Podcasts about pacific islands

Every monday we give you the chance to put your questions to an expert in their field. Today we are joined by Jessica Lockhart. Jessica is the Lonely Planet Travel guides Destination Editor for Oceania. That is Australia, NZ, and the Pacific Islands. She's well placed to answer your questions about those destinations, as well as more general travel questions. Be it - how do I book the cheapest flights? Which part of Vanuatu should I stay on? Or what's the best waterfall to visit here in NZ?

With sea levels rising, much of the nation's population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go? By Atul Dev. Read by Mikhail Sen Check out Between Moon Tides documentary at theguardian.com. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

This week Anthony Albanese left the comforts of his high approval rating at home to land in the Pacific, hoping to sign historic defence agreements with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. But he has returned to Australia empty-handed, with the influence of China looming large over negotiations. The prime minister now heads to the US where a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump poses its own challenges. Bridie Jabour talks to deputy editor Gabrielle Jackson, head of newsroom Mike Ticher and political editor Tom Mcllroy about the tricky diplomatic tightrope the PM is walking

Tom Robinson was a 14-year-old living in the Brisbane suburbs when he made a promise to himself to become the youngest person ever to row across the Pacific Ocean.  Nine years later Tom set off from Peru bound for Australia without a support crew and limited communication.Tom navigated by the stars, made eye contact with a shark and rowed up to 15 hours a day when strong currents pushed him off course.And when his adventure ended, it was in a completely unexpected by perfect way.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake.  Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores solo adventure, rowing the Pacific Ocean, boat building, remote Pacific Island communities, family, rescue, bad weather, world records, isolation, fear, survival, adventure, near death, volcanic islands, marine life.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

It’s being labelled as a major diplomatic blunder by the Albanese government, with Papua New Guinea pulling out of signing a key defence treaty with Australia at the last minute. While the federal government was confident of sealing the deal, the dramatic turnaround has raised serious concerns over Australia’s security and diplomatic future in the critical Pacific Region. In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Pacific Islands diplomatic expert Mihai Sora to unpack why the failed treaty is a concerning setback for Australia and an important win for China. Headlines: Several protestors have been arrested in England after projected images of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were displayed on a castle, hundreds of jobs are set to go in one of Queensland's biggest coal mines, the NSW Government has announced the biggest overhaul of planning laws in half a century, and Virgin Australia has launched its 'Pet in Cabin' flights. Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpodInstagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @LiSTNRnewsroom Facebook: @LiSTNR NewsroomSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For H-Hour perks, join the H-Hour Discord guild: https://discord.com/invite/KCb54MQNxd and follow H-Hour Hugh on X: https://x.com/HughKeir For episode #270, emmy-award winning documentary film maker (and former soldier) Tom Martienssen and I delve into the fascinating and dangerous world of wildlife filmmaking for H-Hour. Tom shares his experiences documenting the birth of a black rhino, a feat never before captured on film. We also explore the complex and often perilous efforts of anti-poaching rangers in Kenya, the socioeconomic factors driving poaching, and the resilience of the wildlife conservation community. Tom's journey from filming human conflict zones to capturing rare wildlife moments showcases the intertwined struggles for survival, both human and animal. Tom's first appearance on H-Hour was on #101 https://charliecharlieone.com/2020/09/h-hour-podcast-101-tom-martienssen-journalist-documentary-maker-raf-regiment/ Tom Martienssen is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked in over 50 countries and territories, including Afghanistan, the Arctic, the Himalayas, and the Pacific Islands. His career began while working as a combat search and rescue team member in Afghanistan, which sparked his passion for storytelling. He later trained at the BBC Academy and worked as a journalist for the BBC World Affairs Unit before focusing on cinematography. Martienssen has covered major global events, including surviving and reporting on the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and working undercover in the Middle East to report on ISIS. He is currently directing and shooting four documentaries, focusing on conservation in Nigeria, poaching in Kenya, culture in global Indigenous communities, and high Arctic exploration. He collaborates on his projects with Diamond Docs and the BBC. One of his upcoming films, Rhino (2025), is a documentary about a wildlife ranger protecting endangered black rhinos in Kenya. He is also the founder of Dustoff Films and an honouree of The Explorers Club 50 https://www.instagram.com/dustoff_films

Maybe it's surprising that Moana hasn't popped up on the Couch until now, especially considering we've already talked about the more recent Encanto, but the gang agrees that it's a great way to kick off our post-200 slate of episodes with gorgeous and cutting-edge animation, excellent dual protagonists, a penchant for the mythology of the Pacific Islands, and Lin Manuel Miranda's well-crafted post-Hamilton soundtrack. Perhaps the fact that we've already discussed progenitor Frozen and successor Encanto gives us a bit more perspective on this film, letting us compare the songs and the narrative strengths of these "movie-musicals"—and, perhaps, the weakness of two of its primary antagonists. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Thanks for Preston and Pranav for suggesting this week's topics! Further reading: DNA has revealed the origin of this giant ‘mystery' gecko Snow Leopards Dispersed Out of Tibetan Plateau Multiple Times, Researchers Say Conquest of Asia and Europe by snow leopards during the last Ice Ages uncovered The crested gecko AKA the eyelash gecko: The fluffy snow leopard: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I'm your host, Kate Shaw. This week we have a couple of suggestions from Preston and one from Pranav! This is the first episode I've recorded in my new apartment, so let's make it a good one. First, Preston wanted to learn more about the crested gecko, mainly because he has a pet crested gecko named George Washington. That is one of the best gecko names ever! The crested gecko is also called the eyelash gecko. We've talked about it a few times, but not recently at all. It's native to a collection of remote Pacific islands called New Caledonia, where it spends most of its time in trees, eating insects and other small animals, but also fruit, nectar, and lots of other food. It's an omnivore and nocturnal, and can grow more than 10 inches long, or 25 cm. It gets its names from the tiny spines above its eyes that look like eyelashes, and more spines in two rows down its back, like a tiny dragon. It can be brown, reddish, orange, yellow, or gray, with various colored spots, which has made it a popular pet. These days all pet crested geckos were bred in captivity, since it's now protected in the wild. The crested gecko has tiny claws on its toes, which is unusual since most geckos don't have claws. It can drop its tail like other geckos if a predator is after it, but the tail doesn't grow back. Since its tail is prehensile and helps it climb around in trees, you'd think the gecko would have trouble climbing after it loses its tail, but it doesn't. Maybe that's because in addition to claws, like other geckos it has basically microscopic hairlike structures on its toes that allow it to climb smooth surfaces like windows and walls and the trunks of smooth trees. It can also jump long distances to get to a new branch. The crested gecko was discovered by science in 1866, but wasn't seen after that in so long that people thought it was extinct. Then in 1994, a German herpetologist out looking for specimens after a tropical storm found a single crested gecko. It turns out that the geckos had been fine all along, but because they're nocturnal and mostly live in trees, scientists just hadn't spotted any. While we're talking about geckos, Pranav requested that we revisit Delcourt's giant gecko with some updated information. We did mention the new findings back in episode 389, but it's really interesting so let's go over it again. Way back in episode 20 we talked about Delcourt's giant gecko, which is only known from a single museum specimen donated in the 19th century. In 1979 a herpetologist named Alain Delcourt, working in the Marseilles Natural History Museum in France, noticed a big taxidermied lizard in storage and wondered what it was. It wasn't labeled and he didn't recognize it, surprising since it was the biggest gecko he'd ever seen—two feet long, or about 60 cm. He sent photos to several reptile experts and they didn't know what it was either. Finally the specimen was examined and in 1986 it was described as a new species. No one knew anything about the stuffed specimen, including where it was caught. At first researchers thought it might be from New Caledonia since a lot of the museum's other specimens were collected from the Pacific Islands. None of the specimens donated between 1833 and 1869 had any documentation, so it seemed probable the giant gecko was donated during that time and probably collected not long before. More recently there was speculation that it was actually from New Zealand, since it matched Maori lore about a big lizard called the kawekaweau. In June of 2023,

As celebrations get underway marking the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia, the two nations are about to enter a deal that will see our defence forces become 'totally integrated'. Geraldine Doogue, Hamish Macdonald and special guest Oliver Nobetau (Project Director of the Australia-Papua New Guinea Network at the Lowy Institute) discuss why this particular Pacific neighbour continues to hold so much significance to Australia and what this historic new defence treaty might actually mean for PNG and us. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

For H-Hour perks, join the H-Hour Discord guild: https://discord.com/invite/KCb54MQNxd and follow H-Hour Hugh on X: https://x.com/HughKeir H-Hour Icebreaker Tom Martienssen features Emmy-winning documentary film maker, former RAF Regiment soldier. In this compelling preview to #270, Tom Martienssen shares gripping stories from Afghanistan, the nuances between different military units, and the complexities of dealing with PTSD. From filming with the Taliban to capturing the first-ever Black rhino birth in the wild, Tom provides deep insights into the challenges and triumphs of both war and filmmaking. His discussion also highlights the essential support systems for veterans, making this episode a poignant exploration of resilience and recovery. Tom's first appearance on H-Hour was on #101 https://charliecharlieone.com/2020/09/h-hour-podcast-101-tom-martienssen-journalist-documentary-maker-raf-regiment/ Tom Martienssen is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked in over 50 countries and territories, including Afghanistan, the Arctic, the Himalayas, and the Pacific Islands. His career began while working as a combat search and rescue team member in Afghanistan, which sparked his passion for storytelling. He later trained at the BBC Academy and worked as a journalist for the BBC World Affairs Unit before focusing on cinematography. Martienssen has covered major global events, including surviving and reporting on the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and working undercover in the Middle East to report on ISIS. He is currently directing and shooting four documentaries, focusing on conservation in Nigeria, poaching in Kenya, culture in global Indigenous communities, and high Arctic exploration. He collaborates on his projects with Diamond Docs and the BBC. One of his upcoming films, Rhino (2025), is a documentary about a wildlife ranger protecting endangered black rhinos in Kenya. He is also the founder of Dustoff Films and an honouree of The Explorers Club 50 https://www.instagram.com/dustoff_films

Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah event, PM meets with Pacific Island leaders, concern over access to Victoria machete bins. Plus, how can this UK judge remain in a job? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acknowledgement of Country Headlines:Gaza and West bank updates: high rise bombings, Qatar bombings, attack on Sumud flotillaASU strike for GazaAnti-corruption protests in NepalVictorian Treaty bill introducedRobodebt class action settlement Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants' Union of New South Wales, joined us to discuss the challenge being mounted against the New South Wales government's June decision to significantly weaken rules surrounding evictions for renovations or repairs. While rental reforms bringing an end to no-ground evictions in the state were introduced on the 19th of May 2025, the NSW government has drastically reduced the evidence requirements for landlords seeking to evict a tenant to conduct renovations or major repairs. You can learn more about 'renovictions' here on the Tenants' Union of NSW's website. We launched the first episode of the podcast, 'Our Stories, Our Flats', produced by 3CR broadcaster Ayan Shirwa and supported by 3CR and the City of Melbourne, to document the lives of residents in all their colourfulness. Our Stories, Our Flats is narrated by Raven, a former resident of the flats. In this episode, Uncle Robbie Thorpe reflects on the changes to the high-rise flats and Adrianna, a Carlton resident, gives us a glimpse into her life. RMIT Researcher Priya Kunjan discusses the Victorian government's decision to demolish 44 high-rise towers.Tune in weekly on Thursdays at 7.30 am to hear all four episodes. For show notes, visit 3cr.org.au/ourstoriesourflats. Pilar Aguilera, a social justice activist and 3CR veteran, joined us to discuss the upcoming premiere of “Mother, Country”, tonight/11 September at the Greek Democritus Workers' League. The documentary follows film-maker and journalist Pablo Navarrete as he travels to Chile with his parents, who were forced to leave the country after the military coup on 11 September 1973. Get your tickets for tonight's premiere here. Drue Slatter, Pacific Communications Manager at 350Pacific, spoke with us about how the climate action priorities of Pacific Island nations have featured during this week's Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Forum, running from 8-12 September, sees Pacific Island nations gathering to negotiate sovereign and shared interests and to demand action on climate change and environmental harm, while international partners including Australia, China and the United States vie for geopolitical and security influence in the region.

Last time we spoke about the surrender of Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on August 15, prompting mixed public reactions: grief, shock, and sympathy for the Emperor, tempered by fear of hardship and occupation. The government's response included resignations and suicide as new leadership was brought in under Prime Minister Higashikuni, with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister and Kawabe Torashiro heading a delegation to Manila. General MacArthur directed the occupation plan, “Blacklist,” prioritizing rapid, phased entry into key Japanese areas and Korea, while demobilizing enemy forces. The surrender ceremony occurred aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, with Wainwright, Percival, Nimitz, and UN representatives in attendance. Civilians and soldiers across Asia began surrendering, and postwar rehabilitation, Indochina and Vietnam's independence movements, and Southeast Asian transitions rapidly unfolded as Allied forces established control. This episode is the Aftermath of the Pacific War Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Pacific War has ended. Peace has been restored by the Allies and most of the places conquered by the Japanese Empire have been liberated. In this post-war period, new challenges would be faced for those who won the war; and from the ashes of an empire, a defeated nation was also seeking to rebuild. As the Japanese demobilized their armed forces, many young boys were set to return to their homeland, even if they had previously thought that they wouldn't survive the ordeal. And yet, there were some cases of isolated men that would continue to fight for decades even, unaware that the war had already ended.  As we last saw, after the Japanese surrender, General MacArthur's forces began the occupation of the Japanese home islands, while their overseas empire was being dismantled by the Allies. To handle civil administration, MacArthur established the Military Government Section, commanded by Brigadier-General William Crist, staffed by hundreds of US experts trained in civil governance who were reassigned from Okinawa and the Philippines. As the occupation began, Americans dispatched tactical units and Military Government Teams to each prefecture to ensure that policies were faithfully carried out. By mid-September, General Eichelberger's 8th Army had taken over the Tokyo Bay region and began deploying to occupy Hokkaido and the northern half of Honshu. Then General Krueger's 6th Army arrived in late September, taking southern Honshu and Shikoku, with its base in Kyoto. In December, 6th Army was relieved of its occupation duties; in January 1946, it was deactivated, leaving the 8th Army as the main garrison force. By late 1945, about 430,000 American soldiers were garrisoned across Japan. President Truman approved inviting Allied involvement on American terms, with occupation armies integrated into a US command structure. Yet with the Chinese civil war and Russia's reluctance to place its forces under MacArthur's control, only Australia, Britain, India, and New Zealand sent brigades, more than 40,000 troops in southwestern Japan. Japanese troops were gradually disarmed by order of their own commanders, so the stigma of surrender would be less keenly felt by the individual soldier. In the homeland, about 1.5 million men were discharged and returned home by the end of August. Demobilization overseas, however, proceeded, not quickly, but as a long, difficult process of repatriation. In compliance with General Order No. 1, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters disbanded on September 13 and was superseded by the Japanese War Department to manage demobilization. By November 1, the homeland had demobilized 2,228,761 personnel, roughly 97% of the Homeland Army. Yet some 6,413,215 men remained to be repatriated from overseas. On December 1, the Japanese War Ministry dissolved, and the First Demobilization Ministry took its place. The Second Demobilization Ministry was established to handle IJN demobilization, with 1,299,868 sailors, 81% of the Navy, demobilized by December 17. Japanese warships and merchant ships had their weapons rendered inoperative, and suicide craft were destroyed. Forty percent of naval vessels were allocated to evacuations in the Philippines, and 60% to evacuations of other Pacific islands. This effort eventually repatriated about 823,984 men to Japan by February 15, 1946. As repatriation accelerated, by October 15 only 1,909,401 men remained to be repatriated, most of them in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Higashikuni Cabinet and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru managed to persuade MacArthur not to impose direct military rule or martial law over all of Japan. Instead, the occupation would be indirect, guided by the Japanese government under the Emperor's direction. An early decision to feed occupation forces from American supplies, and to allow the Japanese to use their own limited food stores, helped ease a core fear: that Imperial forces would impose forced deliveries on the people they conquered. On September 17, MacArthur transferred his headquarters from Yokohama to Tokyo, setting up primary offices on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Building, an imposing edifice overlooking the moat and the Imperial palace grounds in Hibiya, a symbolic heart of the nation.  While the average soldier did not fit the rapacious image of wartime Japanese propagandists, occupation personnel often behaved like neo-colonial overlords. The conquerors claimed privileges unimaginable to most Japanese. Entire trains and train compartments, fitted with dining cars, were set aside for the exclusive use of occupation forces. These silenced, half-empty trains sped past crowded platforms, provoking ire as Japanese passengers were forced to enter and exit packed cars through punched-out windows, or perch on carriage roofs, couplings, and running boards, often with tragic consequences. The luxury express coaches became irresistible targets for anonymous stone-throwers. During the war, retrenchment measures had closed restaurants, cabarets, beer halls, geisha houses, and theatres in Tokyo and other large cities. Now, a vast leisure industry sprang up to cater to the needs of the foreign occupants. Reopened restaurants and theatres, along with train stations, buses, and streetcars, were sometimes kept off limits to Allied personnel, partly for security, partly to avoid burdening Japanese resources, but a costly service infrastructure was built to the occupiers' specifications. Facilities reserved for occupation troops bore large signs reading “Japanese Keep Out” or “For Allied Personnel Only.” In downtown Tokyo, important public buildings requisitioned for occupation use had separate entrances for Americans and Japanese. The effect? A subtle but clear colour bar between the predominantly white conquerors and the conquered “Asiatic” Japanese. Although MacArthur was ready to work through the Japanese government, he lacked the organizational infrastructure to administer a nation of 74 million. Consequently, on October 2, MacArthur dissolved the Military Government Section and inaugurated General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a separate headquarters focused on civil affairs and operating in tandem with the Army high command. SCAP immediately assumed responsibility for administering the Japanese home islands. It commandeered every large building not burned down to house thousands of civilians and requisitioned vast tracts of prime real estate to quarter several hundred thousand troops in the Tokyo–Yokohama area alone. Amidst the rise of American privilege, entire buildings were refurbished as officers' clubs, replete with slot machines and gambling parlours installed at occupation expense. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Tokyo, while the display of the Rising Sun was banned; and the downtown area, known as “Little America,” was transformed into a US enclave. The enclave mentality of this cocooned existence was reinforced by the arrival within the first six months of roughly 700 American families. At the peak of the occupation, about 14,800 families employed some 25,000 Japanese servants to ease the “rigours” of overseas duty. Even enlisted men in the sparse quonset-hut towns around the city lived like kings compared with ordinary Japanese. Japanese workers cleaned barracks, did kitchen chores, and handled other base duties. The lowest private earned a 25% hardship bonus until these special allotments were discontinued in 1949. Most military families quickly adjusted to a pampered lifestyle that went beyond maids and “boys,” including cooks, laundresses, babysitters, gardeners, and masseuses. Perks included spacious quarters with swimming pools, central heating, hot running water, and modern plumbing. Two observers compared GHQ to the British Raj at its height. George F. Kennan, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, warned during his 1948 mission to Japan that Americans had monopolized “everything that smacks of comfort or elegance or luxury,” criticizing what he called the “American brand of philistinism” and the “monumental imperviousness” of MacArthur's staff to the Japanese suffering. This conqueror's mentality also showed in the bullying attitudes many top occupation officials displayed toward the Japanese with whom they dealt. Major Faubion Bowers, MacArthur's military secretary, later said, “I and nearly all the occupation people I knew were extremely conceited and extremely arrogant and used our power every inch of the way.” Initially, there were spasms of defiance against the occupation forces, such as anonymous stone-throwing, while armed robbery and minor assaults against occupation personnel were rife in the weeks and months after capitulation. Yet active resistance was neither widespread nor organized. The Americans successfully completed their initial deployment without violence, an astonishing feat given a heavily armed and vastly superior enemy operating on home terrain. The average citizen regarded the occupation as akin to force majeure, the unfortunate but inevitable aftermath of a natural calamity. Japan lay prostrate. Industrial output had fallen to about 10% of pre-war levels, and as late as 1946, more than 13 million remained unemployed. Nearly 40% of Japan's urban areas had been turned to rubble, and some 9 million people were homeless. The war-displaced, many of them orphans, slept in doorways and hallways, in bombed-out ruins, dugouts and packing crates, under bridges or on pavements, and crowded the hallways of train and subway stations. As winter 1945 descended, with food, fuel, and clothing scarce, people froze to death. Bonfires lit the streets to ward off the chill. "The only warm hands I have shaken thus far in Japan belonged to Americans," Mark Gayn noted in December 1945. "The Japanese do not have much of a chance to thaw out, and their hands are cold and red." Unable to afford shoes, many wore straw sandals; those with geta felt themselves privileged. The sight of a man wearing a woman's high-buttoned shoes in winter epitomized the daily struggle to stay dry and warm. Shantytowns built of scrap wood, rusted metal, and scavenged odds and ends sprang up everywhere, resembling vast junk yards. The poorest searched smouldering refuse heaps for castoffs that might be bartered for a scrap to eat or wear. Black markets (yami'ichi) run by Japanese, Koreans, and For-mosans mushroomed to replace collapsed distribution channels and cash in on inflated prices. Tokyo became "a world of scarcity in which every nail, every rag, and even a tangerine peel [had a] market value." Psychologically numbed, disoriented, and disillusioned with their leaders, demobilized veterans and civilians alike struggled to get their bearings, shed militaristic ideologies, and begin to embrace new values. In the vacuum of defeat, the Japanese people appeared ready to reject the past and grasp at the straw held out by the former enemy. Relations between occupier and occupied were not smooth, however. American troops comported themselves like conquerors, especially in the early weeks and months of occupation. Much of the violence was directed against women, with the first attacks beginning within hours after the landing of advance units. When US paratroopers landed in Sapporo, an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling ensued. Newspaper accounts reported 931 serious offences by GIs in the Yokohama area during the first week of occupation, including 487 armed robberies, 411 thefts of currency or goods, 9 rapes, 5 break-ins, 3 cases of assault and battery, and 16 other acts of lawlessness. In the first 10 days of occupation, there were 1,336 reported rapes by US soldiers in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Americans were not the only perpetrators. A former prostitute recalled that when Australian troops arrived in Kure in early 1946, they “dragged young women into their jeeps, took them to the mountain, and then raped them. I heard them screaming for help nearly every night.” Such behaviour was commonplace, but news of criminal activity by occupation forces was quickly suppressed. On September 10, 1945, SCAP issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of reports and statistics "inimical to the objectives of the occupation." In the sole instance of self-help General Eichelberger records in his memoirs, when locals formed a vigilante group and retaliated against off-duty GIs, 8th Army ordered armored vehicles into the streets and arrested the ringleaders, who received lengthy prison terms. Misbehavior ranged from black-market activity, petty theft, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct to vandalism, arson, murder, and rape. Soldiers and sailors often broke the law with impunity, and incidents of robbery, rape, and even murder were widely reported. Gang rapes and other sex atrocities were not infrequent; victims, shunned as outcasts, sometimes turned to prostitution in desperation, while others took their own lives to avoid bringing shame to their families. Military courts arrested relatively few soldiers for these offenses and convicted even fewer; Japanese attempts at self-defense were punished severely, and restitution for victims was rare. Fearing the worst, Japanese authorities had already prepared countermeasures against the supposed rapacity of foreign soldiers. Imperial troops in East Asia and the Pacific had behaved brutally toward women, so the government established “sexual comfort-stations” manned by geisha, bar hostesses, and prostitutes to “satisfy the lust of the Occupation forces,” as the Higashikuni Cabinet put it. A budget of 100 million yen was set aside for these Recreation and Amusement Associations, financed initially with public funds but run as private enterprises under police supervision. Through these, the government hoped to protect the daughters of the well-born and middle class by turning to lower-class women to satisfy the soldiers' sexual appetites. By the end of 1945, brothel operators had rounded up an estimated 20,000 young women and herded them into RAA establishments nationwide. Eventually, as many as 70,000 are said to have ended up in the state-run sex industry. Thankfully, as military discipline took hold and fresh troops replaced the Allied veterans responsible for the early crime wave, violence subsided and the occupier's patronising behavior and the ugly misdeeds of a lawless few were gradually overlooked. However, fraternisation was frowned upon by both sides, and segregation was practiced in principle, with the Japanese excluded from areas reserved for Allied personnel until September 1949, when MacArthur lifted virtually all restrictions on friendly association, stating that he was “establishing the same relations between occupation personnel and the Japanese population as exists between troops stationed in the United States and the American people.” In principle, the Occupation's administrative structure was highly complex. The Far Eastern Commission, based in Washington, included representatives from all 13 countries that had fought against Japan and was established in 1946 to formulate basic principles. The Allied Council for Japan was created in the same year to assist in developing and implementing surrender terms and in administering the country. It consisted of representatives from the USA, the USSR, Nationalist China, and the British Commonwealth. Although both bodies were active at first, they were largely ineffectual due to unwieldy decision-making, disagreements between the national delegations (especially the USA and USSR), and the obstructionism of General Douglas MacArthur. In practice, SCAP, the executive authority of the occupation, effectively ruled Japan from 1945 to 1952. And since it took orders only from the US government, the Occupation became primarily an American affair. The US occupation program, effectively carried out by SCAP, was revolutionary and rested on a two-pronged approach. To ensure Japan would never again become a menace to the United States or to world peace, SCAP pursued disarmament and demilitarization, with continuing control over Japan's capacity to make war. This involved destroying military supplies and installations, demobilizing more than five million Japanese soldiers, and thoroughly discrediting the military establishment. Accordingly, SCAP ordered the purge of tens of thousands of designated persons from public service positions, including accused war criminals, military officers, leaders of ultranationalist societies, leaders in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, business leaders tied to overseas expansion, governors of former Japanese colonies, and national leaders who had steered Japan into war. In addition, MacArthur's International Military Tribunal for the Far East established a military court in Tokyo. It had jurisdiction over those charged with Class A crimes, top leaders who had planned and directed the war. Also considered were Class B charges, covering conventional war crimes, and Class C charges, covering crimes against humanity. Yet the military court in Tokyo wouldn't be the only one. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia, China, France, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. Among these, many, like General Ando Rikichi and Lieutenant-General Nomi Toshio, chose to commit suicide before facing prosecution. Notable cases include Lieutenant-General Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal for his role in the Nanjing Massacre; Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, who was executed in Nanjing for the murder of British and Chinese civilians during the occupation of Hong Kong. General Okamura Yasuji was convicted of war crimes by the Tribunal, yet he was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who kept him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang. In the Manila trials, General Yamashita Tomoyuki was sentenced to death as he was in overall command during the Sook Ching massacre, the Rape of Manila, and other atrocities. Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu was likewise executed in Manila for atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bataan Death March. General Imamura Hitoshi was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he considered the punishment too light and even had a replica of the prison built in his garden, remaining there until his death in 1968. Lieutenant-General Kanda Masatane received a 14-year sentence for war crimes on Bougainville, though he served only four years. Lieutenant-General Adachi Hatazo was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes in New Guinea and subsequently committed suicide on September 10, 1947. Lieutenant-General Teshima Fusataro received three years of forced labour for using a hospital ship to transport troops. Lieutenant-General Baba Masao was sentenced to death for ordering the Sandakan Death Marches, during which over 2,200 Australian and British prisoners of war perished. Lieutenant-General Tanabe Moritake was sentenced to death by a Dutch military tribunal for unspecified war crimes. Rear-Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu was executed in Guam for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered. Lieutenant-General Inoue Sadae was condemned to death in Guam for permitting subordinates to execute three downed American airmen captured in Palau, though his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1951 and he was released in 1953. Lieutenant-General Tachibana Yoshio was sentenced to death in Guam for his role in the Chichijima Incident, in which eight American airmen were cannibalized. By mid-1945, due to the Allied naval blockade, the 25,000 Japanese troops on Chichijima had run low on supplies. However, although the daily rice ration had been reduced from 400 grams per person per day to 240 grams, the troops were not at risk of starvation. In February and March 1945, in what would later be called the Chichijima incident, Tachibana Yoshio's senior staff turned to cannibalism. Nine American airmen had escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, eight of whom were captured. The ninth, the only one to evade capture, was future US President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot. Over several months, the prisoners were executed, and reportedly by the order of Major Matoba Sueyo, their bodies were butchered by the division's medical orderlies, with the livers and other organs consumed by the senior staff, including Matoba's superior Tachibana. In the Yokohama War Crimes Trials, Lieutenant-Generals Inada Masazumi and Yokoyama Isamu were convicted for their complicity in vivisection and other human medical experiments performed at Kyushu Imperial University on downed Allied airmen. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial, which began in May 1946 and lasted two and a half years, resulted in the execution by hanging of Generals Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro, and former Prime Ministers Hirota Koki and Tojo Hideki, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, specifically for the escalation of the Pacific War and for permitting the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Also sentenced to death were Lieutenant-General Muto Akira for his role in the Nanjing and Manila massacres; General Kimura Heitaro for planning the war strategy in China and Southeast Asia and for laxity in preventing atrocities against prisoners of war in Burma; and General Matsui Iwane for his involvement in the Rape of Nanjing. The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, including the last Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Generals Araki Sadao, Minami Hiro, and Umezu Shojiro, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, former Prime Ministers Hiranuma Kiichiro and Koiso Kuniaki, Marquis Kido Koichi, and Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, a major instigator of the second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, former Foreign Ministers Togo Shigenori and Shigemitsu Mamoru received seven- and twenty-year sentences, respectively. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals, including the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, which tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit known as Unit 731. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial, as MacArthur granted immunity to Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ-w warfare data derived from human experimentation. If you would like to learn more about what I like to call Japan's Operation Paper clip, whereupon the US grabbed many scientists from Unit 731, check out my exclusive podcast. The SCAP-turn to democratization began with the drafting of a new constitution in 1947, addressing Japan's enduring feudal social structure. In the charter, sovereignty was vested in the people, and the emperor was designated a “symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power.” Because the emperor now possessed fewer powers than European constitutional monarchs, some have gone so far as to say that Japan became “a republic in fact if not in name.” Yet the retention of the emperor was, in fact, a compromise that suited both those who wanted to preserve the essence of the nation for stability and those who demanded that the emperor system, though not necessarily the emperor, should be expunged. In line with the democratic spirit of the new constitution, the peerage was abolished and the two-chamber Diet, to which the cabinet was now responsible, became the highest organ of state. The judiciary was made independent and local autonomy was granted in vital areas of jurisdiction such as education and the police. Moreover, the constitution stipulated that “the people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights,” that they “shall be respected as individuals,” and that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall … be the supreme consideration in legislation.” Its 29 articles guaranteed basic human rights: equality, freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Finally, in its most controversial section, Article 9, the “peace clause,” Japan “renounce[d] war as a sovereign right of the nation” and vowed not to maintain any military forces and “other war potential.” To instill a thoroughly democratic ethos, reforms touched every facet of society. The dissolution of the zaibatsu decentralised economic power; the 1945 Labour Union Law and the 1946 Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective action; the 1947 Labour Standards Law established basic working standards for men and women; and the revised Civil Code of 1948 abolished the patriarchal household and enshrined sexual equality. Reflecting core American principles, SCAP introduced a 6-3-3 schooling system, six years of compulsory elementary education, three years of junior high, and an optional three years of senior high, along with the aim of secular, locally controlled education. More crucially, ideological reform followed: censorship of feudal material in media, revision of textbooks, and prohibition of ideas glorifying war, dying for the emperor, or venerating war heroes. With women enfranchised and young people shaped to counter militarism and ultranationalism, rural Japan was transformed to undermine lingering class divisions. The land reform program provided for the purchase of all land held by absentee landlords, allowed resident landlords and owner-farmers to retain a set amount of land, and required that the remaining land be sold to the government so it could be offered to existing tenants. In 1948, amid the intensifying tensions of the Cold War that would soon culminate in the Korean War, the occupation's focus shifted from demilitarization and democratization toward economic rehabilitation and, ultimately, the remilitarization of Japan, an shift now known as the “Reverse Course.” The country was thus rebuilt as the Pacific region's primary bulwark against the spread of Communism. An Economic Stabilisation Programme was introduced, including a five-year plan to coordinate production and target capital through the Reconstruction Finance Bank. In 1949, the anti-inflationary Dodge Plan was adopted, advocating balanced budgets, fixing the exchange rate at 360 yen to the dollar, and ending broad government intervention. Additionally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was formed and supported the formation of conglomerates centered around banks, which encouraged the reemergence of a somewhat weakened set of zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi. By the end of the Occupation era, Japan was on the verge of surpassing its 1934–1936 levels of economic growth. Equally important was Japan's rearmament in alignment with American foreign policy: a National Police Reserve of about 75,000 was created with the outbreak of the Korean War; by 1952 it had expanded to 110,000 and was renamed the Self-Defense Force after the inclusion of an air force. However, the Reverse Course also facilitated the reestablishment of conservative politics and the rollback of gains made by women and the reforms of local autonomy and education. As the Occupation progressed, the Americans permitted greater Japanese initiative, and power gradually shifted from the reformers to the moderates. By 1949, the purge of the right came under review, and many who had been condemned began returning to influence, if not to the Diet, then to behind-the-scenes power. At the same time, Japanese authorities, with MacArthur's support, began purging left-wing activists. In June 1950, for example, the central office of the Japan Communist Party and the editorial board of The Red Flag were purged. The gains made by women also seemed to be reversed. Women were elected to 8% of available seats in the first lower-house election in 1946, but to only 2% in 1952, a trend not reversed until the so-called Madonna Boom of the 1980s. Although the number of women voting continued to rise, female politicisation remained more superficial than might be imagined. Women's employment also appeared little affected by labour legislation: though women formed nearly 40% of the labor force in 1952, they earned only 45% as much as men. Indeed, women's attitudes toward labor were influenced less by the new ethos of fulfilling individual potential than by traditional views of family and workplace responsibilities. In the areas of local autonomy and education, substantial modifications were made to the reforms. Because local authorities lacked sufficient power to tax, they were unable to realise their extensive powers, and, as a result, key responsibilities were transferred back to national jurisdiction. In 1951, for example, 90% of villages and towns placed their police forces under the control of the newly formed National Police Agency. Central control over education was also gradually reasserted; in 1951, the Yoshida government attempted to reintroduce ethics classes, proposed tighter central oversight of textbooks, and recommended abolishing local school board elections. By the end of the decade, all these changes had been implemented. The Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands and the Habomai Islets was completed with Russian troops fully deployed by September 5. Immediately after the onset of the occupation, amid a climate of insecurity and fear marked by reports of sporadic rape and physical assault and widespread looting by occupying troops, an estimated 4,000 islanders fled to Hokkaido rather than face an uncertain repatriation. As Soviet forces moved in, they seized or destroyed telephone and telegraph installations and halted ship movements into and out of the islands, leaving residents without adequate food and other winter provisions. Yet, unlike Manchuria, where Japanese civilians faced widespread sexual violence and pillage, systematic violence against the civilian population on the Kuriles appears to have been exceptional. A series of military government proclamations assured islanders of safety so long as they did not resist Soviet rule and carried on normally; however, these orders also prohibited activities not explicitly authorized by the Red Army, which imposed many hardships on civilians. Residents endured harsh conditions under Soviet rule until late 1948, when Japanese repatriation out of the Kurils was completed. The Kuriles posed a special diplomatic problem, as the occupation of the southernmost islands—the Northern Territories—ignited a long-standing dispute between Tokyo and Moscow that continues to impede the normalisation of relations today. Although the Kuriles were promised to the Soviet Union in the Yalta agreement, Japan and the United States argued that this did not apply to the Northern Territories, since they were not part of the Kurile Islands. A substantial dispute regarding the status of the Kurile Islands arose between the United States and the Soviet Union during the preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco, which was intended as a permanent peace treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of World War II. The treaty was ultimately signed by 49 nations in San Francisco on September 8, 1951, and came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes, ended the Allied post-war occupation of Japan, and returned full sovereignty to Japan. Effectively, the document officially renounced Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores, the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica, and South Sakhalin. Japan's South Seas Mandate, namely the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Caroline Islands, had already been formally revoked by the United Nations on July 18, 1947, making the United States responsible for administration of those islands under a UN trusteeship agreement that established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In turn, the Bonin, Volcano, and Ryukyu Islands were progressively restored to Japan between 1953 and 1972, along with the Senkaku Islands, which were disputed by both Communist and Nationalist China. In addition, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan and the United States signed a Security Treaty that established a long-lasting military alliance between them. Although Japan renounced its rights to the Kuriles, the U.S. State Department later clarified that “the Habomai Islands and Shikotan ... are properly part of Hokkaido and that Japan is entitled to sovereignty over them,” hence why the Soviets refused to sign the treaty. Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and as a result the Kurile Islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory. A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Taipei (formally the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty), was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952 between Japan and the Kuomintang, and on June 9 of that year the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India followed. Finally, Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, though this did not settle the Kurile Islands dispute. Even after these formal steps, Japan as a nation was not in a formal state of war, and many Japanese continued to believe the war was ongoing; those who held out after the surrender came to be known as Japanese holdouts.  Captain Oba Sakae and his medical company participated in the Saipan campaign beginning on July 7, 1944, and took part in what would become the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. After 15 hours of intense hand-to-hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead, and Oba and his men were presumed among them. In reality, however, he survived the battle and gradually assumed command of over a hundred additional soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Oba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture, organizing them into mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Oba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of US Marines. He used the 1,552‑ft Mount Tapochau as their primary base, which offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Oba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the Marines' frustrated attempts to find him, the Saipan Marines eventually referred to Oba as “The Fox.” Oba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On November 27, 1945, former Major-General Amo Umahachi was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amo was then able to present documents from the defunct IGHQ to Oba ordering him and his 46 remaining men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On December 1, the Japanese soldiers gathered on Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead; Oba led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Oba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kirgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. On January 2, 1946, 20 Japanese soldiers hiding in a tunnel at Corregidor Island surrendered after learning the war had ended from a newspaper found while collecting water. In that same month, 120 Japanese were routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila. In April, during a seven-week campaign to clear Lubang Island, 41 more Japanese emerged from the jungle, unaware that the war had ended; however, a group of four Japanese continued to resist. In early 1947, Lieutenant Yamaguchi Ei and his band of 33 soldiers renewed fighting with the small Marine garrison on Peleliu, prompting reinforcements under Rear-Admiral Charles Pownall to be brought to the island to hunt down the guerrilla group. Along with them came former Rear-Admiral Sumikawa Michio, who ultimately convinced Yamaguchi to surrender in April after almost three years of guerrilla warfare. Also in April, seven Japanese emerged from Palawan Island and fifteen armed stragglers emerged from Luzon. In January 1948, 200 troops surrendered on Mindanao; and on May 12, the Associated Press reported that two unnamed Japanese soldiers had surrendered to civilian policemen in Guam the day before. On January 6, 1949, two former IJN soldiers, machine gunners Matsudo Rikio and Yamakage Kufuku, were discovered on Iwo Jima and surrendered peacefully. In March 1950, Private Akatsu Yūichi surrendered in the village of Looc, leaving only three Japanese still resisting on Lubang. By 1951 a group of Japanese on Anatahan Island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them. This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorros from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of a Saipan-based B-29. The Chamorros reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawan woman. Personal aggravations developed from the close confines of a small group on a small island and from tuba drinking; among the holdouts, 6 of 11 deaths were the result of violence, and one man displayed 13 knife wounds. The presence of only one woman, Higa Kazuko, caused considerable difficulty as she would transfer her affections among at least four men after each of them mysteriously disappeared, purportedly “swallowed by the waves while fishing.” According to the more sensational versions of the Anatahan tale, 11 of the 30 navy sailors stranded on the island died due to violent struggles over her affections. In July 1950, Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared offshore and finally asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, told authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over. As the Japanese government showed interest in the situation on Anatahan, the families of the holdouts were contacted in Japan and urged by the Navy to write letters stating that the war was over and that the holdouts should surrender. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and ultimately convinced the holdouts to give themselves up. Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” commenced from Saipan under the command of Lt. Commander James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Johnson and an interpreter went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the surrender on the morning of June 30, 1951. The Anatahan femme fatale story later inspired the 1953 Japanese film Anatahan and the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea. In 1953, Murata Susumu, the last holdout on Tinian, was finally captured. The next year, on May 7, Corporal Sumada Shoichi was killed in a clash with Filipino soldiers, leaving only two Japanese still resisting on Lubang. In November 1955, Seaman Kinoshita Noboru was captured in the Luzon jungle but soon after committed suicide rather than “return to Japan in defeat.” That same year, four Japanese airmen surrendered at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea; and in 1956, nine soldiers were located and sent home from Morotai, while four men surrendered on Mindoro. In May 1960, Sergeant Ito Masashi became one of the last Japanese to surrender at Guam after the capture of his comrade Private Minagawa Bunzo, but the final surrender at Guam would come later with Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi. Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi survived in the jungles of Guam by living for years in an elaborately dug hole, subsisting on snails and lizards, a fate that, while undignified, showcased his ingenuity and resilience and earned him a warm welcome on his return to Japan. His capture was not heroic in the traditional sense: he was found half-starving by a group of villagers while foraging for shrimp in a stream, and the broader context included his awareness as early as 1952 that the war had ended. He explained that the wartime bushido code, emphasizing self-sacrifice or suicide rather than self-preservation, had left him fearing that repatriation would label him a deserter and likely lead to execution. Emerging from the jungle, Yokoi also became a vocal critic of Japan's wartime leadership, including Emperor Hirohito, which fits a view of him as a product of, and a prisoner within, his own education, military training, and the censorship and propaganda of the era. When asked by a young nephew how he survived so long on an island just a short distance from a major American airbase, he replied simply, “I was really good at hide and seek.”  That same year, Private Kozuka Kinshichi was killed in a shootout with Philippine police in October, leaving Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo still resisting on Lubang. Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island and harass the Allied occupying forces until the IJA eventually returned. Despite efforts by the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, radio broadcasts, and even a plea from Onoda's brother, he did not believe the war was over. On February 20, 1974, Onoda encountered a young Japanese university dropout named Suzuki Norio, who was traveling the world and had told friends that he planned to “look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order.” The two became friends, but Onoda stated that he was waiting for orders from one of his commanders. On March 9, 1974, Onoda went to an agreed-upon place and found a note left by Suzuki. Suzuki had brought along Onoda's former commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender. Intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Onoda Hiroo thus emerged from Lubang's jungle with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan's formal surrender, and 15 years after being declared legally dead in Japan. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly. He received a hero's welcome upon his return to Japan in 1974. The Japanese government offered him a large sum of money in back pay, which he refused. When money was pressed on him by well-wishers, he donated it to Yasukuni Shrine. Onoda was reportedly unhappy with the attention and what he saw as the withering of traditional Japanese values. He wrote No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, a best-selling autobiography published in 1974. Yet the last Japanese to surrender would be Private Nakamura Teruo, an Amis aborigine from Formosa and a member of the Takasago Volunteers. Private Nakamura Teruo spent the tail end of World War II with a dwindling band on Morotai, repeatedly dispersing and reassembling in the jungle as they hunted for food. The group suffered continuous losses to starvation and disease, and survivors described Nakamura as highly self-sufficient. He left to live alone somewhere in the Morotai highlands between 1946 and 1947, rejoined the main group in 1950, and then disappeared again a few years later. Nakamura hinted in print that he fled into the jungle because he feared the other holdouts might murder him. He survives for decades beyond the war, eventually being found by 11 Indonesian soldiers. The emergence of an indigenous Taiwanese soldier among the search party embarrassed Japan as it sought to move past its imperial past. Many Japanese felt Nakamura deserved compensation for decades of loyalty, only to learn that his back pay for three decades of service amounted to 68,000 yen.   Nakamura's experience of peace was complex. When a journalist asked how he felt about “wasting” three decades of his life on Morotai, he replied that the years had not been wasted; he had been serving his country. Yet the country he returned to was Taiwan, and upon disembarking in Taipei in early January 1975, he learned that his wife had a son he had never met and that she had remarried a decade after his official death. Nakamura eventually lived with a daughter, and his story concluded with a bittersweet note when his wife reconsidered and reconciled with him. Several Japanese soldiers joined local Communist and insurgent groups after the war to avoid surrender. Notably, in 1956 and 1958, two soldiers returned to Japan after service in China's People's Liberation Army. Two others who defected with a larger group to the Malayan Communist Party around 1945 laid down their arms in 1989 and repatriated the next year, becoming among the last to return home. That is all for today, but fear not I will provide a few more goodies over the next few weeks. I will be releasing some of my exclusive podcast episodes from my youtube membership and patreon that are about pacific war subjects. Like I promised the first one will be on why Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Until then if you need your fix you know where to find me: eastern front week by week, fall and rise of china, echoes of war or on my Youtube membership of patreon at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.

The Pacific Islands Forum is starting on Monday with leaders gathering in Solomon Islands. Caleb Fotheringham reports from Honiara.

What causes suicide epidemics—and how can we prevent them? Many suicides are caused by biological mental illness, but sometimes the suicide rate of a particular group jumps—two-, three-, or even ten-fold—in a short time, behaving like an epidemic. Suicide epidemics unfold more slowly than microbial plagues like flu or malaria, but they happen far too quickly to result from genetic changes and affect far too many people to be explained away as spontaneous cases of brain injury. These epidemics have occurred in America's rustbelt towns, Russia's cities, and indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. They tend not to be associated with wars, poverty, or environmental disasters but with a rupture in the social environment so profound that people come to question their most intimate attachments. The mental pain that drives suicide has been likened to the flipside of love, but if so, how does love suddenly disappear—or seem to—from the lives of thousands of people at once? In Why Live: How Suicide Becomes an Epidemic (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), public health researcher Dr. Helen C. Epstein sets out to find the answer. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What causes suicide epidemics—and how can we prevent them? Many suicides are caused by biological mental illness, but sometimes the suicide rate of a particular group jumps—two-, three-, or even ten-fold—in a short time, behaving like an epidemic. Suicide epidemics unfold more slowly than microbial plagues like flu or malaria, but they happen far too quickly to result from genetic changes and affect far too many people to be explained away as spontaneous cases of brain injury. These epidemics have occurred in America's rustbelt towns, Russia's cities, and indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. They tend not to be associated with wars, poverty, or environmental disasters but with a rupture in the social environment so profound that people come to question their most intimate attachments. The mental pain that drives suicide has been likened to the flipside of love, but if so, how does love suddenly disappear—or seem to—from the lives of thousands of people at once? In Why Live: How Suicide Becomes an Epidemic (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), public health researcher Dr. Helen C. Epstein sets out to find the answer. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine

What causes suicide epidemics—and how can we prevent them? Many suicides are caused by biological mental illness, but sometimes the suicide rate of a particular group jumps—two-, three-, or even ten-fold—in a short time, behaving like an epidemic. Suicide epidemics unfold more slowly than microbial plagues like flu or malaria, but they happen far too quickly to result from genetic changes and affect far too many people to be explained away as spontaneous cases of brain injury. These epidemics have occurred in America's rustbelt towns, Russia's cities, and indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. They tend not to be associated with wars, poverty, or environmental disasters but with a rupture in the social environment so profound that people come to question their most intimate attachments. The mental pain that drives suicide has been likened to the flipside of love, but if so, how does love suddenly disappear—or seem to—from the lives of thousands of people at once? In Why Live: How Suicide Becomes an Epidemic (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), public health researcher Dr. Helen C. Epstein sets out to find the answer. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

What causes suicide epidemics—and how can we prevent them? Many suicides are caused by biological mental illness, but sometimes the suicide rate of a particular group jumps—two-, three-, or even ten-fold—in a short time, behaving like an epidemic. Suicide epidemics unfold more slowly than microbial plagues like flu or malaria, but they happen far too quickly to result from genetic changes and affect far too many people to be explained away as spontaneous cases of brain injury. These epidemics have occurred in America's rustbelt towns, Russia's cities, and indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. They tend not to be associated with wars, poverty, or environmental disasters but with a rupture in the social environment so profound that people come to question their most intimate attachments. The mental pain that drives suicide has been likened to the flipside of love, but if so, how does love suddenly disappear—or seem to—from the lives of thousands of people at once? In Why Live: How Suicide Becomes an Epidemic (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), public health researcher Dr. Helen C. Epstein sets out to find the answer. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

What causes suicide epidemics—and how can we prevent them? Many suicides are caused by biological mental illness, but sometimes the suicide rate of a particular group jumps—two-, three-, or even ten-fold—in a short time, behaving like an epidemic. Suicide epidemics unfold more slowly than microbial plagues like flu or malaria, but they happen far too quickly to result from genetic changes and affect far too many people to be explained away as spontaneous cases of brain injury. These epidemics have occurred in America's rustbelt towns, Russia's cities, and indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Pacific Islands. They tend not to be associated with wars, poverty, or environmental disasters but with a rupture in the social environment so profound that people come to question their most intimate attachments. The mental pain that drives suicide has been likened to the flipside of love, but if so, how does love suddenly disappear—or seem to—from the lives of thousands of people at once? In Why Live: How Suicide Becomes an Epidemic (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), public health researcher Dr. Helen C. Epstein sets out to find the answer. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we celebrate our 33rd anniversary, Karl Faase from "Olive Tree Media" continues our series with "Multiply: Reach". We are celebrating together, what the Lord has done. How does God restore? We all have tears in our lives, loss, betrayal and regret. What can these do in our lives? What happened in the Pacific Islands? What is the result? Are you willing to sow with tears?Tonight's passages: Ps 126, Ps 137Date:31.08.2025Please send prayer requests to prayer@bridgeman.org.au or on our website: www.bridgeman.org.au/prayer/To contact Bridgeman Baptist Community Church please email hello@bridgeman.org.auIf you would like to give at Bridgeman Baptist Community Church please go to www.bridgeman.org.au/giving/Please view our Sermon List if you would like to order from our back catalogue, please email bridgemedia@bridgeman.org.au 

Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument: For over a decade, these waters stood as one of the largest no-take zones on Earth, safeguarding corals, fish, and migratory species. But on day one of his presidency, Donald Trump erased the U.S. commitment to 30x30 and soon after issued Proclamation 10918, opening parts of the monument to commercial fishing. Marine conservation at risk: The rollback sparked lawsuits and reignited the debate over whether U.S. marine protections are too vulnerable to political swings. Just two weeks ago, a court overturned Trump's proclamation on a technicality, reclosing the area to fishing. In this episode, we break down what happened, what's at stake, and how the U.S. can rebuild trust in its marine conservation commitments. The future of 30x30: We explore the tension between conservation science, fishing industry pressure, and fragile presidential protections. The conversation highlights why codifying protections into law may be the only way forward to safeguard biodiversity hotspots like Wake, Johnston, and Jarvis. Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube    

The Catch returns for another season, this time on tuna. Climate change is pushing this lucrative fish out of the Pacific Islands' waters and host Ruxandra Guidi heads to the Solomon Islands to learn more. That's coming up on season 6 of The Catch, follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we're diving into ocean intelligence. Despite covering more than 70% of the Earth, the ocean remains one of the least understood parts of our climate system — and that knowledge gap has huge consequences for weather prediction, global commerce, and climate resilience.Our guest is Tim Janssen, co-founder and CEO of Sofar Ocean, a company building the world's largest privately deployed network of ocean sensors. Their inexpensive, solar-powered Spotter buoys collect real-time data on waves, weather, and water conditions — information that fuels better climate models, safer shipping routes, and more sustainable ocean economies.We talk about:The massive “ocean data gap” and why it hinders weather and climate forecastingHow Sofar's 2,500+ Spotter buoys are creating the largest private ocean sensor networkWayfinder, Sofar's “Google Maps for ships,” and how it saves fuel and cuts emissionsWhy more ocean intelligence is critical for industries from aquaculture to shippingPartnerships with researchers, governments, and nonprofits to democratize ocean dataThe bigger vision: turning ocean information into a foundation for climate solutionsFrom global trade to Pacific Island communities, ocean intelligence has the potential to save money, reduce emissions, and protect vulnerable coastlines. Janssen explains why data may be the most important climate solution of all.LINKS:Sofar Ocean: https://www.sofarocean.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Please subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor: in@everybodyinthepool.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kalani Vierra is what I consider modern “Hawaiian Royalty.” He looks and acts the part everyday and in every way. The list of what he does and how he does it is incredible. He is a renowned waterman in his personal and professional worlds and the lines between the two are very much blurred; this is who he is. And he is as cool, humble, dedicated, determined, authentic and as compelling a leader as they come. Professionally, Kalani is a 25+ year lifeguard, the Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau Chief, a renowned Hawaiian waterman, a personal watercraft risk management trainer, active member of the Water Safety Task Force for both the State of Hawai'i and the island of Kauai. And… He is also a board member of the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association (HLA), Program Director of Kauai's Jr. Lifeguards, Pacific Island representative for the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA). He trains elite military personnel in ocean rescue. He has won The USLA Waterman of the Year, the Eddie Aikau Waterman of the Year award, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Associations Waterman of the Year award and was inducted into the Hawaiian Waterman Hall of Fame. He has won multiple tandem surfing world championships, he paddles big water and both surfs and foils massive waves. And… maybe most importantly, Kalani is an incredible role model and leader; in and out of the water.

The Police Commissioner is supporting an Interpol base in the Pacific, and says many pacific nations are also on board. Interpol has pitched the idea to police representatives from 22 Pacific Island nations at a conference in Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands. Richard Chambers says 13 of the countries are already members of Interpol. He told Mike Hosking it would be a big help to those police forces. Chambers says it provides them with information and intelligence to fight crime. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We return to our series with Nick Liguori! Do the people groups of East Asia and the Pacific Islands retain a knowledge of the Garden of Eden, the Flood, and even the Tower of Babel in their historical traditions? If so, does this point to a once shared history of mankind, as described in the early chapters of Genesis?         Link to Purchase Echoes of Ararat (Vol.1): https://www.masterbooks.com/echoes-of-ararat?srsltid=AfmBOoqrSQC-50M2Y1uatdX5YGTi6VR_dTiwRpTz2M1SuLMljg7GsNTm         ➡️ HELP US FUND THE NEXT FILM!

Dr. Will Parks, former UNICEF leader and author of Graceful Leadership, shares a transformative leadership model rooted in compassion, coaching, and calm in crisis. From Iraq to the Pacific Islands, he shows how grace isn't soft—it's powerful, purposeful, and urgently needed.00:39- About Dr Will ParksWill is a leadership coach.He is the author of Graceful Leadership, inspiring hope, creativity and resilience in both times of peace and crisis. He has worked for UNICEF in the Pacific Islands, Nepal, Iran, Iraq, Bhutan and Cambodia.

Two landmark rulings on the urgent responsibility of states to address the climate crisis are issued—by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a proceeding brought by Chile and Colombia, and by the World Court in a proceeding brought by the threatened Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu. Meanwhile in the USA, the Trump regime withdraws from the Paris Agreement, removes greenhouse gases from EPA oversight, drops subsidies for solar energy—and even destroys NASA's climate-monitoring satellites! This as receding Arctic ice sheets and sea ice begin to destabilize the climate-regulating Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), melting glaciers unleash deluges from the Swiss Alps to the Himalayas of Nepal, wildfires rage from Canada to California to the Mediterranean, and ocean acidification crosses a "'planetary boundary" that portends global biosphere collapse. In Episode 290 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an unflinching look at the long odds for humanity's future—even if we manage to avoid nuclear war. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just $1 per weekly podcast via Patreon -- or $2 for our new special offer! We now have 65 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 66!

Hello Interactors,It's been awhile as I've been enjoying summer — including getting in my kayak to paddle over to a park to water plants. Time on the water also gets me thinking. Lately, it's been about what belongs here, what doesn't, and who decides? This week's essay follows my trail of thought from ivy-covered fences to international borders. I trace how science, politics, and even physics shape our ideas of what's “native” and what's “invasive.”INVASION, IVY, AND ICEAs I was contemplating this essay in my car at a stop light, a fireweed seedling floated through the sunroof. Fireweed is considered “native” by the U.S. Government, but when researching this opportunistic plant — which thrives in disturbed areas (hence it's name) — I learned it can be found across the entire Northern Hemisphere. It's “native” to Japan, China, Korea, Siberia, Mongolia, Russia, and all of Northern Europe. Because its primary dispersal is through the wind, it's impossible to know where exactly it originated and when. And unlike humans, it doesn't have to worry about borders.So long as a species arrives on its own accord through wind, wings, currents, or chance — without a human hand guiding it — it's often granted the status of “native.” Never mind whether the journey took decades or millennia, or if the ecosystem has since changed. What matters is that it got there on its own, as if nature somehow stamped its passport.As long time Interactors may recall, I spend the summer helping water “native” baby plants into maturity in a local public green space. A bordering homeowner had planted an “invasive species”, English Ivy, years ago and it climbed the fence engulfing the Sword Ferns, Vine Maples, and towering Douglas Fir trees common in Pacific Northwest woodlands. A nearby concerned environmentalist volunteered to remove the “alien” ivy and plant “native” species through a city program called Green Kirkland. Some of the first Firs he planted are now taller than he is! Meanwhile, on the ground you see remnants of English Ivy still trying to muster a comeback. The stuff is tenacious.This is also the time of year in the Seattle area when Himalayan Black Berries are ripening. These sprawls of arching spikey vines are as pernicious as they are delicious. Nativist defenders try squelching these invaders too. But unlike English Ivy, these “aliens” come with a sugary prize. You'll see people walking along the side of roads with buckets and step stools trying their darnedest to pluck a plump prize — taking care not to get poked or pierced by their prickly spurs.This framing of “invasive” versus “native” has given me pause like never before, especially as I witness armed, masked raids on homes and businesses carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These government officials, who are also concerned and deeply committed citizens, see themselves as removing what they label “invasive aliens” — individuals they fear might overwhelm the so-called “native” population. As part of the Department of Homeland Security, they work to secure the “Homeland” from what is perceived as an invasion by unwanted human movement. In reflecting on this, I ask myself: how different am I from an ICE agent when I labor to eradicate plants I have been taught to call “invasive” while nurturing so-called “native” species back to health? Both of us are acting within a worldview that categorizes beings as either threats or treasures. At what cost, and with what consequences?According to a couple other U.S. agencies (like the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture) species are considered native if they were present before European colonization (i.e., pre-1492). The idea that a species is “native” if it was present before 1492 obviously reflects less a scientific ecological reality than a political opinion of convenience. Framing nativity through the lens of settler history rather than ecological process ignores not only millennia of Indigenous land stewardship, but prehistoric human introductions and natural migrations shaped by climate and geology. Trying pin down what is “native” is like picking up a squirming earthworm.These little critters, which have profoundly altered soil ecosystems in postglacial North America, are often labeled “naturalized” rather than “native” because their arrival followed European colonization. Yet this classification ignores the fact that northern North America had no earthworms at all for thousands of years after the glaciers retreated. There were scraped away with the topsoil. What native species may exist in North America are confined to the unglaciated South.What's disturbing isn't just the worms' historical presence but the simplistic persistent narrative that ecosystems were somehow stable until 1492. How is it possible that so many people still insist it was colonial contact that supposedly flipped some ecological switch? In truth, landscapes have always been in motion. They've been shaped and reshaped by earth's systems — especially human systems — long before borders were drawn. Defining nativity by a colonial decree doesn't just flatten ecological complexity, it overwrites a deep history of entangled alteration.MIGRATION, MOVEMENT, AND MEANINGIf a monarch butterfly flutters across the U.S. border from Mexico, no one demands its papers. There are no butterfly checkpoints in Laredo or Yuma. It rides the wind northward, tracing ancient pathways across Texas, the Midwest, all the way to southern Canada. The return trip happens generations later — back to the oyamel forests in the state of Michoacán. This movement is a marvel. It's so essential we feel compelled to watch it, map it, and even plant milkweed to help it along. But when human beings try to make a similar journey on the ground — fleeing drought, violence, or economic collapse — we call it a crisis, build walls, and question their right to belong.This double standard starts to unravel when you look closely at the natural world. Species are constantly on the move. Some of the most astonishing feats of endurance on Earth are migratory: the Arctic tern flies from pole to pole each year; caribou migrate thousands of miles across melting tundra and newly paved roads. GPS data compiled in Where the Animals Go shows lions slipping through suburban gardens and wolves threading through farmland, using hedgerows and railways like interstates. Animal movement isn't the exception; it's the ecological norm.And it's not just animals. Plants, too, are masters of mobility. A single seed can cross oceans, whether on the back of a bird, in a gust of wind, or tucked into a canoe by a human hand. In one famous case, researchers once proposed that a tree found on a remote Pacific Island must have arrived via floating debris. But later genetic and archaeological evidence suggested a different story: it may have arrived with early Polynesian voyagers — people whose seafaring knowledge shaped entire ecosystems across the Pacific.DNA evidence and phylogeographic studies (how historical processes shape the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species) now support the idea that Polynesians carried plants such as paper mulberry, sweet potato, taro, and even some trees across vast ocean distances well before the Europeans showed up. What was once considered improbable — human-mediated dispersal to incredibly beautiful and remote islands — is now understood as a core part of Pacific ecological and cultural history.Either way, that plant didn't ask to be there. It simply was. And with no obvious harm done, it was allowed to stay. We humans can also often conflate our inability to perceive harm with the idea that a species “belongs.” We tend to assume that if we can't see, measure, or immediately notice any negative impact a species is having, then it must not be causing harm — and therefore it “belongs” in the ecosystem. But belonging is contextual. It can be slow to reveal and is rarely absolute. British ecologist and writer Ken Thompson has spent much of his career challenging our tidy categories of “native” and “invasive.” In his book Where Do Camels Belong?, he reminds us that the “belonging” question is less about biology than bureaucracy. Camels originated in North America and left via the Bering land bridge around 3–5 million years ago. They eventually domesticated in the Middle East about ~3,000–4,000 years ago to be used for transportation, milk, and meat. Then, in the 19th century, British colonists brought camels to Australia to help explore and settle the arid interior. Australia is now home to the largest population of feral camels in the world. So where, exactly, do they “belong”? Our ecological borders, like our political ones, often make more sense on a map than they do in the field.Even the language we use is steeped in militaristic and xenophobic overtones. Scottish geographer Charles Warren has written extensively on how conservation debates are shaped by the words we choose. In a 2007 paper, he argues that terms like invasive, alien, and non-native don't just describe, but pass judgment. They carrying moral and political weight into what should be an ecological conversation. They conjure feelings of threat, disorder, and contamination. When applied to plants, they frame restoration as a battle. With people, they prepare the ground for exclusion.Which is why I now hesitate when I yank ivy or judge a blackberry bramble. I still do it because I believe in fostering ecological resilience and am sensitive to slowing or stopping overly aggressive and harmful plants (and animals). But now I do it more humbly, more questioningly. What makes something a threat, and who gets to decide? What if the real harm lies not in movement of species, but in the stories we tell about it?MIGRATION, MYTHS, AND MATTERThe impulse to define who belongs and who doesn't isn't limited to the forest floor. It echoes in immigration policy, in the architecture of the border wall, and in the sterile vocabulary of "population control." Historians of science Sebastian Normandin and Sean Valles have examined how science, politics, and social movements intersect. In a 2015 paper, they show that many conservation policies we take for granted today — ostensibly about protecting ecosystems — emerged from the same ideological soil that nourished eugenics programs and early anti-immigration campaigns. What began as a concern for environmental balance often mutated into a desire for demographic purity.We see this convergence in the early 1900s, when the U.S. Dillingham Commission launched an exhaustive effort to classify immigrants by race, culture, and supposed “fitness” for American life. Historian Robert Zeidel, in his 2004 account of U.S. immigration politics, details how the Dillingham Commission's findings hardened the notion that certain groups — like certain species — are inherently better suited to thrive in the nation's “ecological” and cultural landscape. Their conclusions fueled the 1924 Immigration Act, one of the most restrictive in U.S. history, and laid groundwork for a century of racialized immigration policy.These ideas didn't stay in the realm of policy. They seeped into science. Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, built racial categories into the very fabric of biological classification. Historian of science Lisbet Koerner, in her 1999 study of Carl Linnaeus, shows how his taxonomy reflected and reinforced 18th-century European ideals of empire and control. His system sorted not only plants and animals, but people. Nature, under his framework, was not only to be known but to be ordered. As Linneaus often said, "God created, Linnaeus organized." Brad observes that Carl also spoke in the third person.The Linnaeus legacy lingers. Legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts and anthropologist Robert Sussman both argue that modern science has quietly resurrected racial categories in genetic research, often under the guise of ancestry testing or precision medicine. But race, like “nativity,” is not a biological fact — it's a social construct. Anthropologist Jonathan Marks and geneticist David Reich reach the same conclusion from different directions: the human genome tells a story not of fixed, isolated groups, but of constant migration, mixing, and adaptation.This is why defining species as “native” or “invasive” based on a colonial timestamp like 1492 is more than just a scientific shortcut. It's a worldview that imagines a pristine past disrupted by foreign intrusion. This myth is mirrored in nationalist movements around the globe — including the troubling MAGA blueprint: Project 2025.When we talk about securing borders, protecting bloodlines, or restoring purity, we're often echoing the same flawed logic that labels blackberry and ivy as existential threats, while ignoring the systems that truly destabilize ecosystems — like extractive capitalism, industrial agriculture, and global trade. But even these forces may not be purely ideological. As complexity theorist Yaneer Bar-Yam, founder of the New England Complex Systems Institute, has argued, large-scale societal and ecological patterns often emerge not through top-down intent, but through the bottom-up dynamics of complex systems under stress.These dynamics are shaped by entropy — not in the popular sense of disorder, but as the tendency of energy and influence to disperse across systems in unpredictable ways as complexity increases. In this view, what we experience as exploitation or collapse may also be the inevitable result of a world growing too intricate to govern by simple, centralized rules.Consider those early Polynesians. Perhaps we best think of them as complex, intelligent, tool-bearing animals who crossed vast oceans long before Europe entered the story. They didn't defy nature, they expressed it. They simply scaled up the same dispersal seen in wind-blown seeds or migratory birds. Their movement, like that of camels, fireweed, or monarchs, reminds us that life is always pushing outward, but because it can. This outward motion follows physics.Even in an open system like Earth, the Second Law of Thermodynamics holds sway. Energy flows in and life finds ever more complex ways to move it along. A sunbeam warms a rock, releasing energy into the air above. That warmth lifts air, forming wind. The wind carries seeds across fields and fence lines, scattering the future wherever friction allows. Seeds take root, drawing in sunlight, water, and minerals. They build structure to move energy forward. Muscles twitch as animals rise to consume that energy then follow warmth, water, or instinct. Wings of the bird lift so it may fly. Herds of the plain press so they may migrate. These patterns stretch across microseconds, minutes, and millennia — creeks, crevices, and continents. And eventually, humans launch canoes in the ocean tracing the same thermodynamic pull, riding currents of wind, wave, desire, and need. None of it defies nature. It is nature. It can be seen as different forms of energy dispersing through motion, life, and relationship at different scales.One of the first scientists to recognize this was a Belgian chemist in the 1970s who saw something radical in the chaos of fluctuations and energy flows in nonequilibrium chemical systems: that complexity could arise not despite entropy, but because of it. Ilya Prigogine called these emergent forms dissipative structures — systems that spontaneously self-organize to transform and disperse energy more efficiently. A familiar example is a snowflake, which forms highly ordered crystal structures as water vapor crystallizes under just the right conditions. This beautiful pattern represents order emerging directly from the molecular chaos of a winter storm.Extending this idea, we might begin to see migration, dispersal, and adaptation not as disruptions or disturbances, but as natural expressions of complex systems tirelessly working toward order. These processes are ways in which living systems unfold, expand, and improvise — dynamically responding to the flows of energy they must transform to sustain themselves and their environments.To call such movement unnatural is to forget that we, too, are part of nature's restless patterning. The real challenge isn't to freeze the world in place, but to understand these flows so we might shape them with care, rather than react to them with fear.To be clear: not all movement is benign. Some species — like kudzu or cane toads — have caused undeniable ecological damage. But the danger lies not in movement itself, but in the conditions of arrival and the systems of control. Climate change, habitat destruction, and globalization create the disturbances that opportunistic species exploit. They don't “invade” so much as arrive when the door is already open.And entropy doesn't mean indifferent inevitability, and complexity doesn't mean plodding passivity. Living systems are capable of generating counter-forces like cooperative networks, defensive alliances, and feedback loops. This form of collective actions resists domination and reasserts balance. Forests shade out overzealous colonizers, coral fish guard polyps from overgrazers, microbial webs starve out pathogens. Agency, be it a fungus or a human community, operates within the same flow of energy, shaping it toward persistence, resilience, and sometimes justice.So, when I pull ivy or water a fern, I do it with a different awareness now. I see myself not as a border guard, but as one actor in a much older drama — a participant in the ceaseless give-and-take through which living systems maintain their balance. My hands are not outside the flow, but in it, nudging here, ceding there, trying to tip the scales toward diversity, reciprocity, and resilience. It's not purity I'm after, but possibility: a landscape, human and more-than-human, capable of adapting to what comes next. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

In a groundbreaking episode, Ray and Jim welcome their first-ever head of state as a guest—President Surangel Whipps Jr., the 10th President of the Republic of Palau. This historic interview marks a milestone for the podcast, which has previously featured cabinet ministers, four-star officers, ambassadors, and parliamentarians across 90+ episodes.President Whipps delivered a powerful message about Palau's steadfast diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, declaring the relationship as lasting "until death do us part". Despite China's economic inducements and tourism boycotts, this Pacific island nation of just 20,000 people remains one of only 12 countries worldwide that continue to recognize Taiwan diplomatically.The president explained that Palau values partnerships with countries sharing the same principles: rule of law and aninternational rules-based order. Since becoming diplomatic allies with Taiwan in 1999, Palau has weathered significant economic pressure, including China's tourism boycott that reduced visitors from 100,000 Chinese tourists (then representing 70% of its total tourism) to zero after 2016.President Whipps shared compelling examples of China's economic warfare tactics, including offers to build casinos to solve Palau's pension crisis and promises of "a million tourists" with unlimited hotel development. However, the president emphasized that mass Chinese tourism brought environmental challenges, including illegal harvesting of protected species like the bumphead parrotfish and Napoleon wrasse.Under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), recently renewed, Palau maintains a perpetual defense relationship with the United States. The compact grants the US security and denial rights to Palau while providing economic stability and protection. President Whipps highlighted the construction of an over-the-horizon radar site, emphasizing that Palau has "always had a target on our back because of our location".Managing an exclusive economic zone the size of Texas with only two patrol boats presents enormous challenges. Whipps described ongoing issues with illegal fishing, unauthorized Chinese research vessels, and the discovery of 100 fish aggregating devices in Palau's waters. Chinese research vessels have been operating year-round in Palau's extended continental shelf, even naming underwater ridges with Chinese names.The president delivered sobering testimony about climate change impacts, describing it as "like a slow death" compared to the bombings of World War II. Palau faces disappearing stingless jellyfish (their top tourist attraction), rising sea levels, and the potential loss of entire low-lying islands with their unique cultures and languages.President Whipps emphasized the importance of multilateral partnerships, referencing Palau's traditional symbol of the surgeonfish: "when danger comes, you come together”. Through the Pacific Island Forum and other alliances, small island nations amplify their voices on critical issues like maritime security and climate change.This unprecedented interview offers unique insights from a Pacific island leader navigating great power competition while protecting sovereignty, culture, and environment.

In this episode, our guest is Cameron Quin, a serial energy entrepreneur who reconnects with Sohail after years of impactful work across the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Cameron shares his journey from launching off-grid solar ventures to exploring the deeper aspects of human energy and spiritual well-being. He offers unique insights into the economics of solar and battery deployment in remote islands, where short payback periods are making energy independence a reality. The discussion expands to the future of decentralised grids, virtual power plants, and how the cost of electricity is shifting towards near-zero. Cameron also opens up about his parallel exploration into mental health, energy psychology, and shadow work—connecting the material energy transition to a spiritual one. He challenges us to rethink energy, not just as electricity, but as how we spend our life force. Please join to find more: Connect with Sohail Hasnie: Facebook @sohailhasnie X (Twitter) @shasnie LinkedIn @shasnie ADB Blog Sohail Hasnie YouTube @energypreneurs Instagram @energypreneurs Tiktok @energypreneurs Spotify Video @energypreneurs

‘More Sufficiency Now!' tees - for a sufficiently limited time onlyThere may no longer be an insufficiency of sufficiency themed t-shirts walking the streets but YOUR opportunity to join the burgeoning sufficiency movement is rapidly closing like the Overton window on climate ambition! YOU can make sufficiency a thing by heading to our merch page and grabbing one of these tees, which will only be available for the next week before they disappear like the t-shirt you didn't need in the first place. Run, don't walk over to: www.letmesumup.net/p/merch/.—From the Torres Strait to the Hague, this week climate was in the courts and your intrepid hosts cross examined not one but two landmark climate court cases: one dismissed in Australia, one seismic win in the International Court of Justice. While the case Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai brought against the Commonwealth to Australia's Federal Court found the Federal Government does not owe a duty of care to prevent climate change impacts on Torres Strait Islanders, the judgement was not without a judicial side-eye at past governments' climate targets—“window dressing” and “no regard for science” were phrases that made it into the ruling. This excellent summary from Adam Morton at the Guardian is worth a read.Further afield, what started as a grassroots campaign from Pacific Island students led to a unanimous advisory opinion from the UN's highest court. Their view? States have binding obligations to protect the climate—and yes, they could be held liable for climate damages. The implications? This legal mic drop will have global ripple effects for some time. Watch this space!Our main courseRefined Ambitions or Rube Goldberg machines powered by beef fat and hope? Deloitte's recent report for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, “Refined Ambitions: Exploring Australia's Low Carbon Liquid Fuel Potential' made it clear that clean-ish fuels can be yours, for a HEFA-ty price! Your intrepid hosts levelled-up on acronyms (HEFA, ATJ, FT, and PTL, anyone?) and zeroed in on aviation, freight, and mining as the big targets for low carbon, liquid fuels. And speaking of zeroes. These fuels are so expensive - like $1,000 to $5,000 per tonne of CO₂ abated expensive - this report had Luke feeling bullish on green hydrogen! If we're fuelling our planes with $10/litre synthetic champagne, maybe it's time to rethink the flight plan. No easy wins here. One more thingsTennant's One More Thing is: the Shift Key podcast Summer School miniseries, with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins! Basics; thermal techs; renewable techs. More to come!Frankie's One More Thing is: The UN report Seizing the moment of opportunity - ahead of COP30 and the next round of NDCs it's efficiency, renewables, electrification for the win!Luke's One More Thing is: An on-the-ground report from Allegra Spender's tax roundtable.And that's it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head toletmesumup.netto support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!

As part of BYU-Idaho's Summer Session Devotional Recommendations, we're featuring “The Sunny Side of the Street” by Elder Quentin L. Cook, which was delivered on January 26, 2021. Elder Quentin L. Cook was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 6, 2007. Called as a General Authority in April 1996, Elder Cook served in the Second Quorum, the First Quorum, and the Presidency of the Seventy. He previously served in the Area Presidency in the Philippines, as President of the Pacific Islands and the North America Northwest Areas, and as Executive Director of the Missionary Department. At the time of his call to be a General Authority of the Church, he was vice chairman of Sutter Health System. He had previously served as president and chief executive officer of a California healthcare system. Prior to that, he was a business lawyer and managing partner of a San Francisco Bay Area law firm. He also served on the governing boards of a number of civic and business-related corporations. He is a native of Logan, Utah, and received a bachelor's degree in political science from Utah State University and a doctor of jurisprudence from Stanford University. He has served in the Church as a full-time missionary in the British Mission, bishop and stake president in the San Francisco California Stake, regional representative, and Area Authority in the North America West Area. He married Mary Gaddie on November 30, 1962. They are the parents of three children and are blessed with a growing number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The International Court of Justice has delivered a historic ruling on international climate obligations, opening the door for possible reparations. After a lengthy campaign led by law students in Pacific Island nations, the world's top court has declared individual states have a legal duty to tackle climate change.

The Coaches podcast is now legit! Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters and PNG Kumuls coach Jason Demetriou join Ben Dobbin to talk about Kevvie’s exciting new appointment for the upcoming Ashes series. We chat with Kevvie about player eligibility - will he be able to stop the raid on the Pacific Islands? DCE is all but a Rooster in 2026, and we discuss the role he’ll play for the Sydney club in the coming years. It’s been 30 years since the Dogs and Manly faced off in one of the all-time great ARL finals- Kevvie and JD reflect on the incredible rosters both sides had. We also talk about the 2025 Coach of the Year race and preview the upcoming games for NRL Round 21.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coaches podcast is now legit! Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters and PNG Kumuls coach Jason Demetriou join Ben Dobbin to talk about Kevvie’s exciting new appointment for the upcoming Ashes series. We chat with Kevvie about player eligibility - will he be able to stop the raid on the Pacific Islands? DCE is all but a Rooster in 2026, and we discuss the role he’ll play for the Sydney club in the coming years. It’s been 30 years since the Dogs and Manly faced off in one of the all-time great ARL finals- Kevvie and JD reflect on the incredible rosters both sides had. We also talk about the 2025 Coach of the Year race and preview the upcoming games for NRL Round 21.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 18 countries and territories across the Pacific are some of the most vulnerable to growing risks emerging from climate changes, especially the small island states. Despite contributing less than 0.03% to global greenhouse gas emissions, the islands face devastating consequences, from sea level rise and loss of territory to unpredictable weather patterns to growing food and water insecurity. India-Australia's bilateral ties are at their strongest, presenting an opportune moment for more active collaboration to address food insecurity as an immediate concern and strengthen climate resilience in the Pacific Island region. Panel: Ambika Vishwanath (Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe Asia) Sunaina Kumar (Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation) Michael Copage (Head of Climate and Security Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute) Dr Ruth Gamble (Deputy Director, La Trobe Asia) Professor Bec Starting (Director, La Trobe Asia) Professor Coral Warr (Pro-Vice Chancellor, Graduate and Global Research) This event was held on 23rd July, 2025.

Adam Peacock, Danny Weidler & Michael Chammas are all in for Triple M NRL's The Journos! Kevin Walters has been announced as the new Kangaroos coach but only for three games? The latest on Hamiso Tabua-Fidow's, Payne Haas' and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's international future? Are they likely to pick Samoa? Could a potential Samoan team beat Australia? Michael Chammas believes they could! We talk to rugby league/union agent David Rawlings about Rugby 360 but he explains that maybe the NRL won't need to worry too much of a threat. And he goes into depth about cross-code players from the professionals to the schoolboys. What happened with Kalyn Ponga last week? Was it a backflip? Did Chammas get the story right? Well.. there's even more to it! What's Des Hasler like? After that dressing room blow up, Danny shares his experience in dealing with the rugby league legend. But Chammas shares his yarn of copping a two-hour verbal assault from the great Phil "Gus" Gould. NRL, NRLW & the RLPA aren't big fans of the video game Rugby League 26 and we reminisce on this weekend's clash between Bulldogs & Sea Eagles as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Grand Final!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A midnight raid is launched to capture the French spies. But Kiwi detectives get a shock when the Australian Government sets them an impossible deadline to gather evidence. Richard learns of Australia's manipulation of nuclear policies in the Pacific and hears of the real physical and emotional fallout of the testing, direct from the Pacific Island community.

Geoff Stapleton is considered "a force" in the solar industry, particularly in Australia and the Pacific Islands. So far, he has worked in 39 countries supporting solar... introducing standards and training to validate and shore up the solar industry. His work has been widely recognized, culminating recently in his recognition and award of the "Order of Australia" title.Geoff Stapleton began his career in off-grid solar in Australia, originally working for BP Solar Australia. He then formed his own company, Southern Solar Australia, that he managed for over 20 years, designing and installing solar systems primarily in New South Wales where he lives. Geoff's company promoted solar, wind, micro-hydro, and even diesel gen-sets. He explains that the Australian government had been subsidizing grid-connected power consumers for years, and when this cross subsidy was recognized, government subsidies for off-grid systems were introduced that boosted the installation of off-grid systems there. For two decades Geoff worked for, and continues to work for, Global Sustainable Energy Solutions (GSES). After serving as its managing director, he stepped down from that management role three years ago to direct GSES's international solar training program, and to carve out time to be Executive Officer of the Sustainable Energy Industries Association of the Pacific Islands. His life-long passion for promoting solar, and extending the great value of solar for Pacific Island nations, and his dedication to training and standards is clear. He recounts different experiences in Australia, the Pacific Islands, as well as in Africa and other countries.The discussion shifts to his views on the drivers for successful solar programs and policies in different countries. What makes a country a leader in solar deployment? Geoff explains that while cultures, traditions, policies, and programs are important parameters... it is the people on the ground that really make the difference. In some countries, there are passionate and dedicated and effective professionals are key to mobilizing the solar industry. Those are the champions that deliver success.The interview ends with a discussion of the online solar museum that Geoff and others have created, a great tribute to the rise of solar power, its remarkable evolution to being one of the world's most important sources of power, and certainly a major key to uplifting communities around the world.

Our resident constitutional expert Bruce Fein joins to make the case for impeaching the Supreme Court AND the President, and what we—as citizens—can do to make it happen. Then we welcome Lori Wallach of Rethink Trade to evaluate Trump's tariff policy. Are these trade deals bringing manufacturing back to the US? Or is Trump just using tariffs as a cudgel to punish countries that annoy him?Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.This has real consequences for you people all over the country because one of their shadow docket decisions (without explanation or hearing) briefs just very recently said that Trump can fire all these people in the IRS or the Education Department or EPA and get away with it. And, in fact, paralyze the workings of his (statutorily-established-by-Congress) Cabinet Secretary and Department…So this is devastating to your health, economic safety, environment, workplace safety, education, all kinds of things that are being ridden into the ground.Ralph NaderIn my judgment, the court has basically abandoned its role as a check on executive power…It's actually become an appendage of the executive branch. Nothing placing any kind of serious or material handcuff on what the President can do on his own. And the President is taking full advantage of that.Bruce FeinLori Wallach is a 30-year veteran of international and U.S. congressional trade battles— starting with the 1990s fights over NAFTA and WTO when she founded the “Global Trade Watch” group at Public Citizen. She is now the director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, and a Senior Advisor to the Citizens Trade Campaign.What these guys are doing [with Trump's tariff policy] it's basically trying to build a house with just a hammer—we are against saws; we are against screwdrivers; we do not actually believe in nails, no other tools; we will just hammer a bunch of wood. And as a result, we're going to make some noise and we're definitely going to break some things, but we're not actually building a new redistributed trade system—which we could.Lori WallachBest that we can tell, the dynamic is something like: Trump is so engaged in the fun and chaos—fun (from his perspective) and chaos of throwing tariff news around like a lightning bolt that he really is not taking advice about it from people who know how you could use tariffs to try and ostensibly achieve the things he promised. He's just enjoying throwing around tariffs.Lori WallachNews 7/18/25* Last week, Elon Musk's pet AI program – Grok – began identifying itself as “MechaHitler,” and spitting out intricate rape threats and sexual fantasies directed at individuals like liberal pundit Will Stancil and now-ex X CEO Linda Yaccarino. This week, Musk rolled out Grok's new “sexy mode” which includes a visual avatar feature depicting the artificial entity as a quasi-pornographic anime-esque character who can flirt with users, per the Standard. So, naturally, the Trump Defense Department awarded xAI, the parent company behind Grok, a $200 million contract. According to CNN, “The contracts will enable the DoD to develop agentic AI workflows and use them to address critical national security challenges.” It is unclear how exactly the entity calling itself MechaHitler will accomplish that.* In local news, a special election was held in Washington DC's Ward 8 this week, seeking to replace corrupt councilmember Trayon White. White was implicated in an FBI bribery investigation and was expelled from the council in February. Yet, because of the splintered opposition, White pulled out a narrow victory on Wednesday, winning with 29.7% of the vote compared to his opponents' 24.3%, 23.7% and 22.3% respectively, per WTOP. In 2024, DC Voters approved a ballot measure to implement ranked-choice voting, which could have helped prevent this outcome, but it has yet to take effect. The DC Council could vote to expel White again more or less immediately; if not, they would likely wait for his trial to commence in January 2026.* Turning to foreign affairs, Israel has bombed the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing three and wounding 34, in strikes primarily targeting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters, per NPR. Israel's attack comes amid tensions between the new, post-Assad Syrian government and the Druze minority in the Southern Syrian city of Sweida. The government claims the Druze violated a ceasefire reached earlier in the week and Syrian troops responded; a new ceasefire deal has been reached and the office of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a statement reading, the “rights [of the citizens of Sweida] will always be protected and…we will not allow any party to tamper with their security or stability.” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said in a statement that the U.N. chief “condemns Israel's escalatory airstrikes,” as well as reports of the Israeli military's redeployment of forces in the Golan Heights. As journalist Séamus Malekafzali notes, “Damascus is now the 4th Middle Eastern capital to be bombed by Israel in the past 6 weeks, alongside Tehran, Beirut, and Sana'a.”* In more news from Israel, the Knesset this week sought to expel Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Odeh, leader of the Hadash-Ta'al party. According to Haaretz, “The vote was triggered by a Likud lawmaker after Odeh published a social media post in January, saying that he ‘rejoices' over the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.” However, the motion failed to reach the 90-vote threshold, meaning Odeh will remain in the legislature. Six members of Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party voted for the motion, but not Lapid himself. The United Torah Judaism party did not back the motion. Haaretz quotes Hassan Jabareen, an attorney, director of the Adalah Legal Center and legal counsel for Odeh, who said, “The overwhelming support for this initiative – from both the coalition and the opposition – reveals the state's intent to crush Palestinian political representation...This was not a legitimate legal process, but rather a racist, fascist incitement campaign aimed at punishing Odeh for his principled stance against occupation, oppression and Israeli violence.” Senator Bernie Sanders celebrated the failure of the motion, writing “Israel's far right tried to expel Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli opposition leader, from the Knesset because of his opposition to Netanyahu's war. Today, they failed. If Israel is going to be considered a democracy, it cannot expel members of parliament for their political views.” This from the Middle East Eye.* Sanders also made news this week by declaring that “Given the illegal and immoral war being waged against the Palestinian people by Netanyahu, NO Democrat should accept money from AIPAC – an organization that also helped deliver the presidency to Donald Trump,” per the Jerusalem Post. Sanders posted this statement in response to a video by Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes, who said “AIPAC is part of the constellation of forces that have delivered this country into the hands of Donald Trump…These are the wrong people to have under your tent...The kind of people that they are supporting, Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump, I don't want my leaders and my political party cozying up to these people.” Bernie's statement is perhaps the strongest stand taken by any American politician against AIPAC, Israel's front group in American politics and one of the biggest special interest groups in the country. AIPAC throws around eye-popping sums of money to members of both parties; to name just one example, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accepted over $1.6 million from the group, according to Track AIPAC's Hall of Shame.* In a similar vein, last week we discussed the National Education Association's vote to suspend its ties with the Anti-Defamation League due to the ADL's shift in focus from Jewish civil rights to laundering the reputation of Israel. Since then, the ADL has sought to mobilize their allies to demand the NEA reject the vote. To this end, the ADL has sought the support of J Street, a liberal Jewish group critical of Israel, per the Forward. J Street however has rebuffed the ADL, refusing to sign the group's letter. Though they oppose the NEA resolution, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued a statement reading in part, “charges of antisemitism must not be wielded to quash legitimate criticism of Israeli policy...the NEA vote can[not] be dismissed as being driven by fringe ‘pro-Hamas' antisemitic activists.” Hopefully, more Jewish groups will follow the example of J Street and break with the Zionist orthodoxy of the ADL.* In other foreign policy news, the Guardian reports French President Macron has reached a deal with the leadership of the French “overseas territory” New Caledonia to grant the island statehood and more autonomy within the French legal system. New Caledonia is one of several UN-designated ‘non-self-governing territories.' France has exerted rule over the Pacific Island – over 10,000 miles from Paris – and its nearly 300,000 inhabitants since the 19th century. Last May, riots broke out over France's decision to grant voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous residents. This violence “claimed the lives of 14 people, [and] is estimated to have cost the territory…$2.3 bn... shaving 10% off its gross domestic product.” However, the Times reports indigenous Kanak independence activists reject the deal outright. Brenda Wanabo-Ipeze, a leader of the Co-ordination Cell for Actions on the Ground, who is currently detained in France, said, “This text was signed without us. It does not bind us.” The Times adds that, “The conservative and hard-right French opposition accused Macron of failing to ensure security in the territory. The left accused the president of imposing colonial tactics on a people who should be allowed self-determination.” It remains to be seen whether this deal will prove durable enough to weather criticism from so many angles.* Much has been made of Attorney General Pam Bondi's decision last week to not release any more information related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. A Department of Justice memo reads, “it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” This has created a firestorm in the MAGA world, with many Trump supporters feeling betrayed as the president implied he would declassify these files if reelected. Now, Congressmen Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna have introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act which would “force the House of Representatives to vote on the complete release of the government's files related to Jeffrey Epstein,” according to a press release from Massie's office. This resolution specifically states the files cannot “be withheld, delayed, or redacted” should they cause “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.” The resolution is attracting support from some Republicans, but it is unclear how far this will go under Speaker Johnson, who maintains there is “no daylight between his position and that of Trump,” per the Hill. The position of congressional Republicans has been further complicated by a bombshell report in the Wall Street Journal documenting previously unknown details of the intimate relationship between the late pedophile financier and the president.* Meanwhile, the Trump administration is once again torching America's reputation abroad – this time literally. The Atlantic reports “Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire tomorrow, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. Within weeks…the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash.” This cartoonishly evil decision paired with the “Big Beautiful Bill”'s provisions cutting food assistance for children in poverty, point to one inescapable conclusion: the Trump administration wants children to starve.* Finally, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Mexico News Daily reports the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum is debuting a healthy, domestically produced and affordable staple for Mexican consumers – chocolate bars. “This ‘Chocolate de Bienestar' is part of the government's ‘Food for Well-Being' strategy, which aims to bring nutritious and affordable food options to consumers while supporting national producers, particularly those in the southern states of Tabasco and Chiapas — a region that has historically lagged behind other regions in several social and economic indicators.” The Sheinbaum administration is stressing the health benefits of chocolate, noting that, “Studies have shown that chocolate improves cardiovascular health via its antioxidants, provides energy, helps control blood pressure, improves cognitive capacity, satisfies hunger and lifts mood.” At the same time, the administration is seeking to minimize the sugar content “striking a supposedly healthier balance between natural cane sugar and the cacao itself.” This chocolate will be available in three forms:“Chocolate bar containing 50% cacao, and priced at…less than $1.Powdered chocolate with 30% cocoa, priced...$2Chocolate de mesa or tablet chocolate, with 35% cacao, priced at …$5”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Max talks with Cole Crawford from ForeFlight about the company's latest innovation: Dynamic Procedures. Built to replace the static, legacy approach chart paradigm, Dynamic Procedures enables pilots to access IFR approach information dynamically, contextually, and interactively—right from the ForeFlight map screen. Cole explains that most pilots spend their time in ForeFlight's moving map, but approach procedures often pulled them out of that environment into static “plates.” Dynamic Procedures changes that by embedding approach information into the map itself, using a smart sidebar that adjusts to what's relevant—no more scanning through unnecessary minimums or ambiguous notes. Max and Cole walk through an ILS approach into Austin, Texas, highlighting features like: A dynamic sidebar showing stepdowns, minimums, and missed instructions Color-coded segments that reflect which part of the procedure is active Integrated 3D lighting views showing actual approach light systems Compatibility with both FAA and Jeppesen charts One-tap toggling between chart and chartless views Cole also introduces the revamped “Approach Mode” in Profile View. It declutters the horizontal profile to focus solely on the approach, making threshold crossing height, descent angles, and fix altitudes easier to interpret. The profile also includes range tick marks so pilots can visualize their distance from the runway—helpful when sequencing into an uncontrolled field or estimating when to descend. The conversation explores how this feature enhances safety—particularly by minimizing the chance of referencing incorrect minimums or missing key notes during busy phases of flight. Cole shares how the sidebar automatically selects the applicable minimum for the aircraft category, based on user input. And the system can handle complex logic, such as adjusting minimums for altimeter source changes—automatically, without the pilot having to do the math. They demonstrate several unique procedures, including RNAV approaches with course reversals and circling minimums. In circling scenarios, the system visually depicts the circling area boundary on the map, helping pilots better visualize protected airspace—especially when flying at non-standard pattern altitudes. The discussion wraps up with insights into how ForeFlight builds this feature using raw procedural data from global ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers). Instead of pre-composed charts, Dynamic Procedures generates visuals on-the-fly using Jeppesen data, allowing more flexibility, better legibility, and real-time filtering. The app dynamically renders labels, declutters unnecessary data, and tailors the view to your position and approach segment. Cole offers practical advice for pilots transitioning to this new paradigm. He encourages users not to discard traditional charts immediately, but to use Dynamic Procedures alongside plates at first, eventually growing comfortable with the new tool as a primary briefing method—similar to how many pilots gradually adopted ForeFlight's aeronautical map over VFR sectionals and low-altitude charts. The feature will roll out with a preview to all ForeFlight subscribers in supported regions (U.S., Canada, Pacific Islands), after which it will be available to Essential-tier and above subscribers. Extensive documentation, webinars, and in-app support will help pilots get up to speed. This episode is essential listening for IFR pilots interested in the future of digital flight planning and safety—especially those ready to reimagine how they brief and fly approaches. If you're getting value from this show, please support the show via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or Patreon. Support the Show by buying a Lightspeed ANR Headsets Max has been using only Lightspeed headsets for nearly 25 years! I love their tradeup program that let's you trade in an older Lightspeed headset for a newer model. Start with one of the links below, and Lightspeed will pay a referral fee to support Aviation News Talk. Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset $1299 NEW - Lightspeed Zulu 4 Headset $1099 Lightspeed Zulu 3 Headset $949Lightspeed Sierra Headset $749 My Review on the Lightspeed Delta Zulu Send us your feedback or comments via email If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, let listeners hear you ask the question, by recording your listener question using your phone. Mentioned on the Show Buy Max Trescott's G3000 Book Call 800-247-6553 Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset Giveaway NTSB News Talk Podcast UAV News Talk Podcast Rotary Wing Show Podcast BONUS Video of this Episode! Free access to this Patreon video Free Index to the first 282 episodes of Aviation New Talk So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars Online Version of the Seminar Coming Soon – Register for Notification Check out our recommended ADS-B receivers, and order one for yourself. Yes, we'll make a couple of dollars if you do. Get the Free Aviation News Talk app for iOS or Android. Check out Max's Online Courses: G1000 VFR, G1000 IFR, and Flying WAAS & GPS Approaches. 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With Fiji in the midst of an HIV outbreak, UNAIDS warns that other Pacific Islands countries have all the risk factors of a similar crisis…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In a world-first, the International Court of Justice is preparing to deliver an advisory opinion on climate change and human rights - all thanks to a youth-led campaign that began thousands of miles from The Hague, in the Pacific Islands.This week, we look inside that extraordinary campaign, and hear the story of Cynthia Houniuhi, who - as a young law student from the Solomon Islands - helped launch the movement that would ultimately unite over 130 countries behind a single goal. Now, six years after this idea began in a law classroom, the world's highest court is set to weigh in on the responsibility of states to protect current and future generations from climate harm.Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson reflect on the power of legal activism, the role of youth leadership, and what this landmark case could mean for the future of international climate law.Learn more ⚖️ Read more information about the ICJ climate case on the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change website

Dr. Patrick Kirch is a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa anthropology professor specializing in historical anthropology, archaeology and the deep-time history of the peoples of the Pacific. In this interview, Melissa and Clay talk with him about how his growing up in Mānoa valley among kānaka maoli and Bishop Museum mentors influenced him early on, and how his field research has taken him from Papua New Guinea and the Solomons, to Tonga and Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Hawai'i. We come to understand the adaptability of people in ancient times through transported world views, plants, animals, and diverse agricultural practices–lifeways that continue today.

In an effort to help her daughter heal, Sandra tried the Carnivore diet, and in the process, also improved her own sharp chest pain, painful menstrual cycle, knee pain, constipation, anxiety, and improved her mental clarity. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sandraasare4656 Timestamps: 00:00 Trailer 00:23 Introduction 05:37 Pacific Islands' reliance on imports 07:53 Unresolved health problems 10:24 Surprising produce prices 15:22 Starch-heavy diet concerns 18:49 Overeating on carnivore diet 21:10 Gradual healing over time Join Revero now to regain your health: https://revero.com/YT Revero.com is an online medical clinic for treating chronic diseases with this root-cause approach of nutrition therapy. You can get access to medical providers, personalized nutrition therapy, biomarker tracking, lab testing, ongoing clinical care, and daily coaching. You will also learn everything you need with educational videos, hundreds of recipes, and articles to make this easy for you. Join the Revero team (medical providers, etc): https://revero.com/jobs ‪#Revero #ReveroHealth #shawnbaker  #Carnivorediet #MeatHeals #AnimalBased #ZeroCarb #DietCoach  #FatAdapted #Carnivore #sugarfree Disclaimer: The content on this channel is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider.

On Friday's Mark Levin Show, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing at a federal ICE detention facility he wants to close. He refused to leave when asked, showing politicians' arrogance. Trespassing and refusing to leave leads to arrest, as nobody, including politicians, is above the law. Protesting inside a federal law enforcement center isn't allowed, and while ICE enforces the law, Democrats claim they're unrestrained by it. Interim U.S. Attorney for NJ Alina Habba calls in to explain exactly what happened with the arrest. This is federal property, and the laws can't be broken, no matter who you are.  Also, AG Letitia James dismisses the mortgage fraud allegations against her as unfounded, despite published forms and evidence suggesting criminal activity. Later, 15 states are suing over Trump's order to speed up oil and gas projects. Most likely, a judge will block energy independence. It's time for the Supreme Court to step up against these rogue judges.  There might be a time when Americans defy the courts because they won't respect the rogue activity of these judges. If judges won't abide by the law, why should the people listen to their orders? This is all about sabotage and obstruction by these judges. Afterward, Trump is considering a plan to strengthen ties with Greenland by proposing a Compact of Free Association (COFA), similar to agreements with Pacific Island nations. This brilliant move aims to bring Greenland into America's sphere of influence. This is what a consequential president does. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices