You're talking to the Jackster,” he'd say. He had smart people working under him who were supportive of this. But it was very much trying to figure out as they went along, because the city doesn't stop nor does it sleep.He was a bulls***er, but he's the one who came up with the basic outline of the strategy of crime reduction in New York City. He famously wrote it on a napkin at Elaine's, and it said, “First, we need to gather accurate and timely intelligence.” And that was, in essence, CompStat. “Then, we need to deploy our cops to where they need to be.” That was a big thing. He found out that cops weren't working: specialized units weren't working weekends and nights when the actual crime was happening. They had their excuses, but basically they wanted a cushy schedule. He changed that. Then, of course, you have to figure out what you're doing, what the effective tactics are. Then, constant follow up and assessment.You can't give up. You can't say “Problem solved.” A lot of people say it wasn't so much if your plan didn't work, you just needed a Plan B. It was the idea that throwing your hands in the air and saying, “What are you going to do?” that became notoriously unacceptable under Chief Anemone's stern demeanor at CompStat. These were not pleasant meetings. Those are the meetings that both propagated policies that work and held officers accountable. There was some humiliation going on, so CompStat was feared.Lots of folks hear CompStat and think about better tracking of crime locations and incidents. But as you flesh out, the meat on the bones of CompStat was this relentless follow-up. You'd have these weekly meetings early in the morning with all the precinct heads. There were relentless asks from the bosses, “What's going on in your district or in your precinct? Can you explain why this is happening? What are you doing to get these numbers down?” And follow-ups the following week or month. It was constant.CompStat is often thought of as high-tech computer stuff. It wasn't. There was nothing that couldn't have been done with old overhead projectors. It's just that no one had done it before. Billy Gorta says it's a glorified accountability system at a time when nobody knew anything about computers. Everyone now has access to crime maps on a computer. It was about actually gathering accurate, timely data.Bratton was very concerned that these numbers had to be right. It was getting everyone in the same room and saying, “This is what our focus is going to be now.” And getting people to care about crime victims, especially when those crime victims might be unsympathetic because of their demeanor, criminal activity, or a long arrest record. “We're going to care about every shooting, we're going to care about every murder.”Part of it was cracking down on illegal guns. There were hundreds of tactics. The federal prosecutors also played a key role. It was getting this cooperation. Once it started working and Giuliani made it a major part of claiming success as mayor, suddenly everyone wanted to be part of this, and you had other city agencies trying to figure it out. So it was a very positive feedback loop, once it was seen as a success.When Bratton came on the job, he said, “I'm going to bring down crime 15%.” No police commissioner had ever said that before. In the history of policing before 1994, no police commissioner ever promised a double-digit reduction in crime or even talked about it. People said “That's crazy.” It was done, and then year after year. That's the type of confidence that they had. They were surprised it worked as well as it did, but they all had the sense that there's a new captain on this ship, and we're trying new things. It was an age of ideas and experiment.And it was a very short time.That's the other thing that surprised me. Giuliani fired Bratton in the middle of ‘96.It's remarkable. Bratton comes in ‘94, and August 1994 is where you see crime drop off a cliff. You have this massive beginning of the reduction that continues.That inflection point is important for historical knowledge. I don't address alternatives that other people have proposed [to explain the fall in crime] — For example, the reduction in lead [in gasoline, paint, and water pipes] or legalized abortion with Roe v. Wade [proposed by Stephen Dubner].Reasonable people can differ. Back from the Brink focuses on the police part of the equation. Today, almost nobody, except for a few academics, says that police had nothing to do with the crime drop. That August inflection is key, because there is nothing in a lagged time analysis going back 20 years that is going to say that is the magic month where things happened. Yet if you look at what happened in CompStat, that's the month they started getting individual officer data, and noticing that most cops made zero arrests, and said, “Let's get them in the game as well.” And that seemed to be the key; that's when crime fell off the table. The meetings started in April, I believe, but August is really when the massive crime drop began.To your point about the confidence that crime could be driven down double digits year over year, there's a great quote you have from Jack Maple, where he says to a fellow cop, “This is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. As long as we have absolute control, we can absolutely drive this number into the floor.”One detail I enjoyed was that Jack Maple, when he was a transit cop, would camp out under a big refrigerator box with little holes cut out for eyes and sit on the subway platform waiting for crooks.For people who are interested in Jack Maple, it is worth reading his autobiography, Crime Fighter. Mike Daly wrote New York's Finest, which uses the same tapes that I had access to, and he is much more focused on that. He's actually the godfather of Jack Maple's son, who is currently a New York City police officer. But Maple and co were confident, and it turned out they were right.As well as having changes in tactics and approach and accountability across the NYPD, you also have a series of specific location cleanups. You have a specific initiative focused on the Port Authority, which is a cesspool at the time, an initiative in Times Square, the Bryant Park cleanup, and then Giuliani also focuses on organized crime on the Fulton Fish Market, and this open-air market in Harlem.I was struck that there was both this general accountability push in the NYPD through CompStat, and a relentless focus on cleaning up individual places that were hubs of disorder.I'm not certain the crime drop would have happened without reclamation of public spaces and business improvement districts. Bryant Park's a fascinating story because Dan Biederman, who heads the Corporation, said, “People just thought it was like a lost cause, this park can't be saved. The city is in a spiral of decline.” He uses Jane Jacobs' “eyes on the street” theory and then George Kelling and James Q. Wilson's broken windows theory. The park has money — not city money, but from local property owners — and it reopens in 1991 to great acclaim and is still a fabulous place to be. It showed for the first time that public space was worth saving and could be saved. New York City at the time needed that lesson. It's interesting that today, Bryant Park has no permanent police presence and less crime. Back in the ‘80s, Bryant Park had an active police presence and a lot more crime.The first class I ever taught when I started at John Jay College in 2004, I was talking about broken windows. A student in the class named Jeff Marshall, who is in my book, told me about Operation Alternatives at the Port Authority. He had been a Port Authority police officer at the time, and I had not heard of this. People are just unaware of this part of history. It very much has lessons for today, because in policing often there's nothing new under the sun. It's just repackaged, dusted off, and done again. The issue was, how do we make the Port Authority safe for passengers? How do we both help and get rid of people living in the bus terminal? It's a semi-public space, so it makes it difficult. There was a social services element about it, that was Operational Alternatives. A lot of people took advantage of that and got help. But the flip side was, you don't have to take services, but you can't stay here.I interviewed the manager of the bus terminal. He was so proud of what he did. He's a bureaucrat, a high-ranking one, but a port authority manager. He came from the George Washington Bridge, which he loved. And he wonders, what the hell am I going to do with this bus terminal? But the Port Authority cared, because they're a huge organization and that's the only thing with their name on it — They also control JFK Airport and bridges and tunnels and all the airports, but people call the bus terminal Port Authority.They gave him almost unlimited money and power and said, “Fix it please, do what you've got to do,” and he did. It was environmental design, giving police overtime so they'd be part of this, a big part of it was having a social service element so it wasn't just kicking people out with nowhere to go.Some of it was also setting up rules. This also helped Bratton in the subway, because this happened at the same time. The court ruled that you can enforce certain rules in the semi-public spaces. It was not clear until this moment whether it was constitutional or not. To be specific, you have a constitutional right to beg on the street, but you do not have a constitutional right to beg on the subway. That came down to a court decision. Had that not happened, I don't know if in the long run the crime drop would have happened.That court decision comes down to the specific point that it's not a free-speech right on the subway to panhandle, because people can't leave, because you've got them trapped in that space.You can't cross the street to get away from it. But it also recognized that it wasn't pure begging, that there was a gray area between aggressive begging and extortion and robbery.You note that in the early 1990s, one-third of subway commuters said they consciously avoided certain stations because of safety, and two thirds felt coerced to give money by aggressive panhandling.The folks in your book talk a lot about the 80/20 rule applying all over the place. That something like 20% of the people you catch are committing 80% of the crimes.There's a similar dynamic that you talk about on the subways, both in the book and in your commentary over the past couple years about disorder in New York. You say approximately 2,000 people with serious mental illness are at risk for street homelessness, and these people cycle through the cities, streets, subways, jails, and hospitals.What lessons from the ‘90s can be applied today for both helping those people and stopping them being a threat to others?Before the ‘80s and Reagan budget cuts there had been a psychiatric system that could help people. That largely got defunded. [Deinstitutionalization began in New York State earlier, in the 1960s.] We did not solve the problem of mental health or homelessness in the ‘90s, but we solved the problem of behavior. George Kelling [of broken windows theory] emphasized this repeatedly, and people would ignore it. We are not criminalizing homelessness or poverty. We're focusing on behavior that we are trying to change. People who willfully ignore that distinction almost assume that poor people are naturally disorderly or criminal, or that all homeless people are twitching and threatening other people. Even people with mental illness can behave in a public space.Times have changed a bit. I think there are different drugs now that make things arguably a bit worse. I am not a mental health expert, but we do need more involuntary commitment, not just for our sake, but for theirs, people who need help. I pass people daily, often the same person, basically decomposing on a subway stop in the cold. They are offered help by social services, and they say no. They should not be allowed to make that choice because they're literally dying on the street in front of us. Basic humanity demands that we be a little more aggressive in forcing people who are not making rational decisions, because now you have to be an imminent threat to yourself or others. That standard does need to change. But there also need to be mental health beds available for people in this condition.I don't know what the solution is to homelessness or mental health. But I do know the solution to public disorder on the subway and that's, regardless of your mental state or housing status, enforcing legal, constitutional rules, policing behavior. It does not involve locking everybody up. It involves drawing the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It's amazing how much people will comply with those rules.That presents the idea that someone's in charge, it's not a free-for-all. You get that virtuous loop, which New York had achieved in 2014–2016, when crime was at an all-time low in the city. Then the politicians decided public order wasn't worth preserving anymore. These are political choices.I had a similar version of this conversation with a friend who was shocked that there were zero murders on the subway in 2017 and that that number was stable: you had one or two a year for several years in the mid-2010s.It was five or fewer a year from 1997 to 2019, and often one or two. Then you have zero in 2017. There were [ten in 2022]. It coincides perfectly with an order from [Mayor] de Blasio's office and the homeless czar [Director of Homeless Services Steven] Banks [which] told police to stop enforcing subway rules against loitering. The subways became — once again — a de facto homeless shelter. Getting rule-violating homeless people out of the subway in the late ‘80s was such a difficult and major accomplishment at the time, and to be fair it's not as bad as it was.The alternative was that homeless outreach was supposed to offer people services. When they decline, which 95% of people do, you're to leave them be. I would argue again, I don't think that's a more humane stance to take. But it's not just about them, it's about subway riders.There's one story that I think was relevant for you to tell. You were attacked this fall on a subway platform by a guy threatening to kill you. It turns out he's had a number of run-ins with the criminal justice system. Can you tell us where that guy is now?I believe he's in prison now. The only reason I know who it is is because I said, one day I'm going to see his picture in the New York Post because he's going to hurt somebody. Am I 100 percent certain it's Michael Blount who attacked me? No, but I'm willing to call him out by name because I believe it is. He was out of prison for raping a child, and he slashed his ex-girlfriend and pushed her on the subway tracks. And then was on the lam for a while. I look at him and the shape of his face, his height, age, build, complexion, and I go, that's got to be him.I wasn't hurt, but he gave me a sucker punch trying to knock me out and then chased me a bit threatening to kill me, and I believe he wanted to. It's the only time I ever was confronted by a person who I really believe wanted to kill me, and this includes policing in the Eastern District in Baltimore. It was an attempted misdemeanor assault in the long run. But I knew it wasn't about me. It was him. I assume he's going to stay in prison longer for what he did to his ex-girlfriend. But I never thought it would happen to me. I was lucky the punch didn't connect.Peter Moskos's new book is Back from the Brink, Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop.My reading listEssays:Johnny Hirschauer's reporting, including “A Failed 'Solution' to 'America's Mental Health Crisis',“ “Return to the Roots,” and “The Last Institutions.” “Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety,” by George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. ​“It's Time to Talk About America's Disorder Problem,” Charles Lehman.Books:Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, Jill Leovy.​Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life, Fred Siegel.​ Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District, Peter Moskos.​Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, Sam Quinones.​Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub

PREVIEW: ENGINEERING: Conversation with colleague Bob Zimmerman re a solar sail that was not deploying nominally until the miraculous NASA engineers applied their genius once more. More space engineering successes later this week. 1941

Whether one calls it Procedural Fidelity, Treatment Integrity, or any combination of those, and/or many other related terms, this is an important and often overlooked issue when it comes to implementing behavior analytic interventions. Think about it for a minute: as practitioners, we spend all this time obsessing about what assessment strategy to use and what interventions we think are the best fit for the individuals we serve. As you'll come to find out, we spend comparatively less time on ensuring that the programs we write are being implemented correctly. So it is with this in mind that I'm grateful that Dr. Claire St. Peter returned to the podcast to discuss her research in this area of procedural Fidelity. In this episode, we talk about why she prefers the term "Procedural Fidelity," the types of behavior plans that are difficult for teachers to implement, the different types of procedural errors one can make, the impact these different errors have, what types of intervention plans are more vs. less resistant to reductions in procedural fidelity, why this is a topic that practitioners should care about, whether to measure procedural fidelity via rate or percent correct, and regardless of method, how behavior analysts can start tracking procedural fidelity right away. We also talk about Claire's research in this area, going back to the work she did as part of her dissertation. We also talk about the state of reporting procedural fidelity in the behavior-analytic research literature. Lastly, I think it's important to point out that this topic is replete with ethical implications, which is why I titled this episode the way I did. When I listened to the show, I kept track of the various code elements that were indirectly outlined or addressed. For the mentors in the audience, this might be a fun exercise to do with your supervisees. Here are the resources discussed in this episode: Session 269/193: Claire's episode on Constructional Approaches to behavioral intervention. A link to Claire's multiple BOP appearances. Claire's lab website. On Claire's site, a section where you can download examples of Procedural Fidelity checklists and related resources. Bergmann et al., (2023). A detailed examination of reporting procedural fidelity in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Han et al., (2022). Trends in Reporting Procedural Integrity: A Comparison. Jones et al., (2023). Effects of Commission and Omission Errors on the Efficacy of Noncontingent Reinforcement. Jones and St. Peter (2022). Nominally acceptable integrity failures negatively affect interventions involving intermittent reinforcement. St. Peter et al. (2023). On a persisting curious double standard in behavior analysis: Behavioral scholars' perspectives on procedural fidelity. Kranak and Falligant (2023). Treatment Integrity, Commission Errors, and Reinstatement: A Primer. Campbell and Skinner (2008). Combining Explicit Timing with an Interdependent Group Contingency Program to Decrease Transition Times. This episode was brought to you with support from: The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here! How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join. The New England Center for Children! In previous podcasts, you've heard me talk about NECC's career opportunities, but later in this episode, you'll hear about their Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia, or ACE for short. It's an evidence-based teaching technology for educators and BCBAs who teach learners with autism and related disabilities. If you must know more right now however, you can go to acenecc.org. HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away. ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: My experience at the controversial Manifest 2024, published by Maniano on June 17, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. My experience at the recently controversial conference/festival on prediction markets Background I recently attended the triple whammy of rationalist-adjacent events of LessOnline, Summer Camp, and Manifest 2024. For the most part I had a really great time, and had more interesting conversations than I can count. The overlap between the attendees of each event was significant, and the topics discussed were pretty similar. The average attendee for these events is very smart, well-read, and most likely working in tech, consulting, or finance. People were extremely friendly, and in general the space initially felt like a high-trust environment approaching that of an average EAGlobal conference (which also has overlap with the rational-ish communities, especially when it comes to AI risks), even if the number of EA people there was fairly low-the events were very rationalist-coded. Nominally, Manifest was about prediction markets. However, the organizers had selected for multiple quite controversial speakers and presenters, who in turn attracted a significant number of attendees who were primarily interested in these controversial topics, most prominent of which was eugenics. This human biodiversity (HBD) or "scientific racism" curious crowd engaged in a tiring game of carefully trying the waters with new people they interacted with, trying to gauge both how receptive their conversation partner is to racially incendiary topics and to which degree they are "one of us". The ever-changing landscape of euphemisms for I-am-kinda-racist-but-in-a-high-IQ-way have seemed to converge to a stated interest in "demographics"-or in less sophisticated cases the use of edgy words like "based", "fag", or "retarded" is more than enough to do the trick. If someone asks you what you think of Bukele, you can already guess where he wants to steer the conversation to. The Guardian article I While I was drafting this post, The Guardian released an article on Lightcone, who hosted these events at Lighthaven, a venue that a certain lawsuit claims was partially bought with FTX money (which Oliver Habryka from Lightcone denies). The article detailed some of the scientific racism special guests these past three events had. In the past, The Guardian has released a couple of articles on EA that were a bit hit-piece-y, or tried to connect nasty things that are not really connected to EA at all to EA, framing them as representative of the entire movement. Sometimes the things presented were relevant to other loosely EA-connected communities, or some of the people profiled had tried to interact with the EA community at some point (like in the case of the Collinses, who explicitly do not identify as EA despite what The Guardian says. Collinses attempt to present their case for pro-natalism on the EA Forum was met mostly with downvotes), but a lot of the time the things presented were non-central at best. Despite this, this article doesn't really feel like a hit-piece to me. Some of the things in it I might object to (describing Robin Hanson as misogynistic in particular registers a bit unfair to me, even if he has written some things in bad taste), but for the most part I agree with how it describes Manifest. What is up with all the racists? II The article names some people who are quite connected to eugenics, HBD, or are otherwise highly controversial. They missed quite a few people[1], including a researcher who has widely collaborated with the extreme figure Emil O. W. Kirkegaard, the personal assistant of the anti-democracy, anti-equality figure Curtis Yarvin, and the highly controversial rationalist Michael Vassar, who has been described as "a cult leader" involved in some people ...

Nominally this episode is about Pokemon Concierge, but in practice this is Jake and Josh have several different conversations with pit stops at the real topic throughoutWebsite: heyjakeandjosh.comPatreon: patreon.com/heyjakeandjosh Email: PWTpodcast@gmail.comTwitter: @PWTpodcast

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Agreeing With Stalin in Ways That Exhibit Generally Rationalist Principles, published by Zack M Davis on March 3, 2024 on LessWrong. It was not the sight of Mitchum that made him sit still in horror. It was the realization that there was no one he could call to expose this thing and stop it - no superior anywhere on the line, from Colorado to Omaha to New York. They were in on it, all of them, they were doing the same, they had given Mitchum the lead and the method. It was Dave Mitchum who now belonged on this railroad and he, Bill Brent, who did not. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Quickly recapping my Whole Dumb Story so far: ever since puberty, I've had this obsessive sexual fantasy about being magically transformed into a woman, which got contextualized by these life-changing Sequences of blog posts by Eliezer Yudkowsky that taught me (amongst many other things) how fundamentally disconnected from reality my fantasy was. So it came as a huge surprise when, around 2016, the "rationalist" community that had formed around the Sequences seemingly unanimously decided that guys like me might actually be women in some unspecified metaphysical sense. A couple years later, having strenuously argued against the popular misconception that the matter could be resolved by simply redefining the word woman (on the grounds that you can define the word any way you like), I flipped out when Yudkowsky prevaricated about how his own philosophy of language says that you can't define a word any way you like, prompting me to join with allies to persuade him to clarify. When that failed, my attempts to cope with the "rationalists" being fake led to a series of small misadventures culminating in Yudkowsky eventually clarifying the philosophy-of-language issue after I ran out of patience and yelled at him over email. Really, that should have been the end of the story - with a relatively happy ending, too: that it's possible to correct straightforward philosophical errors, at the cost of almost two years of desperate effort by someone with Something to Protect. That wasn't the end of the story, which does not have such a relatively happy ending. The New York Times's Other Shoe Drops (February 2021) On 13 February 2021, "Silicon Valley's Safe Space", the anticipated New York Times piece on Slate Star Codex, came out. It was ... pretty lame? (Just lame, not a masterfully vicious hit piece.) Cade Metz did a mediocre job of explaining what our robot cult is about, while pushing hard on the subtext to make us look racist and sexist, occasionally resorting to odd constructions that were surprising to read from someone who had been a professional writer for decades. ("It was nominally a blog", Metz wrote of Slate Star Codex. "Nominally"?) The article's claim that Alexander "wrote in a wordy, often roundabout way that left many wondering what he really believed" seemed more like a critique of the many's reading comprehension than of Alexander's writing. Although that poor reading comprehension may have served a protective function for Scott. A mob that attacks over things that look bad when quoted out of context can't attack you over the meaning of "wordy, often roundabout" text that they can't read. The Times article included this sleazy guilt-by-association attempt: In one post, [Alexander] aligned himself with Charles Murray, who proposed a link between race and I.Q. in "The Bell Curve." In another, he pointed out that Mr. Murray believes Black people "are genetically less intelligent than white people."[1] But Alexander only "aligned himself with Murray" in "Three Great Articles On Poverty, And Why I Disagree With All Of Them" in the context of a simplified taxonomy of views on the etiology of poverty. This doesn't imply agreement with Murray's views on heredity! (A couple of years earlier, Alexand...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Agreeing With Stalin in Ways That Exhibit Generally Rationalist Principles, published by Zack M Davis on March 3, 2024 on LessWrong. It was not the sight of Mitchum that made him sit still in horror. It was the realization that there was no one he could call to expose this thing and stop it - no superior anywhere on the line, from Colorado to Omaha to New York. They were in on it, all of them, they were doing the same, they had given Mitchum the lead and the method. It was Dave Mitchum who now belonged on this railroad and he, Bill Brent, who did not. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Quickly recapping my Whole Dumb Story so far: ever since puberty, I've had this obsessive sexual fantasy about being magically transformed into a woman, which got contextualized by these life-changing Sequences of blog posts by Eliezer Yudkowsky that taught me (amongst many other things) how fundamentally disconnected from reality my fantasy was. So it came as a huge surprise when, around 2016, the "rationalist" community that had formed around the Sequences seemingly unanimously decided that guys like me might actually be women in some unspecified metaphysical sense. A couple years later, having strenuously argued against the popular misconception that the matter could be resolved by simply redefining the word woman (on the grounds that you can define the word any way you like), I flipped out when Yudkowsky prevaricated about how his own philosophy of language says that you can't define a word any way you like, prompting me to join with allies to persuade him to clarify. When that failed, my attempts to cope with the "rationalists" being fake led to a series of small misadventures culminating in Yudkowsky eventually clarifying the philosophy-of-language issue after I ran out of patience and yelled at him over email. Really, that should have been the end of the story - with a relatively happy ending, too: that it's possible to correct straightforward philosophical errors, at the cost of almost two years of desperate effort by someone with Something to Protect. That wasn't the end of the story, which does not have such a relatively happy ending. The New York Times's Other Shoe Drops (February 2021) On 13 February 2021, "Silicon Valley's Safe Space", the anticipated New York Times piece on Slate Star Codex, came out. It was ... pretty lame? (Just lame, not a masterfully vicious hit piece.) Cade Metz did a mediocre job of explaining what our robot cult is about, while pushing hard on the subtext to make us look racist and sexist, occasionally resorting to odd constructions that were surprising to read from someone who had been a professional writer for decades. ("It was nominally a blog", Metz wrote of Slate Star Codex. "Nominally"?) The article's claim that Alexander "wrote in a wordy, often roundabout way that left many wondering what he really believed" seemed more like a critique of the many's reading comprehension than of Alexander's writing. Although that poor reading comprehension may have served a protective function for Scott. A mob that attacks over things that look bad when quoted out of context can't attack you over the meaning of "wordy, often roundabout" text that they can't read. The Times article included this sleazy guilt-by-association attempt: In one post, [Alexander] aligned himself with Charles Murray, who proposed a link between race and I.Q. in "The Bell Curve." In another, he pointed out that Mr. Murray believes Black people "are genetically less intelligent than white people."[1] But Alexander only "aligned himself with Murray" in "Three Great Articles On Poverty, And Why I Disagree With All Of Them" in the context of a simplified taxonomy of views on the etiology of poverty. This doesn't imply agreement with Murray's views on heredity! (A couple of years earlier, Alexand...

A fairly epic episode covering health tracking and self-quantization. Remember: data doesn't have to hurt.

 Nominally, this is a traditional song about abandoned love, but back in the 1960s when she reworked it, the late Jean Ritchie wrote new lyrics that went well beyond that to the larger theme of loss in general. Because of those deeper expressions, The Flood has often thought of this tune in times of our darkest grief, and we've even sung it at more than one graveside. So, it's only natural for us to be thinking of it again these days with death of our own dear companion, Doug Chaffin. He absolutely loved playing this song. So, here's to you, Doug.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the North African privateers who, until their demise in the nineteenth century, were a source of great pride and wealth in their home ports, where they sold the people and goods they'd seized from Christian European ships and coastal towns. Nominally, these corsairs were from Algiers, Tunis or Tripoli, outreaches of the Ottoman empire, or Salé in neighbouring Morocco, but often their Turkish or Arabic names concealed their European birth. Murad Reis the Younger, for example, who sacked Baltimore in 1631, was the Dutchman Jan Janszoon who also had a base on Lundy in the Bristol Channel. While the European crowns negotiated treaties to try to manage relations with the corsairs, they commonly viewed these sailors as pirates who were barely tolerated and, as soon as France, Britain, Spain and later America developed enough sea power, their ships and bases were destroyed. WithJoanna Nolan Research Associate at SOAS, University of LondonClaire Norton Former Associate Professor of History at St Mary's University, TwickenhamAnd Michael Talbot Associate Professor in the History of the Ottoman Empire and the Modern Middle East at the University of GreenwichProducer: Simon Tillotson Reading list:Robert C. Davis, Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)Peter Earle, Corsairs of Malta and Barbary (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970) Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates (O'Brien Press, 2008)Jacques Heers, The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1450-1580 (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018)Colin Heywood, The Ottoman World: The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1660-1760 (Routledge, 2019)Alan Jamieson, Lords of the Sea: A History of the Barbary Corsairs (Reaktion Books, 2013)Julie Kalman, The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World during the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond (Princeton University Press, 2023)Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Barbary Corsairs (T. Unwin, 1890)Sally Magnusson, The Sealwoman's Gift (A novel - Two Roads, 2018)Philip Mansel, Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean (John Murray, 2010)Nabil Matar, Turks, Moors and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (Columbia University Press, 1999)Nabil Matar, Britain and Barbary, 1589-1689 (University Press of Florida, 2005)Giles Milton, White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves (Hodder and Stoughton, 2004)Claire Norton (ed.), Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other (Routledge, 2017)Claire Norton, ‘Lust, Greed, Torture and Identity: Narrations of Conversion and the Creation of the Early Modern 'Renegade' (Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 29/2, 2009) Daniel Panzac, The Barbary Corsairs: The End of a Legend, 1800-1820 (Brill, 2005)Rafael Sabatini, The Sea Hawk (a novel - Vintage Books, 2011)Adrian Tinniswood, Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the 17th century (Vintage Books, 2010)D. Vitkus (ed.), Piracy, Slavery and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England (Columbia University Press, 2001)J. M. White, Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean (Stanford University Press, 2018)

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the North African privateers who, until their demise in the nineteenth century, were a source of great pride and wealth in their home ports, where they sold the people and goods they'd seized from Christian European ships and coastal towns. Nominally, these corsairs were from Algiers, Tunis or Tripoli, outreaches of the Ottoman empire, or Salé in neighbouring Morocco, but often their Turkish or Arabic names concealed their European birth. Murad Reis the Younger, for example, who sacked Baltimore in 1631, was the Dutchman Jan Janszoon who also had a base on Lundy in the Bristol Channel. While the European crowns negotiated treaties to try to manage relations with the corsairs, they commonly viewed these sailors as pirates who were barely tolerated and, as soon as France, Britain, Spain and later America developed enough sea power, their ships and bases were destroyed. WithJoanna Nolan Research Associate at SOAS, University of LondonClaire Norton Former Associate Professor of History at St Mary's University, TwickenhamAnd Michael Talbot Associate Professor in the History of the Ottoman Empire and the Modern Middle East at the University of GreenwichProducer: Simon Tillotson Reading list:Robert C. Davis, Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)Peter Earle, Corsairs of Malta and Barbary (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970) Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates (O'Brien Press, 2008)Jacques Heers, The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1450-1580 (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018)Colin Heywood, The Ottoman World: The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1660-1760 (Routledge, 2019)Alan Jamieson, Lords of the Sea: A History of the Barbary Corsairs (Reaktion Books, 2013)Julie Kalman, The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World during the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond (Princeton University Press, 2023)Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Barbary Corsairs (T. Unwin, 1890)Sally Magnusson, The Sealwoman's Gift (A novel - Two Roads, 2018)Philip Mansel, Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean (John Murray, 2010)Nabil Matar, Turks, Moors and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (Columbia University Press, 1999)Nabil Matar, Britain and Barbary, 1589-1689 (University Press of Florida, 2005)Giles Milton, White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves (Hodder and Stoughton, 2004)Claire Norton (ed.), Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other (Routledge, 2017)Claire Norton, ‘Lust, Greed, Torture and Identity: Narrations of Conversion and the Creation of the Early Modern 'Renegade' (Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 29/2, 2009) Daniel Panzac, The Barbary Corsairs: The End of a Legend, 1800-1820 (Brill, 2005)Rafael Sabatini, The Sea Hawk (a novel - Vintage Books, 2011)Adrian Tinniswood, Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the 17th century (Vintage Books, 2010)D. Vitkus (ed.), Piracy, Slavery and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England (Columbia University Press, 2001)J. M. White, Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean (Stanford University Press, 2018)

1996 was a solid year for hangout shows about Gen-Xers. Boston Common is about Boyd and Wyleen Pritchett, a brother and sister from Virginia (played by Anthony Clark and Hedy Burress) who move to Boston. It lasted two years and 32 episodes. Wyleen's there to attend college, and Boyd is just driving her there as a favour. The twist is that he stays because he meets Joy Byrnes (played by Traylor Howard) and also randomly gets offered a handyman job at the school. Basically he has nothing else going on. So he moves in with his sister—as in they literally share a one room bachelor apartment. Brynn, Aaron and Barry hit the books for an intense study session to figure out why this show flunked out. Visit our website! thatwasashow.com Follow us on Instagram @thatwasashow Merch: redbubble.com/people/thatwasashow Hosted by: Brynn Byrne @brynnabyrne Aaron Yeger @aaronyeger Andrew “Barry” Helmer @andrewhelmer Podcast logo and artwork by Brian Walker @briguywalker

This episode we start our dive into the reign of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno.  This is going to be a brief overview of her reign so that we can dive more deeply into the individual subjects that come up. For more, check out our podcast blogpost at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-93 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 93: Time to Shake Things Up. Before we get started, a couple of shout-outs.  First to Anticia, for donating on Ko-Fi.com.  Thanks for your kind words and supporting our operations, including our website and this podcast.  And then to Lowbrow78 and to Parp for supporting us on Patreon.  If you want to join them, we have information on our website as well as at the end of every episode. Here we are, at the cusp of the 7th century.  With the death of Hasebe no Ohokimi, aka Sushun Tennou, we are about to jump into one of the most significant reigns to date: that of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou.  I put this right up there with the reign of Waketakiru, aka Yuryaku Tennou, and like that period, we'll need several episodes to get through everything going on here.  In fact, I've been thinking about just how to do this, and I think before we get into it we need to cover the broad strokes and talk about a few things, and then I want to delve into some specifics over the coming episodes. This means we'll cover a lot this episode at a high level.  To start with, we'll talk about the power players of this period, and just who was really running the show—we have three people to pick from based on various interpretations of this era.  And that will have us talking about Shotoku Taishi, and of course Shotoku Taishi's impact vis-à-vis Buddhism, as well as the growth of Buddhism in general.  There is also the general Sinification of the court, which means that we also get to talk about clothing styles and the appearance of a new “17 Article Constitution” as well as the new 12 rank system for court officers.  And then there is everything happening on the mainland.  In 589 the Sui dynasty came to power, followed in 618 by the Tang.  And of course we still have Baekje and Silla going at it, and Yamato just cannot leave well enough alone when it comes to Nimna.  All of that will get covered in even more detail, later.  But don't worry, it isn't all going to be generalities and vague preparations.  We also have a little tidbit for you at the end about earthquakes and the deities that cause them, because *that* is something we can easily cover here. And one more thing:  This is the last reign that we have any documentation for in the Kojiki and the Sendai Kuji Hongi, even though the Kojiki is largely just genealogical information.  That means we are getting close to the end of the “Chronicles”.  We still have a lot of material to get through, though, including assassinations, coups, military expeditions, and even a full blown civil war.  All that to come later, after we get through this period. So let's set the stage, shall we?  This reign is coming at a very tumultuous time.  We've been through several sovereigns or would-be sovereigns in a very short span, starting with Tachibana no Toyohi and then Hasebe, aka Yomei Tennou and Sushun Tennou, not to mention the failed attempt to take the throne early by Hasetsukabe Anahobe and Mononobe no Moriya.  Even Hasebe was killed by his own Oho-omi, Soga no Umako—or at least at Umako's order, if not directly by his own hand.  It's become clear you didn't want to be crossing Umako, and he was the most powerful minister at court at this point.  There wasn't a cabal of Oho-omi and Oho-muraji, there was simply Umako at the top.  However, his rule was not absolute.  He still needed the buy-in of the other ministers, the heads of their own families, as well as the nominal approval of the sovereign and the royal family.  I'm honestly surprised nobody tried to put a dagger in his back, but then again anyone who might try had so far ended up with their successors caught up in probate, and it didn't matter how powerful a position they supposedly occupied. Still, Umako couldn't take the throne himself.  Not even he could get away with that looking like anything more than a power grab.  He had already positioned Soga-descended members of the royal family so that they were in the line of succession, something that really looks like it went against tradition—though how old that tradition was is more than a little sus, as we've mentioned before.  And so, with the death of Hasebe, someone was needed on the throne, but who was available?  The political violence had even extended to some of the heirs, like Prince Hikobito, and it is unclear how many princes were even left at this point. The Chronicles tell us that the ministers therefore turned to Kashikiya Hime, and begged her to take the throne. As a reminder, Kashikiya Hime was the form queen—wife to Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou.  Beyond that, she was a granddaughter of Soga no Iname, making Soga no Umako her maternal uncle.  Her father was Ame Kunioshi Hiraki Hiro Niha, aka Kimmei Tennou.  During the period following Ame Kunioshi's death, she had attempted to put her finger on the scales of the power struggles that occurred, and she seemed to be a person that people listened to and took seriously in her role, though male heirs were at least initially considered before her. And so, when she was first asked to take the throne after Hasebe, she refused, but eventually the court ministers able to convince her.  Upon coming to power she  almost immediately made Prince Umayado the Heir Apparent, or Taishi—the Crown Prince.  Then we are told that, along with Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, she and Soga no Umako, the Oho-omi, ruled the government.  And I hope I don't need to point out how exceedingly strange this wording is.  Technically it isn't unprecedented—in previous reigns we've certainly seen the Crown Prince taking an active role in the government, and the Oho-omi and the Oho-muraji, together, were frequently in positions to advise, counsel, and downright run the government, often skipping over the sovereign altogether.  So nothing here is so far outside the scope, but it is still odd that it was so blatantly stated, and there is good reason to believe that we don't have the whole story. Theories on Kashikiya Hime and her reign vary widely.  Michael Como claims that she was likely a consensus candidate—she was put forward because she was not overly objectionable to any of the other parties involved.  I suspect she had links to both sides of the dispute, so this make some sense, but I also wonder if it doesn't remove her own agency. Speaking of which, there is the possibility that she had very little agency in any of this.  There is the possibility that she was no more than a puppet—a relatively docile sovereign that Soga no Umako, or even Prince Umayado, could control, allowing them to work in the background.  Indeed, one of the things we'll see during this period is the increasing ritualization of the role of the sovereign, to the point that the Oho-omi was a powerful intermediary, receiving missives to the throne and relaying them onward, with ample opportunity to affect just how they were heard.  Often the Chroniclers found ways to deny the true agency of women on the throne, noting them less as sovereigns, and more as regents—often merely keeping the seat warm until an appropriate male heir presented himself and came of age.  That may have been the case at times, but I have a hard time seeing that in Kashikiya Hime.  Maybe when she first married Nunakura that may have been her outlook, but since then she'd seen some things.  She knew how the game worked, and we've seen her actively mentioned supporting one candidate or another, and not always agreeing with Soga no Umako's decisions.  It is possible that this was added later to support her independence in the Chronicles, but I think that the easier answer is that Kashikiya Hime was her own person, and as ruler she was the authority that held sway. Still, there are so many questions, and a lot of those revolve around her choice of successor, Prince Umayado, the Prince of the Horse Stable Door, aka Shotoku Taishi. Shotoku Taishi is one of those legendary figures, somewhere between Yamato Takeru and Abe no Seimei.  So many stories have grown up around this sage prince that it is truly hard to pry fact from fiction, and many wonder if he ever existed at all.  Others suggest that he's an amalgamation of several different historical and legendary figures.  Even by the time the Chronicles were being written his legends had reached cult like status, with numerous Buddhist temples claiming some connection to this founding sage of Japanese Buddhism, however tenuous.  It doesn't stop there, however.   Shotoku Taishi is said to have written one of the earliest national histories, and there are claims that this early history is none other than the Kūjiki, the text that we have in the Sendai Kūji Hongi. Some have speculated that this why that work and the Kojiki both stop here, with the reign of Kashikiya Hime. Of course, in the case of the Kojiki, the real narrative stopped some time ago, with the later reigns containing little more than genealogical lists.  The Sendai Kūji Hongi is a little more interesting. It Is clear that the authors of the Nihon Shoki and the Sendai Kūji Hongi were working from some of the same texts, with possibly one referencing the other, but at the same time there are small differences that suggest different authors with different purposes.  The Nihon Shoki certainly has more details on the official histories, while the Sendai Kūji Hongi contains sections on the genealogical information of the Mononobe and Owari families as well as information on various provincial governors. Personally, I find it highly questionable that the Sendai Kūji Hongi might be written by Shotoku Taishi, but I concede that it, along with the Nihon Shoki, might have both borrowed from an earlier work. Nonetheless, it does stop, and only the Nihon Shoki covers the next couple centuries, though in even greater detail.  We start to see more granular details about many items, though there are still questions. Given all of the swirl around Shotoku Taishi, however, I've had to think about just what tack to take with him, and for now we'll take a look at what the official narrative has to say, and then perhaps add a bit more context.  I'll frequently be referring to him here as Prince Umayado, and we'll focus on him primarily as a prince and a political figure. Given that, there is the question of whether or not Prince Umayado was actually running things. I'm not aware of any tradition that claims he was more than the Crown Prince, and as such a powerful advisor to the throne.  Umako seems more likely as a power behind the throne, but there are certainly clues that Umayado was up there—and of course, in later years, Shotoku Taishi's own shine meant that people were more likely than not to attribute just about anything good from this period to him and his auspices, even if it was just because he suggested it. But that brings us to the question:  Just what happened during this reign that was worth anyone taking credit for?  What happened that we are spending our time talking about it? To start with, the reign was just long.  Kashikiya Hime was taking the throne around 593 and she would reign up until her death in 628.  That was over thirty years, which is a good run for any sovereign, for reasons we've covered before, such as the fact that they are usually coming to the throne when they are older, etc.  Remember, she was probably born in the 530s, possibly 538, and so she took the throne in her late 50s or early 60s and held it until she was about 90 years old. During this period, there was a lot of change going on outside the archipelago as well as inside.  In 589, the Sui dynasty had come to power, uniting the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins.  Their reign officially ended about 618, though that wasn't necessarily a given at the time, and they were certainly a powerhouse as they united the northern and southern dynasties.  The Sui status fell in 618 only because it was replaced by a new dynasty: The Tang dynasty.  This was a dynasty founded by Li Yuan, a cousin of the Sui emperors, with a multi-ethnic background including Han and non-Han parentage, who came from a traditionally Xianbei—or by that time Tuoba—region.  Tang dynasty culture would come to influence all of the cultures on the peninsula and the archipelago, truly becoming the “Middle Country” that various states looked to as a cultural touchstone.  Tang culture spread throughout East Asia. The states on the Korean Peninsula had been absorbing the culture of the riverine courts for some time—honestly ever since the time of the Han commanderies.  As Buddhism percolated through the elite societies of Baekje, Silla, and now Yamato, it was more than just religious transmission.  Sutras had been translated into Sinic characters, and Buddhist learning often went hand-in-hand with texts on a variety of other issues, as there was no formal line drawn between science, philosophy, and religion. And so, as Yamato embraced Buddhism, there were other avenues of studies that also came over the straits, often attributed to the descendants of the Han dynasty, but largely filtered through a Baekje or even Silla lens.  We see this manifest in myriad ways, from the various physical objects left behind in tombs, etc., as well as the clothing, of which we have several indications that the islands were adopting continental practice.  However, we also have passages about the adoption of certain knowledge or technology, as well: everything from philosophy and calendar making to geomancy and even magic and the art of invisibility. And then we see another important development this reign: The first constitution in Japan.  Known as the 17-Article Constitution, it is attributed to none other than Shotoku Taishi himself, making him, in a way, the father of the country.  Granted, the constitution was light on actual details, and more like a collection of moral maxims.  This included things like anti-corruption tenets, suggesting that maybe you shouldn't do things in government just because someone paid or flattered you.  Still, these were not necessarily formative statements.  After all, the Yamato state had customs and traditions, and so these were seen as more guiding principles than the kind of generative formulae that you might find in something like the US Constitution, where they were attempting to deliberately define the legal framework for a brand new nation. Nonetheless, it is seen as the start of a new era for Yamato.  This law may have been loosely worded, but it was, eventually, written down.  It also was quickly followed by a new ranking system.  The kabane system of ranking didn't go away—not even the traditional individual honorifics, like Sukune, although that would have a bit of gap in the record.  The Kabane system remained in use to rank the various families, but then a twelve cap system was instituted to rank individual courtiers.  This was a first.  While certain courtiers certainly had privileges—for example, the heads of certain families—the ranking system, which came to be used, in one form or another, throughout east Asia, was a distinctly continental tradition.  On the face of it, this was about setting up a meritocracy.  Those who were most deserving would stand at the top, overseeing those below them.  Of course in Yamato, “most deserving” usually meant those who came from the right families, so we'll see how that evolves over time. We also see some changes in the way that Yamato was coming to view itself as the center versus the periphery.  Lands that were once sovereign units unto themselves, had gone from simply acknowledging the nominal hegemony of Yamato to finding their subservient position being written into the law.  We see an idea that individual governors—the lords of those regions now part of the larger Yamato state—should not levy their own taxes, but that there should be a single tax on the people.  This is a critical concept, and it would be interesting to see just how well it was obeyed; certainly in later periods it was often the prerogative of local governors to adjust the taxes to take into account their, ahem, overhead.  Nominally this was to cover the costs of local administration, but in many periods it was assessed by those in charge, locally, to help cover their personal costs, and was often set based on what the local administrators thought that they could get away with, as all of the excess went to line their own pockets.  This would make provincial governorships rather lucrative, though being that far from the capital and the seat of power would have its drawbacks.  This is a not uncommon model for tax collecting in different societies, where tax collectors paid themselves out of the taxes they collected. At this point in time, however, the central government was clearly trying to get a handle on this practice, and it makes sense as they were trying to assert more direct sovereignty over the land and the people.  So it would not do to have the people paying taxes to two lords, since there could be only one ultimate sovereign, and they were seated on the throne in Yamato.  This goes along with a continual thread of centralization of state control, another concept that they were likely pulling from the way that continental states were organized. And all of this came along with a healthy dose of Buddhism.  This reign we see the completion of Asukadera, one of the key temples to be set up in this time.  We also get indications of the start of Shitennouji, in modern Ohosaka, the ancient temple of Houryuji, which even today still boasts the oldest wooden building in the world, and the temple of Koryuji, in the Uzumasa district of modern Kyoto.  In addition to this we are told that the elites went on something of a temple-building craze. This temple building craze—and particularly the building of state sponsored temples—would be a new sign of elite status, but it would also pull resources away from previous traditional efforts.  Most notably, the labor going to build, staff, and maintain Buddhist temples would pull people away from the building and maintaining of monumental tombs.  This doesn't mean that they would go away, but the tombs certainly changed, and we would see them become smaller, less prominent, and, ultimately, they would be just about phased out altogether, except for a few particularly prominent examples. In addition to the growing influence of the Buddhist religion, relations with the mainland were also notable.  There are several mentions of different types of “tribute” from Baekje, Silla, Goguryeo, and even various parts of the archipelago. Of course, once more we kick off the regular attempts to “free” Nimna from Silla rule.  However, it should be noted that there isn't a lot of corroborating evidence for any of Yamato's peninsular activities.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that they were successful, and that hardly appealed to those compiling works like the Samguk Sagi, who were, after all, writing to help prop up the Silla kingdom  and their royal family just as the Japanese Chroniclers were doing for theirs.  There is also the possibility that this was something that didn't happen.  Or at least not as it is described.  It is quite possible that the impact of any attempts to chastise Silla were overblown, or even anachronistic.  Long story short, we don't see any lasting gains by Yamato this period, with many of the attempted military excursions being halted or called off for a number of reasons. We also see Yamato racing farther afield.  Although they call them the Great Tang, based on the timing it seems that Yamato made direct contact with the Sui dynasty some time after the latter had one again unified the area of eastern China.  This contact was significant in a time when the Court, in general, was turning to more Sinified continental practices.  It is also significant that Yamato approached these contacts with a certain pride, assuming an equal status in their communications.  This is borne out in the Chinese histories as well. All in all, there is a lot going on here, so we are going to deep dive into many of these topics. That said, there is one thing that I'll cover in this episode as I'm not sure it really fits well into anything else, but it is a fun diversion.  It happened in the summer of 599, about six years into Kashikiya Hime's reign.  Specifically it was the 27th day of the 4th lunar month when the peace of the realm was disturbed by a tremendous earthquake that we are told “destroyed all the houses”. Now Japan is no stranger to earthquakes.  They sit on the Pacific Rim's “Ring of Fire”, and volcanic and geologic activity is largely responsible for the islands' shape and mountainous terrain.  Not only that, but many of the volcanos across the island are still active, even today.  One stat I read suggested that 10% of the world's active volcanoes are in Japan.  We talked about two eruptions that we know about from the early 6th century back in Episode XXX, but still, those are rare enough.  There has been roughly only one significant eruption every hundred years or so, that we know of.  Meanwhile, Japan experiences about 1500 earthquakes each year.  Most of them are probably not even noticed by anyone not looking at a seismograph, of course.  Over the past decade there has been more than one earthquake each year at magnitude 7 or higher, but these are often in particular places.  Quick digression here—but if you hear about an earthquake in Japan, the numbers that they use to calculate the size are often different from what you might find in the US or other countries.  In the US we usually talk about the Richter scale, developed in 1935 by Charles Richter.  It measures the magnitude in a logarithmic scale, meaning that a category 7.0 earthquake is actually 10 times as powerful as a category 6.0.  Likewise a category 8.0 is ten times that of a 7.0, and one hundred times more powerful than a 6.0.  However, this only really provides the local magnitude, and it doesn't tell you other things, such as the type of force—a sharp crack versus rolling waves, for example—or even the duration.  In Japan, there are a few different ways that the Japanese Meterological Agency classifies earthquakes, and one of those is the Seismic Intensity scale, also known as the Shindo scale. The Shindo scale is more concerned with the effects of the earthquake than simply the magnitude, and while there are 10 different classifications, it only goes up to 7, as levels 5 and 6 are broken up into “Weak” and “Strong” intensities.  This can lead to some misunderstanding when looking at a report regarding Japanese earthquakes, as 7 is the highest they go, but they aren't measuring things the same way. However you measure it, there have been significant earthquakes, with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher, or with loss of life and property, over once a year, on average.  The damage and effects are often somewhat localized, but with modern media it is easy to learn about these earthquakes, which can certainly make it seem like they are happening all the time.  On the other hand, back in ancient times, news would take time to travel.  Still, it is remarkable to me that we really haven't seen anything in the Chronicles on major earthquakes up to this point, similar to how it is strange that we haven't really heard about any major volcanos.  There was an earthquake back in the reign of Woasatsuma no Wakugo, aka Ingyou Tennou, and we mentioned it in Episode 56.  It damaged the temporary burial of the previous sovereign, which is why it was considered of note, but otherwise it was largely just a passing mention to a natural phenomenon.  It is possible that we didn't hear about them because the Nara Basin just didn't experience anything that sizeable, or if there was, it just didn't make it into the records.  Meanwhile, the smaller quakes may have been no less common than heavy rains, and equally predictible. Compare that to later in the Nihon Shoki, where the 7th century would see at least 19 of 22 mentions of the word “earthquake”.  While it is possible that was just a particularly active century, I tend to suspect that it meant that from this point on we probably are getting better records, and thus we will get details that might not have otherwise survived if we were just relying on the historical highlights. In this case, it sounds as if the earthquake was particularly destructive, perhaps a level 6 or higher on the Shindo intensity scale.  And, of course, it impacted the Yamato elites.  We aren't told of any deaths, but it was still a traumatic event and the court took immediate action.  No, they didn't issue emergency relief funds, and they didn't provide labor to rebuild all the houses—or at least not that is mentioned.  No, the Court had something more important it needed to do:  and so orders were given to sacrifice to the “god of earthquakes.” This does make some sense.  After all, a large part of the sovereign's portfolio was in regards to the spiritual realm.  Sure, there was the administration of the state, but just about anyone could provide funding or even people to help with physical tasks.  The role of the sovereign, however, was often as the intermediary between Heaven and Earth; between the kami and human beings.   And so it was completely within Kashikiya Hime's responsibilities to try and placate the spirits that had caused this disaster and to prevent future earthquakes. Now the name of the god of earthquakes is not exactly given.  It is sometimes read as “Nawi” or “Nai” no kami, but even then it is just referencing the shaking land, or “Na”.  There are traditions that connect this kami to one that we've heard about before, Takemikazuchi. Takemikazuchi's name lets us know that he is a thunder deity, and it is not difficult to make a connection between the rolling thunder in the sky and the rolling waves of an earthquake.  Takemikazuchi's previous appearance in the Nihon Shoki was back in the Age of the Gods, when Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi came down to help pacify the land, and particularly the land of Izumo.  Today, Takemikazuchi is worshipped at Kashima Jingu, in the old land of Hitachi, and he is, in fact connected with earthquakes. There is an old belief that earthquakes were actually caused by giant catfish, or Namazu—and once again there is that “Na” component possibly making an appearance.  These old stories said that when the Namazu thrashed about, underground, the land would shake.  When this happened, Takemikazuchi found the kaname ishi, a stone at the top of the catfish's head that poked out above ground.  He struck this stone so hard that there is a divot in the rock even up to this day.  That stone sits on the grounds of Kashima shrine.  It may not look like much, but according to the shrine they tried to dig it out and found that it wasn't just a rock, but it was part of a much larger stone that continued deep into the earth.  Today this stone is a focus for worship to help prevent earthquakes. Now the kaname ishi is not only found in Kashima—there is another one a short distance away at the famous Katori shrine as well, where they worship the spirit of Futsunushi.  There are also Kaname Ishi found in Ohomura Shrine, in Iga, as well as another Kashima shrine in modern Miyagi prefecture.  These are all central to eastern Honshu, possibly indicating a common thread amongst all of them. I would note that I don't know when the tradition of the kaname ishi stone, or that story about Takemikazuchi, first came about, or if that is even the original telling of the story.  We do have an entry in the Shoku Nihongi, the successor history to the Nihon Shoki, where there were shrines to the—or an—“earthquake god” in all seven of the home provinces.  I suspect that local deities were often consulted, and different local traditions may have held some shrines, kami, and rituals as more effective than others. Regardless, I hope it has been an interesting diversion.  I know it was something I enjoyed, having recently visited Kashima and Katori shrines and seen their Kaname Ishi in person—I'll have photos up on the website.  Do you know of other earthquake related rituals or shrines?  Please hit me up online, either on Twitter—or whatever the platform is calling itself today---Facebook, or via email, at the.sengokudaimyo@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear if you know of more shrines that specialize in subduing earthquakes. Next time we'll want to start some of our deep dives.  By then I hope to have done a bit more research on some of the various topics so that we can really tie this all together. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. 

This August, the What the Hell crew brings you a summer reading series! Our first pick is Chip War, a book the NYT hailed as a cross between Mission Impossible and the China Syndrome. Nominally, this is the story of the semiconductor industry, but it is really a forecast of modern grand strategy, great power […]

This August, the What the Hell crew brings you a summer reading series! Our first pick is Chip War, a book the NYT hailed as a cross between Mission Impossible and the China Syndrome. Nominally, this is the story of the semiconductor industry, but it is really a forecast of modern grand strategy, great power conflict, and the security of the global economy. It is no mistake that the book's author, Chris Miller, set out to write a book about military strategy – and then realized that military strategy today is defined by applying advanced chips to systems. Beyond just military however, advanced chips make the world as we know it work. They are in your iPhone, your dishwasher, your car… the list goes on. The clincher? Almost all of these highly technical chips are made in Taiwan – one of the most geopolitically tense areas in the world. Chris Miller is an Associate Professor of International History at Tufts University and a Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at AEI. He is also the co-director of the Fletcher School's Russia and Eurasia program and the director of the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. In addition to Chip War, Miller's books include We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to Asia from Peter the Great to Putin (Harvard University Press, 2021), Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia (University of North Carolina Press, 2018), and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR (University of North Carolina Press, 2016). Chris is an alumnus of Harvard College and holds an MA and PhD from Yale.Download the transcript here.

Nominally a shooter, System Shock is more about exploring the labyrinth that is the TriOptimum corporation's Citadel space station than any combat that takes place within it. Your Hacker and their military-grade neural implant are responsible for the significantly degraded situation here, having disabled the AI SHODAN's ethical limitations.

When a Moroccan-themed bar in Upland, California needs help, John Taffer beams in a doctor who prefers his drinks a certain way. But after the owners exchange roles, they learn that operating a bar is as tough as their falafel. Do people prefer a soft pita or a good looking pita? Can a bar be a bar without barstools? Are Moroccan spices flammable? It's the episode that stresses the importance of the wash line!Support the production of Greatest TrekSpring Break episodes coming up:Law & Order SVU S10E5 Retro - Available on Hulu in the USTales from the Crypt S2E11 Judy, You're Not Yourself Today - Available on YouTube in the USHell On Wheels S1E1 Pilot - Available on AMC+ or free with ads on Roku in the US Music by Adam RaguseaFollow Greatest Trek on Twitter, and discuss the show using the hashtag #GreatestTrek!Greatest Trek on Twitch | Facebook group | Subreddit | Discord | WikiSign up for our mailing list!Get a thing at podshop.biz!

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on China Congress Premier.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. John Mandrola. Nominally, Dr. Mandrola is a cardiac electrophysiologist, specializing in heart rhythm disorders, but there’s much more to his story. He’s currently the chief cardiology correspondent for Medscape, writes two regular columns, and records a weekly podcast. This guy is everywhere, and for good reason. As a leader in medical thought, his unique take on modern healthcare is perhaps best summed up in his 2019 paper with Dr. Adam Cifu — The Case for Being a Medical Conservative. “Medical conservatives are not nihilists. We appreciate progress and laud scientific gains that have transformed once-deadly diseases, such as AIDS and many forms of cancer, into manageable chronic conditions. […] The medical conservative, however, recognizes that many developments promoted as medical advances offer, at best, marginal benefits.” Dr. Mandrola’s perspective is unique, history informed, and as philosophically rigorous as it is compassionate. Per usual, we have a chance to dive into his background, upbringing, and journey to where he is now. It was a fascinating journey that I’m pleased to be able to invite you to listen to. Are you ready to connect?

Hour 1 of The Drew Mariani Show on 2-2-23 Catherine Glenn Foster joins Drew in discussion about the confusion the Joe Biden brings to Catholics Drew takes a number of phone calls about this issue, including Martha who works for Foster care systems and feels it's unfair to say women should bring children into these situations Barb Ernster gives us the antidote to all this craziness -- prayer, fasting, and First Fridays & Saturdays

Friends and guests of Finding Favorites are back to tell us about their favorite things from 2022. This is a clip show with SO many great recomendations, most of which are in the show notes below. This includes clips from How Did This Get Made (Leah asking a question at the Stone Cold live show in LA) and Doughboys (Burger King 6 with Jon Gabrus and Adam Pally) Leah Intro 1 - best movies of 2022 Steroid Saturdays Everything, Everywhere, All at once RRR 4DX theaters   Liz Nord Pennyworth on HBO Max  Steve Higgins Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Strange Loop (Broadway) Eight Billion Genies (Comic book)   Mark Smithivas Only Murders in the Building, Hulu Wakanda Forever Leah intro 2: The return of Live Shows with Friends Boston for a cancelled Doughboys show How Did This Get Made in LA with Esther and Susan Return to Boston for Doughboys and introducing Ronnie to the Doughboys in Milwaukee How Did This Get Made in  Chicago with Jocelyn over halloween LetterKenny live with Amy Guth and Kevin Alves Hadestown with Rob Going to Weird Al with Shai Korman's family in DC Esther Kustanowitz, The Bagel Report The Ringer-Verse Podcast  Shai Korman, The Friday Night Movie Podcast Weird Al at the Kennedy Center Pam Rose Stranger Things, Hulu Severance, Apple TV  Tehran, Apple TV Pachinko, Apple TV Kelsea Ballerini Tate McRae Mimi Webb Taylor Swift Love after Lockup, TV Rob Schulte Dark Web Comic Books His dog Elvis Bug Con (Bugmane event) Doin' it with Mike Sacks (Podcast) How Did This Get Made clip: Leah is the person in the audience. Episode is Stone Cold, recorded live at Largo Leah Intro 3: Cancer Stuff Finishing chemo, radiation and immunotherapy Celebrated with my trip to Boston after chemo and a trip to LA after Radiation Got a sparkly caftan for my radiation gong Three trips to the Mayo clinic Returning to Israel COVID Bivalent Booster, Flu Shot and the Pneumonia vaccine Cameron MacKenzie Premier League Football Jason Mathes Inside Job on Netflix Gravity Falls on Disney Caroline Berkowitz Uno Go Fish Taco Cat Go Cheese Pizza Scrabble Slam SET Sleeping Queens SkipBo Monopoly Deal Yahtzee Yam Slam Trouble Phase 10 Monica Reida Pentament (Xbox, PC video game) Crimes of the Future (movie) Leah Intro 4 101 Places to Party Before You Die Jackass Forever Mike Nichols, A Life by Mark Harris Art by Phineas Jones aka Octophant Lyndsey Little Doughscord Stories to Dismember Podcast Love on Netflix Doughboys Podcast Doughboys clip from Burger King 6 with guests Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus. Leah created the drop that Mitch plays towards the end of the clip. Robert Persinger Boston Milwaukee Great people Keidra Chaney Southside on HBO Max Bunny instagram Red Door Shelter Jocelyn Geboy Candy Chat Chicago 101 Places to Party Before You Die Avett Brothers The Diffs Firepits How Did This Get Made Jo Wash your hands, wear your mask, get your booster and keep enjoying your favorite things.   Transcript 1:12:55   Zoom Bomb  00:00 Hello, hello. Hello. Hi. What's good? [Switches to German]   Announcer  00:08 Welcome to the Finding Favorites Podcast where we explore your favorite things without using an algorithm. Here's your host, Leah Jones.   Leah Jones  00:20 Hello, and welcome to Finding Favorites. It's that time of year, which is the last day of the year. And that means the Call-In Show, the best of 2022 is back. This is the second time I'm doing it. So that might mean it's a tradition. Check back in 12 months and see if that's true. Right now I've got clips about 10 clips. As I'm recording this intro, I might have more by the time I finish recording. But I'm going to break my favorite things of the year into three chunks. It'll be me a few clips me a few clips.   Without further ado, I wanted to kick off my best of ‘22 with my top movie theater experiences of the year. The year started, and I was finishing chemo, which meant that Ronnie and I were still celebrating what we lovingly called Steroid Saturdays, which is when I would get chemo, I would get steroids along with my chemo infusion. And then I would be wired on steroids. And the amount of time that I had energy from the steroids got smaller and smaller over the course of the three months of chemo. But what we did was every almost every Saturday morning, after I would get chemo on Fridays, we would go and see a matinee. And so I saw a lot of movies in the theater over the winter of 21 and 22. But my top three movie going experiences were not on Steroid Saturdays. it was seeing Everything Everywhere, All At Once, in a packed movie theater. This was the first time I had been in a packed movie theater part of going of the Steroid Saturdays, The MO was we went to matinees of things that have been open for more than one or two weeks. So generally, we went to private, we created private screenings for ourselves.   Everything, Everywhere, All At Once was at the theater on Diversey and Surf. So it was an it was a sold out theater. It was jam packed. There were not assigned seats. But seeing that movie, in a theater full of people was outstanding. It was such a great experience. And only topped by at the end of the year going to a sold out show at the music box. In a theater that holds 700 people to see the Indian movie, RRR. RRR was a movie I'd heard about on podcasts, where people were just like, don't know anything, go in blind and watch it. I watched it at home alone really enjoyed it. But getting to go with three of my friends to see our RRR in a movie theater where people cheered, booed, clapped along, plus the director was there in from Tollywood to answer questions. And that was very, very cool. Seeing an Indian movie in a packed house of people cheering for these historical revolutionaries set into magical realism. It was amazing.  And finally, I have to give a shout out to 4DX. Like I said, on previous episodes, I saw Wakanda Forever 3D 4DX. It's the fourth dimension. The chair is essentially a roller coaster through the whole movie. I'm still talking about it. It's been a month later. Don't see a movie in 40x If you want to experience emotions, other than the hysteria that comes from being on a roller coaster. So you're going to hear some people talk about Wakanda Forever because it was an outstanding movie. I did not connect to it emotionally because my chair kept making me laugh. That's all I can say.   Coming up in this first block. We've got a filmmaker Liz Nord is back. You just met her last week. So Liz Nord is back. Steve Higgins who has been on the podcast twice is back with his favorite movie Broadway show and comic book of the year. And then Mark Smithivas, who I've known on since the earliest days on Twitter and who has been the person… Probably the person I know into audio the longest of anyone I've known. He joins with a TV show and a movie recommendation. Without further ado, here are Liz, Steve and Mark   Liz Nord  05:32 Hi, I'm Liz Nord. I was just on the last episode of the show talking about my love for documentary films. But I watch a lot of other stuff too. And my guilty pleasures are the comic book sci fi supernatural TV series, usually aimed at young adults. My favorite discovery from this past year is probably Pennyworth. on HBO max is the origin story of Batman's infamous butler Alfred Pennyworth. In 1960s, London, we also meet a young Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, the future parents of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. No one has any superpowers in this show. They're just regular people in extraordinary circumstances. And that is part of what makes it so fun. It's funny and stylish and cheeky. And over the top. There are three seasons so far. The first one is probably the best because it doesn't try to be anything it's not. The show is a total romp. But note to parents, it's definitely not kid friendly. Enjoy and Happy New Year. Hello,   Steve  06:29 I am Steve Higgins. And I am here to talk about three of my favorite things of 2022. First, I want to talk about my favorite movie of 2022. I actually got to the theater quite a bit more this year than in the past two years, obviously, because of the pandemic. And one of the movies that I saw in theaters this year that absolutely blew me away. It made it shot to the top of my list. The second that I saw it, and it never left even though it was pretty early in the year and never left that top spot. And that is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. I remember first seeing trailers for the movie and hearing the premise that it was kind of about alternate realities. And just how visually stunning the trailers were. And I was pretty interested. But then I heard that the directors of the film The Daniels, Daniel Kwan, Daniel shiner. Were also the directors of Swiss Army Man, that was a movie that I saw in theaters back in 2016. And I absolutely loved I thought it was brilliant. And so to find out that they had done this film as well, I was sold, I absolutely had to see it as soon as I could. You know, the the premise of it is very sci fi but I like to tell people it's sci fi like Slaughterhouse Five is sci fi it's it uses a science fiction premise, in order to explor human themes. You know, it's really about our hopes and dreams and desires in life and who we want to be who we wish we had been the regrets of choices that we made. The great what if what if I had done my life differently? So it's very much the road not taken. I think the premise then getting at the heart of it is yes. To story about, you can jump from one alternate reality to another and you can grab the skills of a different version of yourself from a different reality. But really, it's about people and connections and relationships. And how would you feel if somebody came to you and said to you, alternate realities are real there's a multiverse and in all the different versions of you that exist out there, you the version you are right here right now are the worst. You're the worst version of yourself that you could be and how, how hard that is. It's a movie that has a lot of heart. A lot of soul searching, the acting is fantastic. Michel Yao, Ki Quan, and Stephanie Chu is kind of the core family of Evelyn Waymond and joy are amazing. You feel like their family dynamic is real. And it's it's a really powerful film because of that dynamic. It's It's hilarious. It's got great action sequences. It's visually stunning. It's high concept. And it's, it's moving. It's incredibly, incredibly moving. And I think this film is not only my number one movie of this year, but might be, you know, the best movie that I've seen in In the past five or 10 years, probably barn on an amazing, amazing film.   Steve  10:07  I also got to go to the theater a little bit this year to see some live theater, took a trip to New York in June and saw some Broadway plays. And so my favorite experience with the live theater this year was seeing A Strange Loop. I saw it about three days before it ended up winning the Tony for Best Musical. And it was an amazing experience. I it's it's been a, it's been a work that I have had trouble recommending to people, because I feel like the soundtrack doesn't quite do it justice. The songs are good and powerful but it doesn't have the same gravitas to it as when you see it live. And you can see the the actors performing on stage and you can see the sets and you can you can be there. Unfortunately, it is wrapping up its Broadway production on January 15. I'm very hopeful that that means they're going to move it to another city. I'm really hopeful that that city in Chicago because I will absolutely drive up to Chicago to see it again. It was it was an amazing work. Now it being wards and all kind of portrait of a black gay man in New York City.   Steve  11:39 In the modern era, it is not a film. Sorry, it's not a play, that I would recommend to anybody. We actually had a friend of ours, who was going to New York with their teenage son and asked him he really wants to see this. Should we let him go see it? No, you absolutely shouldn't. It is. It is not appropriate for young audiences. There's a lot of very frank discussion of the realities of relationships and gay sex and things that you probably don't want your teenage son to hear.   Steve  12:30 But if that sounds like a thing that you might be interested in, you know, seeing a creative person floundering, not feeling like they're able to live up to their full potential, and not just creatively but also romantically also just in life. And see them kind of come to terms with that seems to be a bit of a theme between my film in my and my play that I chose, but I would recommend at least giving the soundtrack a listen. And if you think after you hear the soundtrack that interested me, then if you can get a chance to see it live, it will take it to the next level.   And then finally, I want to recommend a comic I'm a big comic fan comic reader read a lot of great comics this year, but one that really blew me away the most is a eight issue miniseries from Image Comics, written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Ryan Brown, it's called 8 Billion Genies. And the basic premise of this comic is that, at the same instant, every single person in the world is given a genie. And given one wish that they can make and how those wishes change the world for the worse unfolds over the course of the eight issues. The first issue is the first eight seconds. Second issue is the first eight minutes third issue is the first eight hours, and so on. Up to now only the first six issues have come out. Issue seven and eight are coming in January and February respectively. And that's the first eight decades and the first eight centuries to show how this world gets changed by the introduction of everyone suddenly getting one wish that they could make anything come true. How would that play out and people being people? It doesn't play out well, but the basic premise is the the our main characters are in a bar. And there's only a handful of people in the bar and the second that this happens, the bartender slash owner of this bar makes his wish that all of the effects of everybody else's will issues in the world will not affect what happens in the walls of this bar. So this bar becomes a safe haven, from all the craziness and chaos that goes on outside. It's beautifully drawn by Ryan Brown, who makes the characters seem real. And the fantasy elements are jarring, obviously, with the reality of the world, but in a way that it's cohesive, if that makes any kind of sense. It's a cohesive narrative, I should say. And again, the high concept from Charles Sol is just just brilliant. It's an absolutely great comic. If you only read one comic, check out 8 billion genies by Image Comics. So those are my three favorite things of 2022. The film, everything everywhere all at once. The play musical, a strange loop, and the comic, 8 billion genies. Hope you check them out. Hope you dig them. Thanks for having me back on the show.   Mark Smithivas  16:09 Hi, Leah, this is Mike Smithivas. I hope you're having a great end to the Year. Happy New Year. And my favorites that I wanted to let you know about is the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building. I really loved this series with Steve Martin. It just had a level of sharpness to its writing, and the cast was top notch. And I like to say that it's a great achievement when you have a series that tries to parody something, in this case, True Crime podcasts while managing to also be what it's parodying. Meaning that I was kept guessing until the very end of who the murderer was. So I would highly recommend binge watching it. There's two seasons to it. Both seasons are really good in my opinion. And if you love that kind of New York, character actor, type of vibe, there are there are many veteran actors who are in that series. What else I just watched with my family, Black Panther to Wakanda Forever. And I was truly surprised that a movie could a Marvel movie could be something more than just your standard superhero movie. I know it had big shoes to fill, trying to be the sequel to an amazing breakthrough movie like Black Panther. But in this one, I think they managed to be poetic, while also celebrating or memorializing the death of Chadwick Boseman. And also highlighting a lot of strong black female characters. So I think it set the bar pretty high for what a Marvel superhero movie could be. And I'm hoping to see more of that in the in the future with other Marvel franchises. I think I'll stop there. I hope you have a happy new year again, and we'll catch up to you and 2023.   Leah Jones  19:00 All right, thank you, Liz, Steve, and Mark for your recommendations. All right, so in 2022, we were vaccinated. And for me, that meant the return of live shows and seeing live shows with friends. Again, a lot of my year was overshadowed by my treatment for breast cancer and a long slow recovery. That in part because I had an undiagnosed chronic illness on top of the cancer. A lot of my live shows were on my calendar as the emotional carrot to get through a part of cancer treatment. The first thing I looked forward to all through chemotherapy was going to Boston to see the Doughboys it was a doubleheader in January of 2022. And it got canceled because COVID was too high. I think that was the Omicron. It might have been Delta, like I don't even remember anymore. But their winter tour got cancelled. But I could not give up emotionally kind of could not give up the trip. So I went to Boston, I met a few people who also kept their trips. And so we hung out. And the week before the Boston trip, there was a Chicago show that got canceled. But people still came into into Chicago. So two weeks in a row, I got to hang out with my friend Geno, and then see other Doughmies in Chicago and Boston. And then other friends who aren't into the Doughboys but do live in Boston. So it was sort of like come hell or high water. I am marking the end of chemotherapy with Boston. And so I went to Boston in January, it was very cold. I slept a lot. I was very weak. But it was such a good trip.   A week, like a week after I finished radiation. I got on a plane again. I went to LA and that time it was for How Did This Get Made live show. It was right after my birthday. I stayed with my friend Esther. But this time I took… Esther and I have a mutual friend Susan, who is as into How Did This Get Made? Like we're both huge fans of it. And we have both gone to shows at the Largo and taken Esther and Esther is always a very willing guest. But this time Susan and I went together. And then when we got done with the show, Esther surprised me with a birthday charcuterie… a chocolate… a plate of chocolate for my birthday. And that was a fantastic trip.   Then Doughboys got rescheduled. So I went back to Boston again. And they had so I went to Boston and shot saw two shows in Boston. absolute blast. And then I got to take Ronnie up to Milwaukee to see the Doughboys live in Milwaukee, which I was just like, “your opinion of me might change a lot when you see the experience the live show of one of my favorite podcasts.” Introducing him to Doughboys at a live show was great seeing some Doughmies and Milwaukee. Having it was just a really fun trip.   And then Halloween I got to introduce Jocelyn, my co-host of Candy Chat Chicago to How Did This Get Made at the Chicago Theater. Again, this was one that had been in the summer got rescheduled pushed to October. I have talked about this show ad nauseam, especially on my interview with Kevin Alvis. So needless to say, this is the show. It was Morbius it's coming out next week finally, and this was the one where I realized that Jason Mantzoukas now knows who I am, which is mortifying and, but was wonderful. I got to see Letterkenny live this year with Amy Guth. That's also how I met Kevin Alves. My friend Rob and I, we went to see a ton… I would get Broadway in Chicago season tickets and Rob was my standing plus-one for a few years. Broadway in Chicago was back a highlight this year was seeing Hadestown. And finally, I went to Washington DC to meet up with Shai Korman and his family. Shai is from Friday Night Movie Podcast. And I got to go with his family to see Weird Al at the Kennedy Center, which was just the coolest venue and such a great group of people. So in this section, these are people that I have been to live events with or know through podcasts community. So we've got Esther Kustanowitz from the bagel report. Shai Korman from Friday Night Movie podcast. Pam Rose, who I know through How Did This Get Made? And Rob Schulte who I know through the Doughboys community.   Esther Kustanowitz  24:31 Hi, this is Esther Kustanowitz from The Bagel Report Podcast among other places. Leah Jones has been so instrumental in my own online development from blogging to Twitter to podcasting and I'm just thrilled to be able to continue in this tech meets pop culture dialogue that we have going on. So I have loved all of the pop culture this year except for Kanye obviously, not cool, but there was so much especially Within my chosen primary category of Jewish TV that I could talk about, but since I've already done an episode of finding favorites about that, I figured I'd focus on one of the other pod things that I loved the most this year, which was continuing to make the river ringer verse podcast part of my week.  I love a lot of other Ringer network podcasts with special shout outs to The Rewatchables, The Big Picuture as well as a lot of their other pop culture podcasts. But the Ringer-verse! they're my people. There are like two main teams and they're so dynamic and passionate about fandom. They're absolutely unapologetic about how nerdy they get about popular culture, sci fi, fantasy, etc. They totally like an every second of their recordings, they revel in how nerdy it is, and how intertextual it is, and how they know the comic books did this. And the previous movies did that. And I love the individual personalities that that are involved in recording this show and how they interrelate. And even when they disagree, and they sometimes really, really disagree, they all come back to the love they have for each other and for the primary cultural product. So I love that they can have a three hour discussion about a two hour movie, and they bring in experts to explain the lore, which helps me put things in a greater context. So being a regular listener has changed how I react to the pop culture that I consume. Because more often than not, I'll hear a phrase or a see a scene that I'll file away in my memory bank know just know somewhere in my like cells that the ringer verse team is probably going to talk about and love and criticize and contextualize and obsess over it. And I really just loved being able to partake in their conversational experience, even though it's really one sided, because I'm pretty sure they don't listen to the bagel report podcast, although, obviously they should. And I just had a guest spot on Jews on film podcast, where we talked about the fable mins for two hours so I'm honing my skills should they ever require an expert on Jewish content, I'm hoping that the reverse will give me a buzz. So if you are a fan of Star Wars or DC or Marvel properties or the Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones or anything else that kind of hits the the pop culture with a little bit of a sci fi fantasy heroes comic book infused element, the wringer versus a must listen. Thanks and have a great 2023 everyone.   Shai Korman  27:52 Hey there, Leah. This is Shai calling from the Friday Night Movie Podcast and my favorite of the year that I want to talk about is getting to go see the great Weird Al Yankovic at the Kennedy Center with none other than Leah Jones, host of Finding Favorites and Candy Chat Chicago because getting to see Weird Al with Leah Jones is one of the all time favorites that any person could experience. And I hope we get to do it again soon. And I love finding favorites and keep making this amazing show.   Pam Rose  28:35 Hi, this is Pam Rose. You may remember me from a previous episode talking about my love of one Jason Mantzoukas and How Did This Get Made. But right now I'm here to talk about things that I loved in 2022   Well, some of them at least in Number One on The List: Vechna from Stranger Things. Stranger Things came back with a vengeance this season. Epic epic episodes and at the center was the big bad vechna He was mean he was evil. He had the cutest bomb in the world and I want to be his best friend. So yeah, Batman. And speaking of TV and awesome TV, Apple TV continues to crush with its original programming. My number one favorite show of the year severance. Severance is so good if you haven't seen Severance please watch Severance. I was in California and vacation the night of the finale and my brother and I both put our headphones in and our beds. We watched the finale because I could not wait. I didn't want to get spoiled. But people talk about severance. We know how good it is.   But what about other shows on Apple TV? How about Tehran? Have you seen this show? Because it's awesome. If you'd like homeland, which is one of the all time greatest shows of all time, you might like Tehran it's got the same feel. Season two was stellar. Glenn Close was on season two she started speaking Farsi at one point what was happening, so 10 Iran I recommend it. Also, I'm not a girl who's into epic things, but let me tell you, Pachinko. Oh my god. So good apparently is based on a book. I don't have time for that. But I do have time for the TV adaptation of it and Pachinko is so good. It's multigenerational story about a family in Japan, Korea. I learned all kinds of things about history, but also so engrossing loved it so Pachinko check those things on an Apple TV if you have Apple TV if you don't get a trial of it, and you can watch these things. You could thank me later. On the music side. Kelsea Ballerini came out with a new album this year and it's her best one yet highly recommend it. We all know Taylor Swift killed it with her new album. Lavender haze midnight Rain Come on. Take McRae's debut album was awesome every track a banger and Mimi Webb continues to put out song after song. Never skip on any other things and I get to see her live twice this year. I was the oldest person there by about 20 years but that girl can sing her ass off. So watch out for that little 21 year old British girl because she's coming for you. She's putting out her first full length album next year. And don't sleep on it because she's great. And then if you need something trashy to get you through 2023 may recommend love after lockup. And I wish I was kidding. But really, it's so addictive. It's so trashy. We get love during lockup now. We get life after lockup. But love after lockup, we TV, you can catch the episodes once you watch one you're gonna get hooked. You're gonna say why am I watching this? What is happening? But then you'll keep watching, but it is that good. So anyway, those are some of the things that I loved. Yeah, here's to a great 2023 with awesome TV, music and movies. Let's do it. And also fellas, if you're single, I'm on Instagram hamster. Pam, come find me. Have a great 2023 guys.   Rob Schulte  32:09 Hey, Finding Favorites listeners. This is Rob Schulte. And I want to list off some of my favorite things of 2022. The Dark Web series of comic books. That's been fun. My dog Elvis, he's at the top of the list almost every single year. Bug Con, that was great. And let's see here is working on new episodes of Doing It with Mike Sacks. That has been a lot of fun. I think he was on his podcast as well. Great episode. Well, here's to you, 2022. And looking forward to 2023.   Clip from HDTGM: Stone Cold   Paul Scheer  32:52 Let me go to the audience here for a second. If you have any questions. You're in a beautiful shirt. It's like a baseball shirt. HDTGM shirt. I love this. Not one that we sell, but it's a great looking shirt. Okay, yes.   Leah Jones  33:10 So you mentioned before William Forsythe was also in Raising Arizona?   Jason Mantzoukas  33:13 Yes.   Leah Jones  33:14 So was Sam McMurry who played Lance the FBI agent.   Jason Mantzoukas  33:16 Yes.   Leah Jones  33:17 So my question is, who would you like Red Rover called over from Raising Arizona?   Jason Mantzoukas  33:22 Nicolas Cage.   Paul Scheer  33:23 Well, let me let me repeat the let me repeat these so I can make sure. So two of the actors in this film, the FBI agent and of course our second baddie, William Forsythe, were in Raising Arizona.  would there be anybody that we would call over from Raising Arizona?   June Diane  33:41 Imagine Holly Hunter as Nancy it's and it would be different and interesting. And they'd have to do something different   Jason Mantzoukas  33:50 Nicolas Cage as part of Boz.   Paul Scheer  33:54 Really? John Goodman as Ice   Jason Mantzoukas  34:04 I also think you could have John Goodman as the whip. [audience reaction] Guys. Cool. Cool. Okay. I know it's been a while but everybody be cool.   Paul Scheer  34:19 Great question. Great question. Great shirt.   Jason Mantzoukas  34:22 Great. Oh, so much overlap. Raising Arizona also because of the supermarket scene. I was thinking about Raising Arizona a lot during this movie. And I'm like, Oh, I gotta rewatch Ray's It's a great movie   Leah Jones  34:47 Awesome, thank you. Now you have got a lot of music to listen to and TV to watch podcasts to listen to. Here's my third chunk of things that my favorite things this year, which have to do with cancer, even though my treatments ended in March-ish, that's not true. Radiation finished in March. I was getting immunotherapy until October. But I had a really hard recovery from chemotherapy. And to get to the bottom of it, I wound up going to the Mayo Clinic this summer I drove up to the Mayo Clinic three different times. Each of those was a very fun road trip with a different friend and found out that there's a lot of good food in Rochester, Minnesota. There's a lot of good bartenders in Rochester, Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic for me was an outstanding experience. But finishing chemo in January and hitting the gong in March of '22. was incredible. And then finally getting a sarcoidosis diagnosis. And at the very end of the year starting treatment for sarcoidosis, starting my hormone therapy to gobble up all the estrogen in my body. I am finally walking without a cane. Breathing without coughing and feeling pretty good. I'm gonna put into this block.   In September I went to Israel went back to Israel hadn't been since 2019, which is a long gap for me. And with this incoming government, I'm not sure when I'll go back on that trip. I my goals were simple. At that point, I was still using a cane. Although it was getting stronger, I was still using a cane. So my goals were to have a hotel breakfast buffet every day and see a friend every day, which I did. There were some things that were really physically challenging about the trip emotionally challenging about the trip. But ultimately, I went to a beautiful breakfast buffet every morning. So at least one friend a day had ice cream had a few really amazing dinners laughed a lot, gotten the ocean. And it was a wonderful trip. So it was good to have to return to Israel, even if I don't know how to change a flight without accidentally getting charged $3,000. And finally I am going to give it up to science for the COVID boat bivalent booster, the flu shot and 15-20 years early I also have the pneumonia vaccine. So in this next block of people, we have Cameron MacKenzie, my friend Jason Mathes, my friend Caroline, get your pencils ready because she is recommending a dozen card games to play with your family. And Monica Reida is back with her favorite video game and movie of the year. Thank you to everyone who joined me on this clip show. And I'm sure I'll be back one more time for the last-minute clips that I have been asking people for.   Cameron MacKenzie  38:25 Hello, my name is Cameron MacKenzie. I had a book come out this year called River Weather from Alternating Current Press. And I wanted to talk about my favorite thing of 2020 to 2022 I think was really the year that I got into Premier League football. I'm gonna call it soccer for the sake of this conversation. Because the reason I got into Premier League football was that I got burnt out on American football, I grew up playing football. When I quit playing football, I started to watch it. But over the years, I just got ground down by the narrative of whatever Tom Brady is doing or the desire to buy Ford trucks or drink Budweiser beer. It's just sort of a constant loop and I couldn't take it anymore. My oldest boy is eight years old and he started playing soccer. And I realized I knew nothing about soccer. So I couldn't tell him what was good, what was bad what to do how to do it. So I started watching Premier League and I was blown a way the games are beautiful and exciting. The players are absolutely incandescent, the teams themselves. There's so much history to these teams and the fan bases are rabid. You if you're born in these places, you can't really choose what team you're going to watch. It's sort of handed down to you like a heritage or lineage. So if you're going to start watching Premier League, you got to choose a team and you got to stick with that team through the ups and through the downs through the good and Through the bad, the only thing I would compare it to in America maybe is college football, that sort of level of passion. But if you find yourself getting bored of the US sports landscape, give Premier League a try, you will not be disappointed. Just be sure that you choose team before you start. No arsenal.   Caroline  40:23 So I saw this tweet that said, a great alternative to screen time is playing cards as a family, so many learning opportunities. I taught my kids that there's no such thing as family while playing uno, and then I'll play I'll put a draw for down on a kindergartener and cackle like a swamp which, because I did not come to lose.   My name is Carolyn Musin Berkowitz, and I love playing cards with my family. So in my family, we play tons of card games, usually one or two per night. We started with uno, which is why I particularly like that tweet, but we've moved on a bit. Here are some of our favorites. We really like playing Go Fish. We even have a set of cards with fish on them. It's a nice easy one. It's how my little one learn to read. Sort of, we like Taco Pet goat Cheese Pizza, which is really funny to say and it's a quick game. And also, you might get your knuckles smashed. So buyer beware. Scrabble Slam is a super game that I found at Walgreens, by the way amazing games that you can find in the toy area at Walgreens. And it is a game where you make a four letter word, not one of those but whatever. And then you put other cards on top to make new words. Great way to teach your children spelling also, we have set my game of SET is probably from when I was a kid when I was a teen, and it is a math and patterns game. Super fun. There's also a junior version. But trust me, your early elementary child can handle the regular game.   Leaping Queens is a super fun game, where you have you want to collect as many queens as possible. But beware because your opponents are going to try to use knights to steal them or sleeping potions to put them to sleep. Skip It was a great counting game. And again to try to read your read yourself with all your cards before your opponents do super fun, lasts more than five minutes. Maybe it's 10 minutes. So it's good when you want something that will take a little longer. We also have been Monopoly Deal. If you've ever played Monopoly. With young kids, you know that it can last forever and it's not so pleasant. I recommend Monopoly Deal. It the game was over in 10 to 15 minutes. And I gotta tell you, my six-year-old was the first one figure out the strategy in this game. Super fun.   We also like Yahtzee not really a card game, but a pretty good game. Regardless. Yahtzee slam is a different version of Yahtzee a different iteration with poker chips. And it is super fun as with these. Now, this is not a card game, but I do have to mention trouble. It is a super game that requires zero skills, and a lot of trash talk when you send your opponents back to their home base. And finally a Chicago is about to have a terrible blizzard. And we're all going to be stuck inside for a few days. Let me introduce you to Phase 10, which is kind of like Rummy, you have to get certain arrangements of cards before your opponents do. You have to get through 10 rounds and it might take you more than 10 rounds to get there. So if you're going to be home for like a long Blizzard, make your hot cocoa sit down with phase 10 and enjoy a happy new year. I'm Caroline, and playing card games is one of my favorite things.   Jason Mathes  44:00 Hi, Leah Jones. This is past podcast guests, Jason Mathes checking in from Connecticut to tell folks about something that's probably popped up on the recommendations on Netflix and to tell them that it's worth the time. It's a cartoon, a very adult cartoon called Inside Job. And it features a lot of the comedians that I know both of us enjoy their work. Nominally it's the story of a young woman named Reagan who is a genius scientist whose father created the corporation that controls the world. So all the conspiracy theories that we've been told about the Illuminati, about the wizard people about those types of things are true. And this is the corporation that has to do all the grunt work to ensure that they dominate and control the lives of everyday citizens. It's a workplace calm empathy. It's also a father daughter divorce story. But it is highly intelligent. It's from at least executive produced from the gentleman who brought us. Gravity Falls, which is very popular in a lot of communities for being a, what I call the opposite of loss, the TV show, and so much that he weighed the show out. So there are easter eggs contain throughout and riddles and puzzles and Gravity Falls that we do to the answers. So if people have not checked out Gravity Falls, that's a completely kid appropriate. It was on Disney. And it's genius. It's smart. It's funny, it's very endearing. But inside job is all of those things, but it's for a PG 13 Plus audience, just just so folks know. And it's really great. It's a smart, funny comedy that people will enjoy. And it's something to binge watch over the holidays, and just enjoy the heck out of it, and laugh about it. And enjoy Happy Holidays to everyone and especially to the Jones family. Talk to you soon hopefully. Hello,   Monica Reida  46:22 my name is Monica Reida. And in 2022. I loved Pentamento and Crimes of the Future. Pentimento is a video game for Xbox and PC, where the premise is you are a young artisan who is in Bavaria in the 1500s. And you are currently working at a Abbey as working on illuminated manuscripts. And one day a baron comes to visit and the next day and there's a lot of you know, tension as to the Barrett and a lot of people in the village seem a little unhappy, he's there. And then the next day the Baron is found murdered in the Abbey. And so it's up to you, you are a scholar, you are a dropout from college like the best of us. And you have to try to figure out who killed the Baron to try to clear an elderly monk from being executed. The art style for the game, it looks like you're walking through an illuminated manuscript from the Middle Ages. It's one of the most beautiful video games I think I've ever played. And it requires a lot of critical thinking. It's kind of the opposite of a lot of games I tend to play where it's like, Oh, I'm just going to try to make the best moves and you know, score enough shots on goals in NHL 22. Or I'm just going to kill a bunch of guys to save the day in Yakuza. So it's kind of the opposite of that where you have to critically think about the choices you're making. And I'm not even close to being done with this game. But I already can't wait to play it again. And see how different choices affect the story how it affects the characters. So Pentiment on Xbox and PC.   One of the things I love this year, I also loved the new David Cronenberg film, Crimes of the Future. It takes place in a future where there are a lot of body mutilations and people enjoy getting surgery, including putting on performances to show off the mutilated bodies to show off the surgery. It is I would say kind of a form of sicko cinema that I think I associate with Cronenberg, and also John Waters. I mean, it's a film where people actually say surgery is the new sex. It is also I think, one of the funniest movies I have watched this year. I think benediction from Terence Davies is probably the only film that I saw this year that I think was funnier than crumbs of the future. But Cronenberg's dialogue and his most of which is delivered by Alyssa do. And I am just blanking on everybody else in the cast, Viggo Mortensen, Don McKellar, one of my boys and Kristen Stewart. It's delivered in just a brilliant, natural way that also lets the humor shine and put as a very dark and morbid film. But even just the visual cues and the cuts and the Justice positions of it the visual style. It's it's a very funny, very morbid film that has stayed with me since I saw it in theaters wearing a sickos shirt because yes, I do think that if you love Cronenberg, you might be a sicko, and the best way. So those were the two things I loved in 2022. I hope you and anybody else listening you know if you've got a fuzzy little friend or furry friend, curl up with them and enjoy some movies, enjoy some TV show, listen to some Quebec while pop and have a nice 2023   Leah Jones  50:41 and I'm back with my final block of favorite things from this year. Followed by a few more clips that have come in. So a favorite TV show of mine is 101 Places to Party Before You Die. It was on Tru TV. It is now available on HBO Max, so it's much easier to find than it was when it first came out. It is Jon Gabrus and Adam Pally. Adam, you might know from the TV show Happy Endings or from from The Mindy Project, John Gabriel was on a show called Guy Code that I never watched. I know John from podcasts. I originally saw him in a live episode of Nicole Byers podcast that was taped in Chicago many years ago. And then I started listening to High and Mighty, I started listening to Doughboys. His podcast is High and Mighty. He's a regular guest on Doughboys. I've seen him at two of the three Doughboy shows I've been to. And they have been best friends for 20 years. They came up together at UCB. And they got to shoot six episodes traveling the states. Going to bars going to restaurants, museums, and Jocelyn and I have watched it on my own at least twice. Jocelyn and I have watched it. There are times when we'll finish recording an episode of Candy Chat Chicago, and we'll just go back to the Denver episode because that is the episode that makes us cry from laughing so hard. What I love about it, honestly, it's the same things I loved about Jackass, which should have made the list (how did I not talk about Jackass Forever?), we are starting to get more positive representation of male friendship. And I think this show it was recorded both John and Adam have lost parents young. And this was recorded at a time when we had been vaccinated and the world was starting to open up again. And so they're they're traveling the country after a year of quarantine. really aware of what it means not to be with your friends and your family. And there's so much heart in between the laughter and so much realness that this little show. I hope someone picks it up for a second season. Let's keep talking about it. Let's keep watching about watching it and do watch the Denver episode all the way through the credits. Because you will be crying crying at the you'll just just watch it.   A book I read that then I bought for two people for Christmas and Hanukkah gift. So now I can talk about it is the biography of Mike Nichols called Mike Nichols a life by Mark Harris. Again, this was something that people were talking about on podcasts. And I had some audible credits and I picked it up and just lived in Mike Nichols world for like three weekends. just listened to it playing match three games on my phone and nonstop listening to Mike Nichols story. He is at some level, the for the real life Forrest Gump of pop culture and New York culture from like 1950 Odd. He is everywhere. He's friends with everyone. He's foes with everyone at certain times, but it is a compelling biography to understand pop culture, from truly from like the 1950s on, charted through his life. And then tonight, I ran out and picked up a painting by local artists Phineas Jones, other than my own dad's art, Phineas is the person is the next person that I have the most art in my house from. He was selling some original paintings and so I got an original little painting of some Chicago hot dogs. So with that, rounding out the podcast the best of 2022 Are. We've got clips from Lindsay Liddell, who I know from the Doughboys community, Robert Persinger, also known as drop King, who I know from the Doughboys community, Keidra Cheney, who is one of my very longtime Twitter pals. And Jocelyn Geboy, my co host on andy Chat Chicago Rounding things out. I do expect to wake up to two more clips. And so there will either be clips from Jaqui and Taylor when I wake up and they will be added to this, or you know that you will hear from him this year when I finally get to sit down and interview them. So with that, wash your hands, wear your mask, get your booster and keep enjoying your favorite things.   Doughboys Excerpt: Burger King 6 with Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus   Mike Mitchell  55:59 Wiges, how are you?   Nick Wiger  56:00 I'm doing well.   Mike Mitchell  56:01 Look, we have we have one guest it's way overdue. And then and then another   Jon Gabrus  56:07 who's the exact opposite of overdue.   Nick Wiger  56:11 Our most frequent guest, this is this is the duo. This is the odd couple that we have with us today. And, Mitch, we want to we want to get to them because they've been doing media all day. I'm sure they're their little bushwhacked. But before we do that, you got your you got to drop.   Mike Mitchell  56:25 I'm looking for it. All right, just   Nick Wiger  56:29 I can't believeyou're not ready with this. I said.   Mike Mitchell  56:33 We usually talk for five to 10 minutes. Well, you could have read time.   Nick Wiger  56:38 Yeah, but our guests were like, Hey, we we've been we're fucking wiped.   Mike Mitchell  56:42 I know. But that's if you get into Rush mode, it's going to be a bad episode. So don't go into Rush mode.   Nick Wiger  56:49 Well, I'm not going to rush mode. It's going to be good episode because our guests are great. I guess.   Adam Pally  56:53 Is this the Podcast?  This is what it is. Yeah. Yeah.   Jon Gabrus  56:57 Honestly, dude, I'm the most frequent guest and more or less, this is what it   emma  57:02 Mitch, do you want me to play it?   Mike Mitchell  57:03 No, I got it. I got it. I found it.   Nick Wiger  57:05 Gabrus was was air drumming some Neil Peart, I should say at the mention of Rush, which was Rush mode. That was a lot of fun for me. I saw that was the first concert I went to at the Anaheim pond   Adam Pally  57:16 Really? The first concert you went to is rush?   Nick Wiger  57:18 Yes,   Jon Gabrus  57:18 Mine was Soul Asylum at Jones Beach.   Nick Wiger  57:21 Wow.   Adam Pally  57:22 New Kids on the Block Rush  on the continental arrowheads. Oh, yeah. That's awesome.   Mike Mitchell  57:27 Mine was WBCN River Rave I believe is the first concert I went to. I saw the boss the Mighty Mighty Bosstones less than Jake. Yeah. Let's just   Jon Gabrus  57:38 lead with artists so that people know what you're talking about. Yeah, I don't quite remember the name of the tour. I want you otters jug band Christmas that my first concert was jingle ball 1992. Sponsored by Cadillac. Play the drums bass Hall.   Mike Mitchell  58:02 I went to I went to Roger Waters concert. My friend my friend's mom, Mrs. Tufo. She gave us a ride. My friend Martin he gave me what he said was acid. I bought it from him. And I took it and I was in the van with Mrs. Too far. She drove us to the concert. And then when we got out, he was like, that was vitamin C. It wasn't acid at all. But I think they expected me to like flip out and act like be like, This is crazy, but I never did it. You know what I mean? I never felt for the I passed the test. You know what I mean? Right? And, but then I did take two tabs of mescaline at that concert. It was really crazy.   Jon Gabrus  58:36 For how could you tell what was the mescaline in Hi-C? Right   Mike Mitchell  58:42 Alright, here's the drop Hold on. I'm gonna I got it. I got it loaded up.   Jon Gabrus  58:48 And you're gonna leave all this in right?   Mike Mitchell  58:51 I just think the crowd was changing   emma  58:54 not editing this at all. We haven't even announced our names to happen yet. Yes. All this shit has to happen first.   Mike Mitchell  59:06 I was watching prehistoric planet alright, I'll save that for later alright, here we go. Here we go. Wiges, Here is a little drop. Here we go plastic fork city. The city is also weird That's it. Perfect fucking length. It was nice and short. It was nice and short when   Jon Gabrus  59:52 he sat literally that's the only clip I've ever heard that's both not too short and not too long.   Mike Mitchell  59:58 I was kind of perfect. Yeah, great length. Hey, while you Norman in Boston, Mitch asked us to get back to the simple life drops with one or two clips from the show. To that end. Here's my Ode to Guns and Roses. Hope to see in Chicago in 2022. Oh, that was cancelled because of COVID xoxo Leah, aka Chicago Leah and the Doughscord  Hey, thanks for Chicago Leah. Thanks, Chicago Leah. Thanks.   Lyndsey Little  1:00:29 I'm Lindsay Liddell. And this is a strange list, but three of my favorite things are monsters, food and podcasts. This year was very unusual for me in the sense that it became such a culmination of significant moments for me, all relating to three of my favorite things. The stranger still was how my favorite things all intermingled together in some way, it felt like synchronicity. It began when as an avid listener of the Doughboys podcast, I joined the fan community Doughscord. I quickly felt at home there and made many friendships with others who loved the hosts, Nick and Mitch, and we all shared a mutual love of fast food of course, separate from this and after some time had passed, I along with two others began hosting our own horror movie recap podcast called Stories to Dismember. Even though the three of us had met through Reddit we surprisingly and quickly formed friendships and almost a familial bond. It's been a really fun and fulfilling project. And it just really gives me a love for podcasts in a whole other way now, in fact, it was our pleasure to have Doughboys host Mitch on as our guest for Halloween. For some added complexity and confusion to the layers of my favorite things. Long before I was a Doughboys listener and Mitch starred in my favorite show love on Netflix, so for me personally, it was a dream come true for him to speak with us. As an aside, Nick, if you are serious about guesting with the stories to dismember team we would still love to have you. You know where to find me flitting around on Discord. So anyone listening to this if you love podcasts, I presume this is one of your favorite ones, but also check out Doughboys if you love fast food, and if you love horror movies or monsters, then check out stories to dismember. And if your favorite thing is just Mitch Mitchell, then check out our episode where he guested with stories to dismember. Thank you so much for letting me share some of my favorite things Leah and I hope you have a wonderful new year.   Robert Persinger  1:02:34 Hello, my name is Robert per singer. And my favorite things from this year were traveling to new cities. I visited Milwaukee in Boston for some live shows and had an amazing time seeing the sights and meeting some great people. In Boston, I wanted to shout out the TAM. Jam curlies, the Trillium beer garden, Regina pizzeria, Legal Seafood, tasty burger emack and folios Mangia Mangia, Mike's pastry and the union Oyster House. In Milwaukee, I wanted to shout out to Feroz while skis, Thurman 15. Up down the Milwaukee Public Museum, Boone and Crockett, the Milwaukee pedal tavern, 's ads foundation Culvers lakefront brewing, lost whale, burn hearts, straight shots. Ian's else's Bryant's and landmark lanes, so happy to have met so many awesome people in these cities. And I wanted to include them too. So shout out to Kevin, Chelsea, Phish greeing, Aaron, Gino, Zayn. Kev, Nick. smo, Shawn, demo, Jess ,Taylor, shifty, Lou. And of course, Leah. If I forgot anyone, I apologize. It was a very fun time after all, here's to a great 2023   Keidra Cheney  1:04:11 So this is Keidra. So I wanted to share a couple of things to be alive trying to figure out what to share for the best of 2022 because 2022 didn't seem terribly eventful. And when it was eventful, it wasn't so great. Um, but there were things that were really good about the year. And one of the best things for me this year in pop culture, which is my usual obsession is a show that I constantly talk about called south side, which is on HBO Max. It's a comedy very Chicago. It's done by a group of actors and producers who are from the south side of Chicago and So the humor is very, very Southside and very Chicago specific, really funny, very weird at times, like a lot of funny, weird sci fi and geek culture-oriented humor, but also just random humor. So if you like to think of what it might be close, I compared it to, It's Always Sunny in that the characters are not supposed to be characters that are like, moral in any way, or like people that you should look up to. They're just, you know, weirdos doing, doing their thing in the world, working at a rent to own center, and basically taking people's stuff back once they can't afford it anymore. I'm probably not explaining it very well. But it is really hilarious. It's really not meant to have like, any broader message outside of making you laugh. And it's made me laugh more than any show that I've seen in the past decade, except for maybe the first season of Arrested Development. And that is like, like, the gold standard for me in terms of making you laugh. So yeah, Southside on HBO Max, three seasons, just perfection to me, every season has gotten better. And I just laugh at it nonstop. And I'm probably going to turn this off and watch the third season over again, as soon as I'm done with this. The other thing that has been really great for me, for 2022 That was my personal best, is starting to follow a lot of rabbit accounts on Instagram and Twitter. I love rabbits. I hope next year I will finally have a rabbit of my own. I just think they're cute and funny and weird and just adorable. And interesting little guys, and I just love seeing them eat and jump and zoom around. And just be lovely, lovely fellas and ladies, I follow Red Bull shelter on Instagram and there is an account that I follow on Twitter every morning and every evening they basically show this rabbit eating a meal alongside of his person. So this person is like eating super avocado toast or whatever in the rabbit is just they're eating their pellets or hay or greens every morning and evening. And I love to start and end my day with watching that burn habits delicious meal. So those are my favorite things of 2022 the things that really made me smile and made my life better. And I am wishing you and everyone listening a very happy new year and here's to a much better 2023 Then this past year   Jocelyn  1:07:54 fix Harry it's Jocelyn did this last year kind of off the cuff this time I made notes. I am dears best friends with Leah and co host of our joint podcast. Candy Chat Chicago, come to the candy state with the chat. So that has been a joy that has continued to be a joy. This year has really been something Hmm. I've had I had the joy and the honor and the privilege of being able to be with Leah while she navigated and figured out did cancer. And I was glad to be a part of that journey. Even better to have her be on the other side of it. Um, lots of things happened not to me, but I've seen I saw friends get married. I saw friends have babies. I saw friends get engaged. I saw one dear friend get a new job. She was really excited. So I've kind of been watching and letting things swirl around me. Lee is going to talk about I'm sure but she turned me on to the show called 101 Places to Party Before You Die. It's Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus. Oh my god, it's I want to tell you all the funny parts but like, it's kind of like you literally had to be there so like just go watch it and maybe you maybe think it's funny. Maybe you will I just fucking couldn't stop laughing. Um, I got the opportunity to see the Avett brothers again in 2022 for three night run at the Chicago theater March 31 first through April 2 It's been a really long time since I'd seen them so that was really nice and it was really nice to see and catch up with old friends and make new friends as well. firepit is still fucking rock and life we know that it's it's it's it's always been good and it continued to be good to us this year as well. I this new band I really loved called The Diff. They're kind of back on tour from their from the 80s from out east I don't know Massachusetts or something And they came back together and did a reunion show. I don't know earlier this fall, and it was really great. And I was really excited to see them. So that was a fun part of this year. Um, How Did This Get Made podcasts championed by Leah for many, many years, and I have problems listening to words like talk radio and stuff. So despite the fact that I have a podcast, it's been sort of hard for me to listen to one, but this is Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas and these cats are off the chain so I went to a live courtesy of Leah to a live taping of a show. the premise they don't like you know, how did this movie Get me and Chicago show was Morbius Jared Leto vampires Matt Smith weirdness and so it was really fun to it was really fun to listen to you and to go to go to you to make part of and Leah got some really fun interactions with Mantzoukas and Paul and all of them actually. So it was really it was really great. That was fun. And other than that, I wrote all my notes. I'm just putting out there for the year. I have a lot of attentions, always right. I always want to write that book. I always want to do the one woman show. But ultimately, like I really had an epiphany Today I had a little mini meltham panic attack over really nothing really if in the scheme of things that were told you the story you'd be like, okay, but I really my intention for the years to let go of that which does not serve me immediately. possessions, attitudes mindsets. I don't think it's gonna be easy to do but I think one of the mindsets that dogs me is this all or nothing thing black or white? I do it or I don't. And so I think this will be a fun way to kind of exercise that is to like, let go stick stuff like that. Right? Like even if I'm not letting go of stuff like you realize, like, it's not all or nothing like I get every day and I can I can you know do it again over and over again. And meeting my friend Jo was a huge part of this year. Mutual actually of Leah, so that's always fun when that shit works out. But um, yeah, I really glad to be around again, the sun one more time. Sure. It's crazy, but she's great too. And I wish you all a very happy new year and a great 2023   Announcer  1:12:30 Thank you for listening to finding favorites with Leah Jones. Please make sure to subscribe and drop us a five star review on iTunes. Now go out and enjoy your favorite things.   Steve  1:12:46 Now how do I stop this? That's a great question. Stop. I guess I'll just leave

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the International edition from Interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news China is scrapping their tough pandemic restrictions as the economic toll mounts. It was a broader back-down than expected as their stagnant economy now demands remedies.But first in the US, mortgage applications and mortgage interest rates fell last week in an extended retreat reflecting a weakening of an already weak housing market.However, there are signs in the US that holiday season retail sales may not be as weak as feared. Many retailers are embracing their higher inventory levels and see it as a competitive advantage. Consumers seem to be responding.In Canada, their central bank raised its policy rate by +50 bps to 4.25% earlier today. It is also shrinking its balance sheet in a continuing tightening phase. However, it has opened the possibility that they may be near the end of their rate hike cycle for now.In Beijing, their National Health Commission set out 10 new measures, less than a month after it started the reopening process with 20 guidelines for officials to minimise social disruption. Despite a buildup in expectations in recent weeks, markets appeared to be taken aback by how far-reaching these moves were. An initial rally fizzled as investors worried about a spike in infections and the chaos that might result from such sweeping changes.Separately, Chinese exports dived by nearly -9% in November from a year ago. Their imports fell more than -10% on the same basis. Both were results far worse than expected, and far worse than the falls recorded in October. This was the second straight month of decline in shipments, amid weakening global demand due to high inflation and as production disruptions lingered.China's official foreign reserves rose in November however, buoyed by a rise in the USD and rising asset values in the month.In India and as expected, their central bank raised its policy rate by +35 bps to 6.25% late yesterday. It was seen as a hawkish shift in policy.In Australia, their economy expanded +5.9% (real) in Q3-2022 from Q3-2021, but only +0.6% of that was in the September quarter, and that was less than was expected. Nominally, their dollar rise was +13.1% from a year ago, but the Q3 weakness was very pronounced in this nominal data.One of the most striking parts of this GDP release is the level of embedded inflation it reveals. Household prices are rising at an +8% rate in Q3 (+2.0% q-on-q), and wage inflation is running at an even faster +10% rate (+2.6% q-on-q)The UST 10yr yield starts today at 3.44% and down -12 bps from this time yesterday. The price of gold will open today up at US$1783/oz and up +US$12.And oil prices start today down another -US$1.50 from this time yesterday at just on US$3/bbl in the US while the international Brent price is down to just over US$78/bbl.The Kiwi dollar will open today at 63.6 USc, and again a little firmer than this time yesterday. Against the Australian dollar we are also firmer at 94.7 AUc. Against the euro we are at 60.6 euro cents and up slightly. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at 72.2 and up another +30 bps overnight.The bitcoin price is now at US$16,812 and down -0.9% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has modest at just +/- 1.3%.You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.And get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Circle and FTX US.   On today's episode, NLW covers Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Nominally the big news was the fourth consecutive 75 bps rate hike. But the big news was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used the presser as an occasion to again remind markets that any talk of pivots or changes is premature. In fact, he shared that data received since September was likely leading the Fed to revise upwards estimates of where it believes the peak federal funds rate will need to land.  - Nexo Pro allows you to trade on the spot and futures markets with a 50% discount on fees. You always get the best possible prices from all the available liquidity sources and can earn interest or borrow funds as you wait for your next trade. Get started today on pro.nexo.io. - Circle, the sole issuer of the trusted and reliable stablecoin USDC, is our sponsor for today's show. USDC is a fast, cost-effective solution for global payments at internet speeds. Learn how businesses are taking advantage of these opportunities at Circle's USDC Hub for Businesses. - FTX US is the safe, regulated way to buy Bitcoin, ETH, SOL and other digital assets. Trade crypto with up to 85% lower fees than top competitors and trade ETH and SOL NFTs with no gas fees and subsidized gas on withdrawals. Sign up at FTX.US today. - “The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsors today is “War” by Enoch Yang. Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.

Those looking for signs of a more dovish Federal Reserve were disappointed. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Circle and FTX US.On today's episode, NLW covers Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Nominally the big news was the fourth consecutive 75 bps rate hike. But the big news was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used the presser as an occasion to again remind markets that any talk of pivots or changes is premature. In fact, he shared that data received since September was likely leading the Fed to revise upwards estimates of where it believes the peak federal funds rate will need to land. -Nexo Pro allows you to trade on the spot and futures markets with a 50% discount on fees. You always get the best possible prices from all the available liquidity sources and can earn interest or borrow funds as you wait for your next trade. Get started today on pro.nexo.io.-Circle, the sole issuer of the trusted and reliable stablecoin USDC, is our sponsor for today's show. USDC is a fast, cost-effective solution for global payments at internet speeds. Learn how businesses are taking advantage of these opportunities at Circle's USDC Hub for Businesses.-FTX US is the safe, regulated way to buy Bitcoin, ETH, SOL and other digital assets. Trade crypto with up to 85% lower fees than top competitors and trade ETH and SOL NFTs with no gas fees and subsidized gas on withdrawals. Sign up at FTX.US today.-“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsors today is “War” by Enoch Yang. Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In his Cello Suites, JS Bach catapulted the instrument into the solo spotlight and discovered new worlds of sound and possibilities, full of riches to explore. Nominally it's dance music but its depth and beauty bring us stillness and solace.  Listening time: 25 mins (podcast 7', music 18') Performances here on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music (whole album link) played by the wonderful David Watkin. If you like it, you can buy a recording as a high quality download here. The proper title for the piece is: JS Bach: Cello Suite no. 1 in G, BWV1007   What do you think? Let me know with an easy voicemail or comment at Cacophonyonline.com, Facebook or Twitter.   If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways: - share this episode with someone you know - share the 100 second trailer - send us a little something at ko-fi.com - subscribe/ review and keep listening!   Thanks for listening!  

Expensive energy is an economic, psychological, and political scourge. Nominally, gas prices are at a record high. Adjusted for inflation, they could break the all-time record if they rise just another 35 cents. We should be desperately curious to solve this problem; so, that's what this episode is all about. Today's guest is Skanda Amarnath, the executive director at Employ America, which has quickly become one of my very favorite sources of research and commentary on economics. He is also the coauthor of an ingenious plan to increase oil capacity in a way that could reasonably bring down gas prices. This episode gets pretty deep into the weeds of policy and oil markets. But it was one of the most educational conversations I've had on this show. And I hope you find it similarly stimulating. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Skanda Amarnath Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I don't write them. I just read them. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bling-viera/message

Pastor Bill: [0:00] Hello and welcome to season 3 episode 78 of the Berean Manifesto. Intro And Outro Music Pastor Bill: [0:08] And love for the modern Christian I'm Pastor Bill and I'm joined as always, by baldy over here Pastor newms all the way from the state of Tennessee and the last week I said joined by always instead of as always and we had some fun with that and I made it. Pastor Newms: [0:24] There was no by you just said joined always. Pastor Bill: [0:29] Joined I always whatever it was. Pastor Newms: [0:31] You just said joined always lies if we were conjoined and it was very we did. Pastor Bill: [0:35] We had a lot of fun with it and I clipped it and I put it on my twitch my Tick-Tock so that was a lot of fun so. Pastor Newms: [0:44] Yes I'm talking about the new shirt. Pastor Bill: [0:47] Bigs pointed out this is the the next shirt design that we're highlighting that we're going to be selling at Dallas Pride on June 4th we've got a nice. Heart ish looking symbol and the middle it's not. It's open to interpretation what it is but if it makes me I when I see it I see like it's kind of like a heart you know and then it's just fully loved along this one side and it's got the two scriptures in the and the website down there, and so that's one of the shirts and then it's got all the colors of the rainbow and once again it is featuring a saint, there's just turned and positioned in a in an interesting way to yeah to. The heart looking shape so this is one of the shirts that will be selling it pride cool all right passengers how was your. Pastor Newms: [1:52] Looks pretty good I worked a bunch and play games bunch and did not, we did not stream this week for the church we did know gaming with the pastors are our gameplay was quite Limited. Pastor Bill: [2:11] We didn't do a lot of gaming even. Pastor Newms: [2:13] Will you didn't you were busy. Pastor Bill: [2:15] I was making that I said we I was making that Mother's Day present for my chillins mama. Pastor Newms: [2:26] Yeah and so not a ton of stuff real busy at work work is work is crazy busy right now is I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. Pastor Bill: [2:37] Can I just say this shirt is super soft. Pastor Newms: [2:40] Didn't you get the kinds that we really like. Pastor Bill: [2:44] Um for the new Free Hug shirts I did, this is not quite the same blend but it is so soft that I'm tempted to just not wear an undershirt in the future when I wear these shirts. Pastor Newms: [3:00] That's interesting I. Pastor Bill: [3:02] Which is weird for me. Pastor Newms: [3:03] I realized like 30 seconds before going live then I'm not even wearing a graphic tee and I'm just literally wearing a George shirt from Walmart and, which I usually don't do on Sunday nights. Pastor Bill: [3:14] But you love those George shirt. Pastor Newms: [3:15] Love these George sure I don't know what it is about them recently that they are just phenomenal they've upped their game which. Pastor Bill: [3:24] Nominally. Pastor Newms: [3:25] Which is crazy because. Pastor Bill: [3:28] Prince Ali yes it is he. Pastor Newms: [3:32] I don't like Target I was I'm always been a Walmart person it might have something to do with work. Pastor Bill: [3:38] Now you're going to you're going to upset the cult of. Pastor Newms: [3:41] I understand it's fine. Pastor Bill: [3:42] We're going to get angry. Pastor Newms: [3:43] I'm sure that's not the only one we're going to get angry emails about by the end of this night but that's beside the. Pastor Bill: [3:47] Man. Pastor Newms: [3:48] So I wouldn't do a Target and like zaidi and said targets close have gone downhill and I went in there and it looks, Walmart like all the all the things were just piles of clothes and there was trash in the aisles and it was it was all kinds of like. Pastor Bill: [4:23] I love that it looked like Walmart and then proceeds to list off all of these horrible things that we're going on. Pastor Newms: [4:32] But the quality of clothes supposedly has gone down I don't know I don't buy their clothes I barely by Walmart clothes I barely buy clothes I still have clothes from high school. Pastor Bill: [4:44] Minion gun on Twitch says that they love targets button up shirt. Pastor Newms: [4:48] Never tried one they might they might be. Pastor Bill: [4:51] I wouldn't know. Pastor Newms: [4:52] They might be great. Pastor Bill: [4:53] I used to buy you know I used to buy a lot of clothes from Walmart until I got too big they don't so close in my size, and target has never sold clothes in my size, once I you know turn 16 I couldn't buy clothes it targeted me more because they were all too small for me so yeah and now I exclusively by a big and tall stores for everything not because I'm tall but because, um so I don't really have a favorite for clothes Walmart or Target because none of their clothes fit me you'd think in the country with an obesity epidemic, um we would be easier to get clothes for a fat person but it's not it's not easy getting close as a fat person, so Pastor Newms: [5:45] No it's not um how was your week. Pastor Bill: [5:52] My week was good I feel good this week, I got up at a good time most days I wasn't like drugging myself on the bed and and so I've just I don't know I've had a good feeling this week I've gotten, back to being able to eat salads every day this week I did that so that that always helps make me feel a little better too but I don't know I just had to really good good week and I look good. So all right well it's time for getting to know the pastures and we've already gone through my whole deck. Pastor Newms: [6:31] So Pastor Bill: [6:32] And I thought I had another interview deck but I don't see it I'll have to look for it again this week so we'll go ahead and pull a card from your deck and see where we go. Pastor Newms: [6:41] All right so what would your dream house look like be as descriptive as possible. Pastor Bill: [6:50] My dream house be as descriptive as possible. Pastor Newms: [6:53] Not where you live is that pretty much the only way. Pastor Bill: [6:58] So I want a house that's got like one floor for each person and then one floor, as the communal living area at the bottom and then it's got to have the elevators and then all Glass Walls once you get above a couple of floors so you can see the scenery out, and other than that I don't really have any of them just give me some elevators get me up there. Pastor Newms: [7:25] See you in mines exactly the opposite it would be completely underground cave system Style with you know everything that that. Pastor Bill: [7:34] But see that's the beauty of our relationship is it could be the same building. Pastor Newms: [7:40] With lots and lots of rooms. Pastor Bill: [7:42] Yours floors could be sub and my floors could be out and and Minion got on Twitch made a nice callback to an Audio Adrenaline classic. Pastor Newms: [7:51] He just wants a big house a big big house. Pastor Bill: [7:55] Big house a big big house with lots and lots of rooms big big yard where we can play football that sounds like my father's house. Pastor Newms: [8:08] Yeah it's it's definitely. Yeah I am not one that cares a lot about what the house looks like I'm more about the function, I don't like a lot of windows I don't like a lot of that kind of stuff I prefer, closed spaces underground is nice also because the heating and air bills are lower because it holds temperature better and these new 3D printed houses are pretty nice if you 3D printed the bunker and then. Pastor Bill: [8:47] Something that happened this week as well you brought up 3D printed houses and zaidi was like a what now. Pastor Newms: [8:54] What what's a 3D printed house. Pastor Bill: [8:56] What are you talking about 3D print and I bet in her brain she was literally thinking of the little 3D printers and like 3D printing one little piece at a time. Pastor Newms: [9:05] And putting it together because she's like she's like like a prefab house and I'm like. Pastor Bill: [9:19] Yeah they come in with a big machine and it spits out concrete in the design around and around and back and forth around around just like 3D printing its snake. Pastor Newms: [9:31] Yeah it's a lot of fun. Pastor Bill: [9:36] So you'd live underground and I would live up as high as possible, and it could all be the same house and I could just feel like I need to go to the studio and I get in my elevator and I hit sub-sub bait subfloor one and that's like this the studio like we worked there and, record podcast and stuff that'd be fun. 11 or but one end or both of us needs to win the lottery a couple times and make that a reality. Pastor Newms: [10:02] Good luck. Pastor Bill: [10:04] That's that's why they'll never happen for me right there good luck. Pastor Newms: [10:12] And yes Biggs we actually cuz me and Biggs were doing a puzzle today we had the windows open to you know so we didn't have unnatural light and we did we complained the whole time and, yes the only thing above ground I believe needs to be a castle turret just. Pastor Bill: [10:32] A moat and some turrets. Pastor Newms: [10:33] Just a moat and some turrets in everyone's like where's the rest of the house uh-huh. Pastor Bill: [10:37] It's underneath is underneath that I need the. Pastor Newms: [10:39] Don't worry about it. Pastor Bill: [10:41] You do if you don't know you don't need. [10:48] All right so, let's Unite we are. Going to be breaching something that's touchy and I think everybody saw this coming because of everything that's been going on this week but first thing I want to I want to poll is. Are we. Team depth or team heard because it seems like it would be hard to be team heard it had to be like Team Russia to be team heard at this point. Pastor Newms: [11:22] It's real hard to, I have not consumed all of it on purpose but I know I have been boycotting d.c. for a while just, from the beginning so I'll let that you can take that to mean whatever you would like. Pastor Bill: [11:48] Because you are already team death. Pastor Newms: [11:49] Yeah so but the. Is either person perfect know both people had issues made mistakes blah blah blah. I believe one didn't lie as much and I believe one didn't. Cause issues as much but it's always hard in those types of situations too. Do you know we have a we have a thoughts process of, we have to believe you know, certain aspects we have to love we have to respect we have to you know and so I've left it very much I don't know as Phoenix said, as the evidence is come out we're pretty much able to make some determinations but it is still always hard with situations like that. Pastor Bill: [13:12] All right everything came out this week was a leak from the Supreme Court. Pastor Newms: [13:20] There was. Pastor Bill: [13:20] Right there was a leak from the Supreme Court and the leak said and it was a draft of a. A majority opinion the majority opinion means it's the the winner of a, of a court case to have a majority opinion someone's chosen to write the majority opinion and someone's chosen to RIT right the dissenting opinion the majority opinion is of well this is why the court agreed and gave favor too the dissenting opinion is always well this is why certain judges voted against in a court case. Pastor Newms: [14:01] Hm Pastor Bill: [14:02] And this majority opinion LED everyone who read it to believe because it almost point-blank said it that the cases of Roe and Casey were both going to have to be overturned. Moving forward and so this put a lot of people up in arms and there's a lot of turmoil going on and there's a lot of, rhetoric being used now back and forth but what. [14:41] Hertz is the right word me the most is the Christian rhetoric so I want to start off and and just, relate something from my past right quick and then we'll look at a couple of scriptures and then we'll break down kind of, how we should look at situations like this I'm not going to tell you what to believe on the topic your, a human being that's capable of hearing from the Holy Spirit and making your own mind up but I want to I want to, just illuminate the areas and and it's going to be tough it's it's it's a tough issue but we don't shy away from tough issues just because they're tough, um we want to talk about things like this and not Echo chamber talk but actually have a critical conversation about, you know how we see things and how we portray ourselves and how Christianity is being portrayed and so. Take a trip back with me several several years ago before. Not before I get shortly after 9/11. Pastor Newms: [15:54] Okay. Pastor Bill: [15:55] So 9/11 happens and. Everybody's searching for a sama Bin Laden right Asama Bin Laden hadn't been captured yet Saddam Hussein hadn't been captured yet and so, everyone is looking for these guys and I'm working at a Christian Ministry and we're having this prayer time, every morning every morning as a department we would get together first thing in the morning and we would have prayer we would have worship we would have you know just a little time just to reset our hearts and our minds from being out in the world so that we could do work in the ministry space. [16:37] And we're having this prayer time and the person that's leading that day starts praying that God would be with the soldiers that are hunting for Saddam Hussein. And kill him and it broke my heart. Because may I understand from an American standpoint, we're in a war with those people be I understand from your political standpoint he is your enemy see I understand from a worldview you know he's hurting his people. But I also understand that historically throughout scripture God has moved on dictators. And turn their hearts and led whole Nations to repentance and Revival. [17:41] And instead of praying for God to move and for God to do what God does and for God to intervene and for God to change the heart and for God to revolutionize the country and for God to, we're praying for this leader to be killed. And I just can't. [18:07] Can't reconcile that kind of thing with my heart with my beliefs with my thought process I am, I'm pro-life and when I say that I mean I am anti-death penalty I am anti-war I am. Pastor Newms: [18:25] Annoyingly so huh aye aye vote huh I said annoyingly so. Pastor Bill: [18:35] Annoyingly so and so War I am yes I'm anti abortion but no I'm not anti. [18:45] Woman who finds herself in a situation I believe that people should be loved no matter what, um it's like there's the one song, walk a mile in another person's shoes and it's got the whole verse about the girl who the young man told her you know all baby we're going to be together forever and I love you and and then, they get intimate and she becomes pregnant through months later he's you know he's onto something new, and she's a teenage girl left with this decision of you know this is this is going to wreck my whole life she makes tickets decision to go get an abortion and she's met at the abortion clinic with people calling her a sinner and a whore instead of oh baby girl, let me hold you let me love you let me take care of you I'm sorry you're in this situation instead of actually doing Ministry to the person we've over and over and over and I say we because I'm a believer that, I take responsibility for what we as Christians do, the church it's not enough to say well I don't personally do that but that church over there is doing it until we're all on the same page we're all guilty for what that church is doing. [20:13] And so that's where we are right now in this situation so let's I just I want to talk about I just want to bring up a couple of scriptures and then will you know will dig more into. How we should look at all of this but the first thing is there's there's the bump the scripture bump scripture which was John 15 and 19 and. We're going to have to remove this statement why are my caught my comments not going to Twitch. Pastor Newms: [20:50] I don't know it didn't when I did it earlier to I fixed it. Pastor Bill: [20:53] We're going to have to remove a statement from its context but not take it out of context okay, so this is Jesus talking he says if the world hates you understand that it hated me before it hated you, if you were of the world the world would love you as its own however because you are not of the world I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you now we're not going to talk about whether or not the world hates us or is persecuting us or whatever. As an American in in in this day and age is a Christian I don't feel persecuted I feel what's the word I'm looking for. Pastor Newms: [21:37] What's the word you looking for sometimes. Pastor Bill: [21:40] Discriminated against very slightly. Pastor Newms: [21:45] Very. Pastor Bill: [21:46] But nowhere near to what I see people of other color receiving, I don't feel that kind of discriminated and I certainly don't feel persecuted like say the Muslims trying to live in China right now that are in are in actual concentration camps, I don't I'm not living that life I don't feel any of that I'm free to go to church and to share the name of Jesus and to you know read my Bible and to pray in public eye I don't feel hated, but what the idea that I want to pull from here is, you are not of the world so when we look at these situations we see these things going around on around us we have to remember, that we don't have to get caught up in all that we don't have to let it sway us, to and fro and affect us to the point where we're distraught or overburdened or were you know at a loss for how to respond because we're not of this world. [22:56] We're here but we're not of the world, we're of different stock okay and then the other thing I wanted to talk about, marked it with my my thing and I don't know where it was okay here we go it's Kitty type this in for me newms it's Matthew chapter 22, and we're going to start at verse 15 and go through 21. [23:31] Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him Jesus by what he said so they sent their disciples to him along with the herodians, teacher they said we know that you are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God you don't care what anyone thinks nor do you show partiality, tell us then what you think is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not, perceiving their malicious intent Jesus said why are you testing me Hypocrites show me the coin used for the tax they brought him a Denarius whose image and inscription is this he asked, Caesars they said to him then he said to them give then to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are gods, when they heard this they were amazed so they left him and went away now. [24:26] A lot of people strictly use this to go you see there you should pay your taxes, give unto Caesar what is Caesar's given to pay your tithe you should pay your taxes right there says, that's not exactly the idea that they do is cut that is covered but that's not exactly what's going on there what's going on there is almost literally the separation of church and state. The state is one thing and you given to the state what is do the state the church is another thing and you given to the church what is the church. The state should not be telling the church how to do ministry as in you can't tell me that I can't feed the poor, like some of the laws that have been passed in California where it's illegal to how have food lines out on the street now you can't feed the poor you shouldn't be able to tell me that I can't have a Bible study, which I'm not talking about covid I'm not I get it I understand putting a restriction on people but with today's technology that is not an actual restriction that is just a change of mode I mean look at us. Pastor Newms: [25:42] Yeah we changed. Pastor Bill: [25:43] Right here we changed modes, um the church State shouldn't be putting limits on the church within reason of ministry now the state can go no no no no you're not going to come in and bite a bunch of people with snakes, that's an actual health hazard we're going to have to cool a Bosch that the state can do that okay I get that, but at the same time Christians shouldn't be trying to legislate morality. [26:19] Or not even morality but try to take, um historical precedence from our religious beliefs and say will it's always been like this so it's the law should be like this. That's not how that works the state should serve the people as a secular institution and the church Serve the People, as a church, can they coexist and even work together one help the other get his job done and one help the other get their job done absolutely that that would be brilliant that would be beautiful, but for people to go in and say we need to overturn Roe versus Wade. [27:15] You're killing babies and my faith tells me we shouldn't be killing babies okay, you're allowed to feel, that your faith instructs you that all life is precious and that life begins at a certain point you're allowed to feel that. Okay you're not allowed to pass a law. That then tells other people they have to feel the way your faith tells you to feel, they don't have that faith not all of them and the ones that do have that Faith perhaps they've grasp a hold of First Corinthians chapter 13 and realize that there is faith, there is hope but greater than those more important than those is love. And if we're not loving others first and foremost. Then we're doing a dish Justice to our faith and were stealing. [28:29] Okay so for you to stand outside of an abortion clinic and yell you're killing babies. And you're going to go to hell that is not love, for you to stand outside of an abortion clinic and say do you need a ride home after do you need someone who can talk to you before and after if you choose to go in. [28:57] I'm here for you I'll take you to a meal let's let's work through this that's love right. But if you want to get rid of something like abortion that you see as a violation of your faith. Then you have to figure out how to do that long before. They're at an abortion clinic long before they become pregnant and long before they're even in a relationship. Right, we have to destigmatize sex for one because right now the way we the church handle sex is with a veil, we stigmatize it we mystify it we hide it and so young people come up under this this Veil and they go oh well I have to hide that I can't let you know, that I'm feeling that way I can't let you know that I'm doing that thing, and then they're having unprotected sex they're having dangerous sex they're having sex that leads them to pregnancy long before they're ready, and then chain kicks in and what are their options. [30:24] What are they supposed to do, are they supposed to come to you in that shame and fear and talk about this thing that that's this consequence of this thing that's happened they couldn't even talk about the act of, before because we created a lifestyle of Shame surrounding sex okay, we have to demystify that to we have to teach about and make available contraceptives all your give them permission to send your given permission sin I am not I'm not, I'm giving them a safety net because sex happens, I taught my son I've taught my kids I can tell you the right way to do something over and over and over and over and over and over but until you're in the situation you can't know how you're going to respond. Period. Pastor Newms: [31:22] And it always fails talk to you. Pastor Bill: [31:24] And if all else fails go talk to him. Pastor Newms: [31:26] Shit. Pastor Bill: [31:30] We have to get rid of shame we have to demystify we have to make available contraceptions and teach about safe sex. Okay we have to teach you about this where to teach you about how it happens, why it happens what you can do to prevent it because it's not enough to say you can't get an abortion you have to bla bla bla we have to teach people how to prevent that from happening on both sides, young ladies need to know, what is going to happen to their body in this process and young men need to know if you do the deed you're responsible. [32:16] The mama as far as I'm concerned for my son if he gets a girl pregnant and she chooses to get an abortion I don't hold her accountable for that I hold him accountable for that life. He is accountable for the baby that just got taken to an abortion clinic. It's not on her it's on him now her parents can go deal with what's on her that's fine. But as far as I'm concerned he has a responsibility that he just threw away, and got a girl pregnant instead of doing the right thing taking the right steps choosing protection choosing situations that were better before he got into the heated. Right there's too much in our culture of well that's not the man's responsibility that's the ladies responsibility, and I grew up no lie I grew up seeing on TV and I can't believe I'm about to say this, one good thing that ever came out of my step dad's mouth, if you get a girl pregnant it's your responsibility to drive her up to that clinic and you have to pay for any procedure so you think about that before you get involved in a sexual relationship. [33:46] And so that stuck with me. I was responsible if I got a girl pregnant that was my fault I did that it didn't happen to her I did that to her. And I see a lot of that not being taught we don't teach young men by and large that they are responsible for their actions and they have to take responsibility for those actions. Pastor Newms: [34:12] Sadly we do the opposite sadly we demonize women for oh well you know how were you dressed how were you it's not a woman no no no it's a man's fault, when. Pastor Bill: [34:27] And now we're now we're we're preaching on the rape issue. So often a woman will report rape and the questions that come out of the police that's been documented over and over and over again is what were you wearing where were you walking where you junk how were you / trying yourself, that is not relevant in any way shape or form to catching the dirtbag, who forced himself on to this young lady and getting Justice for that young lady and if that young lady who's been raped, wants to get an abortion because that trauma is too deep and too rough and too vile for her to deal with I can't blame her for that, period she need any girl that's been raped whether it was pregnancy or not needs counseling, possibly a psychiatrist a psychologist a counselor and I'm not talking about okay first off that's not me I'm not a licensed counselor I have the title pastor, Pastor newms has the title pounced Pastor neither one of us are licensed counselors that's not what I'm talking about, I can I can give you a hug and I can love on you and I can treat you like one of my daughters. [35:55] But I am not licensed to help you deal with that trauma and there are a lot of pastors out here that have the right heart and the right intent and they want to love you and they want to help you but they're not qualified, paid to be dealing with those situations there are pastors out here that want to help with marriage counseling but aren't qualified to be a marriage counselor they're not license they're not they haven't trained they haven't gone through what needs to happen, um and then you've got the problem of incest, I don't even want to touch that one because that's so deep and dark and twisted and and confusing that I don't even begin to understand that situation. And so I'm going to leave that to someone else my main point here is. [37:02] We are different people all inside the one person right we've got our secular selves, and then we've got our faith-based selves we've got our hope base elves and we've got our love bass selves, our secular cells myself I'm States right person writes person I don't believe the government should be making laws, that limit a state's ability to govern, I don't believe the Supreme Court should be making decisions that limit a state's ability to make those decisions I believe the decision should be left up to the state, and mainly I believe that because states are run on a more democratic level closer to the people, and are easily more easily able to represent the actual people than the federal government that's why I hold that view. I also believe that the amendments to the Constitution, and the Supreme Court should and do exercise their rights to withhold power from governments to protect people, in this case Roe versus Wade and Casey versus, forgive me I can't remember who the other party in that case was but Rowan Casey passed in the Supreme Court because of privacy right. [38:31] That's why they were passed because the federal government the state government the city government the County Government, has no business sticking their head into your doctor's office and saying you can't get that kind of Medical Care. [38:53] That was the understanding was that everyone had access to a doctor everyone was seeking a doctor's opinion. We don't live in that world quite in that world anymore and most people didn't then not everyone has a doctor overseeing our medical care and we're left, to make medical decisions for ourselves that we're not trained to make which is another point, we should be training our children in sex ed, and by children I mean sixth grade seventh grade eighth grade I don't mean fifth grade and Below although in some states, in some counties there are fifth grade and below that are already having sex and getting pregnant so in some instances in those counties yes they should have sex ed earlier, but we should be training sex ed because they need to know if I stick this there this will happen. [39:57] They need to be trained about that they need to be trained in all these medical issues will what happens if I go get an abortion what's going to happen to me what's the other going to be in Revit ramifications of that had there been long-term effects of that because, yes there have been lots and lots and lots and lots of women that have been negatively impacted, by their abortion procedure not all but lots, and they needed counseling they needed to talk to someone and that kind of care just isn't provided because we're not taught to need it and, we put shame on people that find themselves in situations where they need help. [40:44] And that's the opposite of what we should be doing especially the church especially Christians shame shouldn't be part of the conversation for us, that should never be part you should never feel shame going to your pastor going to your church, and that's not the culture that by and large we you know created as, a church as you know a whole all of us together all right so there's that there's the circular you then there's the faith you that says, life is precious God knew us before he formed us in our mother's womb he has thoughts and plans for his thoughts of to prosperous thoughts of a future and a hope, Jesus loved us so much that he came and died for us yes your faith should inform you of all of those things. Your faith should also inform you that the mother are the young lady who's being faced with this crisis in her life, got also new and knows and loves and cares for, and how would God as a father respond to that young lady. [41:56] When she finds out how would the most perfect being in the universe respond if their child I messed up I got pregnant. [42:07] Okay there's the hope you hope says everything's going to work out. [42:14] How is everything going to work out if we're leaving people Stranded by the wayside. In their hour of need or we're not preparing for it we're not supporting them through it we're not walking with them through it how is Hope served in that. [42:31] And then there's the love which we've harped on a lot in this you know context there's the love. Love does not envy love does not boast love does not build itself up, it believes all things you know this is love love I had this example of this young lady, but wasn't it hung lady but I was driving Uber Kimber fear was an Uber or Lyft ride but I was driving and this woman was in the car and she was telling me that at one point in her life she was homeless. And she was homeless because she chose to be homeless she was out with her boyfriend her boyfriend was homeless she was on drugs and she was living on the side of the road over by Lancaster in Fort Worth. And there were living there because they could get free drugs there and, every day from the day she left home to go live with her boyfriend and saw the road every day her mother brought her a warm dinner and fresh blankets. [43:45] I told her she loved her spent time with her and her boyfriend there on the side of the road where they lived, and at the end of that she would go back home and say you're welcome home anytime she did that for three months straight every day before this girl realized, my mama actually loves me and I'm throwing my life away. Told her boyfriend they need to get clean he broke up with her she moved back into her home she found salvation and she started going to church she got involved in Ministry but it was that love, that her mother was bringing her everyday, our culture says if your kid messes up and chooses drugs and moves out and go lives on the side road with their boyfriend then you need to exercise tough love and let them learn their lesson, that's not love love brings a hot meal and a blanket fresh blanket every night. [44:49] And while you're working through your stuff love says I'm right here when you're ready I'm right here I'm not going anywhere I love you. And that's the kind of love that God has for us sent his son to die. Cuz we were born into a nature of enmity with God, Adam and Eve. Chose enmity with God they chose a sin nature we were born into something as slaves as victims and God is sitting there going, whenever you're ready to stop being a Slave to turn away from the things that are hurting you I'm here. I'm ready. And God has also said now I want you to know that if you don't turn away from those things that are hurting you the path you're on is going to lead you there. [46:06] Is a place called hell in your word Hell Fire Brimstone gnashing of teeth I don't want that for you. I don't want you to go there and I'm patiently waiting for you to decide that you don't want to go there either. And you don't want to continue to be hurt in your life and you don't want to continue to you know and life doesn't get perfect because life is still life. But you spiritually have a hope and life is different when you have hope you sis. [46:46] And so that's my thoughts on this episode that isn't about row. Because it's not about Roe it's not about Casey it's not about Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard it's not about any of those things it's about are we as Christians. Loving. Those around us and living our life and portraying love and how we see and respond to those things. Because you may feel like it's a victory for Roe versus Wade to be overturned you may feel like that's a victory but your victory. Maybe someone else's crisis gone into chaos. [47:50] And you may Jigger Victory may just be the straw that pushes them over the edge to do something drastic. Something awful something they may not survive. That's unacceptable everything to add that Pastor newms. Pastor Newms: [48:35] We as Christians have to respond in love to all things and often we don't. Pastor Bill: [48:53] This podcast comes out every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time wherever you get podcasts we also record this live on Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, and you can catch and be a part of it on Twitch Facebook or YouTube, you can go to our website at www.kttape.com house to figure out which twitch which Facebook and which YouTube those are, you can also see our backlog of all 377 episodes that came before this one it's actually more than that it's 380. [49:34] Three because there was one Easter week that I did one episode every day and I called it point 1.2.3.4, anyway our whole back leg is there you can go see if there's something that ministers to you if you found this episode, uplifting informing and gave you a better sense of faith hope and love for your life and you feel like it would help someone else please share it, send it to someone else we we want to reach as many people as possible with faith hope and love that's the point, and so if you could share that with people that you know it would help that would be awesome we want people to be helped and if anyone listening to this needs to reach out to us, info at EK dot house or you can utilize the phone number on the website, you can text that I can text bakic I get it on my phone you can leave a voicemail I get the transcription of that on my phone as well, and yeah we want to have an actual relationship with people that need love. Utilize that if you need to. All right so that's what we got going and then we have Dallas Pride coming up in a month let's just under a month. Pastor Newms: [50:57] Just under. Pastor Bill: [50:59] Huh and so that'll be fun we're going to do ministry there and hopefully we'll see some people there that we know from past years and some maybe some people come up and hey I found your podcast or hey I found you on Twitch or, it'll be good and then we're giving away a gaming monitor right for. Gaming with the pastors are giving away a game in monetary. Pastor Newms: [51:24] Yes. Pastor Bill: [51:25] Look at me with that blank face like you didn't remember we. Pastor Newms: [51:29] I forgot I did I did forget, I was like oh yeah we are yeah. Pastor Bill: [51:35] Yeah I was looking at them today trip try to pick out the right one, to make the art because I got to make a QR code first scanning and bekele the yard yeah so all right so that's what we got coming up I love you guys have a great. Intro And Outro Music Pastor Bill: [51:58] And until next time.  

Continuing the teaching from Chapter 8, using the examples to explain who cycles in samsara.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Becoming a Staff Engineer, published by G Gordon Worley III on April 3, 2022 on LessWrong. I'm trying to think of things to write that would be both easy to hammer out and valuable enough to garner upvotes during these few days when upvotes are extra valuable. So how about a topic I know a lot about: my job! I'm a senior staff software engineer. What does that mean? There's a couple ways to describe it. Nominally it's a software engineering job equivalent to being a director, which is common big-org management speak for a manager who manages other managers (but not generally someone who manages directors—that's a VP). I often tell people I'm in "engineering middle management", which is a funny way of saying that I'm expected to be highly autonomous, mostly identify my own projects and drive them to success, and operate over multiple teams (if my projects aren't impacting multiple teams or groups of teams then that's too small a project and I should delegate it to a staff or senior engineer if I think it's important). There's different ways to do the job, but most of the time it means I don't write code. Not because it's beneath me but because spending time writing code is almost never high leverage enough for it to be the right choice (there's almost always some other engineer who needs the growth opportunity of writing the code that I would be stealing from them if I wrote the code). This might be somewhat unique to me though because I seem to have higher comparative advantage in a few other skills: decision making (being accountable for making the right technical choices for the team and company), alignment building (getting everyone to agree on what we're doing), project management (making sure everyone knows what to do and when they need to do it by), and mentorship and teaching (helping others learn skills that will help them grow or at least achieve what they want). I have to find more than zero time to write code to stay connected to the ground truth of the work, but it tends to be restricted to side quests that don't have hard deadlines, hackathons, and Advent of Code. Unfortunately, there's no good easy way to describe the job. I didn't understand it until I was already doing it, and I probably still don't understand it. This seems to be an inherent challenge for both managers and staff engineers: fundamentally your job is to decide what needs to get done and then get it done, and you do whatever it is that you can best do to make that happen. The rest is just details about your skills, the expectations of your organization, and what your org needs, thus it's somewhat hard to pin down what you do all day. For other perspectives, check out the StaffEng site. That said, what if you want to become a staff engineer? How do you do it? I can only tell you what I did. Hopefully it's helpful. First, I spent 8 years as a software engineer (and more like 25 years as a programmer). I got really really good at writing software. So good that I got bored. It's not that there aren't interesting technical problems to still solve, only that they don't excite me the same way they used to because I have a deep, experience-based understanding of the work required to solve software problems, so there's less for me to learn about the world through the process of doing the work. I still get excited about doing cool things with databases and distributed transaction processing (my primary area of specialization), but mostly I know that if I wanted to do them it would take a team and a couple years of work to make it happen, plus I'd have to find a business reason to justify the investment to do the cool work. So first step to being a staff software engineer is get so good at being a software engineering that you start to get bored of it. Once I started to get bored I had to figure o...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Becoming a Staff Engineer, published by G Gordon Worley III on April 3, 2022 on LessWrong. I'm trying to think of things to write that would be both easy to hammer out and valuable enough to garner upvotes during these few days when upvotes are extra valuable. So how about a topic I know a lot about: my job! I'm a senior staff software engineer. What does that mean? There's a couple ways to describe it. Nominally it's a software engineering job equivalent to being a director, which is common big-org management speak for a manager who manages other managers (but not generally someone who manages directors—that's a VP). I often tell people I'm in "engineering middle management", which is a funny way of saying that I'm expected to be highly autonomous, mostly identify my own projects and drive them to success, and operate over multiple teams (if my projects aren't impacting multiple teams or groups of teams then that's too small a project and I should delegate it to a staff or senior engineer if I think it's important). There's different ways to do the job, but most of the time it means I don't write code. Not because it's beneath me but because spending time writing code is almost never high leverage enough for it to be the right choice (there's almost always some other engineer who needs the growth opportunity of writing the code that I would be stealing from them if I wrote the code). This might be somewhat unique to me though because I seem to have higher comparative advantage in a few other skills: decision making (being accountable for making the right technical choices for the team and company), alignment building (getting everyone to agree on what we're doing), project management (making sure everyone knows what to do and when they need to do it by), and mentorship and teaching (helping others learn skills that will help them grow or at least achieve what they want). I have to find more than zero time to write code to stay connected to the ground truth of the work, but it tends to be restricted to side quests that don't have hard deadlines, hackathons, and Advent of Code. Unfortunately, there's no good easy way to describe the job. I didn't understand it until I was already doing it, and I probably still don't understand it. This seems to be an inherent challenge for both managers and staff engineers: fundamentally your job is to decide what needs to get done and then get it done, and you do whatever it is that you can best do to make that happen. The rest is just details about your skills, the expectations of your organization, and what your org needs, thus it's somewhat hard to pin down what you do all day. For other perspectives, check out the StaffEng site. That said, what if you want to become a staff engineer? How do you do it? I can only tell you what I did. Hopefully it's helpful. First, I spent 8 years as a software engineer (and more like 25 years as a programmer). I got really really good at writing software. So good that I got bored. It's not that there aren't interesting technical problems to still solve, only that they don't excite me the same way they used to because I have a deep, experience-based understanding of the work required to solve software problems, so there's less for me to learn about the world through the process of doing the work. I still get excited about doing cool things with databases and distributed transaction processing (my primary area of specialization), but mostly I know that if I wanted to do them it would take a team and a couple years of work to make it happen, plus I'd have to find a business reason to justify the investment to do the cool work. So first step to being a staff software engineer is get so good at being a software engineering that you start to get bored of it. Once I started to get bored I had to figure o...

The symbolic move was accompanied by an acknowledgement from the president that gas prices are likely to keep rising. Nominally at an all-time high, gasoline prices remain well below their 2008 peak after adjusting for inflation.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Scott Detrow, and chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley.Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.

Nominally this episode is meant to be a reaction to Dan Olson's Line Goes Up. We really didn't respond to it at all. Instead we used it as a jumping board to talk about the general state of Crypto and NFTs in the marketplace today. Featuring Justin Silver of FTMAlerts, Mowsepack, Portalheads, and second most commits to Solidly's codebase fame.

After a heart attack, levels of blood lipids such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) may influence the risk of further cardiovascular events. In this analysis, we determined that even when LDL-C levels are controlled with a statin, elevated levels of another blood lipid called lipoprotein(a) are associated with an increased risk of further cardiovascular events and a benefit of treatment with the PCSK9 inhibitors. In this interview, Gregory G. Schwartz, MD, PhD and Glenn A. Hirsch MD, MHS, FACC, with Lindsay Panah, MD, discuss Lipoprotein(a) and Benefit of PCSK9 Inhibition in Patients with Nominally Controlled LDL-Cholesterol.

Part Two of the Geek Outs - all about the Pandemic. The conversation starts out talking about the Omicron variant and how the pandemic has changed since the 2020 Geek Out. The biggest thing that has happened is having 3.8 billion people vaccinated - not quite half the population, and not enough for herd immunity yet. But progress is being made, and there's more to come. Richard also dives into the power of the innovation that mRNA vaccines represent - a new tool for humanity to fight all sorts of illnesses. Finally, the show wraps up with a discussion on the supply chain crisis. Nominally brought on by the pandemic, there have been supply chain issues for years, exacerbated by lockdowns, illness, interruptions, and a huge backlog in container traffic. It will get resolved eventually, but that have been some changes coming for a while that will be felt for years - whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined!

Part Two of the Geek Outs - all about the Pandemic. The conversation starts out talking about the Omicron variant and how the pandemic has changed since the 2020 Geek Out. The biggest thing that has happened is having 3.8 billion people vaccinated - not quite half the population, and not enough for herd immunity yet. But progress is being made, and there's more to come. Richard also dives into the power of the innovation that mRNA vaccines represent - a new tool for humanity to fight all sorts of illnesses. Finally, the show wraps up with a discussion on the supply chain crisis. Nominally brought on by the pandemic, there have been supply chain issues for years, exacerbated by lockdowns, illness, interruptions, and a huge backlog in container traffic. It will get resolved eventually, but that have been some changes coming for a while that will be felt for years - whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined!

A shortcast by Off the Leash's Charlie Moores about  General Licences and the shooting industry. The recent furore on social media about Defra's revisions of the General Licence system to give shooting yet more provisions to make it easy to make profits from killing birds for fun seems to have caught a number of people by surprise. But of course, General licences have been around for decades. The General Licence system is complex, but it's essentially a way for individuals from certain industries (almost entirely agriculture and shooting) to get ‘permission' from the government to step around the laws that protect birds in England. Nominally, all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. You and I can't simply go out and shoot or trap birds. We can't wander around with a gun killing them. It's illegal - unless of course you and I claim that the birds we want to kill are ‘pests' or causing us economic harm, in which case Defra will let you wave a virtual piece of paper around and off you go. Virtual? Yes, you don't even have to print a licence off. By definition, no one actually needs to even apply for a General Licence...Government website General LicencesWild Justice General licence confusion continues – Schrodinger's Pheasant (04 Jan 22)Hunt Saboteurs Association Website and Twitter feedLeague Against Cruel Sports Website and Twitter feed

Part Two of the Geek Outs - all about the Pandemic. The conversation starts out talking about the Omicron variant and how the pandemic has changed since the 2020 Geek Out. The biggest thing that has happened is having 3.8 billion people vaccinated - not quite half the population, and not enough for herd immunity yet. But progress is being made, and there's more to come. Richard also dives into the power of the innovation that mRNA vaccines represent - a new tool for humanity to fight all sorts of illnesses. Finally, the show wraps up with a discussion on the supply chain crisis. Nominally brought on by the pandemic, there have been supply chain issues for years, exacerbated by lockdowns, illness, interruptions, and a huge backlog in container traffic. It will get resolved eventually, but that have been some changes coming for a while that will be felt for years - whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

Part Two of the Geek Outs - all about the Pandemic. The conversation starts out talking about the Omicron variant and how the pandemic has changed since the 2020 Geek Out. The biggest thing that has happened is having 3.8 billion people vaccinated - not quite half the population, and not enough for herd immunity yet. But progress is being made, and there's more to come. Richard also dives into the power of the innovation that mRNA vaccines represent - a new tool for humanity to fight all sorts of illnesses. Finally, the show wraps up with a discussion on the supply chain crisis. Nominally brought on by the pandemic, there have been supply chain issues for years, exacerbated by lockdowns, illness, interruptions, and a huge backlog in container traffic. It will get resolved eventually, but that have been some changes coming for a while that will be felt for years - whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/net-rocks/donations

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Act of Charity , published by jessicata on the LessWrong. (Cross-posted from my blog) The stories and information posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact. Anonymous Act I. Carl walked through the downtown. He came across a charity stall. The charity worker at the stall called out, "Food for the Africans. Helps with local autonomy and environmental sustainability. Have a heart and help them out." Carl glanced at the stall's poster. Along with pictures of emaciated children, it displayed infographics about how global warming would cause problems for African communities' food production, and numbers about how easy it is to help out with money. But something caught Carl's eye. In the top left, in bold font, the poster read, "IT IS ALL AN ACT. ASK FOR DETAILS." Carl: "It's all an act, huh? What do you mean?" Worker: "All of it. This charity stall. The information on the poster. The charity itself. All the other charities like us. The whole Western idea of charity, really." Carl: "Care to clarify?" Worker: "Sure. This poster contains some correct information. But a lot of it is presented in a misleading fashion, and a lot of it is just lies. We designed the poster this way because it fits with people's idea is of a good charity they should give money to. It's a prop in the act." Carl: "Wait, the stuff about global warming and food production is a lie?" Worker: "No, that part is actually true. But in context we're presenting it as some kind of imminent crisis that requires an immediate infusion of resources, when really it's a very long-term problem that will require gradual adjustment of agricultural techniques, locations, and policies." Carl: "Okay, that doesn't actually sound like more of a lie than most charities tell." Worker: "Exactly! It's all an act." Carl: "So why don't you tell the truth anyway?" Worker: "Like I said before, we're trying to fit with people's idea of what a charity they should give money to looks like. More to the point, we want them to feel compelled to give us money. And they are compelled by some acts, but not by others. The idea of an immediate food crisis creates more moral and social pressure towards immediate action, than the idea that there will be long-term agricultural problems that require adjustments. Carl: "That sounds...kind of scammy?" Worker: "Yes, you're starting to get it! The act is about violence! It's all violence!" Carl: "Now hold on, that seems like a false equivalence. Even if they were scammed by you, they still gave you money of their own free will." Worker: "Most people, at some level, know we're lying to them. Their eyes glaze over 'IT IS ALL AN ACT' as if it were just a regulatory requirement to put this on charity posters. So why would they give money to a charity that lies to them? Why do you think?" Carl: "I'm not nearly as sure as you that they know this! Anyway, even if they know at some level it's a lie, that doesn't mean they consciously know, so to their conscious mind it seems like being completely heartless." Worker: "Exactly, it's emotional blackmail. I even say 'Have a heart and help them out'. So if they don't give us money, there's a really convenient story that says they're heartless, and a lot of them will even start thinking about themselves that way. Having that story told about them opens them up to violence." Carl: "How?" Worker: "Remember Martin Shkreli?" Carl: "Yeah, that asshole who jacked up the Daraprim prices." Worker: "Right. He ended up going to prison. Nominally, it was for securities fraud. But it's not actually clear that whatever security fraud he did was worse than what others in his industry were doing. Rather, it seems likely that he was especially targeted because he was a heartless asshole." Carl: "But he still brok...

Decaying oil tanker could trigger an environmental and humanitarian disaster. The FSO Safer is marooned off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, close to one of the world's biggest shipping lanes. A massive oil spill or explosion from it could disrupt global trade for months and lead to an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe. It's loaded with hundreds of tons of crude oil, its hull is rusting and it hasn't moved in years. So why isn't anybody doing anything about it? Nominally the Safer is the property of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Right now though, both it and its multi-million dollar cargo are controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen. UN officials say the Houthis have broken an agreement to allow an inspection of the vessel. The Saudis accuse them of holding the world to ransom over the potential disaster. The Houthis disagree. Ed Butler speaks to Ghiwa Naket, the executive director of Greenpeace for the Middle East and North Africa, to Ben Huynh a researcher at Stanford University, to Hussain Albukhaiti a Yemeni journalist with close links to the Houthi leadership and to Peter Salisbury, senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group. (Picture description: Maxar Satellite image of the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Twenty years after 9/11, the wheel has turned full circle — Afghanistan is back to square one. Atop the Presidential Palace in Kabul, the Taliban flag flies high. The “failure” cannot be owned by the dispensation of 2021 alone. It belongs to the last two decades. For over a decade now, the US had been desperate — struggling to leave Afghanistan to its own fate. The Doha Peace Talks were less about peace or what was to follow — they were more about US troops leaving with some dignity. Nominally they mentioned intra-Afghan negotiations, but the only Afghan negotiators at the Doha table were the Taliban. It should have been obvious which party was negotiating from a position of strength. Pakistan's Afghanistan policy has always suffered from the India fixation of the Pakistan Army. Containing India has been its primary objective. An unstable Afghanistan will surely export instability to its neighbouring region. Ultimately, it is the people of Afghanistan who pay the price of instability.

This week, Kate talks about Joseph Paul who came to Haliburton in 1870. Nominally the local butcher, but really a man of many facets. And perhaps a representative of what the community of Haliburton County is all about. Plus, Paul talks about Rubin Carter who, along with a friend, was convicted of a triple homicide in 1966 in Patterson, New Jersey then fought for almost 20 years to overturn his conviction. But he didn't do it alone. Along with celebrity advocates - like Bob Dylan - a collection of Canadians and their adopted ward Lesra Martin contributed significantly to his ultimate release. Then Rubin settled in Toronto for a number of years - even becoming a Canadian citizen. Kate Butler is the Director of the Haliburton Highlands Museum. Paul Vorvis is the host of the Your Haliburton Morning Show 7 - 9 a.m. Fridays on Canoe FM 100.9 and streaming on your devices. Haliburton County is in cottage country about 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto. You can contact us at timewarp@canoefm.com

People Group Details: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/15356 Listen to "A Third of Us" podcast with Greg Kelley, produced by the Alliance for the Unreached: https://alliancefortheunreached.org/podcast/ Watch "Stories of Courageous Christians" w/ Mark Kordic https://storiesofcourageouschristians.com/stories-of-courageous-christians

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

Today we're discussing the second movie in Francis Ford Coppola's legendary 1970s string of masterpieces, The Conversation (1974). Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul, a surveillance expert hired to record a conversation between a man and woman in a busy San Francisco plaza. He soon begins to fear the recording might put their lives at risk, a suspicion founded in part by a gruesome incident from his past. Overshadowed somewhat by the twin monuments in Coppola's filmography that surround it - The Godfather and The Godfather Part II - The Conversation is nonetheless one of the great achievements of Coppola's career, and of 1970s American cinema. Nominally a part of the wave of conspiracy thrillers that released in the mid-70s as the country roiled from political turmoil, it was unique in how deeply personal it was. At its heart, it's a lonely, tormented character study; a death-haunted masterpiece about a man who's spent years building walls around himself as he observes the world from afar, only to have the walls ripped down and the looking glass turned on him.

Building vs buying softwareBuilding vs buying is always a fraught decision. Nominally buying a solution provides more capability and a quicker time to market, but then you have the potential of vendor lock in and being constrained by the limitations of the tool that you chose. And in the engineering world, it’s even harder. While Not Invented Here syndrome is becoming less prevalent, you still need to pick between a ground up implementation or leveraging open source, professional open source and commercial offerings. And then to think about how to incorporate low code APIs and no code solutions into your tech mix in a way that reduces build and maintenance costs without limiting the quality of your final solution. Join us to hear how James thinks about this balance - both as a CEO of a company that buys other peoples software and as the founder of a company that sells its own SaaS solution.Special thanks to our global partner – Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS offers a broad set of global cloud-based products to equip technology leaders to build better and more powerful solutions, reach out to aws-cto-program@amazon.com if you’re interested to learn more about their offerings.And thanks to our sustaining partners:CodeClimate - Engineering leaders who are motivated to exceed 2021 goals know that gut-feel isn't enough to make performance-improving decisions. CTOs, VPEs and Directors at organizations like Slack, Gusto, Pizza Hut trust objective data from Code Climate Velocity to measure and improve productivity, efficiency and performance. Reach out to Code Climate and get a month free when you mention CTO Connection.Karat - Karat helps companies hire software engineers by designing and conducting technical interview programs that improve hiring signal, mitigate bias, and reduce the interviewing time burden on engineering teams. Check out this short video or visit Karat.com to learn how we can help you grow your team.LaunchDarkly - the Feature Management Platform Powering the Best Software ProductsOur vision is to eliminate risk for developers and operations teams from the software development cycle. As companies transition to a world built on software, there is an increasing requirement to move quickly—but that often comes with the desire to maintain control. LaunchDarkly is the feature management platform that enables dev and ops teams to control the whole feature lifecycle, from concept to launch to value. Learn more at https://launchdarkly.com/CTO Connection is  a community where senior engineering leaders can connect with and learn from their peers!If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to CTO Connection in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

Free speech zones are unconstitutional. For Georgia-Gwinnett student Chike Uzuegbunam, that much is clear. In fact, when he challenged Georgia-Gwinnett's free speech zone policy, Georgia-Gwinnett agreed with him and changed their policy. So why is Uzuegbunam still suing? Because, he doesn't just want Georgia-Gwinnett to agree with him, he wants to the Supreme Court to agree. In this case we tackle standing, harms, and the value of a good lawyer at the beginning of any lawsuit. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/armchair-justice/support

Do American Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe in the same god? Nominally, at least, the answer seems to be an obvious yes: I think Americans whose religion falls into the Abrahamic tradition in general identify their god as being the same god worshipped by other such Americans. But in practical terms, that may not be the case; even American Christians may functionally believe in a different god than other American Christians. This episode is available in video format on YouTube Transcript (with citations and references) available at asatanistreadsthebible.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/asatanistreadsthebible/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/asatanistreadsthebible/support

Kimberly and Kristin talk names: for pets, aliens and little old ladies. Find out where they are hiding this week and why Kimberly's dog took longer to name than her children.

Nominally speaking, the role of the media is to inform the public. That mission is now on hold. Large parts of the media landscape – particularly big tech – actively intervene to determine what the public can know and from whom. Has controlled speech replaced freedom of speech? CrossTalking with Kim Iversen & Roger L. Simon.

In 2018, Gary Arndt told me, "Bitcoin is the currency of the future and always will be." I agree. Let's answer 7 questions related to that statement:  1. Was bitcoin designed to be a major currency? When Satoshi Nakamoto invented bitcoin, it's unclear if he ever expected it to be a country's currency. Instead, it seems that he envisioned it becoming digital gold. He saw it as a way to: Store wealth Make low-fee international transactions possible Make money that cannot be confiscated or debased by a horrible government Nakamoto thought that it's terrible that someone who works hard to save $50,000 and keeps it in a bank, will see the purchasing power of that $50,000 decline each year as inflation devours whatever lousy interest rate the bank pays.  Bitcoin gives everyone the ability to store their savings in the ether. It provides a bank to the unbanked. It offers a place to store money that no government can confiscate. That's bitcoin's true value. If bitcoin never becomes a national currency, that doesn't mean it has failed since that was never its goal. 2. When countries make their own national cryptocurrencies, won't that make bitcoin obsolete? In the 2020s, several countries will create an "official national blockchain-powered cryptocurrency." Some believe when Chinese and/or American governments make their own cryptocurrencies that bitcoin will vanish or devalue. This is improbable. Whatever governments will create will have all the genius and innovation of ... a government.  Yeah. That bad. Governments will use their cryptocurrencies to make it easy for them to: Tax people Track payments (in the name of reducing criminal payments) Reverse payments Confiscate money Devalue the currency by "printing" more of it In short, government cryptocurrencies will be everything bitcoin is not.  Paradoxically, when governments introduce such cryptocurrencies and mandate their use, they will inadvertently shine a spotlight on bitcoin. People will wonder how bitcoin compares to their national cryptocurrency. They will quickly realize that bitcoin is better overall. As a result, some countries will make bitcoin illegal. Indeed, many countries already have banned bitcoin. Such bans will hurt bitcoin and force bitcoin to go underground in those countries.  Countries ban Facebook and WhatsApp. Users use VPNs and other tricks to bypass the ban. Some countries ban the Internet, but satellite-powered Internet gets around that too.  Likewise, bitcoin users will find a way to get around bans. They're already doing that today.  3. Which countries might adopt bitcoin as their national currency?  It's possible that a few small countries with worthless currencies could, in a fit of revolutionary rage, decide to abandon their hyperinflated currency and adopt bitcoin instead. Several countries abandoned their currency for the US dollar (e.g., Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, and Palau). Others have adopted the euro without joining the eurozone (e.g., Kosovo and Montenegro). Therefore, when the US dollar collapses (and it will at some point), then a few countries with shattered economies may give bitcoin a shot. That's especially possible if the revolutionaries are young tech-savvy leaders. (Revolutionaries are often young.) Big economies (e.g., Russia, China, USA, Canada, UK) are too nationalistic, proud, and obsessed with controlling their economic sovereignty to abandon their currencies. Therefore, it's almost impossible to imagine any of them abandoning their currencies. 4. How would a bitcoin-priced economy be like? Economists will study bitcoin-denominated countries with great interest.  We're used to inflation and a devaluing currency. If you held $1 that was given to you in 1775, it would be worth 1 cent today. That's because the US government has issued so many new dollars that dollars, like all currencies, have trended toward worthlessness. Although that produces downsides, we're used to it. In a bitcoin-priced economy, you would get an annual pay cut instead of a pay raise. Your rent would decline. Valued in bitcoins, your house would technically lose value. Confused? Then imagine this: your house was worth 100 BTC in 2025 but in 2035 it's worth only 50 BTC. Nominally, your house has declined in value. However, in real terms, it may have doubled. Why? Because perhaps in 2035, 50 BTC is worth 4 times more on the world currency markets than 100 BTC was worth in 2025. Weird, right?  However, that's exactly how a country that priced everything in bitcoin would work. Every year, a bitcoin-denominated economy would give workers an annual salary cut, not a raise.  Once again, the nominal salary cut would actually be a raise in real terms. The only analogy is the tech industry where Moore's Law has made faster, better products cheaper with time. 5. Will bitcoin be a reserve currency? In this century, Bitcoin will be a reserve currency for some countries. Currently, most countries hold reserves of USD and gold. Many countries also hold the EU's Euro, Japan's Yen, China's renminbi, and Switzerland's Francs. Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) not only hold gold and currencies but often hold commodities such as petroleum.   Many countries will realize that they ought to add bitcoin to the list of their holdings since it will have proven that it's a better store of value than gold, currencies, and commodities. Of course, they won't hold a large percentage of their reserves and SWFs in bitcoin. Perhaps 1% of their portfolio would be bitcoin. Although that's a small bet in percentage terms, it would mean billions of dollars of new demand would flood the BTC market which has, effectively, a fixed supply. That would raise BTC's price, which would then make more countries consider holding some of their reserves in bitcoin (or upping their percentages).   6. Will Bitcoin change its default unit of account? Bitcoin needs to change its default monetary unit to Satoshis or Bits if it wants to enter the mainstream. One bitcoin is composed of 1 million Satoshis. Just like one dollar is made up of 100 cents.  As bitcoins become more valuable, satoshis should become the default unit. Right now, bitcoin is at an annoying halfway point.  For example, today, a cup of coffee costs about 0.0005 bitcoin. That just sounds weird. But so does 50,000 satoshis (which has the same value as 0.0005 bitcoin).  If bitcoin becomes 10 times more valuable, then that cup of coffee will be 5,000 satoshis, which is a number that feels like some world currencies.  Ideally, bitcoin would become 100 times more valuable, so that coffee is only 500 satoshis.  However, until then, bitcoin is in an awkward state: 1 bitcoin is too valuable and 1 satoshi is too worthless. When bitcoin first came out, bitcoins were worth much less than $1. Indeed, 10,000 bitcoins bought a couple of medium pizzas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjNMgeqUgks Today, 10,000 bitcoins will buy you a $100 million home! 7. What is Bitcoin's fate? Gary Arndt's prediction that bitcoin will never be a currency will probably be correct, especially if you're wondering if a major country will make bitcoin their primary currency. At best, a small country might do that. However, that doesn't mean that bitcoin will be a failure or a useless experiment.  For hundreds of years, no economy has used gold as their medium of exchange, but that doesn't make it worthless. I expect that in the 2020s, more hedge funds will buy a tiny bit of bitcoin as a hedge. Similarly, a handful of countries may put 1% of their reserves into bitcoin. Although these are small steps, because bitcoin's supply is effectively fixed, such relatively small actions can cause a price surge. Sponsors This show is sponsored by: My Patrons  Sawyer Icelab More info You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com. If you like this podcast, subscribe and share!  On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on: http://facebook.com/ftapon http://twitter.com/ftapon http://youtube.com/user/ftapon http://pinterest.com/ftapon http://tumblr.com/ftapon My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon Rewards start at just $2/month! If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at FT@FrancisTapon.com If you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV

This week on Long Reads Sunday, our selection is “Whose Century?” by Adam Tooze in the London Review of Books.  Nominally a review of four recent scholarly works on the conflict between the US and China, Tooze main argument is that the central problem with viewing this as a new Cold War is the idea that it is new.  Instead, we need to understand that, contra Fukiyama’s famous essay, history didn’t end in 1989 - at least not for the Chinese. What’s more, the narrative of having “won” the Cold War fails to take into account our spectacular failures in Asia.  Only by reframing our understanding can we make sense of the most important geopolitical conflict of the coming century. 

This Long Reads Sunday is a reading of Adam Tooze’ recent review of four books on the growing conflict between the U.S. and China.This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Crypto.com.This week on Long Reads Sunday, our selection is “Whose Century?” by Adam Tooze in the London Review of Books. Nominally a review of four recent scholarly works on the conflict between the U.S. and China, Tooze main argument is that the central problem with viewing this as a new Cold War is the idea that it is new. Instead, we need to understand that, contra Fukuyama’s famous essay, history didn’t end with the fall of the Berlin Wall – at least not for the Chinese. What’s more, the narrative of having “won” the Cold War fails to take into account the West’s spectacular failures in Asia. Only by reframing our understanding can we make sense of the most important geopolitical conflict of the coming century.

It is fair to say many of the protesters on the streets of the US want social justice. Nominally speaking, their message is a positive one. It’s how that message is translated into concrete political demands that’s the problem. And what happens if you don’t agree with those political demands? CrossTalking with Michael Johns & Garland Nixon.

Nominally in honor of Pride, we just made a big list of media with queer characters we like (and, of course, don't like). Join us for all the “spicy” content (a phrase that Sam is pushing, much to Delia's chagrin). Featuring: Quarantine Probs, Corpse Feet, A Dog Boy & His Taco Sausage, Delia Said Lucifer Rights, The Human Jüs, An Elegant Wine Metaphor, “We Poppin' Big Bottles,” The Burden of 45-Minute Dramas, The Straights Are Suffering, and our Recommendations for Queer Youtube Content Creators.

Or How Sinister Papists Attempt (and Fail) to Score "Bible Points" through Jesuitical Thinking. A discussion of Brant Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary. In which allegory and typology are defined, compared and contrasted (from both Presbyterian and Roman Catholic perspectives) along with the natures and person of Christ before digressions somehow bring us to the formation of the Biblical canon. What defines Christian doctrine? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Hello, this is a podcast.

It wouldn't be a season of Failure to Launch without a crimefighting dog, so here's Sniff, another pilot from the 1988 CBS Summer Playhouse (pls bring this back CBS it's been so bountiful.) Robert Wuhl, best known for being that reporter in most of Kim Basinger's scenes in Batman '89, is Sid Barrows, a reporter in most of the dog's scenes in this thing. Nominally he's here to solve crimes but as is trad the dog does most of the heavy lifting. Every crimefighting dog show needs a twist though, and Sniff's is... Sid's dad seems to live with him and do most of the homemaking? It's unconventional but also surprisingly charming. 4 stars. Reviewers: James Ferris, Harry Brimage, Lisa Dibb Soundboard: Andrew Cherry Sniff on IMDB

I talk with Michele Rigby Assad, a former CIA agent, about an episode in her book, Breaking Cover, where she interrogated a terrorist in Iraq and turned her presumed liabilities to her advantage. Nominally about espionage and brinkmanship and the war on terror, this episode actually highlights what it takes to convince others of your worth. For full show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

The pulp paperback boom of the 70s and 80s delivered an occasional genre gem, and Ken Greenhall's Childgrave is a prime example of a book whose back cover premise actually undersells its uncanny creep factor. Nominally the story of a photographer who is shocked when his camera captures the shapes of his young daughter's invisible friends, leading him to an isolated community in Upstate New York, this book delivers so much more. CAUTION! Spoilers abound in this episode. Childgrave is BBfBP recommended reading, so be advised if you'd like to read the novel and tune in later. What's the big deal about harpists? How can members of the secular society of New York City get back in touch with the spiritual? How much ambivalence is too much ambivalence during the parenting process? All these questions and more will be answered in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People. BBfBP theme song by True Creature  Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople and on Facebook. You can discover where to get all the books featured on Bad Books for Bad People on our About Page.

The boys go a bit insane talking about the Sonic nonsense, among other weird tangents. More of a Monday Meet Up except an hour and 20 mins long

After discussing who the nominally churched are in the last episode, today we focus on how to reach them. The post Reaching the Nominally Churched appeared first on Church Answers.

To reach the nominally churched and to get them more involved in church, you must first understand them. Today we discuss who the nominally churched are before we discuss how to reach them in the next episode. The post Understanding the Nominally Churched appeared first on Church Answers.

Hey all you cool cats and mussel pullers….I hope you can be tempted to squeeze in some time to listen to episode 122 of Love That Album Podcast. For this month’s episode, I am joined again by guitarist Shane Pacey to talk about Squeeze. This is the band that has over its history combined hook-laden melodies with tales of human frailty and surviving difficult circumstances. You can smile and dance to the music before you realise, “Hey, that’s a song about infidelity / domestic violence / being arrested for stealing because you can’t afford to feed your unborn child”…..oh and they wrote a song about masturbation (but it wasn’t the one I thought it was for a long time). Nominally, we tasked ourselves with delving into the band’s third long player, Argybargy. However, as is customary at LTA Headquarters, we spent a lot of time discussing Squeeze as an entity as well as the record under focus. Were Difford and Tilbrook really the new Lennon and McCartney of their day? Could their songs have worked in the twenties around the piano in an old British Music Hall environment? What were Butlins holiday camps? All these questions and many more are skirted around on this episode. You can download the show from Spotify, Stitcher or iTunes (search for “Love That Album podcast”) or from the website at http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com. Once again, my huge thanks go to Shane for taking the time out to join me on the show and giving “some old chat”. You can (and should) check out his brand of blues at either https://shanepaceytrio.com.au or at https://bondicigars.com/. If you like Bert Jansch, Shane has a great new album called The Gardener available at https://shanepacey.bandcamp.com/album/the-gardener which would definitely have been approved of by the great man. Send the show feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum. If you’d consider writing an iTunes review or recommending the show to a friend, we’d be immensely grateful.  If you enjoy what you hear, please tell a friend or ten to tune in.

Pgenpod Live from Burbank, CA on March 24, 2019Sarah Zedig joins Kate to talk the politics of Homestuck and Hiveswap. We discuss Beaver Bother, crying, Tyzias, memeaganda, Snowbound Blood, the Spanish national police, Eridan (sorry), Crockercorp, Zebruh-shaming and Ronald Reagan’s furry status. Also, Kate wins an image hosting beef ten years in the making.Check out Goomy’s new EP, Flowerverse!Music by Goomy, President-for-Life of the Perfectly Generic Music Team (Bandcamp).www.perfectlygenericpodcast.comFollow the podcast on Twitter.Follow the podcast on Tumblr.Join the podcast Discord.

The major indices opened considerably lower Monday only to slightly rebound by the afternoon. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down roughly 0.8% points; the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.8%; and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1%. Indices ended trading mixed on Tuesday, as the Dow added some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed in the red zone. In economic news, consumer confidence declined in January, as The Conference Board reported sentiment dipped 6.4 points for the month to 120.2. Indices closed in green territory mid-week, as stocks climbed on favorable earnings and Federal Reserve commentary. The Federal Open Market Committee left its target rate unchanged at 2.25% to 2.5%. Policymakers pledged "patience" when it comes to future monetary policy, following four rate boosts in 2018. Furthermore, the Fed suggested that they may wind down the runoff of securities from its balance sheet. Indices ended the session mixed on Thursday. The Dow closed fractionally in the red while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ traded into green territory. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims ticked up last week with first-time claims increasing by 53,000 to 253,000 for the week ended January 26. In housing news, single-family home sales jumped up 16.9% in November. While the market started strong in the morning, afternoon trading brought it down and indices closed mixed on Friday. Market breadth was divided with the number of advancers and decliners about even on the New York Stock Exchange. In January’s Jobs Report, non-farm payrolls exceeded expectations increasing to 304,000, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4% as more people are actively seeking work.

The major indices opened considerably lower Monday only to slightly rebound by the afternoon. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down roughly 0.8% points; the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.8%; and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1%. Indices ended trading mixed on Tuesday, as the Dow added some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed in the red zone. In economic news, consumer confidence declined in January, as The Conference Board reported sentiment dipped 6.4 points for the month to 120.2. Indices closed in green territory mid-week, as stocks climbed on favorable earnings and Federal Reserve commentary. The Federal Open Market Committee left its target rate unchanged at 2.25% to 2.5%. Policymakers pledged "patience" when it comes to future monetary policy, following four rate boosts in 2018. Furthermore, the Fed suggested that they may wind down the runoff of securities from its balance sheet. Indices ended the session mixed on Thursday. The Dow closed fractionally in the red while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ traded into green territory. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims ticked up last week with first-time claims increasing by 53,000 to 253,000 for the week ended January 26. In housing news, single-family home sales jumped up 16.9% in November. While the market started strong in the morning, afternoon trading brought it down and indices closed mixed on Friday. Market breadth was divided with the number of advancers and decliners about even on the New York Stock Exchange. In January’s Jobs Report, non-farm payrolls exceeded expectations increasing to 304,000, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4% as more people are actively seeking work.

The major indices opened considerably lower Monday only to slightly rebound by the afternoon. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down roughly 0.8% points; the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.8%; and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1%. Indices ended trading mixed on Tuesday, as the Dow added some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed in the red zone. In economic news, consumer confidence declined in January, as The Conference Board reported sentiment dipped 6.4 points for the month to 120.2. Indices closed in green territory mid-week, as stocks climbed on favorable earnings and Federal Reserve commentary. The Federal Open Market Committee left its target rate unchanged at 2.25% to 2.5%. Policymakers pledged "patience" when it comes to future monetary policy, following four rate boosts in 2018. Furthermore, the Fed suggested that they may wind down the runoff of securities from its balance sheet. Indices ended the session mixed on Thursday. The Dow closed fractionally in the red while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ traded into green territory. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims ticked up last week with first-time claims increasing by 53,000 to 253,000 for the week ended January 26. In housing news, single-family home sales jumped up 16.9% in November. While the market started strong in the morning, afternoon trading brought it down and indices closed mixed on Friday. Market breadth was divided with the number of advancers and decliners about even on the New York Stock Exchange. In January’s Jobs Report, non-farm payrolls exceeded expectations increasing to 304,000, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4% as more people are actively seeking work.

Nominally about the lies parents tell children, and revisiting There's A Wocket in my Pocket as a bedtime rap phenomenon, episode 20 quickly descends into gutter chat about whether being a handmaid might actually be quite a nice life. Without all the rape, of course. ALSO! Send us your sibling stories and win a copy of Stu's book, Don't be a Dick, Pete! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, leave us an iTunes review, and -- oh yeah -- get some sleep. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celeste is the second game from Towerfall developer MattMakesGames, which this time is Matt Thorson (Towerfall), collaborator Noel Berry (Skytorn), and friends. Nominally a game about climbing a mountain, Celeste is a difficult story-driven platformer...

Adam and Mark open this week's episode of Reasonable Doubt talking about Donald Trump's judicial nominee Matthew Spencer Peterson, who was unable to answer even the most basic of questions about our legal system and what it would take to preside over it. Then the guys discuss Matt Damon getting online flak for saying there's a difference between what Bill Cosby and Al Franken did to women. Before they wrap, Adam and Mark discuss the accuracy of news outlets today and how easy it is to distort stories by exploiting emotional responses in readers. Please note that we recorded this a bit in advance and Matthew Spencer Peterson has since withdrawn from consideration for the judiciary post.

Ey, So Duncan Garner wrote a thing. Nominally about immigration and infrastructure, it's been widely decried for being racist and he's roundly enjoyed the ensuing martyrdom a couple dozen naysayers have delivered him. Theories abound - lazy writing, dim thinking, or something more sinister? Don't read it - read Stephanie Rodgers instead. Or the NZ Human Rights Commission tweeting a concerned face emoji about it.  In other news! We had an election and now we know who won? Winston Peters still sucks. We try to talk classic film (?) and Hugh Hefner died - here's You Must Remember This' episode on Dorothy Stratten which is required listening for an insight into his destructive mission. Bumper Music; Danger Mouse - Chase Me (feat. Run the Jewels and Big Boi) Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Yo Soy La Destrucción Alistair Hullet & Dave Swarbrick - Don't Sign Up For War

I would like to thank you for letting me take a week off from podcasting. As you may or may not know I like near Charlottesville Virginina, I will be briefly discussing what happened in Charlottesville this weekend past. I live in Greene county Virginia Susan Bro who is the Mother of Heather Heyer, works at my local 4H office. My children are active with 4h. I have had conversations with her many times about many topics. She is a friend. We have discussed house rabbits because she has had them in the past for many years. She is a sweet lady, and this past week has been a painful week. I know that this is probably not the venue to pour this out, but I feel that I need to. People say that this could never be in my backyard… This was in my backyard. To quote my wife “If this could happen in Charlottesville, this could happen anywhere.” We had a Japanese exchange student staying with us through4H, and we had planned to go to Charlottesville this weekend past. It was a Pre-planned outing. It was the last weekend she was staying with us, and there is a Virginia store on the downtown mall, about a block from Lee (Emancipation) Park. We knew about the protests and being from the school of “don’t do stupid things with stupid people in stupid places”, Charlottesville fell into two of the three categories… We went over the mountain to the Route 11 potato chip factory in Mt. Jackson, then to Harrisonburg and Staunton. We went to a glass blowing factory, and we saw live music. I hoped that they had the police in place to keep anyone from getting hurt, especially anyone that my wife or I might know. I received a notification about a car hitting protesters. We went to the "Virginia Store" for made in Virginia items for our Japanese student to take home to Japan. We came back home on a scenic drive through the Shenandoah National Park. Along the ride, my wife says that Susan posted a message about loosing her daughter standing up for what she believes in. My wife works at the University of Virginia and they found out about the plans for the torch-lit march through social media, and were told the route that was planned by speaking to the march leaders. This is not the route they took. They marched to where the few students that are able to move in early were. The marchers were despicable to the students that were on grounds. The students were moved to a basement to get away from the “Peaceful” march. One of the teachers has had a stroke this week. He was hit in the head with a tiki-torch (Probably a brain bleed of some sort). This was Friday nights activities in Charlottesville. I believe that the Saturday event was designed to push the protesters (Antagonists) together. I had spent a few days feeling angry, and angry at the news for still creating divides. My wife was on edge. I went to a yoga class and stopped reading the news for a few days. To quote the judges father on night-court “I’m feeling much better now". https://youtu.be/3SnGU6Jtxc0 If you want to see something beautiful, check out the candle-lit walk that the faculty, staff and students participated in last Wednesday. There were at least 2000 people that participated in this walk. It was promoted only by word of mouth. This was not promoted through social media for fear of the Nazi's and KKK showing up again. A youtube link to the candle-lit walk is in the show notes. https://youtu.be/cITuxcGlAr8 Now for our One Eared Rabbit breed: One Eared Rabbit Breed Most of the info about this breed is from Domestic Rabbits and Their Histories by Bob D. Whitman. Now it is possible rather then a gene mutation it might be more likely that the mom "over-groomed" it as a newborn. Sometimes when cleaning the blood off of the babies, the mom will accidentally get carried away and chew off an ear, tail, or foot. England appears to be the native home of the "Unicorn of the Rabbit World" which was being bred true to form during the later part of the 18th century. I have been able to find next to nothing on this unusual rabbit, other then a small passage in John Sheail's book, "rabbits and their history" published in 1971. Sheail mentions that the one eared rabbit bred true, and the population slowly increased. However little commercial value could be placed on such a rabbit, and that little notice was taken by the authors of the time. From all indications, it would appear that the One Eared rabbit breed was produced in the Warrens of the day, and was probably of the wild agouti coloration. I have not been able to location any further information on this most unusual mutation. There is a picture of a pair of of One Eared rabbits in the February 1959 issue of the National Rabbit Raiser Magazine. Claude Holbrook of Evansville, Indiana, who raises rabbits for a hobby, got a surprise when he looked into a nest box recently. "Two of the new litter had but one ear - right in the middle of their forehead.". So as rare as the legendary Unicorn may be, so is the One Eared rabbit. http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/10/unicorn-rabbit-from-county-durham.html A pet rabbit that its owner, 9-year-old Kathy Lister of Trimdon Grange in County Durham, England, had very aptly named Unicorn is most extraordinary . Due to a genetic fluke, Unicorn had been born with just a single ear. Yet whereas there are numerous reports on file of individual mammals of many different species in which one or other ear is missing, Unicorn’s condition was rather more special. For unlike typical one-eared individuals, her single ear was not laterally positioned, but arose instead from the centre of her head, standing upright like a long furry horn! Born in spring 1981, Unicorn was a Flemish Giant doe bred on James’s farm, and she subsequently became the much-loved pet of his daughter Kathy. In more than 35 years of rabbit breeding, this was the only one-eared rabbit that James had ever observed. In autumn 1984, Unicorn escaped from her pen, but three days later she was found, recaptured, and placed in a new hutch. Over the next month, she grew steadily fatter, and 31 days after her original escape Unicorn gave birth to a litter of five offspring. As she had never been introduced to any of the farm rabbits, it is clear, therefore, that during her brief period of freedom Unicorn had encountered and mated with a wild rabbit. Of her five offspring, four were normal, but the fifth displayed its mother’s remarkable median-ear condition. Regrettably, however, all five offspring died shortly afterwards during a very severe thunderstorm, so no details of their sex are known. Happily, Unicorn survived, and lived for a further two years, but she did not give birth to any further litters, so the unidentified mutant gene presumably responsible for her median ear and that of one of her offspring was lost forever when she died in November 1986. Judging from the 4:1 normal:mutant ratio of offspring, it is likely that the median-ear condition was induced by a recessive allele (gene form), and that Unicorn was homozygous for it (i.e. possessing two copies), thereby enabling the condition to be expressed by her. If so, then it must also be assumed that her wild mate was at least heterozygous (possessing one copy) for this same mutant allele, in order to explain the birth of the single median-eared offspring in her litter. Yet if this mutant allele is indeed present in the wild population, one might have expected it to have been expressed far more frequently (especially in animals that are famous for breeding...well, like rabbits!). Could it, therefore, be associated with some debilitating trait too, so that individuals expressing it are more vulnerable in some way to predation? The most obvious affliction to be expected that may prove detrimental to survival in the wild is some form of hearing impairment – an occurrence that normally accompanies most ear-related mutations. Yet Kathy had observed that when Unicorn was called, she would turn towards the direction of the voice, thus suggesting that her hearing was not severely impeded (although by having only one ear, it meant – inevitably - that Unicorn’s hearing could only be monoaural, not stereo). Tragically, however, in the absence of further litters from Unicorn upon which to base breeding observations, little more can be said of her apparently unique mutation. So it is likely that its identity will remain undiscovered, unless this remarkable ‘unicorn ear’ condition reappears one day in some other rabbit farm. Through the 2012 edition of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, there is a second unicorn rabbit. Owned by rabbit breeder Franz-Xaver Noemmer, from Egglham, Germany, it was born in February 2010, and has snow-white fur. Now a Book about a one eared rabbit that I found while researching one eared rabbits. Podkin One-Ear (The Five Realms #1) by Kieran Larwood Podkin One-Ear is a legend: a fearsome warrior rabbit whose reputation for cunning and triumph in battle has travelled the ages. But how did he become such a mighty fighter? The answer may surprise you... When a travelling bard arrives at Thornwood Warren on Midwinter night, he is warmly welcomed. In return for food and lodging, he settles down to tell of how Podkin One-Ear - and soon the rabbits are enthralled to hear the story of how one lost little rabbit overcame the cruellest enemy imaginable, and became the greatest warrior their land has ever know. Another popular one eared rabbit is Bongo! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_Hell Life in Hell is a comic strip by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, which was published weekly from 1977 to 2012. The strip featured anthropomorphic rabbits and a gay couple. Groening used these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death. His drawings were full of expressions of angst, social alienation, self-loathing, and fear of inevitable doom. Bongo is Binky's illegitimate son, the product of a drunken night of "jungle passion." He was introduced in a 1983 storyline in which his mother, Hulga, left him to Binky so she could seek her fortune in New York. Bongo's defining physical attribute is his one ear, which Groening admits is solely so that the casual viewer can tell him apart from Binky. Bongo made an appearance in the Futurama episode "Xmas Story", where he is seen being sold in a pet shop. He also appeared in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XII" as one of the rabbits that Homer catches in the trap. He appears in The Simpsons again in another episode as a plush toy in Lisa's room, though he is called Madam Bunny. He is shown as a plush toy in "The Fool Monty" where Mr. Burns is eating it in Bart's closet. He has a cameo in "Simpsorama" as one of the rabbit-like creatures rampaging New New York, where he writes on a wall "Crossovers are hell" Word of the Week: Sanitary Plant of the week: Coltsfoot News: Now we had an episode about Rabbit Jumping, and the sport has been mentioned a few times in the news recently. http://www.dailyinterlake.com/article/20170817/ARTICLE/170819865 Rabbit jumping debuts at Northwest Montana Fair Onlookers draped themselves over the fence surrounding the bunny jumping competition Thursday at the Northwest Montana Fair. Handlers and their rabbits were spread out beneath the shade of a canopy, some taking time for an extra snuggle with their competitors while others kept a close eye on the competition. Before them was a line of jumps, ranging in height from roughly 3 inches to about a foot. There were roughly 20 competitors who participated in the fair’s first bunny jumping contest. The sport ranks competitors based on speed and how clean their runs are. The event was spearheaded by Glacier View 4-H leader and Glacier Rabbit Breeders founding member KelleySue Bain, who wanted to raise awareness about the burgeoning sport. “Most people don’t even know about it or don’t know that it’s available here,” she said. Rabbit hopping, also known as Kaninhop, originated in Sweden in the 1970s and has a sizable following in Europe — there are more than 4,000 rabbit hoppers in the U.K., Germany and Scandinavia, according to National Geographic. She hosted the club’s first contest in April and introduced rabbit hopping to fairgoers in Missoula last week. Bain has another competition set for Sept. 16, which will also feature rabbit agility, but noted that the contest will be low-key, at least for now. “We’re still trying to keep it really fun because everybody is so new, so we’re not making it really serious yet,” Bain said. “Rabbits are very easy to train and they’re very smart. Some people clicker train them and can get them to do all kinds of tricks. You can get them hopping pretty quickly — at least a little bit,” Bain said. “Sometimes you’ll get a rabbit that just doesn’t want to do it, but definitely the majority of them want to do it once they get comfortable.” Competitors come in different shapes and sizes too. Bain said the September show, which will also take place at the fairgrounds, will be open to youth and adult contestants. Hop to it! Wisconsin State Fair competition includes rabbit obstacle course http://www.thecountrytoday.com/Country-Life/Country-Life-News/2017/08/15/Hop-to-it.html WEST ALLIS — Donna Towell said she had never heard of rabbit hopping — at least not as an official sport — until some of her Waukesha County project members saw a story in a rabbit magazine. “They came to me with this article, and I thought, this is cool, so I made the straight-line course and introduced it at the Waukesha County Fair,” Towell explained. “It really took off from there.” Six years ago Towell and her rabbit project youngsters introduced Wisconsin State Fair visitors to the sport with demonstrations, but for the past three years, the event has been offered officially for both junior and open competition. Five courses are offered at the state fair: straight-line, crooked, high jump, low jump and agility. “That’s like an obstacle course hopping up, over and through,” Towell said. “They have a platform, a teeter-totter, a bridge, an A-frame, a tire and then jumps.” Rabbit hopping will be featured this year at the American Rabbit Breeders Association convention Oct. 1-5 in Indianapolis. More information can be found at http://www.indyarbaconvention.com. Czech university announces new type of rabbit fever http://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/czech-university-announces-new-type-of-rabbit-fever A Czech university has announced the discovery of a new strain of rabbit fever. The discovery has been announced by the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno after the sudden deaths of scores of rabbits across the country in July. They found a previous version of the fever as well as a newer once which often lasts longer but appears to have a reduced death toll of up to 70 percent compared with the 90 percent death rate of the older fever. A vaccine against the new version is expected to be ready in August. Uni graduate finds riches keeping rabbits at interactive bunny farm https://coconuts.co/kl/news/uni-graduate-finds-riches-keeping-rabbits-interactive-bunny-farm/ A bunny-loving Agriculture Science graduate has managed to make a small fortune from turning his hobby of rabbit-keeping into a booming business. Opening a bunny petting zoo, Arnab Village (Rabbit Village), in Kampung Purakagis, Ranau, Sabah, he’s managed to earn RM300,000 (US$75,000) in ticket sales after a year of operation. It’s become a legitimate attraction on the Sabah tourist trail, conveniently nestled between hot springs, fish spas and tea plantations. He tells The Sun that his farm carries 8 species of rabbits, New Zealand White, Standard Rex, Mini Satin, Lion Head, Netherland Dwarf, Lop Ear, Anggora and the local breed. He started with RM5,000 (US$1,250) of capital for facilities and landscaping, and has been consistently upgrading throughout the year. His last phase will see a restaurant built on the premises. Let’s hope there’s no rabbit on the menu. That would be a bit creepy. Starting with 400 rabbits, he hopes to reach 1,000 by next year. Considering rabbits have a reputation of ahem multiplying profusely, we’re sure he’ll hit those targets soon enough, and then some. Fancy holding a bunny? Arnab Village will set you back RM3 for children and RM5 for adults if you’re a local (US$0.75-US$1.25). Expect to pay RM5 for children and RM10 for adults (US$1.25-US$2.25) if you’re an international visitor. A few Rabbits in the movies: 'Rabbit': Film Review | Melbourne 2017 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/rabbit-film-review-melbourne-2017-1027487 'Rectify' star Adelaide Clemens anchors a psychological thriller about a young woman searching for her twin sister. If Get Out was transplanted to Australia and had its sense of humor confiscated by customs, the result would surely look something like Rabbit. Making its debut in Melbourne but filmed in the leafy suburbs and surrounds of Adelaide, this debut feature from director Luke Shanahan is arresting to look at but exhaustingly portentous, with hometown stars Adelaide Clemens (Rectify) and Alex Russell (the upcoming Only the Brave) gamely committing to the helmer's own script, which withholds any sense of narrative clarity until the closing minutes. Nominally interested in cryptophasia, the phenomenon of twins who develop their own language, this nothing-but-mood piece showcases strong work from its two promising leads and striking location photography. The film begins with a bedraggled Clemens running through the woods, pursued by a hoody-wearing man in black. She runs into the arms of an elderly woman, who welcomes her into her home before restraining the girl with the help of several accomplices. Cut to Germany, where Australian student Maude (Clemens again) wakes up from the same recurring nightmare — or is it a vision of something that actually occurred? Maude's identical twin Cleo has been missing for over a year, and she returns home to figure out if the dream is trying to point her in her sister's direction. She's joined on her quest by Ralph (Russell), as Cleo's fiancé, and an obsessive cop (Jonny Paslovsky) who thinks Ralph had a hand in the girl's disappearance. How Porgs are bringing the cuteness back into Star Wars Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/08/12/how-porgs-are-bringing-the-cuteness-back-into-star-wars-6841526/#ixzz4qF34rwm4 There can be little doubt that the galaxy far, far away has delivered some of cinema’s most astounding moments, riveting plot twists and memorable characters. We’ve had the terror of Darth Vader, the innocence of Luke Skywalker, the sliminess of Jabba the Hutt and the wisdom of Yoda. Star Wars changed the landscape of modern cinema in so many ways, but not all of it was about being cool. Sometimes it was about being cute. Think back to the original trilogy. In the original 1977 movie we were first introduced to cuteness in the form of Artoo Detoo. The cutest character in the original (with the Mousedroid a close second), he almost stole the show and ignited a following that endures to today, with the R2 Builders doing such an amazing job of recreating the little droid that their work is seen in the modern Disney era of Star Wars films. The Empire Strikes Back was a darker film that introduced Master Yoda to the series. While he wasn’t conventionally cute, he gained a rabid following of his own. However, the third film was the one that really smashed the cute button. Arriving in the film as our heroes land on the forest moon of Endor, tasked with destroying the shield generator and allowing the Rebel fleet to attack the second Death Star, we first met the frankly adorable ewoks. Hated by some, George Lucas referred to the Ewoks as the little rabbit by the side of the road who helps the hero when they are in trouble. The ewoks were certainly that: helping the Rebellion defeat the Empire on the ground while the fleet took on the Empire in space. Marvel’s comic series also had their fair share of cuteness in the form of the hoojibs. Basically telepathic rabbits, the hoojibs assisted the rebellion as they fought the Empire and became firm favourites with the readers. The Force Awakens smashed box office records in 2015 and brought with it a new level of droid cuteness – BB-8. This diminutive astromech droid well and truly stole the show as he fought alongside Rey, Finn and his master Poe Dameron in their battles against the First Order. Early images and footage from The Last Jedi have revealed what are quite possibly the cutest characters ever to grace the screen in a Star Wars film – the Porgs. How Porgs are bringing the cuteness back into Star Wars Looking very much like puffins, these wide-eyed, open-mouthed, bird-like creatures live on the world of Ahch-To. If you thought the ewoks were marketable (and they were, the fuzzy denizens of Endor were a marketing phenomenon back in the mid 80’s) then you’ve seen nothing yet. With Star Wars fandom online already delirious over the Porgs (seriously, check it out, fans and the staff at the official Star Wars site are losing their minds) there’s every chance these creatures will be the toy of the year, just as BB-8 was a couple of years ago. I would like to thank those that purchased through the Amazon link at the HareoftheRabbit.com website. It looks like we had a few books, disc golf, and headphones.    

Nominally an episode about the mysterious death of David Crowley, Josh and M delve into Trump-related conspiracy theory news, and get Kevin and Devin confused. Also, there are corrections to last week's fake news about films. Music: The Ancient Commonsense Of Things (Live) by Bishop Allen Learn more about Matthew's academic work on the Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories at http://episto.org/ Why not support The Podcaster's Guide to the Conspiracy by donating to our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/conspiracism) or Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/patron/crowdfund/profile/id/muv5b-79) pages? Contact us at: podcastconspiracy@gmail.com

TOPIC: My place is here—I fight with you! This week, Dan and Merlin cover a meetup announcement, Merlin's Les Mis obsession, Dan's new Hackintosh Method, and the Benjamin Family's slippery bar problem. Merlin advocates for "The Tiny Life Improvement Project." Pens and pencils are recommended, desks are discussed, and LBJ speaks out about his bespoke slack needs. The boys talk about the FTC's actions over Vizio's super-creepy user tracking, and wonder what questions to ask about the future of privacy on our smart devices. Things wrap with a quick discussion of culture-specific cargo culting and why we still cut the ends off the roast.

TOPIC: My place is here—I fight with you! This week, Dan and Merlin cover a meetup announcement, Merlin's Les Mis obsession, Dan's new Hackintosh Method, and the Benjamin Family's slippery bar problem. Merlin advocates for "The Tiny Life Improvement Project." Pens and pencils are recommended, desks are discussed, and LBJ speaks out about his bespoke slack needs. The boys talk about the FTC's actions over Vizio's super-creepy user tracking, and wonder what questions to ask about the future of privacy on our smart devices. Things wrap with a quick discussion of culture-specific cargo culting and why we still cut the ends off the roast.

Nominally, this is “Q&A,” but it's really a music program: a program of music in celebration of America and its independence day. Jay plays an assorted concert: You have some Gottschalk, some Dvorak, some Joplin, some Copland, some Ravel. And you have a couple of star-spangled singers at the end. A musical tribute to America. The complete track list for this show is here. Source

In this bonus episode, Shana and Daniel discuss a film they've been rewatching a lot lately, Django Unchained, and the horrifying legacy of slavery. Also folk heroes in fiction, "the father of gynecology," positionality, and the deep satisfaction of seeing slavers brutally murdered. Warning: this episode contains unusually aggressive language and themes, even for Oi! Spaceman.  Main Topic: Django Unchained. Nominally a Doctor Who podcast. Identifiers. "I believe in racism." Positionality. The legacy of slavery is still with us. Not black. Holocaust. Werner von Braun. Gypsies versus Romanis. Dripping racism. Knoxville. Linguistics. Rocks and windows. Racially-motivated violence. Badass black heroes. Should this film even exist? Fun-and-games slavery. Tarantino's positionality. Use of the N-word. Spielberg. Maus. Basterds versus Unchained. Space Nazis. Tarantino and revolution. Will Smith. Christoph Waltz. His name is King. The immigrant experience. Clever to a fault. Diction. White guilt. His name is Django. Franco Nero. Appropriation. Not advocating white genocide. Chapelle's show. Two kinds of violence. Casual. Every day. Living to his skin. Beer as a reward. The Brittle Brothers. Django's agency. Joseph Campbell bullshit. The Broomhilda myth. Metatext. Cotton. Candie. Moguy the slave. "Why don't they kill us?" Quiet heroism. Jerry-rig. Tortured. Patriarch. Steven. Black Complicity. Fool. Too clever. Burn it with fire or live to fight another day? Informed consent. Candie's motivation. Walton Goggins. Faces. "Little Troublemaker." Heroes. Structure. Wrapping Up. From NPR: Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy.  The American Slave Coast.  Chappelle's Show: The Time Haters.  Find all future episodes at oispaceman.com. Shana and Daniel are also now writing weekly about sex and gender at eruditorumpress.com.

Sean chats to our mutual chum Scott Dedenbach. Nominally about wheel tech but whenever we chat keeping on topic is a forlorn hope. Visit the www.cycle-systems.co.uk CycleSystems Academy website

Sean chats to our mutual chum Scott Dedenbach. Nominally about wheel tech but whenever we chat keeping on topic is a forlorn hope. Visit the CycleSystems Academy websiteClick to view: show page on Awesound

Some people are gone, and a new person arrives. Surprisingly little happens, unless you like squirrel magic and tangents. It turns out that I used the title, Nominally an Episode too soon. That being said, it is an entertaining listen. Also, it turns out that the title caps at 200 characters. I feel like that's new.   @DireWeasels are@walk6070, @arcanevice, @absurdistkobold, @codedude3, @chalupabatman27, and @eskimomo9!   Check out our patreon at www.patreon.com/direweasels .  Also, rate and review us on itunes (5 stars is the correct number of stars). Email us direweasels@gmail.com or tweet us @direweasels. Feel free to visit direweasels.podbean.com

If you think the podcast has been a little lacking in silly moments lately, buckle up, because the pendulum has violently moved back in the other direction. We played just enough d&d to say that we played d&d. Tangents and bloopers are the name of the game this week.   @direweasels are: @absurdistkobold, @walk6070, @chalupabatman27, @arcanevice, @eskimomo9 Check out our patreon at patreon.com/direweasels. We are pretty excited now that we are starting to see the stuff we are producing for it. Also, rate and review us on itunes (5 stars is the correct number of stars). Email us direweasels@gmail.com or tweet us @direweasels (because we like talking to you and answering your questions). Thanks for being cool.

Nominally, this episode is about rainy day strategies. But what would YanNay be without complaining, questioning and coming at people's throats? Also, get Sarah's secret for fresh-baked granola.

This week on??View from the Gutters??our topic work is Planetary, by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Release between 1999 and 2009 and running for a staggering 27 issues,??Planetary??is one of Ellis??? master works. Nominally set in the Wildstorm comics universe, it is the story of Elijah Snow???one of the Century Babies: a group of apparently [???]

This week on View from the Gutters our topic work is Planetary, by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Release between 1999 and 2009 and running for a staggering 27 issues, Planetary is one of Ellis’ master works. Nominally set in the Wildstorm comics universe, it is the story of Elijah Snow—one of the Century Babies: a group of apparently […]

This date which took place in New York in September of 1953 was really a Jazz summit meeting. The quartet had never played together before and these four great musicians just came together like fish to water. Nominally led by the pioneer of the vibes, the great Lionel Hampton at his musical best, devoid of all his usual showbiz trappings and just displaying his musical genius. Hampton is joined by Oscar Peterson on piano and both these virtuosos challenge and spar and parry with one another with incredible musicality. Ray Brown on bass provided the underpinning with his great sound and swing. Buddy Rich, who plays only brushes throughout provides the pulse and fire underneath the to main soloists. It is a true meeting of musical giants and the repertoire was simply chosen as they went along. Standards and a few Jazz favourites are there and all the tunes are familiar. What is done to these tunes is what makes the date so exceptional. Hamp, Oscar, Ray and Buddy at their inspired best!

About six months ago we decided that it would be fun to produce more original video segments for Serious Eats. When I made a list of interesting people I wanted to interview on camera for a series called Chewing the Fat, Alton Brown was at the top of the list. Why? Because whenever I have watched him on the Food Network or chatted with him (ever so briefly) when I was an Iron Chef judge, I have always found Alton to be interesting, provocative, smart, and funny. So one day Alton came over to Serious Eats World Headquarters and sat down for an hour and a half, one-on-one interview, which was shot, directed, and edited by none other than Hamburger America director and author George Motz.. Nominally the subject was Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run, Alton's Food Network series and its companion book. Alton and I ended up chatting about everything from the pleasure derived from feeding people to the art of the doughnut, the subject of the webisode we're posting here. The series may have run its course on the Food Network, but the subjects we discussed are timeless. So pull up a chair and watch as Serious Eats chews the fat (and the doughnuts) with Alton Brown. If you want to buy the DVD of Feasting on Asphalt 2 you may do so at amazon.com

Shelleyan Orphan brought their delirious chamber-pop to SNAP in September 1989. Nominally a duo of Caroline Crawley and Jem Tayle, the group expanded to a sextet for their opening slot on The Cure's “Prayer Tour.” On this rare US radio date, they perform a lovely set of selections from their “Century Flower” album.