POPULARITY
6 episodes with PG Tips
2 episodes with PG Tips
2 episodes with PG Tips
2 episodes with PG Tips
2 episodes with PG Tips
2 episodes with PG Tips
8 episodes with PG Tips
4 episodes with PG Tips
Carol Decker - another Smash Hits cover star on the podcast! T'Pau are playing dates this summer and autumn and she talks here – hilariously - about life on the ‘80s package tour circuit and the first shows she ever saw and played, which stops off at …. … does any audience beat a Butlin's Mid-Weeker on their third pint? … from Black Mirror to PG Tips: the afterlife of a hit. … seeing Rod & the Faces in Stoke-On-Trent and Dire Straits in a Wrestling Hall. … “Appearing In An A&E Near You!”: accident-prone ‘80s stars, a sitcom waiting to happen. ... the arcane world of the backing vocalist – “don't distract, nothing too big”. … the grim tradition of headline bands' road crews making the support acts suffer. … ‘80s package tours with OMD, Kim Wilde, Toyah, Clare Grogan and Nik Kershaw. … playing working men's clubs with the Lazers in 1980 - “an unwelcome distraction from the Bingo”. … visits to Dusty Springfield's grave. … “Universal own the world”: when your songs appear in films and ads but you couldn't keep the rights. … more power to the Amnesty for Unrecouped Bands!Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversatiom going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Carol Decker - another Smash Hits cover star on the podcast! T'Pau are playing dates this summer and autumn and she talks here – hilariously - about life on the ‘80s package tour circuit and the first shows she ever saw and played, which stops off at …. … does any audience beat a Butlin's Mid-Weeker on their third pint? … from Black Mirror to PG Tips: the afterlife of a hit. … seeing Rod & the Faces in Stoke-On-Trent and Dire Straits in a Wrestling Hall. … “Appearing In An A&E Near You!”: accident-prone ‘80s stars, a sitcom waiting to happen. ... the arcane world of the backing vocalist – “don't distract, nothing too big”. … the grim tradition of headline bands' road crews making the support acts suffer. … ‘80s package tours with OMD, Kim Wilde, Toyah, Clare Grogan and Nik Kershaw. … playing working men's clubs with the Lazers in 1980 - “an unwelcome distraction from the Bingo”. … visits to Dusty Springfield's grave. … “Universal own the world”: when your songs appear in films and ads but you couldn't keep the rights. … more power to the Amnesty for Unrecouped Bands!Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversatiom going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear
Carol Decker - another Smash Hits cover star on the podcast! T'Pau are playing dates this summer and autumn and she talks here – hilariously - about life on the ‘80s package tour circuit and the first shows she ever saw and played, which stops off at …. … does any audience beat a Butlin's Mid-Weeker on their third pint? … from Black Mirror to PG Tips: the afterlife of a hit. … seeing Rod & the Faces in Stoke-On-Trent and Dire Straits in a Wrestling Hall. … “Appearing In An A&E Near You!”: accident-prone ‘80s stars, a sitcom waiting to happen. ... the arcane world of the backing vocalist – “don't distract, nothing too big”. … the grim tradition of headline bands' road crews making the support acts suffer. … ‘80s package tours with OMD, Kim Wilde, Toyah, Clare Grogan and Nik Kershaw. … playing working men's clubs with the Lazers in 1980 - “an unwelcome distraction from the Bingo”. … visits to Dusty Springfield's grave. … “Universal own the world”: when your songs appear in films and ads but you couldn't keep the rights. … more power to the Amnesty for Unrecouped Bands!Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversatiom going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this special episode of The Campaign Podcast, Charlotte Rawlings, deputy creativity and culture editor at Campaign, chats to four of the industry's top creatives about some recent ads. Rawlings is joined by Laura Rogers, executive creative director at AMV BBDO; Jonny Parker and Chris Birch, joint chief creative officers at VCCP; and Caitlin Ryan, creative partner at Dentsu Creative. The creatives discuss the longevity of brand mascots, their favourite type of crumpets and how the PG Tips Monkey has transformed into a loving husband.Listen to their opinions on British Gas, Warburtons, KFC and more. Further reading: PG Tips brings back Monkey in campaign featuring Emily AtackBritish Gas launches brand platform with cosy charactersOlivia Colman takes crumpet duty seriously in Warburtons campaignWarburtons radio ads feature Olivia Colman denying 'crumpet heist'KFC spot launches burger with cult-like dinner ceremonyConfused.com spot turns people into helium-filled inflatables Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Scientists have used a pioneering technique to unlock hidden details about a famous chimpanzee's life for the first time.Using osteobiography experts have analysed the bones and tissue of Choppers, a Western chimpanzee from the PG Tips tea adverts.The findings have revealed insights about the long-term effects of captivity which can be used to improve animal welfare.We hear from National Museums Scotland researcher and lead author of the study Dr David Cooper.Also in this episode:Apple's appeal against the UK government's demand for encrypted data is due to be discussed in a private hearing at the High Court.Declining vaccination rates are being blamed for a worrying increase in measles casesHow drones are being used to restore Britain's lost rainforests Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On today's episode, we revisit a conversation with Flora Bell, Business Director at LALIGA Studios. Having worked in the marketing and advertising industry for the likes of M&C Saatchi and LOLA MullenLowe across huge brands such as Magnum, Kraft-Heinz, Dove, Mattel, and PG Tips, just over a year ago she was brought in to help set up LALIGA Studios. Based in Madrid, LALIGA Studios is a new sports-related content production company which combines the forces of Banijay, a global content powerhouse with LALIGA, one of the most followed football leagues in the world. As well as serving all of LALIGA's content production needs, as an independent studio, they have also since taken on work with leading brands like EA Sports and Logitech and have an ambition to expand to other sports and across other markets. Timestamps 2:00 - From Sunderland to Madrid 6:00 - Conceptualising LALIGA Studios 10:00 - Partnering with Banijay 14:00 - Netflix's LALIGA: All Access and The Rise and Rise of Sports Docu-Series 19:00 - Expanding the Client Base Beyond Spanish Football 23:00 - Operating with the LALIGA Name 28:00 - Expanding into New Markets 31:00 - Telling Individual's Stories 37:00 - Creating Media That Cuts Through 39:00 - Measuring Success 42:00 - Aspirations for LALIGA Studios Additional Links LALIGA partners with Banijay Iberia to launch production arm LaLiga Studios Expands Management Team, Announces Doc Project ‘The Power of Our Fútbol' LaLiga launches FAST channel with behind-the-scenes content Mike Tollin's MTP and LaLiga Studios to Develop Slate of Soccer-Centric Projects Connect with Flora on LinkedIn - Here Connected with Andy on LinkedIn - Here
Send us a textWelcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in November 2024.Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020.If you haven't heard already I'm pleased to say we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement event. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.3 mins Andrew on the current state of the PR market. How does the golden quarter compare to previous years.“Measurement is more critical than it ever has been.”PITCHES DFS appoint Red Consultancy and PR First. Teneo continues to work on financial comms.“Everyone loves a retail client.”Simply Business appoint Golin. Danone appoint Freuds.“This is a whopper… a fame making brief.”“The best agencies have had very good years organically (growth.)” Pret A Manger appoint Frank. Headland continues looks after corporate pr Levis appoint Burson – corp reputation brief across the EU. Stanley 1913 appoint The Romans – pr and influencer for drinkware brand (best known for Stanley cups – the quencher) UK, France, Germany, Netherlands. Product launches, brand partnerships. Apply creative with local relevance. PG Tips appoint The Romans – retained pr and social- engaging tea lovers across UK. PG Tips now part of Liptons (formerly Unilever) Rebrand – new blends, packaging etc. previously a project client. Digital and social now a third of all biz for Romans. Cayman Islands Tourism Dept appoint Allison. Essity appoint PR Agency One. B2B comms brief to raise the profile of the group and reinforce position as industry and category leader across brands. Fed Olsen Cruises appoint The Academy – consumer pr. Targeting new and existing passengers. Previously in-house.Tui (First Choice/Marella Cruises) appoint Ogilvy for a long term comms strategy and earned first activation. First Choice merged with TUI in 2007. Nest, the UK Government backed pension scheme, appoint H+K (now part of Burson) – Corporate reputational support services. Also work with Blurred to help promote purpose PR strategy.Uni of Warwick appoint Shook This month's round up of M&A activity:“This has been a boom month for the PR M&A sector.” Croud sell majority stake to ECI (PE) – Croud is a full service marketing company. Croud is estimated to be worth £180M+. Fee income of £23.5M.“Croud is one to watch for sure.” Coolr sell minority share to Growth Capital Partners (GCP.) Founded in 2017 by Adam Clyne. 120 full time employees (FTEs.) This acquisition will help deepen service offering and scale quicker including i
Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Become a patron and enjoy special perks and bonus content.Michelle Griep stops by this week to talk about her new book, Of Gold and Shadows. We discuss how a Christian author deals with supposed curses, her English Garden, and she tells the story of Iron Bridge in England. Patrons hear what makes her a hippie homesteader.Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle GriepThe shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.After eight years in India, Oxford's most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor's determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin--rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk--surfaces, and they're left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . ."Don't miss all the romance, adventure, and danger in [this] new page-turner."--JULIE KLASSEN, bestselling author of Shadows of Swanford AbbeyGet your copy of Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep.Michelle Griep is an author, blogger, and occasional super-hero when her cape is clean.Dare I be so bold as to call myself an author? Being that I'm one of those freaks who attended poetry workshops instead of summer camp during my formative years, yes, I will. While other teens busied themselves throwing parties when their parents weren't home, I was the nerd holed up in my room with pen and paper.A RELATIVEI'm a wife of thirty-something years and mother of two sons and two daughters. And yes, it's true…boys are way easier than girls, unless drama is something you crave. The last of my nestlings has flown the homeschooling nest and I'm now a crazy hippy homesteader.A PRINCESSNo, I'm not currently on medication for delusions of grandeur. I am a daughter of a King. Seriously. I take the Bible as inspired truth and that's what it says (Romans 8:16, 17).AN ANGLOPHILEWhat's the deal with me and Great Britain? Beats me. I'm as passionate about anything English as I am about chocolate and java. Oddly enough, I prefer Bronte over Austen, and if you'd like to debate the qualities of Typhoo versus PG Tips, feel free to e-mail me.A CHEFSorry, I did not graduate from the Cordon Bleu. I didn't even cough up the cash to attend. I am, however, a veteran of once-a-month cooking, and you can be, too. Also, if you'd like to email me, I'll send you my favorite brownie recipe. Just go to my contact page and gimme a holler.Visit Michelle's website.Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
On today's episode, I'm joined by Flora Bell, Business Director at LALIGA Studios. Having worked in the marketing and advertising industry for the likes of M&C Saatchi and LOLA MullenLowe across huge brands such as Magnum, Kraft-Heinz, Dove, Mattel, and PG Tips, just over a year ago she was brought in to help set up LALIGA Studios. Based in Madrid, LALIGA Studios is a new sports-related content production company which combines the forces of Banijay, a global content powerhouse with LALIGA, one of the most followed football leagues in the world. As well as serving all of LALIGA's content production needs, as an independent studio, they have also since taken on work with leading brands like EA Sports and Logitech and have an ambition to expand to other sports and across other markets. Timestamps 2:00 - From Sunderland to Madrid 6:00 - Conceptualising LALIGA Studios 10:00 - Partnering with Banijay 14:00 - Netflix's LALIGA: All Access and The Rise and Rise of Sports Docu-Series 19:00 - Expanding the Client Base Beyond Spanish Football 23:00 - Operating with the LALIGA Name 28:00 - Expanding into New Markets 31:00 - Telling Individual's Stories 37:00 - Creating Media That Cuts Through 39:00 - Measuring Success 42:00 - Aspirations for LALIGA Studios Additional Links LALIGA partners with Banijay Iberia to launch production arm LaLiga Studios Expands Management Team, Announces Doc Project ‘The Power of Our Fútbol' LaLiga launches FAST channel with behind-the-scenes content Mike Tollin's MTP and LaLiga Studios to Develop Slate of Soccer-Centric Projects Connect with Flora on LinkedIn - Here Connected with Andy on LinkedIn - Here
I would like you to meet one of Canada's top 100 black women to watch, Chenai Kadungure. Chenai and I had a quite engaging conversation this episode. She grew up in Zimbabwe where she went through high school. She then left her homeland and traveled elsewhere. She received her second Master's degree from the University of North Carolina in 2016. She now resides in Toronto and serves as the executive director of the Ontario Black Physicians Association. She and I discussed topics such as authenticity, diversity and leadership. Chenai has many life observations that are quite interesting and worth your time to hear. About the Guest: Chenai is a passionate, dynamic professional with proven experience building vital relationships and leading impactful programs and projects. Voted one of Canada's Top 100 Black Women to Watch, a Globant Inspiring Leader nominee and an RBC and Global News Hometown Hero, she is an intuitive leader able to build relationships at all levels, in diverse communities. She is an analytical futurist that is highly adaptable, and fearless in solving complex problems. An energetic motivational public speaker and keynote, Chenai pours herself into everything she does. As a proud Rotarian and President of the Global Partners in Peace remains one of "Service Above Self". ** ** Ways to connect with Chenai: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenai-kadungure Instagram: @chenkad About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hello, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. And today we get to talk with someone from Toronto, Canada. I'm going to probably well I'm going to do my best to pronounce her name first name is Chenai and her last name is Kadungure, Kadungure, or something close to that. There's a D in it. But people if you're speaking appropriately, you don't pronounce the D but some people do and my screen reader does it actually makes her last name, Kadungure. Her. So there you go figure that out. And I it's technology. But we really are glad to have you here on unstoppable mindset. Chenai is a very passionate individual. She helps to build dynamic and valuable relationships. And she has been voted one of the top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada. And that's worth doing. So Chenai, welcome to unstoppable mindset. Chenai Kadungure ** 02:20 Yes, I'm so glad. I'm so glad and excited to be here. Thanks, Michael. Michael Hingson ** 02:26 Well, thank you for being here. We're really grateful that you are taking the time to do it. And we're doing something a little bit different today, everyone, we're doing this on a Saturday, we normally do things during the week. And it is 630 in the afternoon in Toronto, so we don't want Chenai to starve. So we'll move right along. But we'll have a lot of fun doing this, I'm sure. And we'll we'll go from there. So why don't we start I love to start this way. Tell me a little bit about kind of the early Chenai growing up and so on. Chenai Kadungure ** 02:57 The early Chenai I was a bit of a troublemaker I was I went to a Dominican convent High School in Harare, Zimbabwe. And I think I've always been someone who just goes their own lane. So I I will say that the early tonight is not too different. And I just a little bit less responsible, maybe. Michael Hingson ** 03:21 So how long were you in Zimbabwe? Chenai Kadungure ** 03:24 all the way till I was 18. Our economy then crashed. We basically had to do what you know, I guess people call it like economic migrants, we all had to sort of study in South Africa and overseas. So I went to South Africa for my undergrad and my first master's. And then after about five years of working I went to North Carolina for a second master's and ended up in Toronto. So I've I've traveled around. Michael Hingson ** 03:56 So when you were in North Carolina, did you drink sweet tea? Chenai Kadungure ** 04:02 Oh, yes. Lori has diabetes in a cup. But I did enjoy it. I mean, we were colonized by the British. So tea is very common for us back home to Well, Michael Hingson ** 04:17 I like tea. I like hot tea. It's people who listen to this regularly or who have read my book thunder dog. No, I love PG Tips tea and it's so it's a hot, vibrant British tea. I've never been a great fan of sweet tea just because it is too sweet for me. But I appreciate it. And I'm glad people like it. I was actually talking with someone from North Carolina yesterday and they were asking me if I liked sweet tea and I said the same thing that I'm not a great sweetie fan. But on the other hand, I love sausage biscuits. So that's that's another one from South from North Carolina. But Chenai Kadungure ** 04:55 we do what we can hmm I still missed the Bojangles though I think Yeah, that is my favorite Carolinian product. Michael Hingson ** 05:06 Well, there you go, Well, you know, it's a fun area. And so what? What took you? Well, let me start this way when you went in got your Bachelor's in your first master's, what were they in? Chenai Kadungure ** 05:18 Okay, my undergrad was media sociology and Gender Studies. And then I got more and more into the sociology side of thing wanting to understand how society works, why society looks the way it is. So my first master's was a master of philosophy and diversity studies. So before diversity studies was hip, I always tell people I cared about diversity. There Michael Hingson ** 05:43 you go. So that was your first master's and what was your second one when you went to North Carolina? Chenai Kadungure ** 05:48 I went to North Carolina on a Rotary Peace Fellowship. It was one of those will be World Peace fellowships. I'm a Rotarian. Well, now I'm a Rotarian. But back then you can't do the fellowship if you're a rotary. So I went to the Duke UNC Peace Center, and we always say peace is possible. If a Tar Heel and a Dookie can get along. Oh, yeah. Michael Hingson ** 06:14 Well, so there, there are three of courses NC, UNC and Duke. And that's a combination to try to make peace between. Chenai Kadungure ** 06:25 Yes, I think the basketball is usually where it all comes to a head. But yes, there are days where it's not safe to wear a certain type of blue. Michael Hingson ** 06:36 Yeah, well, I understand. And basketball is the thing. I was there once, just when I think it was. And UNC and NC State were playing to see who was going to I think have top bragging rights in the conference. Or maybe well, no, it wasn't duke it was UNC and NC State. And all TV was preempted by the game. Needless to say, there's no no surprise. Oh, Chenai Kadungure ** 07:09 yes. Oh, yes. People live, eat and breathe. And I'd say that's the equivalent of I guess a hockey here. Michael Hingson ** 07:13 Yeah. Yeah, you've got hockey up there. You've got the Maple Leafs, and, and, and all of that well, so What took you from North Carolina, then to Toronto? So Chenai Kadungure ** 07:26 I've always had a cousin, who's here, and she always used to say, come to Canada. And I always used to tell her. Sorry, it's too cold. And then, as the years went by, I started hearing some good things about Canada. And I thought, you know, it's worth a shot. Since I was already in North America. I figured this is the next step. So I came here, and I just, I really love being here. I enjoy being here. Michael Hingson ** 07:51 How long have you been there? Chenai Kadungure ** 07:54 So since 2018, I did a one year stint in Malawi with care Canada, and then came back. So give or take, I guess its own five going on six years. Wow. Well, Michael Hingson ** 08:06 you moved around some needless to say, Chenai Kadungure ** 08:10 I am a traveler. I didn't I think that's my, that's my, if people have arrest language minus travel, there's something about being somewhere else that just, it helps me. Michael Hingson ** 08:22 Do you get bored being in one place too long, or you just love to travel and experience new things and still like to have a home base? Chenai Kadungure ** 08:30 I think it's both and I I love encountering a new culture and, you know, trying new foods and, you know, being able to experience a place for myself, because I think we all have a stereotypical idea of what parts of the world look and feel like. But I think when you're there something about it helps you appreciate the otherness, but also appreciate where you're from, or where you live. And so I feel like there's something that always brings me back to myself when I do that. But also, it's the I think it's the cultures right? Work. I think work life balance culture. Around the world is something I enjoy. I feel like we are high on urgency culture here. So sometimes I need to physically be in a different place to get myself to rest. Michael Hingson ** 09:18 Do you think it's different up there than it is here in the US? Chenai Kadungure ** 09:23 I feel like we I think we might be balanced. I hear people say some things that are similar like it I feel like people kind of brag on how productive and how busy they are. In North America, where is it? Mita I'm originally Zimbabwe. And I think that the work life balance is a little bit different than even when I spent some time in the Caribbean same kind of thing. Michael Hingson ** 09:46 Yeah, well, and you said the urgency culture and that it just makes sense. I think that we are so locked into having everything instant urgency and so on and we've got to do it. Now, it is it is unfortunate because it doesn't necessarily go that way. We haven't really learned to pace. And we want a lot of things now that we don't have any control over, and then we get mad when we don't get them. Chenai Kadungure ** 10:14 This is true. But it was like, it's it's also about the external expectation of us, right. But I think if the most productive thing we could do in a day was to rest or to, you know, lose the desire for control or things like that, I think we had a different metric, we might do things differently, but I think the dominant culture is you need to be as busy as everyone else. Michael Hingson ** 10:38 Yeah, that seems to be the way it goes. And, and the, the flow of activity these days. And the problem is we lose some perspectives about that, which is, which is a little unfortunate. But what do you do? So what have you been doing since you got your master's degrees? I'm assuming that while you were doing that you were pretty much busy full time with being a student? Chenai Kadungure ** 11:03 Absolutely. I think I'm working on trying to be the less busy person, I always have so many things going on volunteering here, boards here full time job, really just carrying too many things. But I would say there's always been a sort of like nonprofit and social and community service side to everything, I've ended up doing it. I think, just by design I, I was an interrupter in high school. So they you know, interact, they talk about service above self, and I just stuck. And I think that's, that's what it's always been for me. Michael Hingson ** 11:45 So what do you do now that you're out of school? What's your job? And all that sort of stuff? Chenai Kadungure ** 11:51 Oh, yes. So I am the Executive Director of the black physicians association of Ontario. So we have, I would say we are both in the supporting medical education for black medical learners and the our members, which are existing physicians, residents and existing physicians, but also a large part of that is trying to improve health outcomes for black community on in Ontario. So we have our work cut out there. But I think so many of our members are instrumental to things that are happening now. So as an example, they just announced that breast cancer screening can start as early as 40. In Canada, it used to only be from about 50 onwards, but we started seeing that, okay, there's a lot of like, younger people who are getting it. And so that kind of advocacy comes from work, like from groups like ours, it's pretty exciting. Michael Hingson ** 12:46 Yeah. Now you don't have you're not an MD at all. And you're not going that, that career path, Chenai Kadungure ** 12:55 I gather? Yes, yes, no, I, but I've always said, I've always felt like I was a healer. I'm just too squeamish to have ever gone the medical route. My mother was a nurse. So I've always been closely connected to medicine. In some ways. It's. So Michael Hingson ** 13:11 what do you do as a CEO of the association? Chenai Kadungure ** 13:16 Oh, what do I not do is the question. I think when nonprofits are smaller, you end up being an everything person. So it's like, you know, you're doing business development, you're doing operations, you're talking to accountants, you're on the recruiting side, you're working with volunteers, you're in the meetings with the universities about different things. So, you know, we're all over I think, when we think of public health in Canada, especially for black community, I'm in most of those spaces. Michael Hingson ** 13:47 Why why is there a need for a black physicians Association, as opposed to just a physician's Association? And I'm not saying there isn't I just curious to hear your answer. Chenai Kadungure ** 13:58 Yes. I mean, I think there is when we're looking at equity, there is always a I think the default for most people in most places is to be mainstream, ie, you know, one stroke for everyone. But I think there's something about listening to specific needs of different communities, and making sure they get the support they need. And in that different way, right, I think it's sometimes very hard to be able to be all things to all people and so I feel like sometimes when you have these, like, more identity group, identity related group or like, you know, oppression related groups and things like that, I think there's a bit more weight to the voice, right and people will always be able to coalesce and meet in the general association. So here we have Canadian Medical Association and Ontario Medical Association and everyone's in those and then you have more sort of like niche ones for for specific groups, and also for US and Canada. Blackfish physicians only make up 2.7% of the physician population. So I want you to imagine that in a room, right, it's so pieces people feel very lonely in their craft and sometimes just need to get together and know that there's someone who understands their challenges. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 15:15 Do you think the association can improve those numbers and get more black physicians into the to the workforce? Chenai Kadungure ** 15:23 We are trying, I won't lie right now we have things like we're doing studies on like the, you know, physician suicides and things like that, because there's a lot of physician burnout, I'd say just around the pandemic and onwards. So we are trying to solve a lot of problems in one go. But I think the mental the mental health and support that comes from networks like ours, has been proven to increase the number of black medical learners. To give you an example, Timur at School of Medicine, which is, I'd say, one of the most popular Ontario med schools, has sent me that some of the people, they reported a tenfold increase in black, sort of like medical learners signups because of different support programs we put into place there. So I think it's not an overnight process, but just being able to say, have we thought about, maybe we need to do this, this is how we can include more people. So I think there's a lot of work that still needs to be done for most racialized physicians, I'd say. Yeah. Do you? Michael Hingson ** 16:25 Do you find that there is a difference in percentage of say, black physician suicides as opposed to physician suicides? Overall? Is, is? Is there that kind of disparity in the numbers, do you think? Chenai Kadungure ** 16:41 I think it's, Canada has the problem that we don't collect a lot of data on these things. So community ends up having to be the ones collecting the data. We are going a lot on US data for a lot of these things for now. But we do hear similar kind of themes around the challenges people face. But I know that since there's still a lot of stigma around mental health in black community, that in itself, I think would make a difference, right to the level of access, we'll see if people actually taking those supports. So I think that's a big thing. The other thing is people being able to actually see that there is a problem, I think, is you know, compassion fatigue, right. And in the healthcare sector in general, there's a sometimes a challenge with boundaries, like how do you know if you've reached your limit? How do you know that you now need to be a patient and not a doctor? Right? And we know that that's a challenge. So I think we'll have to look back and have this conversation five years from now. And I'll have the steps. Michael Hingson ** 17:38 It will be interesting to discover in hearing what what you discover, but it will, it will be interesting to see. And my my immediate thought is that any group that feels marginalized definitely has challenges over other groups. I mean, we find it in I don't know about suicides, and so on. But we do find marginalized marginalization with disabilities. And there are a lot of things that come up. And, you know, even diversity doesn't include disabilities, typically speaking, they talk about race and gender and sexual orientation and other things and don't include disabilities. Don't Chenai Kadungure ** 18:15 get me started on that, honestly, because I think it ends up being an I don't know what it is, because every time I'm sort of, I mean, I have an invisible disability. But I always feel like for people with visible disabilities, it's like, I feel like it's 10 times harder, just to get that like the foot in the door or whatever, because people are trying to spend as little as possible. I mean, this is I'm speaking broadly, and generally, people are trying to spend as little as possible to support staff in general, right. So if you're trying to work and you need accommodations, I just don't see that kind of willingness, you know, across the board, even in sectors like ours that are supposed to be more compassionate. I see a lot of the same problems, because I mean, I also serve on the middle center board. So we hear a lot about like, okay, these are some of the challenges that residents are facing, and I'm telling you, it's, it's unreal, we haven't even scratched the surface of the lack of support that's still required in in disability on us. Yeah, well, Michael Hingson ** 19:19 and and why do you think that is? Chenai Kadungure ** 19:23 I think it's because it's a mixture, part of it is there's always the excuse of, oh, it's a minority. It's a small group of people. So, you know, as far as the overall impact won't be that huge, right, number one. Number two is I think we just have an empathy problem in general in the world. If it's not something happening in my house or in my body, it doesn't matter. And I think that's huge, right? For a lot of the people I work with, even when we're doing things like medicine, a lot of it is always I have a relative there's there's a connection point and yet it's like empathy in general. Just It doesn't really seem to be there. I think with me, it's a mixture of faith and culture, right Africans are communitarians. We even have the idea of goon to I'm not well, unless you're well. And so part of that is like, you know, trying to be a bit more equitable in our approaches, right? Michael Hingson ** 20:17 Well, the the other thing I would say is that when people talk about being a small minority, the statistics show that, in general, roughly about 25% of people have some sort of disability. So it's not really that small of a minority, where it does get to be a problem is that the minority is made up of a number of different kinds of, of ways that the so called Disability manifests. Chris, what I try to do is to level the playing field. And what I tell people is, the reality is everyone in the world has a disability. And for most of you, it's light dependency, you don't do well, if the lights suddenly go out, you have to find a way to get new light in order to be able to function. But the light bulb was invented, to give you light on demand. And so mostly, your disability is covered up, but it doesn't change the fact that it still exists, because it does exist. And I've seen it happen all too many times. But I think also we have such a fear, oh, I could, I could end up tomorrow in a wheelchair, or I could end up being blind or whatever. And so fear, and the fact that we don't include disabilities in the conversation just doesn't seem to help a lot. Chenai Kadungure ** 21:38 I completely agree. And also one that's a little bit more insidious, is if the community doesn't have money, I feel like there's a way of putting pressure on certain topics, and you kind of say, Okay, we're not going to be able to put our dollars into X organization unless they they are seem to care about this issue. And I think there's, there's some of that, like, what's in it for me, money wise, people won't really understand that, because I do feel now that, you know, there's bit there's been performative inclusion, you know, and it's, it's about being able to get money, or being able to receive the kind of quality perception capital or something, right. For the larger organizations, when their funding issues. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 22:25 Yeah, there are a lot of different factors that go into it. You said you have an invisible disability, and what is that? Chenai Kadungure ** 22:30 Oh, I just have AD ADHD? Uh, huh. Michael Hingson ** 22:35 How has, how has that affected you in terms of going through and getting an education and what you do now on the job and so on? Well, Chenai Kadungure ** 22:44 I think it's, I mean, I came from a time in a culture where we don't, we don't really test for these things. And we were the stigma is still really strong. I think people don't want to think that there are any challenges and having any kind of, you know, like, any kind of like, what I say like, it's dyslexia, ADHD, all these things, I don't think we even like really get the assessments, if I remember, as you know, for us growing growing up, things may have changed in that in that realm now, but I think you just kind of get labeled as Oh, you know, you're dumb, or you're not great in school, or, you know, you just kind of get put in a corner. And when I remember my earliest experiences of like, teachers just kind of acting like, like, yeah, like I say, I'm a black sheep or something. So I recall several, like almost years in my primary schooling of just kind of sitting outside of the classroom for days on end, because you get kicked out for anything. Oh, you know, your book looks messy. Get out. Oh, you know, you're being disruptive get out. And then you spend like most of the afternoon outside. So yeah, I didn't, I didn't really think that that would be so much of this. There's a barrier outside of me just being dumb or something like that, right? Because we didn't have the nuance, or the language for it. So I only more recently found out that's what it was. But I always knew there was something there. I was like, things that look a little bit easier for people. I don't know why I struggle with this. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 24:15 I'm amazed at the number of people I've talked with on this podcast, unstoppable mindset, who talk about the fact that they have some level of autism, but they didn't even know it, and didn't get it diagnosed until they were in their 30s. Yeah, Chenai Kadungure ** 24:33 pretty much you get to a point where you're just like, I want to figure out what it is. Because for me, I think when I'm most burnt out, that's when you know, it's just even more apparent. So the cope when the coping mechanisms stopped working. You're like I did, like something else is going on here. Michael Hingson ** 24:49 Yeah, yeah, we we. I think we're learning I think that that there's growth, but it certainly isn't at the level Hold on to the level that it really needs to be and disabilities are still the minority that are least talked about, or at least involved at least included. And it shouldn't be that way. But it is. Chenai Kadungure ** 25:16 I absolutely agree. I mean, even when we're doing research, right, and we're looking at past even focus groups, and we're breaking down categories, the number of times I've sent documents back and be like you, you've left out to so many times, it seems like you've left out there. It's, it is, it's unreal. And so I think there's a level of resilience that is in the disability community that, yeah, I can't even begin to imagine because it's, yeah, it's like being invisible. Literally, it is. Michael Hingson ** 25:53 And being ignored is what it's about. To a large degree. One thing I know that you talk about, from time to time, is the whole concept of an authenticity. Why does that matter to you? Chenai Kadungure ** 26:09 I feel like it's a trait of, I think it's about integrity. But I also think personal integrity is so much harder. Like there, I think there's a general sort of understood idea of like, oh, you know, I did what I said I'm going to do, but the older I've gotten, the more I realized that so few people get to just fully be themselves, whether it's in their jobs, in their marriages, in their faith, and like, it's just such a huge thing to be yourself and 100% yourself. And so for me, I think that's something like I gave it a word. And I decided to call it authenticity. And, and honestly, I think if I look at all the leaders I've respected and like the most, that's what it is. And I think it's rare. I think that as a trait is rare. Michael Hingson ** 26:58 I use that. Chenai Kadungure ** 27:01 Well, some of it is what we discussed before, I think there there is a from when you're born, you have people telling you, you have to be a certain way, you have to think a certain way you have to study certain things, you have to do certain jobs, there's always something with it, society culture, weighing in on how you need to show up in the world. And I think more often than not, we want as much as we care about personal control, we really are about controlling other people, too. That's, that's what I can really put it to because there's a lot of performance that happens. And it's like, sometimes it's performance for survival. But a lot of times, I think it's also just performance for approval, like if I show up in this way, then I'll be accepted. Michael Hingson ** 27:49 And it doesn't really matter, what you may truly feel is that people want you to be a certain way. So you become inauthentic, if you will. Chenai Kadungure ** 28:02 Pretty much like oh, it just becomes your life, you know, the things you do ended up becoming like your habits or you know, it's that's what you've invested in. And so that's where you are. And I think there a lot of people who get, you know, 3040 years down the line, they realize they lived other people's lives. And I that's the thing I wouldn't want. I don't want to look back at my life 30 years from now and feel like I live someone else's life. Do Michael Hingson ** 28:26 you think there's any kind of a trend on the part of people to want to be more authentic and to to buck that? That concept? Chenai Kadungure ** 28:39 Definitely, I think when we talk about leaders who do things differently, or even what I see with I guess, Gen Z and sort of like the generations coming over, I feel like their BS radar is a lot stronger. Or they're, maybe it's because there are a lot, I feel like they're a lot more judgmental, because they kind of expect, they expect you to understand that they're human. Whereas I think some of the generations before we were like, You need to be a productive person, you need to, you know, show up in this way. And you know, whether it's your church or you know, there are a lot of different places that had expectations of you. I think a lot of the younger people now are just very, you know, they're not ashamed of showing up as they are, you know, I'm saying, Today I'm in my sweats, because that's what I feel like. And you know, I should show up that way, you know, so I feel like with time, we've opened up a bit. A simple example I could think of, as I know, in the tech sector, there isn't an expectation that people come buttoned up in suits and things like that, right. And yet, there's a time where I think that might have been the most offensive thing a person did when they walked into a meeting. He wore sneakers to an interview, you know, so I feel like those are some of the ways we're slowly now becoming less, I guess judgy about how other people should behave. Michael Hingson ** 30:01 An interesting paradox. I know that when I started selling, and I took sales courses, and I met with any number of people, they would give examples like, so on the East Coast or in a number of places, and important meetings, you show up if you're a man in a suit and tie or women wear dresses and skirts and all that, but I'm going to use men just for a moment, a suit and tie and, and so on. But you don't do that if you go to Texas, you can wear jeans and cowboy boots, and it's totally acceptable. And that was something I heard 30 years ago and 40 years ago, yet, we, we still mostly really do have that that trend, oh, you have to look or do things in a particular way. And I think that also contributes to the whole disability discussion a little bit, because the bottom line is, I don't, although I want to do and have the right to have equal access to doing the things that you do and, and having that opportunity, I won't use the same tools or do them in exactly the same way. And we get too locked in again, to one certain way of doing things and it hasn't totally changed at all. Chenai Kadungure ** 31:16 That's actually very true, I think. Yeah, even when we think of like some of the ideas in business, right? We have now you scale and all of that has its own culture. And it's like it's either you do this or you fail. So it's Yeah, I think yeah, there is always still a bit of a bit more bravery required to, to fully show up as yourself. Michael Hingson ** 31:38 So what do doctors do in Canada? And they all feel they have to be dressed up and all that? Or can they just hide under scrubs and a long white coat? Chenai Kadungure ** 31:48 Well, interestingly enough, I think our membership is 80% family physicians. And so I feel like that's one sort of track where people can still sort of like, you know, have the beat of their own drum. So you will have people where, you know, to give you an example, like we've got this one PDF, PDF constructor, I really enjoy her content, and she has like she had pink hair the other day. And I think it's because she's working in peds, maybe this, this doesn't, maybe she went with her pink hair somewhere else. They might not be as much of an openness. But I do find that where there's a little bit more flexibility. I think in general, there are some professions that stick more to the what I call the monochrome The monochrome or the gray or the you know that they're not really about being colorful, whether it's actually wearing color or being open to too much difference. So I must say, I think because our doctors have had to sort of like be in settings where they can't be themselves, I think when they come to our events and things like that they embrace being fully themselves. So I probably haven't seen them in their buttoned up nests as much. And you'll get certain specialties where I think the buttoned up list is just the way they are. But the minute they're off duty, there's someone else. So there are people living like double lives I feel as well right in certain professions. So for me, those are the things that are interesting that I think 1015 years down the line, it's going to look different. I think we're gonna have people be more authentic most of the time. Oh, you're Peter Michael Hingson ** 33:23 pink hair, she must be a fan of Harry Potter and, and tungsten or something like that. Hmm. Chenai Kadungure ** 33:30 Probably working with children, I'm sure you know, there's a lot of Harry Potter. And Michael Hingson ** 33:38 so how does authenticity, change the world or, or create hope? Do you think? Chenai Kadungure ** 33:46 I honestly think that there is so much labor and performance. So if I think of the way I get to show up as a black woman in so many spaces, because I'm working in my community and things like that, there's a little bit less translation. So you know, people talk about code switching, and having to be someone else at work and someone else with their friends. I feel I'm I'm really lucky in the way I get to show up as myself. I often joke that I'm in formal that when we think of how formalized workplaces are. And yet so many people are performing, right, the minute they leave the office, they feel they can literally lift their head down and be themselves. My hope is that we can get to a point where when we are at work, we can be ourselves in that same way. And I think we saw it even during the pandemic, right a lot of people got to where their trackpants while on calls and they were so relieved that they could now be comfortable in the workplace. And that's that's how I see it if you have to be uncomfortable to do something that I think is a challenge. We I think we've always put it as propriety and I feel like that, that I theory of propriety has always meant that they, you know, there's a lot of discomfort that you have to just accept. And knowing that that doesn't have to be, I think, makes us a little bit more open minded. And the more open minded we are, the more empathetic we can be. I do think we should evolve past thinking that if I haven't experienced that, I can't relate to it. Like, I don't need to go hungry for a night to understand that hunger is not great. You know what I mean? I don't need to be homeless, to know that stressing about where to sleep is a problem. And so by the same token, for me exactly what we're talking about, like, I shouldn't be surprised when I get into an elevator. And this actually like, sounds I'm like, I should expect every elevator to have those sounds, because it means when they built this building, they thought about everyone. Yeah. 35:55 Well, and I think that there is a lot to be said for empathy, empathy. And that's kind of what you're talking about I, I oftentimes encounter people who tell me how horrible it is to be blind and what it's like to be blind. And I do say to them, the biggest problem is you've never tried it. Because we don't internalize it, we make assumptions. Rather than understanding and I agree with you, one doesn't need to be homeless to understand it. And one doesn't necessarily need to be hungry to understand it. But it does require us thinking about it. Hmm, Chenai Kadungure ** 36:32 definitely like, yeah, if I, I guess, like, what you with what you're saying, if it is something I have no idea about, I think also just a level of curiosity. Right? Because that made me think that's also what's missing. Like, if I don't understand why am I not curious about it? Why am I not Yeah, trying to figure something out, because it's not, it's not something new, like what we see. But in every phase of your life, you're probably going to be encountering things. And so the small example I could give us, I remember once going to $1 store. And I saw an old lady there. And she was sort of like struggling with the, you know, like with her cart, her cart was really, really full, and the escalator and the elevator and the place was not working. And so I was like, this, this plate like this, in this building the escalator the elevator, wasn't working for two years. And I said to you know, I said to one of my friends, I can't believe it's been almost two years, and they haven't fixed this. And of course, this is $1. I'm in the middle of Toronto downtown, like you are in a Dollarama. This person is probably even economically not in the best position. And you want to give them an extra struggle, of just being able to access the space. And yeah, for me, it really just blew my mind. I really thought about that. And I was like, wow, two years. Like for two years, they've been okay with the fact that like, oh, people can ask access. There's only Dollarama in like three square kilometers, by the way. So yeah, it's yeah, the mind still boggles. I think that's the thing. I wish we could have empathy injections. Michael Hingson ** 38:08 We need something Yeah, it is, it's important that we be more curious. And that's again, something that we don't necessarily see a lot. I've talked a few times about people and the podcast where we we choose not to be curious, or we're taught not to be curious. You know, we talked about the disability issue a while ago. And oftentimes, little kids would want to come over and talk to me or my wife, who was in a wheelchair her whole life she just passed last November. But she, you know, we would we would hear kids or see kids, I want to go ask this lady something or I want to go pet that dog because I have a guide dog and all that. And, and the parents would say, oh, no, you don't want to do that you might offend them. And this and that. The other stuff. And the bottom line is, we discourage curiosity. And the kids are naturally curious. And most of us understand that it would love nothing better than to answer any questions. And sometimes I've actually, when I heard those discussions, I'll go over and I'll say, Wait a minute. You want to pet the dog? I'll take the harness off and explain why I'm taking the harness off. Now you can pet the dog. Do you know what the dog does? Or I've seen my wife Karen go over and say, What do you want to know about the wheelchair? And the parents are being embarrassed? But they don't understand that it's a wonderful teaching moment. Absolutely. Chenai Kadungure ** 39:33 And if anything, I think children actually understand empathy. At such a higher rate than a lot of us. I think a lot of us get a bit more cynical when we get older. Because when I think of a lot of the conversations we've had about identity, I feel like because children don't expect people to show up in a certain way. They just accept everyone. So what did they call it like the cats During thereafter, word is openness. But I think because children are imaginative for them, it's, I don't see why, why they can be different kinds of people, and just have it that way. So yeah, I really had to think about that. And even this thing of like something as small as our friendship circles, you know exactly what you're saying, you're like, do we just stick with people who are exactly like us, and we never, and we close our world even more, Michael Hingson ** 40:26 all too often. Which is really part of the issue. And again, as I said, with children, we're teaching them not to be curious. We're teaching them not to be open, rather than encouraging that curiosity and that openness, which would be a much more wonderful thing and make the world a much better place. Because if they grew up curious, then they would continue to explore. Richard Fineman, who was one of the very famous physicists from the 50s and 60s and well in the 40s. And one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century wrote a book entitled, surely you're joking Mr. Fineman adventures of a curious fellow and even in the first chapter, he says his father pushed him always to be curious. And he grew up, continuing to have a curious mind, which I think is extremely important for all of us to do. Chenai Kadungure ** 41:23 Wow. I love that. Because I think also, it's lately, I've been calling it curiosity over conviction. I think part of what leads us into little boxes is some of these things that are convictions that really should have just been curiosities, right that, like, is this thing really, as important? Will this really change the world or shatter the world? And if we put some of those things where they should be placed, right, it's like, okay, this is just a preference. It's not like something really huge. I feel like, yeah, we'd explore more we'd, we'd be more curious. And I think even when we look at the nature of how they do dialogues, it's always exactly that. It's saying, if you can hold space, and say, my view is my own, but it's not the only view. And just accepting that small thing. It's like, it's amazing how all of a sudden problems became opportunities and possibilities. So I do think there's, there's some power there. Michael Hingson ** 42:24 Yeah. Well, and we all have our own views. But do you think it's also appropriate for us to have a mindset that says, Okay, I've got my own view. I like my idea. But you know, what, I'm willing to listen. And if somebody says something that really makes me change, that's okay. Chenai Kadungure ** 42:42 Absolutely. To me, that's the curiosity, right? If I am saying anything that isn't this answer is wrong. I'm also preventing, I guess, cross learning to happen, right. And so I think that that whole, really thinking about, there's a reason how this, like why this view got built in the first place more often than not, yeah, a mixture of it might have been things we were told, right? So we may not have given it a lot of thought, and we talked to someone else. And then we're like, Huh, that's interesting, and you think of something in a different way. But a large part of it as well is our what we call frame of reference, right? If my frame of references, these 123 experiences are the most important, and it shapes my opinion about this thing. If I talk to someone or the different one, I get to just like, encounter a whole new world, it goes back to what I was saying about why I enjoy traveling, right? That just seeing something done differently, or seeing the same thing I worry about, be perceived as something happy. I'll just give you an example. There's a colleague of mine, and she and she's always posting on LinkedIn about ADHD is her superpower. And I always thought like, Hmm, interesting, interesting, interesting. But now it's like it gave me it gave me a different view of like, oh, we actually overthink some of these things and be like, Oh, this is something that actually makes you different and makes you operate in the world in a different way. And that's a good thing. And that is changing the language of it. And so for me, I think there's that that oh, we can we can open our world so much if we you know, Judge, listen, put things in boxes. Michael Hingson ** 44:22 People often have have asked me over the years, where you're blind, do you want to see or don't you want to see? And, you know, I understand eyesight well enough to recognize that. It offers some things but as I tell people, full probably because it'd be a new adventure. But if I don't, it's not going to be the end of the world. Because in reality, eyesight just offers us another lane on the road to travel that we all do. And we've got to stop thinking that One way is less than another way. That's I think the biggest issue is we've made value judgments as to what is and is not. Which is why I always have. And I've learned this, especially during this podcast to not like the term visually impaired because visually impaired first of all, visually, I'm not different, because I'm blind. But this is the way that professionals have treated it for so long. But the other part is impaired. And that is, I shouldn't be compared to someone based on how much vision I have. If you're a deaf person, your community doesn't like hearing impaired, and you're liable to be shot. If you call a deaf person hearing impaired. It's deaf or hard of hearing. And likewise, with blind people that should be blind or low vision, forget the concept of impaired, it puts a stigma on us. And again, I think that goes back to what we were talking about earlier that helps the bad mistakes that we face. Chenai Kadungure ** 46:02 Absolutely. And I think also with what you were talking about earlier, honestly, it's also that I feel like you have a different kind of site, there's more of an insight that comes in understanding something using a different sense, because you want to be able to say, What's it like to taste this thing? Or do you know, like, I feel like we don't really value? How do I say the exploring of the world in that way? Because there's a whole world that you encounter that I I still need to understand, because I rely so much on this. So I think it's also thinking of that in a different way. Exactly like what you're saying it's not. I think it's that lack of curiosity again. Describe it. So lack of curiosity. 46:47 Yeah, well, and it is something that we hopefully over time will learn to counteract, and that we will help children and adults be more curious. And there's nothing or shouldn't be anything wrong with being curious. Chenai Kadungure ** 47:07 Absolutely, so So I think if we so if we do a book together, it's no longer gonna be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But we're going to, we're going to create more curious cases. Michael Hingson ** 47:19 Nothing wrong with that. So, you know, something I've talked with a couple of people on unstoppable mindset about is imposter syndrome. And I understand it a little bit. And I talked to one person who realized he had it and was able to deal with it. But how does impostor syndrome shrink or affect authenticity? Because I would, I would think that, since the whole concept of impostor syndrome is becoming more of a topic of discussion, that it affects other things. And one of the things that seems to me that is worth discussing is how it affects authenticity. Absolutely. Chenai Kadungure ** 48:05 I, I think impostor syndrome has to do with that fear of not showing up the way other people want you to show up. So it still gives that power to the external, right. And yet, ironically, I think that there was always that same thing that they say, when your internal validation is low. That is when you want the external validation. And so I think when we're in a space of imposter syndrome, we feel we don't measure up for other people. And that somehow impacts the way we view even ourselves. And yet, honestly, if we just were humble enough to even get over ourselves, and just say, I'm in this space, and I've been given room to speak or do this thing. It's more the happiness of being there should allow you to actually be even more, how do I say, like, more vocal or more like, use the space that's actually been given to you. It's literally giving someone a platform and saying here, your voice is going to mean something in this room, and then you decide to actually, you know, quiet in yourself, and you say, I'd rather not speak because I don't feel like I should be here. And so I think it's a goes back to what you're saying of a value judgment. We use some strange lens to decide that we're an impostor. We're literally pretending to be in this place we shouldn't be in. And yet, I think exactly like what you said most people have gone through stages in their life when they felt that and I think they say a lot of women have it because again, you know, the some of the societal things we're still working out. were made to feel like you should actually, you know, be grateful that you're here so you feel like you don't measure up. But yeah, that's it's hard to be authentic then because you don't even have a good sense of who you are. At that point. Right at that stage. You're not seeing what value you're bringing to the table or to the room. But if you were to hold on to those nuggets that you could bring to that place, see it as an opportunity to have an opportunity to say something or do something or make an impact. If we see that as an opportunity or not, oh my gosh, I'm just going to fail so badly. When I fail so badly and just ruined everything. And yet it's like no, like, do the positive. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 50:24 Do you think that most people deep down, really know what they feel, but they're just afraid to deal with it. And so things like impostor syndrome or on authentic or inauthentic, things take over, but that they really know. And that that adds to the stress. Chenai Kadungure ** 50:42 So it's like layers of so the the barriers other people can put in front of you, but then they're the worst ones that you then put in front of yourselves. And so I definitely think that if we could like, you know, my one of my, whenever when I had burnout, I remember that someone has like, we all have malware. We all have certain malware and but if we can actually do a virus scan and look and see what are the lies that are like that are that I am carrying in my life? And how are they holding me back? And actually having a conversation with them? Not so much ignoring them? Because I do think we like to go with the distraction, but having a conversation with them, you actually understand that like you'd never say this to someone else. So why would you say to yourself, all right. Yeah, we're our harshest critics. Michael Hingson ** 51:31 Well, I reversed that and say, I really think that we need to get away from that negativity. And we should say, we're our best teachers. And we really need to do that. But that's, of course, the problem is, and I did it for many years, I'm my own worst critic, because I would listen to my presentations, the public speeches that I give, and learn from them. But I always said, I do it. Because I'm my own worst critic. Well, what I really realized was, I'm my own best teacher. And if when I started doing that, it, it changed the whole dynamic of even listening to the recordings that I make. Chenai Kadungure ** 52:11 Oh, that's prophecy. I love that because that is that then is even the failing forward. So even if you did something and thought, that wasn't great. The next day, you've already got some experience to learn from where's this someone who's not even getting the experience because they're so afraid to even fail? That's like, the worst place to be? Michael Hingson ** 52:30 Well, and failure. Again, I agree with some of the motivational people who say failure is really just an opportunity. And it is it's an opportunity to learn and grow. And we should never beat ourselves up over failing, but rather ask ourselves, all right, what happened? That didn't go just quite the way I wanted? How do we deal with it? Chenai Kadungure ** 52:50 Absolutely. And I also love I think it was a Sara Blakely, the the lady who founded Spanx at her dad every time she got home, used to ask her, How did you fail today, and that was something they would celebrate, finding out about something they cared about. And I, I always loved that idea of like, again, there's a language we use. It is I make judgment calls about like, you did this thing, you got the F I mean, everyone knows what that red F feels like, right? And yet, it's exactly that it's like, oh, an opportunity to to learn something or whatever, that will be a different way of viewing the situation. Michael Hingson ** 53:25 Yeah. And I think turning things into a more positive thing, rather than beating yourself up, like using expressions such as I, my own best teacher, changed the whole dynamic in an incredible and swift way. Which is, I think, extremely important for us to do, what you know, with you dealing with physicians and so on, and of course, in our world today, we've gone through a lot of different crises. What do you think that people need the most in a recession or depression? And why do you think it? Well, I Chenai Kadungure ** 54:01 think it is they do need hope. Right? Hope is Hope is an element, but I think it's such a critical thing. But then I also think that it is what was it like? Somewhat like a personal kindness? And I think we need to reinforce how do I say reinforce, I forgot I forgot where my forgot group I think was depression. Michael Hingson ** 54:29 Recession. Yes. Chenai Kadungure ** 54:31 That's what it's like. I think there is so much depression in a well actually we can call it might be a depression, they might call it a depression 10 years from now, I don't know. But I think it's implied in the name right? That it's everything around you is going to want to pull you down. And we need to understand things that help us go in that in that opposite direction. And so for me, I think it's sometimes it's small things like sometimes I'll filter out filter out news So I get actually give myself a news fast. And sometimes I'll even do something if it's behaviorally, complaints fast, I literally, sometimes will say, I'm not going to complain about something for X number of days. Because I remember there was research that said, your brain chemistry even changes when you like, complain consistently. And so exactly what you said, the power, life and death in the power of the tongue. There's, there's so much there, but what we say to a situation. And so I think we always see the soft stuff, the frilly stuff as the things that, you know, don't matter. But that's what keeps societies going. I mean, I'm sure when FDR was weakening people, you know, in 1929, there's something there, there was a hope that he was bringing that gave him what I don't know how many terms ended up having three or four. Michael Hingson ** 55:49 Or, well, he died during the fourth, but yeah, for hope, yeah. And people understood it, I collect old radio shows as a hobby. And I contrast how the media is today, and how programs are and the people as opposed to the way they were in the 30s and 40s, around the war, and all that, and there was a lot more rallying and supportiveness than there is today. And we just look for ways to criticize and can tear everything down, and we don't look and understand. And again, it all goes back also to curiosity and not wanting to be confused with the facts. Chenai Kadungure ** 56:38 And I think also share, shared, trying to experience the shared experience together. If I, if I remember that time when we were so we had one of the longest lock downs, right? One of the longest long downs in the world. But one of the things that was the first time I saw positive messages on the news. So I wondered about that, you know, this whole thing where we always say we want hard news. And we riddle people with these, like things that are just going to make them feel afraid, feel angry, feel like all kinds of negative emotions. And yet there was an intentionality to positivity then because they're like, people are in their homes, and we really need to care about their mental health and things like that. And I'm like, why should that be a lockdown thing? Why can that be a way of being? Why can we have that kind of balance? I mean, if you think about it back then exactly like you said, the radio show is some thread that connected millions of people back then, now we just have our own little echo chambers all over, we're just even more disconnected and isolated than ever before. In the UK, they have a ministry of loneliness. That is how bad it is where you literally have a ministry dedicated to the problem of loneliness. So I think that there is hope unites people in a way that fear and anger and hate and all these things, you know, it's an opposition to that, right. So yeah, I think let's do that. Let's have a new currency of hope. mi ** 58:04 There you go. Well, here's a question. What compensation is the world not having, but we should be having? Chenai Kadungure ** 58:14 There's so many. Michael Hingson ** 58:17 Yes, there are. Chenai Kadungure ** 58:18 There's so many. I think the one is on honesty around nuance. We've touched on it a few times today. But this being of zero sum, we have such a zero sum language nowadays that just kind of cuts conversations off we're killing our curiosity that way and so everything is talked about from an angle from an agenda if it's like, if it's done this way, even the algorithm will push you more to you just need to click on one thing and you're gonna get a slew of other things that are reinforcing that idea and yet I feel we need more just exploration that curiosity and say, oh, you know, what makes this thing bad? What makes this thing good? Let me wait for myself. But there isn't that anymore. It's literally to you. Michael Hingson ** 59:05 And the conversation Why Can't We Be curious is definitely an issue. Chenai Kadungure ** 59:15 So it's interesting if we think of exactly like what you're saying in schools, maybe the curiosity is still there because kids are younger, but what is happening to us later on in life that dance that curiosity altogether? Well, Michael Hingson ** 59:29 the problem is that so many people are growing up, learning not to be curious and being discouraged from being curious and so they pass it on. Chenai Kadungure ** 59:39 Oh, that's a hole you've opened a hole that opens a can of worms. A lack of curiosity. I'm like, oh, that's its own. Wow. Yeah, cuz because if you can give, if you can give trauma and everything else based on experiences, you could give whole world views based on the you know, I'm not curious Why should you be curious? You know, I think that's the conversation that ends up happening. Michael Hingson ** 1:00:05 But if you go back and look at why am I not curious and you go back and study it, it's probably because you were discouraged. I'm sure there are some people who are born. Not curious. But generally, I suspect that it's we're discouraged from being curious. Chenai Kadungure ** 1:00:20 Absolutely. I'd say with one, one thing as well, since we've we've had a lot of new things thrown at us, I would say in the past 15 years, they're just things that did not exist 15 years ago, and we just been riddled with them. I think there is an element of, we just don't even get to process anything. Right? So forget even curiosity. We haven't even begun to look at how something like the pandemic really impacted all of us. Right? We don't even have the time to do that. Because one crisis after the next. And so I think there's also some of that we're just surviving, that it's like, curiosity seems like a luxury. So how do we get out of that, like, just surviving? Michael Hingson ** 1:01:05 It's very good point. We can do it. But we don't. And again, there's a lot of our politicians discourage it. So you know, there's that's another story, but we won't go there. Well, I want to thank you for being with us. This has been fun. Do you know we've been doing this for over an hour. So yeah, see, and you didn't even say you were hungry. Although I know it's late back there. But this has been a lot of fun. If people want to reach out to you maybe learn more about the association or learn more about you? How might they do that? Oh, Chenai Kadungure ** 1:01:40 well, definitely. They can. I mean, they can email me email me. I am ed@bpao.org. Bravo, Papa, alpha. October. I don't know if I still have my phone and expect close. And also, they can go to the website as well. www.bpao.org Or they can search me on LinkedIn. I think you did a good job of trying to say my name, but I'm sure they can. You know, see. Michael Hingson ** 1:02:12 My you said Chenai Kadungure ** 1:02:13 Chenai Kadungure. Michael Hingson ** 1:02:17 There you go. Oh, Chenai Kadungure ** 1:02:19 thank you so much. For the Michael Hingson ** 1:02:21 this has been this has been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed the conversation. I hope all of you listening have enjoyed it. Love to hear your thoughts, please email me and feel free to reach out to shehnai and, and engage her in a discussion as you will. But if you'd like to reach out to me, you're welcome to do so by email. Michaelhi at accessibe.com. That's m i c h a e l h i at A c c e s s i b e.com. Or go to our podcast page www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast. So that's www.m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com/podcast love to hear from you. And please give us a five star rating wherever you hear this podcast wherever you are. We really appreciate your ratings and your value in your comments, and your input and Chennai for you and you listening if you know anyone who we ought to have as a guest on unstoppable mindset. Really, we want to hear from you. I want to know, and we're always looking for guests, so please don't hesitate to suggest other folks and help us meet them. So one more time tonight. I want to thank you for being here and taking this time with us today. Chenai Kadungure ** 1:03:36 Well, thank you for being a light and dark spaces. I think just even the name unstoppable that excites me because I know exactly what you said so much of our everyday is how do we stop people? How do we stop certain things. So thank you. Michael Hingson ** 1:03:55 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cas
It's been all about creativity the last week, with some ads that crushed it and some ads that got crashed...In this news episode, Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley and reporter Charlotte Rawlings talk through some of the top stories of the last week with the view from our news desks. We discussed Apple's "Crush" ad and the controversy that surrounded it and PG Tips brand refresh with its first new work in eight years from new agency Calling. Plus, Rawlings takes us through what makes a Campaign Pick of the Week with Tui's first-class safety film by Leo Burnett UK.Further reading:The creative backlash against Apple 'Crush' missed the pointOMD UK head of strategy departs for sustainability startupHavas Media Network sets up digital centre of excellence and appoints Paul Bland as leaderWPP chief exec Mark Read targeted by deepfake scammersPeroni Nastro Azzurro launches global creative reviewWilliam Hill to place bets on T&Pm as creative agency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Peter Bacon is currently the CEO of Disability Employment Australia – an industry association representing providers of disability employment services. He grew up in the United Kingdom and soon after college was offered an opportunity to join a firm to deal with helping persons with disabilities to gain employment. He quickly realized that he loved the work and wanted to dedicate his life to the efforts of promoting employment and the rights of persons with disabilities. Our conversation ranges through various aspects of issues about disability employment. He discuss what is currently happening in Australia and how a commission report has just been produced that acknowledges that persons with disabilities are systematically being excluded. Now the real fun begins. As Peter says, the problem has been named. Our time is well worth your listen. Peter Bacon offers many insights that can be of use to all of us. About the Guest: Peter has worked in disability employment for more than 15 years. He started out on the frontline in East London, attracted to the role by a friend who said it was ‘all about drinking cups of tea and helping people'. Pretty soon he discovered that he wanted this to be his life's work – that the transformative power of building a relationship with someone and helping them achieve their career dreams was unmatchable. After that he was offered the opportunity to do a variety of business development and strategy roles within disability employment and adjacent spaces, including skills and training, justice and rehabilitation, as well as the opportunity to work in international markets. Throughout, he has always prioritised the ‘voice of the customer' and impact on the most vulnerable and marginalised communities. Seven years ago, Peter was offered the opportunity to move to Australia to head up strategy at major non-profit Campbell Page. During his six years there, he took a lead on diversifying the organisation into new markets including social enterprise, through an environmental initiative for young people following the bushfires. Since February this year, Peter has been CEO of Disability Employment Australia – an industry association representing providers of disability employment services and with the aim of unlocking the potential of people with disability across Australia. Since taking on the role, he has pivoted the organisation to focus on ‘all dimensions' of disability employment, including the vital role of the ‘demand' side amid increasing expectations of employer involvement with diversity, equality and inclusion. This is a potentially transformative moment for disability employment in Australia thanks to the Disability Royal Commission Report that details systematic and structural exclusion of people with disability from mainstream Australian life, and as the Disability Employment Service is reformed against this backdrop. Peter is excited to be a part of these debates and to lead a significant, sustained shift in the disability employment rate and as to how people with disability are treated within the workplace. Ways to connect with Peter: Email-peter.bacon@disabilityemployment.org.au About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi, and thank you once again for listening to unstoppable mindset and we're really glad you're here. We're having a lot of fun doing this. It's been going on since August of 2021. I've enjoyed every episode, I've gotten to learn a lot from all of our guests. I value that greatly I hope that you have as well. And we have another one today another exciting guest Peter Bacon down in Australia who is involved very seriously in the whole issue of disability employment and I guess you got started Peter because somebody said it's all about having a having cups of tea and helping people I want to hear about that. But Peter, welcome to unstoppable mindset. Peter Bacon ** 02:00 Thanks, Michael. Great failure. Michael Hingson ** 02:03 So what kind of tea? Peter Bacon ** 02:07 I think it was English breakfast tea. Ah, gosh. Michael Hingson ** 02:10 I love PG Tips. Peter Bacon ** 02:12 Yeah, that's that's that's high quality tea. My great grandfather used to be a salesman for Yorkshire tea. So I should probably give a shout out to Yorkshire. Ah, Michael Hingson ** 02:22 I've heard of Yorkshire tea. I haven't tried it. But people have recommended that I should try that too. But we have a relative, a cousin who teaches at the University of Manchester and she came over to visit us in when we were when I was living. My wife and I were in New Jersey and she brought a British care package and there were biscuits in it and other things and there was a box of PG Tips t and we both fell in love with it. It was hard to get in the US at the time. We found a place where we could mail order at some and then when we moved back to California after September 11 We found a market that had literally what they called a British aisle. And on the British aisle they sold PG Tips T and then we discovered that Amazon carried it so I get PG Tips T pretty inexpensively now and love it so I have it every day. Peter Bacon ** 03:17 Sounds like you're quite the aficionado. I mean, being a Brit living in Australia. There are similar things. So there's, you know where the British Isles are in terms of within supermarkets. Also, there's various Facebook groups which relate to these things. I'm not that bothered about most of those things, but I do quite like milk chocolate digestive, so I always find them if I'd see that. Michael Hingson ** 03:40 There you go. Yeah, well, that that makes sense to well, we yeah, I've just I've always enjoyed PG Tips, tea. It's a lot of fun. When I wrote vendor dog, I don't know whether you've read it the book about me and Roselle in the World Trade Center. I even mentioned it in there so well. I don't mind promoting PG Tips. T it's good to Peter Bacon ** 04:01 get you on payroll, Michael. It Michael Hingson ** 04:03 should. Well, I'm trying to Yeah, by that time, I'm trying to remember I think we had discovered it. I don't know whether we had discovered it through Amazon. But I buy it's like $20 and I get a twin pack. Each pack holds 260 or 280 bags. So it's 560 bags of tea for $20. So that now that Karen has passed away that lasts me, you know, half well a long time. It's 280 days every year so it takes a while to go through it. Because I well it does. It goes faster than that because i i make a pot I put three bat or two bags in a pot. And I drink a whole pot in the course of the morning. And then I don't drink any of it the rest of the day. I drink water the rest of the day. Peter Bacon ** 04:54 Yeah, well I mean we're big on our caffeine here in Australia. Melvin, particularly when I go back home, when I go back home to Britain and drink my coffee, I can't cope at all because the coffee is so good in Melbourne. So yeah, yeah, there's a big bonus about living. Michael Hingson ** 05:11 There you go. The caffeine has never done anything for me. It's really for me all about it being hot. But I like PG Tips over just having hot waters. So that's what I have. But the caffeine has never done anything more for me. I could I could drink a cup at night, and it wouldn't make a difference. Peter Bacon ** 05:29 For me, I've got two young kids. So it's an important part of my life. Well, Michael Hingson ** 05:32 they're see, are they going to grow up to be tea drinkers? Peter Bacon ** 05:38 I don't know. I've already thought my eldest is 10. I've taught her how to use the coffee machine at home. It's like a proper coffee machine. So she's she's at the very least she's a trainee barista, which would be a good job for her to get to sort of 16 or 17. I think, Michael Hingson ** 05:52 well, if it's a good coffee machine, it'll make hot chocolate to you. There you go. See? Well, Tim, tell me a little about the younger Peter, the early Peter growing up and all that if you would. Peter Bacon ** 06:06 Yeah. So I was brought up in high school boy, Tunbridge Wells in Canton, England. And it was, you know, it wasn't necessarily that much of a, I did okay, epidemic, I wouldn't say was that much of a happy child. And a lot of that was down to I was, it was an dyspraxic. And, like, so many things. You know, education wants people to fit nicely into boxes. And nicely into a box. I was, you know, almost report said bright, but disorganized. Reports from my board might say the same thing now. But Michael Hingson ** 06:50 keep you hired still, though. Yeah. Peter Bacon ** 06:52 You know, I have people who helped me. Because I had systems that I do think to my head to, to get over those other things. But I wasn't you know, that that was a struggle for me, because it was it was that thing of well, what is causing this. And obviously, I got a diagnosis when I was 16 1516, that I was just practicing. And then suddenly everything made sense. Well, that's why I'm struggling. That's why I'm finding it hard to organize myself. But also, and there were some important lessons that I learned through through that period, some of which we may touch on later. But also, I was pretty well fired up with a sense of social justice, and where that came from, what was brought up with my family and all those kinds of things. And I went to university to study politics, and did okay, there. And I came out with this idea that I wanted to do a job that made the world a better place. That was really what I was looking for. And I thought, well, I know what I do, I'll go into politics, you know, you've got an opportunity to make the world better if you're if you're in politics. So what I did, I went to work for the Liberal Democrats did jobs and sort of policy campaigns for about a year, 18 months. And after that period, I went well, I don't think I'm gonna make my difference here. I really struggle. I really struggled with it. The because actually was, you know, you had my idealized sort of West Wing idea of what politics is like. But actually, most of the time, it's just about, well, what's going to win us the next election, Michael Hingson ** 08:30 which is so sad that it's that way these days. Yeah. Peter Bacon ** 08:37 And maybe on some level, it's worse than winning the next election, because we have the better ideas that we can implement. And that's going to make the world a better place. But I struggled to find that. Yeah, I also, I also struggled to, I was really struggled with the idea of, you know, you have your party line. And you have to just parrot that, and you have to support your political party. And critically, you know, the same way that you were just sports team. And well, actually, I'm quite critical of my sports teams. But, you know, I struggled with that to the idea that actually, your ideas weren't worth much if they weren't part of the party line. So I searched for something else to do. And I had a friend, and she was working as what they call an employment visor in East London for a company called NGS. And she said, Well, this is a bit different. But there's a job over here where what you do is you sit down with people, you make and drink cups of tea, and you try and help them try and find a job to try and help them in their lives. And I said, Well, I'll give that a go. Because at least I can drink tea. There you go. So I've got half a minute. So that's how I sort of started, you know slightly cluelessly, naively, all those kinds of things. That's how I started by My career in disability employment, and it's with a few variations where I've been set. Michael Hingson ** 10:08 So what what did you start out doing? Or how did how did all of that work for you? So Peter Bacon ** 10:14 I started out on a contract called Pathways to work. So it was a government service that was contracted out to a bunch of different organizations, some for profits or not for profits. And it was essentially about helping people with what they called health conditions. So people were claiming government benefits by virtue of the fact they and disability condition illness. And I was about helping them to find work. And I work for pretty good company colleges. So you've got a decent amount of training, you know, few weeks training, perhaps, which isn't bad by industry standards, and with good follow ups, and but I was pitching I had a caseload of 100 people or more, who were living in some of the poorest parts of East London, we had pretty complex slides. And my job was to find as many as I could have that group jobs, and to be decently respectful to the rest. So that's what I was doing. And obviously, you go into it fairly cluelessly. It just at that time, the company I work for had a pretty good philosophy of just recruiting people with the right values, who are kind of bright and good communicators. And so it was it was quite a, you know, a really good band of people who are similar to me. And yeah, so So you would see people, they, they'd come because they, it's got a job. And you would work with them, you put a plan together, you talk about what their dreams were, what their aspirations were, what their motivations were, but also the things that they were facing in their lives. You put that plan together, need, they try and execute on that plan. And sometimes it would work, sometimes you would go through and they would find a job that was meaningful to them. And they would stay in that job. And it would be a great experience. But oftentimes, it didn't work that way. Because lives don't. And, you know, circumstances from change. And so you have to roll with that too. But certainly, for me, it's like an experience of you know, helping people in those situations experience that sort of thing every politician should ever have. Because actually, you really see the impact of policy. You really see how much things like a little tweak to a Working Tax Credit can make when people are right on the breadline, but is considered a real privilege to be able to help people. And it was in those moments of actually the plan coming together, and helping people to find work that was absolutely transformative to their lives, that I realized that my life's purpose was in this work. You know, I think of a guy called Derrick who came to me and first time he indicated to me, he said, is, you know, is probably in his mid 50s, late 50s, perhaps you had neck problems and back problems. But the real reason why he was off work wasn't to do with his physical shape. It was to do with the fact that he had lost a lot of hope, I think about a better future for himself. And he said, RP, I, you know, was it was it was interesting, we're in an office in Stratford in East London that overlooked at that time, the Olympic size is being built, because not that had the Olympics in 2012. years would have been about 2008 2009 sort of time, so you could literally see outside, you could see the the Olympics are being built. And so people would say, oh, there's no jobs from EP and I'd say, yeah, look out there. The world is coming to Stratford, change the chain. But Derek, you said our Pete was finished outline, which I use on everyone going live? And he said, Yeah, well, I'm not sure about that. Because my factories to be out there. And that was the last time I work and they bulldoze it for the Olympic site, which put me back on my heels a little bit. But anyway, so we talked about it. We said, well, you know, do you want to work? Yeah, I do. I just don't think I ever will again. And I said, Well, why do you want to work? as well. You don't quite like working one but really the answer is I'm ashamed by our four grandkids LM ashamed to even see them because when it comes down to their birthdays or Christmas, I can't afford presents and don't feel like I'm a proper granddad to that. And I can't hold my head high. And that was a tough thing to hear. But then, but then we got to work, you know, so Well, what do you want to do? He said, I love history. I love history too. So, you know, often talking through bits of history and aromas and such, like, we weren't, well, okay, let's try and find your job work in the museum. So we wrote to every museum, and it's sort of reasonable public transport radius of his house. And he eventually ended up getting a job at the Greenwich Maritime Museum, doing sort of like janitorial work, which was fine, this conditioning was alright with that. And he loved it. He absolutely adored it. You know, he loved seeing particularly loved seeing that sort of groups of school kids coming along as part of their tours. And he just thought, yeah, I'm part of that I'm proud to kids learning about history, which is something I'm so passionate about. But at the moment, where it really came through to me was when he sent me a photo of him and his grandkids at Christmas with their presence, just like that. Yeah, if you can, if I do anything in my life, I've done that. Right. I think he had to do that more times over the net. And then you move into other roles, and you like wanting to set the conditions where that can happen more often. But that that kind of moment was a moment, I found my purpose, because I realized that it's just a spectacular privilege of being part of that journey. Michael Hingson ** 16:32 So does he realize today how much not only did you help him, but he helped you? Peter Bacon ** 16:40 Yeah, well, I'd love to one. I don't know. I think certainly, I would talk to him about that. I'd say look, you know, things like this are the reason why, you know, I get out of bed in the morning. Why I try so hard. And, you know, thank you for that. But, uh, but perhaps, yeah, perhaps there isn't a point there actually. It wasn't mutual. a mutual thing? Yeah. Well, Michael Hingson ** 17:06 you know, it's, it's interesting to really specialize in that, and really help people find jobs. What kind of barriers did people throw in your way? As you were trying to find these? These employment opportunities? I'm sure. Employers were oftentimes very skeptical and so on, as is usually the case. Yeah, Peter Bacon ** 17:31 employee employers, frankly. So we're talking about 15 years ago, is when I was on the front line. But yeah, we've not moved that forward that far since or, or at all, really, I've moved across the world and found some of the same issues, which is I think, it is just going to blame employers. And sometimes I do. But I think also, what we need to really do is look at everything that causes that to be the case, certainly, one of the things that you hear from employers is, oh, it's just going to be too hard. You know, this is going to be extra effort for me, I don't need extra effort. I don't need burden. To point out, why do you achieve that? We actually have things that we can do to make this easier. And, you know, in the case of something like that, there'll be a massive asset to your workforce, and you have their documents. But that's even if you get to the point where you can have those make those points to a decision maker. Ultimately, the problem is that institution means so many employers are set up not to make a commitment to disability employment. One of the worst things that we've seen, you know, talking about the last 1520 years, one of the worst things that we've seen is the over professionalization of HR and recruitment. So if you say, right, I'm going to be very specific about the box that the person must fit in order for them to get to an interview, eventually get the job. Well, unfortunately, a lot of the time that specificity, rules out diversity in the two things are inherently diametrically opposed sometimes. So actually, it's a systematic exclusion is the big problem that I see. And obviously, that goes to employees, but it also goes to society, education in general. We've got to be segregated, and we've got to address those systematic issues. So if we're going back to well, what do they hear from employers in that era? What do I hear from employers now? It's really the result of the systematic thing. So you hear I don't have anyone with disability in my workforce. So I don't know that I set out to do it. I'm like, you definitely do. You just don't you just haven't set up a situation where people feel psychologically safe to disclose that. And you've not asked probably, but you will have people in your your workforce who've got disability. And if they think that, then you get to a point where being diverse and being inclusive isn't normalized, it feels weird to people it feels alien. And so therefore, they don't think, Oh, actually, it's relatively simple to employ someone like Derek or someone like Michael some like Peter, because actually, they have a pretty good idea about, about how we can work with them to tailor the job to what they need. It's it's there's almost a mythology that creeps up around it. So you need to do mythologize that you to normalize. So I think there's all sorts of barriers that get thrown in the way the reality is employees aren't doing enough. But perhaps that's also a result of factors that are we as society or as government doing enough also to address those systematic issues. So it's, it's a, it is a complex and thorny one. But I think it's something that we all need to be battling. Michael Hingson ** 20:56 Well, it's interesting to, to talk about this and to hear what you're saying. Michael Hingson ** 21:05 Because it's, it is easy to get very frustrated at employers. But we all know that they're just as much a part of society and we're raised and brought up buying into certain myths that aren't really true. But the other part about it is, however, that CEOs and so on, often start their companies because they have a vision. And the problem is they don't carry that vision over to other things other than just whatever it is that they're creating or doing. So they don't vision, having people who are different becoming part of their workforce, even though the value that is brought by a person with disability is tremendous, such as we know how hard it is to get a job. We know the unemployment rates, and how serious they are. And so if we get a job, we really are pretty grateful overall to wanting to make sure we keep that job. Peter Bacon ** 22:05 Well, that's right. I mean, what's your what's your experience? Obviously, you know, you you're from America today, it's a different, it's a different economy. It's a different culture from Australia, or Britain that I've worked in what's been your experience of employers, and maybe some of the barriers that might have been in your way, Michael Hingson ** 22:22 I think the attitudes are really the same. That is people are overall, not nearly as excited about hiring people with disabilities, because as I describe it, people think that disability means a lack of ability, and we've got to get away from that. Disability is a characteristic and we all exhibit in our own ways, whether we are blind in a wheelchair, or sighted and rely on light to be able to function. Disability is something that we all have, in one way or another. It's a characteristic that everyone on the planet has. And until we get people to recognize that disability does not mean a lack of ability, and that just because some of us are different than others, it doesn't mean that we can't do the job, we are going to continue to have these problems wherever we are in the world. Peter Bacon ** 23:21 I think that's I think that's right. And I think it's only there's a couple of points that are made to that. One is, I think we need to bring up our kids better when it comes when it comes to actually understanding that point. I think you know, I've done it before we've you know, been walking through a shopping center, and, and someone will say, you know, you'll see a kid saying, Oh, look at that, you know anything about wheelchair, I want to go out and ask the person about the wheelchair. And their mom will be like, Oh, no, don't do that. Absolutely don't no, no, no. taboo, taboo. Yeah. Well, actually, that's not unhealthy. Michael Hingson ** 24:00 No, it's not at all. It promotes the fear. It promotes Peter Bacon ** 24:03 the fear and promotes of that person's alien. They're different from us in a way that I think a lot of other ways wouldn't be tolerated. You know, you know, if your employer says, I don't want to employ this person, because they're disabled, would they be allowed to say that? If it was because they're black? No, they wouldn't. Well, they're very well or not presented, but they will be seen immediately as as being racist, but people will say that openly about people with disability. And that's bigotry. But and with all bigotry, I'm afraid. You know, you've got to start with the way that we educate our kids, the way that we talk about society and as a community. So you've got to you've got to start there. And the second one is, and I think it's why the education is so important, because it's something I think a lot about is well, what should government be doing? I, particularly with employers, to put a thumb on the scale, because as far as I concerned, the kind of just let employers gradually engage with their subjects hasn't worked. Like, it's, it's going too slowly, like in Australia, the rate of disability employment, it's maybe shifted a little, but it's not shifted much over a couple of decades of investment. And why is that? It's because we have too little expectation of employee. So I think a lot about what should government be doing to bit of a carrot and stick approach, right, so, but if you go with the stick, what I worry about is, let's say you go, and some countries do, let's put quite as in place that you have to have, you know, in America, you probably call it servitude action, right? You have, you have to engage with this, you have to do it. And my worry is that if we haven't educated society enough, when you do that, is quite counterproductive, because it breeds a certain resentment. And I think, you know, if somebody if you feel I was someone got the leg up into the job only because of a quota, that can be problematic. So I think that well actually have to do if you're gonna do something like that, you have to do the education piece around it. And that also goes to people with disability around actually knowing that it's okay, if you're doing the leveling of the playing field. And I think back to I mentioned that 16 year old me earlier. And so then dyspraxia kick, in meant that, you know, I did exam to the, you know, I'm old enough that when I did exams, it was it was handwritten, exact. That was what was expected in the UK. And my handwriting is absolutely atrocious. I struggled to write legibly, but Michael Hingson ** 26:45 but still you should have been you should have been a doctor. Peter Bacon ** 26:49 Apart from my lack of ability of all things scientific. Sure. But yeah, my team often sort of like, oh, my gosh, yeah, they see me I'll go to the whiteboard to write something on it. And it'll be impenetrable to anyone but me, right? But because of that, if they give me an extra half an hour and exam if I wanted it, so it comes down at the end of every exam, and they'd say, Pete, do you want the extra half an hour? Every single time? I said, No. Why did I say no? One, because I didn't want other people to think that I've got great grades because I had a leg up. And two, I didn't want me to think that I did. I didn't want myself to go well, I only succeeded because I but now I've reflected that and go well at all, they were trying to do them as level the playing field. But you have to acknowledge that in leveling the playing field, you have might have to sit uncomfortably with the fact that to other people, it might look like you're getting an unfair advantage. So these are all all the things I think about when I think about well, how does the government put his thumb on the scale in a way that brings society with it in a way that we at the attitudes move in a positive way? Rather than we just set it up as a kind of zero sob? You know, resentment building kind of protests. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 28:15 Well, and we really need to understand what equality and leveling the playing field is all about. You're absolutely right. In colleges today, in Well, first of all, in this country, you really probably couldn't get away with saying, Well, I can't hire you because you you're disabled, or you have a disability. Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In fact, there's a television show that's been on here for several years called What would you do, and it's, it's hosted by a guy named John King Yonas on ABC television. And the idea behind the show was they would put actors in situations and portray different kinds of scenarios, to see how the people around them behaved. And so my favorite is still there is one where two deaf actresses and it was in part, their idea came into a coffee shop. Well, so they were just deaf students from Rochester Institute for the Deaf, but they came in to this coffee shop and there was an actor who played the barista. And what they did is they came up and they said they wanted a job and his his role was to consistently say, I can't hire you, I'm not going to hire you. And they say, why? Well, because you're deaf. You can't hear what I say. And just, you know, you can imagine all the things that that he would say, you know, I can't hire you and, and finally, and some people looked daggers at at him and a few people really reacted pretty violently about it. But one group of three HR people pulled him aside and said, Look, you're handling this all wrong. You can't say that the person's death well, but the person to put you can't Don't say that they have more rights than we do. What you do is you accept the application then just right, not a fit, and file it. Yeah. You know, and those are HR people. The reality is that so what they're saying is, it's open discrimination that they weren't practicing, as John Ken Jonas pointed out, but the problem is, it does happen all too often. And it does still continue. And we still have any number of cases that are litigated to try to deal with it. But it ultimately comes down to we're not including people with disabilities and the subject. In life conversations, we're still feared, we're not looked at the same way other people are. And so we're not included. And as a result, we continue to see the fear promulgated, like you said, about the mother saying, don't talk to that person in the wheelchair to the child. I've seen that happen a lot. Yeah. And my wife, who was in a wheelchair, her whole life, experience the same thing. Peter Bacon ** 31:10 And I'm sure she'd love to have been asked by small town to start to sort of break down those barriers. Michael Hingson ** 31:18 Yeah, we're not breaking it down nearly as much as we can, or should I mean, look how fast we started dealing with LGBTQ and other things. Although there's and of course, the backlash of the people who hate that. But still, it's at least being talked about, it's at least out in the open. And we're almost to the end of October, which is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. And honestly, I have yet to see on any of the major TV networks in the news, or any of the shows, discussions about it. And that's what happens every single year. Peter Bacon ** 31:55 You're so right. I mean, it's a really in Australia, it's actually I think we're having an important moment, it's still not as prominent as I'd like it to be. But what we just had his we just had what we call a Royal Commission here with and that's sort of the big, well funded commissions. That happened every few years into critical issues. And this one was what we call the shorthand it phrase, the disability Royal Commission, but it was really looking at the whole piece around exclusion, and exploitation and abuse of people with disability in the system. And the reason why it's an important moment, is because that Royal Commission reported down that Australia is systematically excluded excluding people with disability from mainstream life. And that results in some terrible things, it certainly results in the kind of things we've been talking about in terms of, you know, worse economic outcomes. But it also involves things like people be absolutely abused the system. So, and it's harrowing to think about, it's harrowing to read. But it's important, because you've got to name the problem before you start dealing with it. And the problem is that systematic exclusion, so a number of things are going to come out of that report, as they're forming your task force on the back of it, there is some, the headline thing is the desegregation of education, which will sort of happen over the coming decades, because it's not easy to change it. But obviously, that's about getting rid of dual systems of schooling and properly funding, inclusive schooling with a mainstream education. But there's also things there, like the entering ending of sheltered workshops where people with disability are paid to the very, you know, I made to sort of, you know, it's a job, but it's at a rate far less than national minimum wage, to do routine jobs. So there's things like that. But also, there's things that sort of, I think, hit on the world of the immediate world of disability employment, too. So I see this is a moment where everyone Australia can say, actually, we know because they met $600 million review has happened into the way that we treat people with Australia, disability in Australia. And that fundamentally, the way that we treat people disability is a disgrace. And let's start changing that. Let's let this be the moment where we say, Ah, that was the moment where the government pivoted where society got on board and we've really changed things for the better. And those things unfortunately, you can't you can't change the way that society others thinks about people with disability as being alien, or there's going to be can't do it overnight. Right. But the best way to do it is to name it and to start working on it. So to have those points around how do we start doing it? I think actually calling it out for what it is. And then moving on from there is an important moment for Australia. Michael Hingson ** 35:20 I think that is definitely a good start. And one of the things that I think would be very helpful is if the Commission as they're going through and talking about solutions, would make sure that part of what they do is include disability education, in the school system, we've got to start teaching children about it. And we've got to start teaching children, not to fear disabilities, not to fear people with disabilities. And to understand all it really means is they're different. Yeah, Peter Bacon ** 35:52 I think that's that's exactly right. I think the desegregation of schools is part of that. But you're right. But to train kids to do that, you also need to train their teachers to think like that. You need to train the parents to think like that. And I think you're right, it's exactly that it's about going well, actually, we're all different. We all have different things that we bring to the table, we all have different challenges. Don't Don't other people don't go, oh, just because someone's in a wheelchair. That's the fact that's their defining characteristic. It isn't. It isn't it? is their way of getting round. Michael Hingson ** 36:31 Makes it as part of what makes them who they are. But it's just a part, just like yeah, short people aren't going to make great centers in basketball, or probably not unless they can jump real high. But the reality is that, that we all have gifts, and we all need to be able to use the gifts that we have. And it's important to recognize that I've talked several times on this podcast about how I say everyone has a disability. And for most people, your light dependent, if the power goes out, you guys are in a world of hurt until you find a new light source. But that doesn't mean that you don't have a disability says that mostly because we've really concentrated on making light on demand part of our lives, you don't generally have the problem. But I've seen it happen all too often where the power goes out and people don't know what to do. They start screaming, and they may or may not find a flashlight or a smartphone to turn on to get light. But that's the first thing they want to do is to get light. I don't need to do that. Peter Bacon ** 37:36 No, no. And you know, that might might be one of the reasons why, you know, when you know that in the Twin Towers, you actually were able to deal with things currently. Michael Hingson ** 37:47 Not really, because we had power and lighting all the way down. The reason that I was able to deal with it was that I learned what to do in an emergency. And it created I learned it so deeply and so well, that it created a mindset in me. Because I was imagining all sorts of things above us, when we saw people coming down the stairs, past us who were burned and so on. We can only imagine what was going on up above. But, you know, I was on the south side of the building when it was hit on the north side. And the belt building was hit 18 floors above us. So as people you know, people always say, Well, of course you didn't know you couldn't see it, excuse me, nobody could Superman and X ray vision were are not real yet. And the fact is, as we were going down the stairs, nobody knew what was going on. I was the first one with a group near me that figured out, we were smelling something and I figured out it was the fumes from burning jet fuel. But what we still didn't really know. And the reality is it's not a matter of eyesight. But for me getting down was all about having knowledge. I didn't rely on needing to read signs to know what to do. I already knew what to do. Peter Bacon ** 39:00 You and that is an example of how to you had a strength, you're prepared. You know which which I think again, is goes to how different people have different challenges and different strengths, but because of who they are. And that strength, it's a blight. So it's an incredibly powerful and patient example of that. And I think when we think about the workplace and again, it's about understandings of understandings of disability. And it's not just that I speak to employers, and they go, alright, well. I don't have anyone working here with disability because I don't have anyone in the wheelchair. And I say, what well are the 4% of people with disability near the wheel wheelchair, that's just like one element. Yeah. And, and so, you know, they say, Oh, well, I don't want you know, art or they might say, Oh, well, you know on disability accessible, I've put in ramps everywhere. And I like good. I'm glad you've put in ramps everywhere good stuff. However that is that is not it? And then the conversation goes well actually one is one is the most important thing that we can do to be close to people with disability. And I say actually, it's about approach. It's about attitude. It's about well, actually, am I going to do exactly what you said, which is take people as they come and say, Well, what are you good at? And one of the things that we're going to need to think about in terms of the way that we manage you. So you might get somebody you know, I've had this and the job was always had that conversation, I say, How can I help you to thrive in work? What can help you flourish here? And so I might say, Well, I'm basically fine. But I do get quite acute stress, and anxiety. And here's the times when that happens. These are my triggers. So one of them, it might be doing a big presentation. And so and so then you then you get into a real conversation about how to manage someone, it's not really about disability, although you might, if it's significant enough, it might be classed as disability is a base about how to manage somebody within their full self. So so this person might say, well, actually my triggers big presentation. So you said right, okay, so Are we avoiding in presentations, then? No. But what I might need is a day free before that clear to make sure I'm absolutely 100% prepared, is that will mitigate my anxiety? Okay, well, what we'll do is we're going to block out your diary, for a day before we get to those big presentations. That's fine. And I think that, you know, it's, it's that point about actually just managing the whole person. So you can bring your whole self to work. You got some great strengths that we want to maximize, you got some challenges that we need to think about mitigate whatever. And that's the biggest change that most employees can make to actually get the biggest workplace adaptation that you can make. And I think that's one of the main things that I'm saying to employers, and then they go, I can do that. That's fine. I can do that. Well, go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 42:12 Well, the other thing, it seems to me is if I, if I find a person who was very stressed out, because they were afraid of doing big presentations, and they needed a day to prepare, but then they came in and did the best presentation I ever saw. I would want to start giving that person more big presentations, and more days to prepare, because eventually, they're going to realize they don't need a day to prepare anymore. They're used to doing it, which is another part of the process. People always say one of their biggest fears is public speaking. And I'm sure people say to me, and would say to me, Well, you're not afraid because you can't see the audience. Look, my first presentation, after September 11 was two weeks. And a day later, I had been invited to speak at a church service in central New Jersey. And I asked the pastor, how many people were going to be at this outdoor service 6000. I knew the number. I knew what that meant. Don't tell me about whether I can see them or not. I knew they were there. But it did. It didn't matter. Because I was used to talking to people in a variety of different kind of public situations. But I realized that a lot of people are afraid of public speaking, because that's what they've been taught. That's what they've been told, is one of our greatest fears. And we've got to get away from doing so much to teach people how to be afraid. Peter Bacon ** 43:40 Yeah, I think that's that's exactly right, to teaching people how to be afraid, but also teaching people that difference. Difference is something to be afraid of. I mean, the whole of human history is a litany of being afraid of difference, and then acting in terrible ways because of it. You know, to get to the point about politics, like who are the politicians who are who are least like that we need to get to political? Yeah, it is those who seek to amplify those divisions, or create new divisions where none existed, right? That that is the most awful thing that people can do. And unfortunately, it's still wielded as a weapon like that, to this day. I suspect the next US presidential election, that's going to be a big part of it. And the more that we do that, the harder we're going to be able to get away from this actual where it is get to is just common sense. And we are all people. We're all here trying to live good lives. Doesn't matter whether you've got a disability, what the color of your skin is, any of those things, that we are all different and that's good. It is not bad. And I think getting to that realization runs to the heart of where disability employment is which is Disability Employment is good. Being an employer, we have a diverse staff is good, I can show you the numbers. But really, I want you to believe it in your heart more than I want you to believe it in your mind. Because that's where real change happens. And Michael Hingson ** 45:13 that's where we have to go, we have to recognize that part of the cost of doing business should and is inclusion, whatever that means. I mean, we provide coffee machines for people, we provide monitors for people. The National Federation of the Blind is the largest consumer organization of blind people in the United States. And they pay a hefty electric bill every month at the National Center in Baltimore, Maryland, for the sighted people who work there to be able to have lights. Yeah, those are those of us who are blind. And those who work there who are blind, don't need the lights. But the other people do the light dependent people. So whose disability are we providing an accommodation for the real? Peter Bacon ** 46:01 Nice adaptation? Yeah, good estimate the workplace adaptation for the site? I think. Yeah, it Michael Hingson ** 46:05 is. It is, it's a reasonable accommodation for sighted people who are light dependent. So I love to use light dependent instead of sighted people because that's the disability that we we have to deal with, for all of you. And it is it is still, you know, something that is so rarely really discussed. But speaking of differences, and so on what decided to take you away from London to Australia? Peter Bacon ** 46:34 The short answer is love. Which is the best answer, isn't it? Yeah, my wife's Australia. So Nicola, we met we met in the UK, we both work for a company I work for that it just is an Australian company, both work there and, you know, sort of got together there. And then the Bentley sort of production point of having found in that kind of thing. And it's really well, where do you want to bring up your family. And for us, Australia, it's great, great place to bring up your family, you know, they got good weather, we were walking distance for the beach, it's a great place to bring up kids. And I was also offered the opportunity to move. Yeah, I sort of want to look at the mate said. So. It's always made for me in the stories, isn't it, mate said. Others. There's a job out here with your name on it, Pete, which is sort of heading up strategy for not for profit, we've had significant disability employment services. So that was part of what I was looking at. But also there was other things that I was doing to which I was quite a joy when I was there. Clearly, I said a pub. Obviously, in Australia, we had the terrible bushfires four years ago now, you know, burned a huge amount of land. Yeah, scarred families, economies. And like, you know, the sad part of Southern New South Wales, particularly where, you know, did quite a lot of work for my previous employer. And the trauma that's there from that entire experience is absolutely palpable. And so being part of a nonprofit that had a significant presence in that world, but you know, they're headquartered Campbell pays for company was headquartered in Batemans. Bay, which is right at the heart of when it was buyers here. I was I was trying to do something positive. So what we did is we set up a social enterprise, which was about doing Bush regeneration, giving jobs training, to really disadvantaged people, many young people, but not exclusively in that area. But there was a lot of big bush regeneration to be done a lot of planting a lot of just work to, to make sure that healthy landscape again. And so yeah, that was that was, well, you know, we've got some good funding and to do that, we've pivoted a bit commercial social enterprise to and so and suddenly, I really enjoyed to the idea of becoming more of a job creator as well as just an advocate for disability, Clomid. That's your job creation was was great. And also, you know, we had a very diverse team, they're physically, you know, hard to get people with sort of major physical conditions into Bush regeneration jobs, but certainly people pretty significant disabilities, psychosocial conditions, etc. And there's opportunity for them to learn the craft of how you look after the land around you how you connect to that land and strengthen it. And so that was something which I did when I was there that I really enjoyed. Michael Hingson ** 49:49 So what's the organization that you work for now? 49:51 So now I work for an organization called Disability Employment Australia. So I've been co there for eight for nine months now. And our job is to represent was I always think that we have sort of two key sort of stakeholders in this. So the first is, we are the Industry Association for providing the Disability Employment Services in Australia, what that includes those who deliver what we call death, disability employment service, but also other services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme. And then our call beneficiary, which is, of course, people with disability, making sure that we are holding the government to account when it comes to making sure that it's doing all the right things, in terms of policy settings for people with disability, and importantly, that we're leading the charge when it comes to doing things like getting employees to engage with diversity and inclusion. So, yeah, that's here to work for now. Michael Hingson ** 50:56 Wow. So you, you sound like you really love it? And do you get to influence the government a lot? Because of what you do? 51:05 I'd like to think so. You know, it's recently had the year of, of government, of ministers and state departments. So, yes, I think we have a pretty good voice to government. And there's lots of relatively important things where we've been influential. So if you look at say, the Royal Commission report that I was referencing earlier, there's quite a few things in there that we, disability, Australia, have been advocating for, like the institution of a Disability Forum and center for excellence. Like it's there's some technical things around the level of mutual obligation, which is effectively sanctions regimes that people with disability have if they don't engage, which we are in favor of limiting. Also, things like eligibility or support from government, require influential and so so yeah, I think we have the year of government. We're just a small organization, though. So we need to punch above our weight. But but also, we importantly, have very good relationships with our members. So we are able to be quite influential in helping them to collaborate and to work on things that are cross sectoral. So for example, we are currently about to launch a new training module, which is there a micro credential for all disability employment professionals in the field of Australia. So we're doing quite a lot to raise the standards in our industry, too. Michael Hingson ** 52:50 Were you involved in doing any of the work with the Commission? Or how did how did you have input to help that? 52:57 Yeah, so they had a series of hearings or consultations, as well as opportunities to pull in submissions. And, you know, da were did testify at those hearings, and provided a lot of submissions around around these issues of employment, obviously, employment is only one relatively small element of what they were, they were looking at it from a whole system's perspective. But yeah, so do a pilot that we're constantly making policy submissions on on other items. So we have something called the National Disability Insurance Scheme here. It's a major thing. Which funds support for people with disability lifelong disability, where they get better chunks of funding that they can administer, and spend on the things they need to live a more independent and happy life. And there's many great things about that scheme. really supportive of it. But it's something that's been implemented over the last decade, and it certainly has some improvements that can be made. And some of those improvements, for example, are in the world of employment and how it actually claimant to participants of the NDIS can receive more support and support when it comes to employment. So that's the kind of thing was we're making policy submissions into a lot. Michael Hingson ** 54:25 What kind of global lessons, 54:30 global lessons that we can learn from, what you're doing, or just global lessons in general that you feel that we need to tell the world more about, and encourage the world to adopt. 54:41 But I think there's two things I talked about. One is, I think we probably need to get a bit better at sharing. It's funny because, you know, I speak to people I email or colleagues from from other countries of the world. And we're dealing with the same things, you know, especially those kind of Western The veteran style developed economies, right. So I went to the World Association's post employment conference in Vancouver in June of this year. And I was struck by the similarities and the fact that actually workforce participation rates, people with disability are consistently at that sort of mid 50s type rate. I think I'm slightly better at a macro, actually. But that might be sort of the way that you count unemployment. But there's a lot of similarities, then we need to share. So one thing I'm quite excited about is I am on the board of the World Association supported employment. And in four years time, the global conference is coming to Australia. And it's a workout with Sydney, we're going to host a live but it's coming to Australia. So that's a good example of where we collaborate. But in terms of the lessons of what works, and global literature review, and speaking with colleagues and that kind of thing, the big thing I would say, is that you can talk all you like about technology and all sorts of WIZO innovations. But the reality is, there's nothing more powerful than the humans helping humans. That's, that's the reality is, if you've got somebody who needs a bit of support, find a job to overcome their challenges. Having somebody who read he's got a bit of expertise, who really cares, he wants to build a relationship, and they share that journey together. That is a most important thing that you can do. Obviously, there are variables in there like how well trained is that other staff have experienced? Are they? Do you have access and technology that maybe helps that Job Search work better? How are your relationships with employers, all those things count? But most important of all, is have you got a really committed human helping that other human? Because that's where you see transformations. Michael Hingson ** 56:54 We've talked a lot about attitudes, which I think is absolutely appropriate, and probably the biggest thing we face. But at the same time, what's the role of Technology and Disability Employment and making it better? Do you think? 57:09 I think it's a really interesting question. And one that I'm grappling with, I think, you look at any of the sorts of papers about the future directions of economies, etc. And you see, our world is higher skilled jobs, AI or that kind of thing. And I think AI certainly is, is it is an opportunity, because the ability to work within those systems is not restricted to geography. So I think that's something which, as it evolves, could be a really great thing for people with disability who are who want work, also can do things like overtime, it will improve things like job matching, all that kind of thing to make to take a bit of friction out of that system. But the biggest development, and one, which I hadn't necessarily foreseen is the flexibility that workplaces are now taking primarily because the pandemic happened. You know, it's funny, you know, you spend years talking to businesses about actually you can change your business model, you can be more flexible, you can use remote working more, and again, and that to heart that if we need to do that it'd be a five year change management project. And then the pandemic happens. Yeah. And they do it within two weeks. Michael Hingson ** 58:35 And I was only asking you about whether you thought that the pandemic made a significant difference in disability employment and just the world in general. And you're talking about that. Go ahead. I Peter Bacon ** 58:45 think so. I think it has, because I think it means that the idea, I mean, it's kind of things Firstly, more people are working at home, I'm calling in, I can see you're you're in your house, I mean by house. Five years ago, at least I would have been in my office, right. So that so the fact that we're now working that hybrid way or the remote way, certainly erodes the importance of geography in a way, which I think is important for people with disability and respect for everyone, frankly. And that's a pretty big change. However, one of the things around that that I think about quite a lot is that firstly, it tends to apply more to people who already have a job. So as you there's a relatively small percentage of jobs that are advertised with flexibility of that, compared to the number of jobs, we've actually done flexibly if you know what I mean. So if you're in a job and you say, right, okay, can I have an extra day a week to work at home? Lots of employers will accommodate that. However, they won't necessarily advertise the fact that they're to do so. The other thing is around the types of jobs so So, obviously people with disabilities at all different types of jobs, but the ones who are unemployed tend to go in at those relatively low levels, not exclusively by any means, but tend to. And then you hope there's an opportunity to build up from there. But again, those jobs, which are at the relatively low levels tend to be the ones with less flexibility. I think it's notable that, you know, we talked a lot around the sort of key personnel, key service workers during COVID. And then all the ones those were people badly paid, but have to be present. And I think there's a reality there, which really to think through a little bit more about how the benefits of flexibility can accrue to people working at all levels of the labor market, and how we can also be upfront advertised flexibility as a component of the role, rather than something that has to be asked for what what somebody's in the room? Yeah, well, Michael Hingson ** 1:00:58 and the problem is, I see both sides of that, because they're all too many people who try to take too much advantage of things. And so it is an issue, but at the same time, we do need to recognize that there is a value and be more flexible than we have. And I think we're seeing more that in reality, it's a good thing to let people have some time to work at home, less stress. So many things happen if you do that, right. 1:01:29 Ah, yeah, absolutely. And for all sorts of reasons. In my personal case, it gives me more talent for kids exactly, like more than out to get into the city. You know, that's three hours each day that I get back to spend with my children. But that's, you know, kids aren't young for long. That's massive. So, so there's huge advantages. And that's great for my well being, which makes me a more productive worker be you know, so there's huge advantages to do that. Yeah, maybe people might take advantage sometimes. But it's your good boss, you have an understanding of the output of people working for you. And you understand what acceptable looks like and what not acceptable looks like I think, Michael Hingson ** 1:02:13 well, yes, it's right. If you're a good boss, you, you deal with the people who are taking advantage of it. And hopefully, they they grow to understand. 1:02:25 Yeah, that's right. And, you know, and you can, you can always have a look at the, the way that you extend the flexibility. But But overall, I did, and is a, a massively important part of what's happened over the over the past five years. But also, we should not ignore that lesson of how quickly employers can pivot if they need to, if they need to. Yeah, all those businesses like, you know, the ones that make gin, who are making hammers that hand sanitizer, within a week of having to do it, by when they need to, when there's an economic imperative to do so. Businesses can change fast. So what's the implication for Disability Employment one is around flexibility. But the second is, if you really wanted to pivot to being a fantastic inclusive employer, people with disabilities, you can change quickly. Yep, it's not this thing that is a five year change management project as Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 1:03:23 I agree. What are your hopes for the future in terms of disability employment type services, and so on? I am hopeful. 1:03:35 And I think we have to be in the kind of work that we do. So from an Australian perspective, and is to that point, which I made earlier around, there was a moment here, where we've admitted what the problem is. And that problem is systematic exclusion. If we start from that premise, and start building from that premise, I think there's a lot of hope. If we go well, actually, what we need to do exactly, as you say, is address education and awareness and attitudes. That's a great start. If we start disaggregating ourselves, that will be these are things that are actually the building blocks to changing the way that disability employment works. Beyond that, I think I have a moment and the kind of people I work with in my movement, to really lobby government are making substantive change that will change the prospects for people with disability when it comes to employment. So this point around, you know, can I get to the government saying, right, you need to put the thumb on you no need to put your thumb on the scale when it comes to employers and how much they're engaging. That conversation is now open. When I go to the, you know, government and say, You need to be better employers of people with disability, your your right to employ people disability or pitiful. Well, they are going to need to change, you know, so I think we are in a moment now. Certainly in Australia, where we've named the problem. We know that it can't be swept under the carpet. And we can start dealing with it. So that makes me very hopeful for the future. globally. It's a classic case of you know, the certain Lucic Martin Luther King quote about the the Ark of moral justice being being long, but it doesn't waver on a straight line. I think that's, I think, I think that's where we're at, like, I think I th
Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Become a patron and enjoy special perks and bonus content.Michelle Griep joins us once again on the podcast, this time to talk about her latest release, Man of Shadow and Mist. This Victorian Gothic romance is absolutely fabulous from the first delicious line to the final, satisfying ending. Our topics on the episode ranged from superstitions to Dracula, who inspired the book, to her new puppy Winston. You'll get to find out why she named him that. There's a very special bonus for patrons who get to discover Michelle's talent for baking brownies. Only patrons will get the details on that recipe! Man of Shadow and Mist by Michelle Griep“The world seems full of good men—even if there are monsters in it.”–Bram Stoker, Dracula England, 1890 Vampires are alive and well in North Yorkshire, leastwise in the minds of the uneducated. Librarian Rosa Edwards intends to drive a stake through the heart of such superstitions. But gossip flies when the mysterious Sir James Morgan returns to his shadowy manor. The townsfolk say he is cursed. James hates everything about England. The weather. The rumours. The scorn. Yet he must stay. His mother is dying of a disease for which he's desperately trying to find a cure—an illness that will eventually take his own life. When Rosa sets out to prove the dark gossip about James is wrong, she discovers more questions than answers. How can she accept what she can't explain—especially the strong allure of the enigmatic man? James must battle a town steeped in fear as well as the unsettling attraction he feels for the no-nonsense librarian. Can love prevail in a town filled with fear and doubt?Get your copy of Man of Shadow and Mist.Michelle Griep is an author, blogger, and occasional super-hero when her cape is clean."Dare I be so bold as to call myself an author? Being that I'm one of those freaks who attended poetry workshops instead of summer camp during my formative years, yes, I will. While other teens busied themselves throwing parties when their parents weren't home, I was the nerd holed up in my room with pen and paper.Relatives. Can't shoot 'em. It's against the law, although I bet my husband and four children have been tempted now and again to put me in their crosshairs. I'm a wife of thirty-something years and mother of two sons and two daughters. And yes, it's true…boys are way easier than girls, unless drama is something you crave.I am one of those library-card wielding, mini-van driving, let's-take-a-jaunt-to-the-grocery-store and call it a field trip kind of homeschoolers. But allow me this disclaimer: I don't wear denim jumpers, and I farm out anything related to science or math. Bonus disclaimer: The last of my nestlings has flown the homeschooling nest, but I continue to tutor writing and offer workshops. What's the deal with me and Great Britain? Beats me. I'm as passionate about anything English as I am about chocolate and java. Oddly enough, I prefer Bronte over Austen, and if you'd like to debate the qualities of Typhoo versus PG Tips, feel free to e-mail me."Visit Michelle Griep's website.
Hey, remember the Cybertruck? Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company's futuristic electric vehicle way back in 2019. At the launch event, Tesla tried to show off the Cybertruck's "unbreakable windows" by hurling a metal ball at them. It promptly shattered the glass. Twice. It was an inelegant debut, but Tesla still seemed eager to develop the EV. Turns out, the Cybertruck had a few other design flaws as well. Leaked Tesla documents from January of 2022 have revealed an array of problems with the handling, braking, suspension, and chassis of the Cybertruck's prototype. Most of the Cybertruck's physical problems appear fixable, but auto industry experts are shocked that Tesla was still encountering so many issues at such a late point in the vehicle's development. This week on Gadget Lab, we're joined by WIRED staff writer Aarian Marshall and WIRED's innovations editor Jeremy White for a conversation about where the Cybertruck's development went wrong and how the EV's difficult birth affects Tesla's larger EV vision. Show Notes: Read Jeremy and Aarian's story about the leaked Tesla documents that revealed the Cybertruck's design flaws. Check out all WIRED's coverage of Tesla and electric vehicles. Recommendations: Aarian recommends Shokz Open Run headphones for running. Jeremy recommends that you get some proper tea, either loose leaf or PG Tips in paper bags. (And please only add the milk after you've poured in the hot water.) Mike recommends the podcast This Little Light, hosted by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Lauren recommends Jennifer Egan's book The Candy House and the documentary series Smartless On the Road on Max. Aarian Marshall can be found on Twitter @AarianMarshall. Jeremy White is @jeremywired. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode you'll learn why Unilever is creating "the world's largest beverage start up" and how the tea category can go from zero to hero.Daniel Ryan is part of the newly craeated Lipton Teas & Infusions company. With Brands like Lyons, PG Tips and Pukka, it is a global powerhouse in a category that has failed to cause a stir in recent years. As coffee has exploded Tea has gone cold. What can be done to change this and cow can the category really develop?On our Desert Island Drink segment, David Orren from GABA Labs explains how he and Prof. David Nutt are creating the ultimate replacement for ethanol. Support the showFor more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on Twitter or LinkedInBusiness of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show.
On this week's second instalment we look ahead to Sunday night's Oscars ceremony, talk through the main categories and give our thoughts on who should win, and who will win. We also find out what on earth Zach was saying, and have a little PG Tips chat. You can support us by buying us a beer. It's dead easy, just go to www.buymeacoffee.com/dadsonfilmpod Find our watch diaries with ratings on Letterboxd - letterboxd.com/gregsmith and letterboxd.com/davegash Get in touch on twitter and instagram @dadsonfilmpod or find out more over at www.anchor.fm/dadsonfilm
In this episode, we are drinking a colonial relic called the Rattle Skull that features a mixture of dark Caribbean rum and porter beer. This tavern-style concoction's popularity matches the era of STEPHANIE'S scandal.
The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo
A'lo, guv'nor! Grab a steaming cup of PG Tips, take your place in the queue, stuff your face with bangers & mash, and use the trusty National Health Service to check up on that rash that simply won't go away! Come and join Trixie and Katya as they travel to merry 'ol England for a live show at the historic Troxy theater! From insulting the locals for their consumption of blood sausage to detailed stories of hand-based romantic acts, this episode has it all! Happy Holidays to one and all! Head to SquareSpace.com for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, go to https://Squarespace.com/BALD to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain! Alexa customers can listen to A Christmas Carol narrated by Hugh Grant on Alexa for free the entire month of December. Just say, “Alexa, read A Christmas Carol…” Offer only available in the U.S. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions with Rocket Money today. Go to https://www.RocketMoney.com/BALD Seriously, it could save you HUNDREDS per year! Sign up at Firstleaf today and you'll get your first 6 bottles for $39.95 plus free shipping. Go to https://TryFirstleaf.com/BALD This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Learn more about BetterHelp online therapy and save 10% off your first month at https://www.BetterHelp.com/BALD Collaborate with Canva for Teams today! Right now, you can get a FREE 45-day extended trial when you go to https://Canva.Me/BALD Visit https://www.Rakuten.com or download the app to earn cash back when you shop at thousands of stores! You can start saving today! Follow Trixie: @TrixieMattel Follow Katya: @Katya_Zamo To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/TrixieKatyaYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/baldandthebeautifulpodcast If you want to support the show, and get all the episodes ad-free go to https://thebaldandthebeautiful.supercast.com/ If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/baldandthebeautifulpodcast To check out the Trixie and Katya Live Tour, go to: https://trixieandkatya.com To pre-order your copy of our new book, "Working Girls", go to: workinggirlsbook.com To check out the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, CA: https://www.trixiemotel.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Allo, govna! Live from a cheeky little pub in Islington—it's our London stage debut! Fill a mug of PG Tips and join Westminster's naffiest lords and ladies as we gab with iconic comedienne Michelle Collins, taste Graham Norton's wine, and dive into the folds of noted British lesbian of the stage and screen, Miriam Margolyes, and her hefty diary “This Much Is True.” From rowboat handjobs to sexy with your landlady, resenting your Harry Potter riches to Lily's foot dysmorphia—it's a smashing good time, mate! BAFTA not included.PLUS! In the VIP Lounge out this Friday, the gals break down all the food, bev and gossip from their European tour. Subscribe now at patreon.com/cbcthepodThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/cbc and get on your way to being your best self. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Are you a tea drinker? If so, you're not alone. Every day around the world millions of cups of this popular brew are drunk, and it's been that way for thousands of years. The oldest discovered tea is from the Han Dynasty, dating from 206BC to 220AD. But it's thought that the tea trend really took off during the Tang Dynasty in the 8th Century, when it became China's national drink. Now, Turkey, the Republic of Ireland and the UK are believed to be the biggest tea-drinking nations, per capita.你是一个喝茶的人吗？如果是这样，你并不孤单。全世界每天都有数百万杯这种流行的啤酒被喝掉，几千年来一直如此。发现的最古老的茶来自汉代，可追溯到公元前 206 年至公元 220 年。但人们认为，茶的风潮在 8 世纪唐代才真正兴起，成为中国的国饮。现在，土耳其、爱尔兰共和国和英国被认为是人均最大的饮茶国家。Tea is consumed in many ways – slurped, sipped or glugged. It can be poured from pots, infused or brewed in the cup using tea bags – and it's this latter process that is causing concern. Research last year found some premium tea bags might be leaving billions of microscopic plastic particles in the cup. Scientists from McGill University in Montreal found that some ‘plastic' tea bags shed high levels of microplastics into water. However, The World Health Organization says such particles in drinking water do not appear to pose a risk.茶的消费方式有很多种——啜饮、啜饮或吞咽。它可以从罐子里倒出来，用茶包泡在杯子里或泡在杯子里——正是后一种过程引起了人们的关注。去年的研究发现，一些优质茶包可能会在杯子中留下数十亿个微小的塑料颗粒。蒙特利尔麦吉尔大学的科学家发现，一些“塑料”茶包会将大量微塑料排放到水中。然而，世界卫生组织表示，饮用水中的此类颗粒似乎不会构成风险。Most tea bags are made from paper, with a small amount of plastic used to seal them shut – made from oil. This has led to debate about whether they can be recycled, but many are still composted. However, gardener Mike Armitage has told the BBC that the plastic contained in the soil could be washed into streams and rivers and ultimately out to sea.大多数茶包是用纸做的，用少量的塑料来密封它们——用油做的。这引发了关于它们是否可以回收的争论，但许多仍然是堆肥。然而，园丁迈克·阿米蒂奇告诉 BBC，土壤中的塑料可能会被冲入溪流和河流，最终流入大海。Unilever, the owners of the tea brand PG Tips, said their tea bags are made with a small amount of plastic – used to seal them – and that they are suitable for composting. And the brand Yorkshire Tea said their bags do contain 25% polypropylene, but they were “actively developing plant-based and biodegradable alternatives”.茶叶品牌 PG Tips 的所有者联合利华表示，他们的茶包是用少量塑料制成的——用来密封它们——它们适合堆肥。约克郡茶品牌表示，他们的袋子确实含有 25% 的聚丙烯，但他们“正在积极开发基于植物和可生物降解的替代品”。While tea bag manufacturers might be doing their bit to reduce plastic pollution, it could be a good time to switch your favourite beverage to coffee, or if that isn't your cup of tea then try using loose-leaf tea, which can have a better flavour.虽然茶包制造商可能会尽其所能减少塑料污染，但现在可能是将您最喜欢的饮料换成咖啡的好时机，或者如果这不是您的一杯茶，那么请尝试使用散叶茶，它可以更好的味道。词汇表tea drinker 喜欢喝茶的人brew 茶drink 饮品consume 喝，饮用slurp 咕嘟咕嘟地喝sip 小口喝，抿glug 大口喝pour 倒pot 壶infused 泡（茶）brewed 冲泡tea bag 茶包premium 高级的，优质的microplastics 微塑料drinking water 饮用水compost 把…制成堆肥polypropylene 聚丙烯biodegradable 可生物降解的beverage 饮料not be someone's cup of tea 非某人所好，不合某人的心意loose-leaf tea 散装茶叶
Who Dropped The Popcorn? Episode 28 - Nope (2022)This episode's choice is Andy's, who has chosen Jordan Peele's 2022 Neo-Western science fiction horror film, Nope, starring the brilliant Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun.Listen in as we're joined by friend of the show, Will Hunter, and the group is hugely divided by this film!We also talk about Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Peele's other films Get Out and Us, Akira and PG Tips!So sit back, relax, don't let the flying vajayjay reverse birth you and welcome to Who Dropped The Popcorn!0:00 - The Start6:19 - Andy's Articulate Analysis10:30 - Miserable McHugh17:30 - Shafi calls Dave.... "David"???21:28 - Close Encounters43:50 - One Words Reviews50:25 - Dave's film choice for the next episode54:00 - FinPlease leave a LIKE and a REVIEW on your podcast app and we'll read it out on the show! Apple podcasts, Spotify and the Goodpods App are the best place to do this!You can also hit us up at via the Popcorn Postbag at whodroppedthepopcorn@gmail.com or slide into our social DM's below! We'd love to know your thoughts of the show, the films we've chosen, film suggestions for future episodes or anything else!Please SUBSCRIBE so you never miss an episode!Contact us on:TWITTERINSTAGRAMYOUTUBETIKTOKBUY US A COFFEE!LINKTREEDon't worry about the chimpanzee!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/who-dropped-the-popcorn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Late last year Unilever reached a $5 billion deal to sell part of its tea business, including brands like Lipton and PG Tips, to private equity giant CVC Capital. But the tea sector is a complicated one. With roots in colonialism, tea plantations around the world have faced many issues, including accusations of human rights abuses. In this week's episode, we're hearing from one worker whose life was forever changed by violence on her plantation, and exploring how this deal represents a new challenge for PE as investors are increasing their scrutiny into the private equity industry's ethics. Clips courtesy of Unilever, Al Jazeera, AP- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For further reading:How Unilever's tea business became a test of private equity's conscienceBidders for Unilever's tea business pulled out on plantation concernsCVC pushes back IPO plans amid market turmoil- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sign up here to get the Moral Money premium newsletter sent straight to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Twitter, follow Judith Evans (@JudithREvans), Kaye Wiggins (@kayewiggins) and Michela Tindera (@mtindera07) Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
David Levin, Co-Founder and Creative Director at “That Lot”, an award-winning, platform-first social creative agency is this week's guest on BWB.After working as a writer at MTV and freelance for a number of brands, David's initial foray into social came when he set up a spoof Twitter account for his local Hackney pub which attracted a cult following and was named Time Out's ‘Best London Twitter'.He was then asked to write and create social content for numerous brands and broadcasters including PG Tips, Adidas and BBC One's The Voice which broke BBC records for engagement.David specialises in nailing tone of voice and creating shareable social formats, many of which have contributed towards some major wins for That Lot's clients such as making Channel 4 the most viewed UK broadcaster on Facebook.Expect the usual BWB drilling into what made David's career tick and grow and the challenges he's faced along the way.Check out David Levin's recommendations:GARY VEE'S AUDIO EXPERIENCE Rory Sutherland's On Brand PodcastP DIDDY'S HONOUR YOURSELF PodcastBWB is powered by Oury Clark.
❗您的一杯咖啡錢 = 我們遠大的目標！捐款支持我們：https://pse.is/3jknpx
HEAR THE HEADLINES – Ekaterra Tea Underway | India Steps up Efforts to Halt Illegal Imports | Chinese Archaeologists Discover Oldest Tea Yet | NEWSMAKER – John Davison, CEO ekaterra tea | FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Singapore for a conversation with John Davison, CEO of ekaterra tea, soon to be the largest tea company in the world. Ekaterra is currently a division of Unilever that houses 34 tea brands including Lipton, PG Tips, TAZO, Brooke Bond, Pukka, and Red Rose. In November CVC Capital Partners, a multi-billion private equity firm headquartered in Luxembourg, paid $5.1 billion for ekaterra tea, outbidding several competitors and establishing a valuation based on 14x earnings before taxes and depreciation. Regulatory and antitrust reviews will take six months to complete. Ekaterra's First Steps – John Davison joined Unilever in March 2021 to carve out the company's underperforming tea portfolio. Davison discusses the urgency of improving tea quality and adopting sustainable initiatives along the entire supply chain. Listen to his plans for reenergizing the world's largest tea company.
In this episode we interview Goldsboro Books Glass Bell-winning author Clare Whitfield, whose debut re-imagines the Jack the Ripper murders, discuss the fate of the PG Tips tea chimps, and investigate awkward plurals.
www.DogCastRadio.comYou can share a cuppa with your canine and keep your dog happy and healthy thanks to Woof & Brew. Treat your dog to a Christmas treat or an everyday tonic. Co-founder Steve Bennett talks about his inspiration and his love for his rescue dogs. Steve also runs Dog Friendly, helping dog owners to find genuinely dog friendly venues in the UK.
www.DogCastRadio.comYou can share a cuppa with your canine and keep your dog happy and healthy thanks to Woof & Brew. Treat your dog to a Christmas treat or an everyday tonic. Co-founder Steve Bennett talks about his inspiration and his love for his rescue dogs. Steve also runs Dog Friendly, helping dog owners to find genuinely dog friendly venues in the UK.
Welcome to episode six of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this episode, hosts Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino talk about the sacred practice of drinking tea, and why it's important in a world where grabbing a cup of tea on the go seems to be the norm. Over a cup of genmai (cloud tea), they discuss bringing the energy of mindfulness into daily life with a cup of tea; sitting with a cup of tea and its power to bring people together; the ceremony behind this daily habit and why enjoying making tea is just as important as drinking it.Brother Phap Huu recalls making his first cup of tea for Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, as his attendant, and doing so again years later, after Thay's stroke. The brother explains why drinking tea is so significant in a Zen monastery; how to feel at home with a tea kit; and why one should offer and receive a cup of tea with both hands. There's even an in-depth exploration of the types of tea drunk in Plum Village. Jo recollects Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies and why he poured tea into the ink. He discusses transformative moments in simple gestures, and shares his love of PG Tips and how it can get one through climate talks. The conversation also touches upon slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life; good habits; the cloud in the cup of tea. And have you ever wondered if the tea is experiencing us too? They did.You'll also experience the mindfulness bell of the Plum Village monastery.Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resourcesThe Tea Inside the Calligraphy https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-tea-inside-the-calligraphy/ Schumacher Collegehttps://campus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/ Kukichahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KukichaHigh-mountain teahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-mountain_tea Cloud teahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_tea Bamboo shoots and teahttps://plumvillage.org/articles/bamboo-shoots-and-tea/ Quotes“If you know how to slow down and be more present, allow things to settle, then your way of life will be much better.” “Even a small, simple practice, like drinking tea, contains all of life.” “A woman in the Indian Sangha said, ‘In India, they say if it’s hot, it’s time for tea. If it’s cold, it’s time for tea. If you’re happy, it’s time for tea. If you’re sad, it’s time for tea. It's something that calms us down.'” “When you drink a cup of tea, you’re not drinking your projects, you’re not drinking your worries; you’re not drinking, you’re thinking. And it’s a real art for being in the present moment.” “There’s something very powerful and symbolic about tea. It’s a chance to come back to ourselves, to relax, to hold something in the palms of our hands – which is itself almost a reverent act, to feel the heat, to smell the aroma. It’s actually a very visceral experience.”“The cloud is in your tea.”“In the present moment, the way we live, the way we think, the way we talk, and the way we act is a contribution to society, to life. So our actions are already our reincarnation.” “It’s an act of awakening: to wake up to life and smell the fragrance of the tea; you taste it, you feel its warmth, and turn to your body. It’s very simple, but very deep in that moment. If you allow yourself to be in the very here and now, drinking tea is meditation in disguise.” “This cup of tea in my two hands is mindfulness held perfectly. My mind and body dwell in the very here and now.” “Having good habits is part of meditation.” “You can have a moment of enlightenment just sitting there drinking your tea.”“Have time for a cup of tea, because it is present for you. You just have to be there for it.”
Тест для любозательных. Добавьте в следующую фразу слово, которое Вам больше подходит: «кофе» или «чай». Фраза: «Ради чашки ... я готов (готова) пойти на всё, даже на работу!» Если Вы выбрали «кофе», то вы оказались среди тех жителей нашей планеты, суммарное потребление кофе которыми составляет почти полтора миллиарда чашек в день! Не верите? А зря! Послушайте этот наш «Романс о финансах», который мы записали на подкасте Money Inside. ARTEM FINANCIAL LTD https://www.moneyinside.ca/podcasts/ Сontact@moneyinside.ca MoneyInside.ca – ваш подкаст о деньгах, экономике и личных финансах. MoneyInside в iTunes MoneyInside в YouTube Оставить свои комментарии или задать вопросы вы всегда можете под этим выпуском или в группе «Финансы с Артемом» в Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanFinanceInRussian/ Книга “Inside Banking” — все вопросы и ответы о канадских финансах простым языком. Купить Спасибо, что слушаете MoneyInside. Успехов в деньгах! Транскрипт выпуска Романсы о финансах | 9 Чай или кофе - вот в чем вопрос! –Здравствуйте, дорогие друзья, подписчик и гости канала. Компания ArtemFinancial и я, Марина Буланцева, приветствуем вас. Сегодня в рамках подкаста Money inside - очередной мини-подкаст «Романсы о финансах», и говорить мы будем о традиционных безалкогольных напитках – кофе и чае... С чего начинается ваш день? Если с чашки кофе, то вы входите в число тех людей, которые все вместе, если верить блогу «Постел-делюкс», за год выпивают 500 миллиардов чашек! Ну, если кто подзабыл математику, эта цифра выглядит как «пятерка» с одиннадцатью нулями. На нашей планете сейчас живет около 8 млрд. Не возьмусь за расчеты, сколько из них теоретически могли бы причислить себя к любителям кофе, так как для этого надо принять во внимание много факторов (возраст, условия жизни, уровень дохода и так далее), но , покопавшись в интернете, можно найти топ потребителей и производителей. Сайт «Тadviser» со ссылкой на The Economist на вершину пирамиды производителей ставит в порядке убывания Бразилию, Вьетнам, Колумбию, Индонезию и Эфиопию. По-сути, эти страны - экспортеры могут конкурировать со странами - поставщиками нефти, поскольку кофе по утверждению ряда аналитиков – это второй по количеству продаж товар на мировом рынке. Любопытно, что топ пирамиды потребителей выглядит иначе: на самом верху - страны ЕС, затем идут США, Бразилия, Япония и Индонезия. Канада и Россия, кстати, вошли в десятку потребителей, закупая кофе тоннами, но, если учесть численность населения, то канадцы балуют себя напитком где-то в три – четыре раза чаще, чем россияне, так как в годовом исчислении страна ввозит 230 тысяч тонн зерен, а Россия - 259 тысяч тонн. Из чего складывается цена чашки кофе в кофейне? Иконографика на сайте «Тadviser» на примере Великобритани выглядит так: если чашка , условно говоря, стоит 2.50 фунта, то самого кофе ( труда фермера, обжарки, транспортировки, и т.д.) в этой цене – всего лишь на 10 пенсов. Все остальное – это, прежде всего, - аренда помещения, затем ( по убывающей) – зарплата, налоги, молоко и посуда. Прибыль заведения с чашки - 25 пенсов. Но это, разумеется, - о напитке масс - маркета. А ценах на кофе люксовых категорий – несколько позже, а сейчас – о том, где лакомые зерна продаются и покупаются. Среди основных кофейных бирж сайт «Shop Tasty Coffee» называет для торгов по арабике International Coffee Exchange (Нью-Йорк) и для торгов по робусте London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Лондон). https://bcs-express.ru/novosti-i-analitika/tseny-na-kofe-b-iut-semiletnie-maksimumy-kak-na-etom-zarabotat На американском континенте, как пишет сайт BCS – express.ru, основные потребители сырья делятся на сети кофеен (тут два лидера - это Starbucks и Dunkin' Donuts) и производителей напитков (здесь лидируют J M Smucker и Keurig Dr Pepper). Стоит также назвать европейскую Nestle и канадскую Restaurant Brands International (эта сеть владеет Burger King и Tim Hortons). Весь мировой рынок кофе в целом составляет порядка $100 млрд. Стоимость кофейных зерен зависит от времени года (конец уборки или преддверие нового сезона), погоды, текущего баланса спроса и предложения. Но кому выгоден рост цен на кофе? Ответ лежит на поверхности - производителям товаров -заменителей : чая и энергетиков. https://bcs-express.ru/novosti-i-analitika/tseny-na-kofe-b-iut-semiletnie-maksimumy-kak-na-etom-zarabotat Цитирую Сайт BCS – express. ru: « Глобальный тренд на потребление искусственного кофеина и его аналогов сформировался еще в 1990-е. Сегодня рынок энергетиков оценивается в сумму более $50 млрд, то есть он всего наполовину меньше рынка кофе и довольно жестко поделен между основными производителями. Большую часть рынка энергетиков захватили три бренда - это австрийский Red Bull (компания не публичная), американский Monster Beverage (частично принадлежит Coca-Cola) и Rockstar (выкуплен PepsiCo). Но энергетики – это отдельная тема. Мы же сегодня «поем романс» традиционным напиткам, и кто, как не чай оспаривает пальму первенства у кофе! Главными производителями чая в мире являются Китай и Индия ( об этом сообщает InvestFuture.ru) . На долю КНР приходится 30-35 % мирового рынка. Далее, в порядке убывания, идут Индия, Кения, Шри-Ланка, Вьетнам и Турция. А вот относительно стран - потребителей, чьи жители предпочитают чай другим напиткам, данные разнятся. Однако, сравнивая информацию, я с удивлением обнаружила, что главные «чаеманы», если можно так сказать, - однюдь не англичане, хотя всем нам известна традиция чашечки чая в « 5th o'clock». Разумеется, в Великобритании чай подают не только в пять часов пополудни, а и в другое время, но англичан с их годовым потреблением немногим более двух с половиной килограммов чайного листа успешно обошли их соседи – ирландцы, а также жители Мавритании, Марокко и Турции. Турки, оказываются, используют для заварки чуть ли не 7 кг чая ежегодно! Торгуется чай на аукционах. Старейший - Лондонский. К крупнейшим также относятся аукционы в Амстердаме (Нидерланды), в Калькутте (Индия), в Джакарте (Индонезия) и в Коломбо (Шри Ланка). Во сколько же обходится чайный лист гурманам, покупающим его в магазинах? По информации Яндекс.Зен , стоимость китайского чая Tienchi (разновидности женьшеня) - $170 за кг, а, к примеру , за кг Panda Dung ( название буквально означает «фекалии панды») надо заплатить 70 тыс $. Нет, это, не «жуть», не «мрак», как бы сказала Эллочка-Людоедка, этот чай – не помет панд, просто фекалии этих зверьков используются для удобрения чайных деревьев. А вот, если вернуться к нашему рассказу о кофе, то в производстве одного из самых дорогих сортов участвуют другие зверьки, и это, опять же не мексиканские тушканчики или шанхайские барсы, придуманные Ильфом и Петровым, а малайские пальмовые куницы, они же мусанги или люваки, как их называют жители индонезийских островов Суматра, Сулавеси и Ява. Так вот , сорт называетс Kopi Luwak (Копи Лювак). Эти симпатичные, напоминающие кошек зверьки –люваки питаются ягодами с кофейных деревьев ( зерна кофе - это, вообще-то, ягоды кофейной вишни!). Часть зерен выводится из организма животных в непереваренном виде, но их вкус под действием желдочного сока меняется ( дегустаторы описывают вкус Копи Лювак как шоколадно-карамельный). Ну а дальше – технологическая обработка и в итоге стоимость этого удовольствия получается около 353 $ за кг. Но что такое «стоимость», если хочется поразить гостей не только вкусом, но и видом напитка! А раз так, то по случаю своего юбилея известная британская чайная компания PG Tips выпускает серию чайных пакетиков, украшенных вручную 280 бриллиантами. Цена каждого такого пакетика – $ 15 000. Ну и для совсем уж впечатлительных – чай Da-Hong Pao. Название буквально означает «большая красная мантия», он является одним из великих секретов императорской династии Мин. По легенде, у одного из имераторов заболела мать. Он отправляет слуг, чтобы те разыскали целебный чай. Они находят четыре куста волшебного чая, три из которых сохранились и по сей день. Этот Чай (Da-Hong Pao) имеет уникальные целебные свойства и является национальным достоянием Китая. Купить его нельзя. Получить его можно только в качестве подарка, который преподносится только наиболее почетным гостям, хотя известна приблизительная стоимость - 1 млн 200 тыс $ за кг. – В завершении позвольте переиначить известную фразу «скажи мне, ч то ты пьешь, и я скажу, кто ты...» Так что же такое - чашка кофе или чая? Возможность пролистать интернет вкупе с приятно согревающим напитком? Остановить мгновение, наслаждаясь возможностью прервать ежедневный бег дня? Или чашка кофеина, как шутят некоторые, – это «средство передвижения»? В любом случае, не стоит отказываться от этого удовольствия. Ведь именно маленькие радости позволяют нам чувствовать себя счастливыми. Хорошего вам дня и... до встречи!
Brandon and Sarah explore the topic of addiction based on their own personal experiences, and Sarah gripes about her withdrawal from caffeine and her precious “crack” tea, PG Tips (not a sponsor).
You know (from watching Tom Hanks save the world again) that lemon or milk depends on the brew, but would you be able to order a proper cup of PG Tips in Mandarin? Let's hope so…no, wait, instead of hoping, in this podcast let's give you a Mandarin Chinese lesson on black and green tea, for your drinking pleasure. Whhhhooooooooeeeeeeeeee!!! (That was supposed to be a kettle sound effect). Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0277
You know (from watching Tom Hanks save the world again) that lemon or milk depends on the brew, but would you be able to order a proper cup of PG Tips in Mandarin? Let's hope so…no, wait, instead of hoping, in this podcast let's give you a Mandarin Chinese lesson on black and green tea, for your drinking pleasure. Whhhhooooooooeeeeeeeeee!!! (That was supposed to be a kettle sound effect). Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0277
Summary: In this episode of the Building Better Cultures podcast, Scott welcomes Gihan Hyde, CEO and founder of Communique, a London-based social enterprise start-up specializing in communication strategies in ESG and sustainability. According to Gihan, Communique is an “ESG social enterprise communications start-up.” Her company is unique in that it recruits its associates from underdeveloped countries and underrepresented communities. The mission of Communique is to help companies start their ESG journey, place them with the right experts who can help them implement the strategies, and then communicate those strategies effectively to all their stakeholders. Gihan defines sustainability and ESG, explains the role that internal communicators play in ESG, and proposes specific strategies for broadcasting sustainability initiatives. She and Scott discuss what it means to create champions and the importance of personal relationships. Gihan also shares several examples of employees whose stories she had the privilege of highlighting, which in turn generated the credit they deserved for the positive changes they made in their organizations. Key Takeaways: A bit about the podcast’s new sponsor, Workvivo, an internal communications platform connecting people to their organizations all around the world. Learn more about Workvivo The podcast opens with some background about Gihan and Communique. Gihan explains that Communique is a start-up that specializes in communicating environmental, social, and governance strategies. Her work at Communique has impacted more than 150,000 customers and 200,000 employees, and has yielded 300 million pounds. Gihan states, “We help companies who are not clear on how to start their ESG journey and introduce them to the right experts who will embed these initiatives, strategies, and policies; and then take this amazing work that the ESG experts have conducted and communicate it effectively so that it can land with the investors, customers, and employees and explain to each of them what role they play in bringing the ESG story to life.” Scott asks Gihan what makes her “ESG social enterprise communications start-up” different. Gihan responds that her purpose in life is to make people feel valued and heard and that Communique is her gateway for doing that. The experts and associates who help her deliver the work to her clients are mainly from undeveloped countries and underrepresented communities. Gihan introduces the associates to the developed world, to the work of Communique, and once they build their portfolio, they can “flock the nest” or stay and become part of the Communique team. So far they have eight associates around the world, including a web designer, content creators, animator, etc. Scott asks Gihan how ESG relates to sustainability and whether or not they are the same thing. Gihan responds that they are not the same thing and the terms should not be used interchangeably. She defines sustainability as “doing well by doing good”, whereas ESG is the collection of “physical factors that investors, and only investors, use when they are determining which companies they would like to invest in.” Gihan credits Greta Thunberg and Gen Z for the rise in the use and familiarity of the ESG. Gihan says that Covid has caused investors to reflect on the data that compares the profit margins of companies who are “living and breathing” ESG which are at 28% with the profit margins of those who don’t at 14%. As a result, 84% of these investors are only investing in ESG-focused companies. Scott says that he thinks there are companies around the world who are already running some ESG-aligned initiatives but are not communicating them to their employees. Gihan concurs and says that this is especially true in large organizations (5,000 or more). She ascribes this breakdown in communication to the complexity of the organizations and to the lack of understanding of the topic. Gihan defines ESG: Environmental – How is the company impacting the environment? Social – What is the relationship between the company and its employees, community, and customers? Governance – How is the company being governed internally? She says that sustainability experts in large companies need to communicate their passion and get the rest of the company on board. She shares an example of about a group of employees at a company who were passionate about the environmental aspect who convinced leadership to employ a plastic-free initiative, but their initiative didn’t get the attention it deserved until Gihan highlighted it to the functional team. Scott asks Gihan how can leaders and internal communications teams do a better job of broadcasting sustainability initiatives within their companies. Gihan states, “Internal comms is the glue that holds the organization together. We are the ones who have the access to employees that no one else has. It up to us to help employees live and breathe ESG.” She shares this example of PG Tips, the tea manufacturer: A factory worker suggested to the manager to reduce a seal by 3 mm, and proved that by doing that they were saving 15 reels of paper, equating to 20,000 tons of paper, and saving PG Tips 47,000 euros. This story was brought to life by internal comms. Gihan says, “We (internal comms) are the voice of the employees, and we need to act like one. We need to go out, stop sitting at our desks, and we need to start asking and encouraging people.” She gives another example: Six employees in India in a Unilever factory who wanted to train the women in their communities to use the beauty products so that they could become the champions of Unilever. To date, 800 women have been trained; 600 of them have opened their own businesses and are Unilever’s sole suppliers in rural areas of India. Scott suggests that the important conversations about ESG are happening on the front lines, and he wants to know to help employees see their role in making ESG and sustainability happen. Gihan breaks down what the E in ESG means for employees using a cake analogy, with the environment as the first layer of the cake, society as the second, and the economy as the third. Communications is the tray that holds the cake. The role of Comms is to marry all of the elements of the Personal Compact between between employees and employers, the three components of which are: Formal compact (job description, contracts, and performance) Psychological compact (rewards, recognition, expectations, and commitment) Social Compact (perception of the company, culture, and values) Gihan suggests that internal communicators can accomplish this by: Helping the leadership team define the company’s long-term purpose and articulate it clearly. Helping the leadership team spell out the economical case for ESG. Creating ESG as part of your employee experience touchpoints, beginning at the recruiting process. Making everyone a sustainability champion. Encouraging healthy competition. Scott argues that being a champion should be a separate job description in each organization. Gihan agrees that this is the ideal situation, but she admits that in her career she has depended on personal relationships with employees who have taken it upon themselves to be champions in addition to their regular job. Gihan stresses the importance of holding up these champions as heroes. Scott asks Gihan if there are any resources she would recommend for his listeners who like to learn more about ESG. Gihan recommends her company blog and newsletter found at communique.global. For listeners who are interested in the data, she recommends the following resources: MSCI Deloitte McKinsey PwC More information about Gihan and Communique is available at: www.communique.global or @LinkedIn Learn more about Scott McInnes, Founder and Director of Inspiring Change, by clicking here. To discover Workvivo, a workplace communication platform that offers seamless digital integration, please click here.
Meghan is spilling her PG Tips tea all over Buckingham Palace with Oprah, Prince Archie stars in Tyler Perry and Kenya Barris' next film, and your favorite podcast is being held hostage! All of this and more on the March 15th episode of The People's Report! Please support us by supporting our sponsor, The Lip Bar! Visit www.thelipbar.com and use offer code "TPRPOD" for 10% off your order. We are still seeking sponsors! If you are interested in supporting the podcast and partnering, please email us at pplsreportpod@gmail.com! Also, consider donating to the show via Cashapp ($RCComedy) or Venmo (ReidClarkComedy).
Join Heston and long time TV Producer Jay as they explore the wonderful world of tea. From the most expensive in the world to the perfect dunking biscuit, special Fat Duck brews to the secrets behind PG Tips, this is a cup of tea Heston Blumenthal style.
Journalist Harriet Alexander has traded in England's green and pleasant land, a land of country squires, cream teas, PG Tips and Emmerdale to become an exile in the USA. It was Oscar Wilde who said: "America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between." So is the USA a place of decadence? Find out in this episode. Read Harriet in the Daily Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/harriet-alexander Find out more about Rob Goldstone: https://isanenglishmanin.com
Cardy, Joe and Matt are here to dissect the great corporation war of 2020 between Epic and Apple. But don't worry they get back onto the usual nonsense like which Cyberpunk 2077 life path is most like Elijah Wood's in Green Street, Agent 47 whispering naughty words into his victims ears and finally, the best velvet in games is revealed. Plus, Matt has been playing Outriders while Joe and Cardy are getting round to Alan Wake in preparation for Control's upcoming DLC. A PG Tips edition of Endless Search is played and of course, some of your feedback. Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.
This week, we're joined by Gamespot honcho and confirmed anime boy Tamoor Hussain to talk through our feelings on Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario, Snowpiercer, Song of Bloom, Dark, Diablo, and one very rude line that Redman said once. We play a game of PG Tips, and have a bloody good time. Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.
Welcome back to the scoreperpodcast, I hope you've got your PG Tips ready for an absolute madness of an episode. We've been away for a hot sec doing up mental health exercises, but we couldn't stay away for too long, we love making content for you guys and gyals too much. Today we start to speak on various recent events which have occurred within our echo chambers such as the Reading attack (RIP to the victims), the beef no one asked for with Noname vs J Cole, and then some UK underground hip hop scene disputes with a female Caucus artist who may or may not have said the N-word. We then go on to discuss our experiences on lads holidays, and talk why lean up Jesus sandal crep could never be worn by wifey amongst other things. Tune In. Time stamps Intro - 00:00 What would we do if we were attacked? - 05:00 Noname vs J Cole - 16:43 Willow Kayne doing up foolishness - 23:34 Lads holidays from hell - 34:18 Sleepers - 01:08:26 Sonny Miles - Cheese Amaarae & Wade Cole - Spend some time Socials Scoreperpodcast - US T_yd_y - Thaddeus scoreperperson - Nathan
Welcome to the EIGHTY-EIGHTH episode of #UpTheM1. In this episode we discuss, Insecure S4 EP9, PG Tips & Yorkshire Tea's BLM Support, Taking down the Slave Trader Statues, Sitting In Limbo, Stormzy's £10 Million to Anti-Racist Causes, #VogueChallenge, The Owner vs The Brand, 9-5 or Entrepreneur plus our #TweetsOfTheWeek. Hosts: Danyelle Twitter: @Dmgrs_x : https://twitter.com/DMgrs_x Olivia Twitter: @Olivia891 : https://twitter.com/OliviaLiv891 Instagram: @liv_21.x : https://www.instagram.com/liv_21.x/ Urban Soul Twitter - @UR8ANSOUL : https://twitter.com/UR8ANSOUL Instagram - @ur8an_soul : https://www.instagram.com/ur8an_soul/ MUSIC : @drew_archie - www.instagram.com/drew_archie/ Get in touch and share your questions with us... Twitter : https://twitter.com/UpTheM1Podcast Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/upthem1podcast/ #UpTheM1Podcast #TweetsOfTheWeek
Who says you have to leave home to enjoy the benefits of travel? Thanks to technology and global trade, we have wide access to some of the best experiences the world has to offer. This episode, recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, explores the idea that — with an open mind and a creative spirit — we can go almost anywhere. Further readingHow will COVID-19 affect the future of travel? Click here (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/06/travel/coronavirus-travel-questions.html) for fascinating take by The New York Times. PG what?In this episode, I referenced a popular brand of tea in the U.K.: PG Tips (https://www.pgtips.co.uk/) . It's available online, and you can find it in many supermarkets in the U.S. More tools for virtual travelHere are a few more links to help you brainstorm ideas for your next virtual adventure: (https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours) Museum Virtual Tours - Travel + Leisure (https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours) Virtual Hikes in the U.S. to Take During Quarantine - BuzzFeed (http://Virtual Hikes In The US To Take During Quarantine - BuzzFeedwww.buzzfeed.com › laurenkeary › virtual-hikes-visit-...) 80 Authentic Recipes from Around the World - Taste of Home (https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/travel-around-the-world-in-80-meals/) Virtual Dives in U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries - NOAA (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/vr/) Virtual It's a Small World Boat Ride - Disney Theme Parks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Do309e4YU&feature=youtu.be)
#011: This week's guest is Jennifer Tracy, who lives in Los Angeles with her 10-year-old son and their two sweet rescue dogs. In this episode, Jennifer shares all the chapters of her motherhood story, starting with how she learned she was pregnant, to loving pregnancy (and pregnancy sex!), to having a swift, unmedicated birth, and then into a difficult and lonely postpartum period. She reveals what led her to seek help for postpartum depression and about her path to recovery and rediscovery of herself. Jennifer also shares about learning to hold exquisite space for her son’s panic attacks which stem from his ADHD diagnosis and how she nurtures herself inside of it all. Jennifer’s sense of humor comes through as she confesses embarrassing mom moments, and her heart shines brightly as she shares what she loves about her son at 10 years old. Finally, she talks about what stirs her creativity as a writer, shares the inspiration from her own life that sparked the spicy idea for her novel, and offers tips for how others can begin to unlock their own stories. We also discuss the ridiculous notion that motherhood and sexuality don’t mix and more!Jennifer Tracy is a veteran actor, writer, producer, and content creator. Starting her professional career at the age of 14, Jennifer ‘learned by doing’ and began honing her eye for composition, mise en scène, and narrative form. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science in Screenwriting from Boston University, also studying cinema in specialized programs in Australia and France before moving to Los Angeles. Auditioning, acting, and working in TV and films for 30 years has deepened her skill set, as well as 10 years of conservatory-level improv performance, writing, producing, and performing in L.A. Women, her 2 woman sketch comedy show for 7 consecutive years in Los Angeles, writing scripts for TV and film, self-publishing a series of novellas on Amazon and more recently finishing her first novel. Jennifer also co-created one of Hollywood’s most successful Special Effects companies, Imagine That Enterprises, Inc., supplying major films and TV productions with script breakdowns, effects talent, materials, and equipment.Jennifer doesn’t do anything half-way, and she credits eight hours of sleep per night and rising at 5 am each morning for the amount of prolific creative work she churns out. That, and a steady diet of PG Tips with milk and raw honey. (Oh, and chocolate, as needed.) Testimonials from Jennifer’s creative consulting clients speak volumes. Her passion for story and unveiling vulnerability through narrative form fuels her work with clients and networks. Jennifer’s talent for teasing the story out of a writer/creator is unmatched. She has a gentle, yet palpable, electricity in her sessions whereby she elicits depth and a fresh perspective when often the creatives thought they had reached a stalemate.The Ultimate MILF: Jennifer’s popular podcast, MILF Podcast (Moms I’d Like to Follow), is now well into its second year of production, with over 55,000 downloads. Jennifer interviews moms on the show each week, sharing women’s stories of motherhood, sexuality, entrepreneurship, and captivating the ears of thousands of people worldwide. These raw and real conversations about sex, gender roles, and the social construct of motherhood as seen by culture, are all themes Jennifer mines in her novel, Honey Pie. Some notable guests have included Kathryn Hahn, Cobie Smulders, Shannon Watts, Jenna Elfman, May Lindstrom, and more.For the links and show notes for this episode, head to: http://beingmompodcast.com/podcast/episode-011
Have you ever given a second thought to where the brands we use every day got their names from? Well we have! And we're here to share our findings with you. Staying very much ‘on brand' we'll be revealing the history behind PG Tips, the fantasy of Fanta, and how a sibling rivalry in Germany spawned two of the globe's biggest sports brands. We'll ‘play well' with our Lego, unpack our IKEA, and find out how a Welsh harpist (may have) had a hand in one of our most recognisable breakfast brands. As always, Susie will be arming us with a trio of words to pepper into conversation this week and Gyles will be inspiring us all with how to avoid being miserable. A Somethin' Else production. If you want to get in touch with Brand Purple please do: purple@somethinelse.com Susie's Trio: Nikehedonia - the pleasure of the anticipation of success Xertz - the act of gulping something down quickly Jentacular - relating to breakfast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Have you ever given a second thought to where the brands we use every day got their names from? Well we have! And we’re here to share our findings with you. Staying very much ‘on brand’ we’ll be revealing the history behind PG Tips, the fantasy of Fanta, and how a sibling rivalry in Germany spawned two of the globe’s biggest sports brands. We’ll ‘play well’ with our Lego, unpack our IKEA, and find out how a Welsh harpist (may have) had a hand in one of our most recognisable breakfast brands.As always, Susie will be arming us with a trio of words to pepper into conversation this week and Gyles will be inspiring us all with how to avoid being miserable.A Somethin’ Else production.If you want to get in touch with Brand Purple please do: purple@somethinelse.comSusie’s Trio:Nikehedonia - the pleasure of the anticipation of successXertz - the act of gulping something down quicklyJentacular - relating to breakfast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Join Brad and Tom as they drone on and on about classic 1985 film Just One of the Guys, the St. Louis Battlehawks, PG Tips, Melissa McCarthy, if people can have friends 20 years their junior, cronuts, Netflix hit Love is Blind, James Taylor, and, most importantly, if they're any closer to being friends. Relevant links below. Email: bradandtomarefriends@gmail.com Twitter: @bradandtompod Plunging rates in the US are rewriting the history books Public Transport Can Be Free From king of comedy to game show host: the not-so-excellent decline of Mike Myers Rockin in the USA Renaissance Man Clip Shovels & Rope - Gasoline (YouTube) The Rise and Fall of Subway, The World's Largest Fast Food Chain You can ‘buy’ this guy’s NYC luxe life for $11,000 Caffeine has been a boon for civilization, Michael Pollan says. But it has come at a cost. A Restaurant Critic Comes Around on Lines California prisoner escapes jail and goes on the run by shaving his head and posing as an inmate who was due to be released
Why Not Both is an exploration of how our multiple passions shape our identity, hosted by musician and therapist Pam Shaffer. For our second season, we partnered up with Under The Radar to explore the lives of musicians, writers, actors, and creatives. On our premiere episode of the season, we got to interview the fantastic Kate Nash. We met up with her over vegan cookies and PG Tips tea to chat about the versatility and vulnerability of being a musician and actor. Kate opened up about her experiences on the set of GLOW and what she has learned growing as an artist in the ever-changing landscape of the music industry. You can watch the trailer for the new documentary Underestimate The Girl which is all about her journey as an artist, watch the video for her song Bad Lieutenant and listen to her latest album Yesterday Was Forever. Thanks again for listening! Make sure to subscribe, leave us a nice review, and hang out with us on Insta and Twitter. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/why-not-both/support
The first podcast from Pastor Giles Cornell Lighthouse church Ely. This week talking with Joe Lampshire British and commonwealth powerlifting champion.
In this week's thrilling installment of the IGN UK Podcast, Dale has a Halloween-themed Cadbury's Creme Egg that he's desperate to eat. But will he get to the gooey centre before Cardy takes it for himself? You'll have to listen to the whole 'cast to find out. Thankfully that shouldn't be too much of an arduous task, as there's plenty to discuss. Matt's been to EGX to play Marvel's Avengers, including hands-on time with a new character; the super-stretchy Ms. Marvel. Dale's also been previewing games this week, with thoughts on Need for Speed Heat and WWE 2K20. Cardy's also got a few extra words to say about Disco Elysium, the detective game that's captured the hearts and minds of almost all the UK team, and Matt's got some thoughts about Zombieland: Double Tap. PG Tips returns for this week's Endless Search, and of course there's more feedback (as well as the questions discovered in Dale's Twitter mentions).
We really tried not to talk about crisps this week. I mean, obviously we did, but we talked about milk production too! Oh also there was chat about No Man's Sky, FIFA 20, Half Dead 2 and The Club, played a tweaked game of PG Tips, and we revealed a tiny little bit more about Podcast 500. Remember, it's on Friday 16th August, and you can get your ticket here! And remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com
Tonnes of Marvel announcements took place in San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H last weekend so Joe, Matt & Cardy are here to take a closer look at all the new movies and TV shows announced and discussed what they're most excited for. We've also been playing some games, half of which are Marvel related. They're doing alright for themselves, aren't they? PG Tips is this week's Endless Search offering and of course, there's plenty of Crisp Correspondence to get through.
Dale, Matt, and Jesse have gone back to the 80s for a no-spoilers chat about Stranger Things season 3. But Hawkins isn't the only place with weird goings on; Rainbow Six Siege has gone all wild west, and Apex Legends has been invaded by monsters, and so there's words about those, too. Plus there's the first (and possibly last) episode of Jesse's VR Corner, and a thrilling game of PG Tips. All of these audio delights can be yours just by pressing 'play'.
The worlds first Sci-Fi Wrestling Podcast Teams up with the most popular Podcast in the Multiverse "This Snarflergian Life" to bring you three stories from throughout the Multiverse. Act One, the Story of a Man With the most varied career Path of all time. Act Two, AEW Fyter Fest results and analysis from Beard and Bear. "Fresh on the heels of a monster show in Las Vegas, everyone's favorite next big wrestling organisation AEW does their second show at Daytona Beach. We talk pre-show as SoCal Uncensored take on the Best Friends and Private party, Allie faces the librarian Leva Bates and Michael Nakazawa oils up for a one on one vs, Alex Jebailey of CEOGAMING.ORG, does this none wrestler have what it takes? Plus Oriental Wrestler CIMA takes on Christopher Daniels in a mat classic, Yuka Sakazaki and Riho contend with Nyla Rose in a three way dance, the man with the golden gullet MJF enters a four way with Jimmy havoc, Jungle boy and The worlds most popular Hangman Adam Page. Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin give a new meaning to the words dusty finish, Lucha Bros and The Laredo Kid must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance, as the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega show us how to cosplay like a badass. After dark, in a none sanctioned match, Joey Janela see’s if jon Moxley can still hang low and slow on the death-match scene, or has he picked up too many PG Tips in Conneticut" Act Three, "Crossing Enemy Lines", a report from Tazz from his hiding spot in his time ship in 1987.
Today I sipped some freshly brewed PG Tips tea. Made with freshly boiled tap water, 2 sugars and just a splash of milk. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!
イギリスにおける異文化シリーズ、食べ物の中でも紅茶を扱う第４回目になります。１回目はトワイニング、18世紀イギリスの紅茶屋さんの第一人者、第２回目が私の御用達ウィタードを紹介しました。３回目がリプトンとアールグレイの紹介で今回が４回目です。そろそろ人名に関係しているブランドは今日でおしまいにしようと思っています。イギリスにおける紅茶はお話することが沢山ありますし、世界的に有名なブランドが沢山あり、それぞれ創始者の名前が付いています。トワイニング、リプトンというと皆さんどこかで見たことがある以上の知識があると思います。今日はもしかすると少し馴染みが薄いかもしれませんが、イギリスではトワイニング、リプトンときたら、もうひとつ、ブルックボンド（Brooke Bond）という名前が出てこないと完成しません。ブルックボンドは実際問題、ブランドの名前でしか残っておらず、会社としては1984年にユニリーバという大きな会社に買収されています。創業が1869年ですが、100年ちょっとで会社の名前は無くなってしまったのです。日本でもあまりブランドのマークが出ているところは見かけないので、年齢が上の方でないと分からないかなと思います。先ほど1869年と言いましたが、創業した人の名前はアーサー・ブルックさんという方です。創業した場所はロンドンではなくマンチェスターという工業中心都市です。ブルックさんが作ったのがなぜ「ブルックボンド」という名前なのかというと、「ボンド」には「お客さんとお店との間をつなぐ絆」という意味があり、創業者の気持ちが籠められているのです。「Bond」と書いて、「絆」とか「繋がり」と訳します。ですからブルックボンドとかジェームスボンドという名前の方が創業者ではないのです。さらにこのブルックボンドという会社に色々な銘柄があり、その中に、PGティップス（PG Tips）という有名なブランドがあります。これはイギリスの学食やちょっとしたレストランに行くと、無造作に置いてあるティーパックバッグにPG Tipsと書いてあります。イギリスに行ったことがある人だと、「あっ」と思うかもしれませんが、いずれにしてもイギリスでは３番手ぐらいには名前を出さなければならない大切な会社です。先程買収されたと申し上げましたが、ユニリーバといえば食品に限らず色々と消費財を扱っているところですが、実はリプトンもここに買収されています。だからブランドとしては残っているけれど、会社として残っているわけではないということです。世の中、栄枯盛衰が激しいです。それでは次に、紅茶そのものの話を見ていきます。紅茶は漢字で「紅のお茶」と書きます。この「紅」は色ですが、普通紅茶がティーカップに注がれて湯気が立っているところを想像すると、表面の液体の色が紅い、それで日本では紅茶というわけです。ところがイギリスでは普通紅茶の事は「ブラックティー」といいます。黒いお茶です。黒は葉っぱの色です。買ってきたティーリーフを見てみると、乾燥してカサカサしていますが黒いですよね？ですので、英語では葉っぱの色、つまり乾燥した葉っぱの色を見て「ブラック」といっています。紅茶を発酵させて作るのはご存じだと思います。お湯を入れて出てきた液体は紅くなるというものです。イギリスといえば紅茶、紅茶といえばイギリス、というほどですが、実はイギリスの国土ではお茶の生産はしていません。どちらかというと熱帯・温帯方面で作られるものです。以前、中国の歴史をした時に、お茶を輸出したという話をしましたが、中国にもお茶のルーツというのがあります。お茶で有名なのはインドやスリランカなど南の地方が多いわけです。インドは栽培をしている地方の名前が付いているブランドがいくつかあります。アッサムやダージリンはインドの地方の名前です。それからスリランカの紅茶も昔の方だとセイロン紅茶も場所の名前になります。その他にも、昔紹介しましたケニアというブランドもありましたが、これも場所の名前です。ジャワティーもインドネシアの場所の名前です。銘柄には場所の名前が沢山あるということです。今日のまとめ：紅茶と言えば、第３の存在のブルックボンドをご紹介しました。そして紅茶そのものの話としまして、栽培されている地域の名前が付いたブランドが沢山あるという話をさせて頂きました。
Jo & Sparky declared that 2019 is the year of rhyme but Producer Paul has a few reservations. Catch up on this Friday's Rhyme Time that will change the way you think about teabags forever! Plus, find out why the technology you use every day might just be one big conspiracy theory! ★★★★★ If you're listening on iTunes don't forget to subscribe, rate us 5 stars and leave us your 'Feel Great Review' - one thing that has happened this week that's made you feel great! ★★★★★ Keep up to date by following us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, just search for @PlayGemRadio
How incredibly British! To have a film about a real terrorist/ hostage situation in the 1980’s and focus 90% on the waiting to actually do something part and 10% on the doing something part. Fire up the PG Tips, it’s time to twiddle our thumbs and look mildly distressed for 95 minutes! That’s right. This […]
In this episode Patrice and Gaby catch up with Angel the young lady who dated #FraudBae after her story went viral on twitter. Angel and her friend Iyak spill all the tea on how it all unravelled. Sit back as it's going to be a jaw dropper.
This week, Patrice, Gaby and Princess Blue Chop it up about some grown ish: - The importance of sexual health - Pushing 30 - when is it the right time to have a baby.
The gang talks about nostalgia and the power of reinventing the past and using it in the marketing of today. It’s everywhere at the moment and, interestingly, it seems to work particularly well with Millennials. Why is nostalgia so powerful? And how do we harness it, even if we’re not a 50 or 100-year-old brand? On My Desk Bullet point. Links you might need Here’s the TAB ad Nic mentioned This is the Coca Cola ad Sarah felt nostalgic about And here’s one of the PG Tips chimps ads James mentioned Here’s an article on nostalgia in marketing Nostalgia is particularly effective for talking to Millennials. Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating — covering marketing, content marketing, public relations, media, branding and advertising.
Episode 49 is part of the Autumn 2017 / Winter 2018 double issue! "Granny Death and the Drag King of London" is a GLITTERSHIP ORIGINAL. Support GlitterShip by picking up your copy here: http://www.glittership.com/buy/ Granny Death and the Drag King of London By A.J. Fitzwater Monday, November 25, 1991. Lacey James had been working for Redpath Catering for three months when Freddie Mercury died. "Fuck," she mouthed around her fist and bit harder into her numb flesh. The news was hours old, but still her oesophagus made odd wheezy hiccups, and she couldn't swallow past the perpetual lump of granite in her chest. "Fuck fuck fuck." All going terrible, the weird black sparkles that invaded her vision at a whiff of death would arrive soon, the awful memories of helping nurse Stevie and Toad would nail her, or the creepy old lady that haunted funerals on her catering beat would turn up. Or all at once. Kitty. Stevie. Gin-Gin. Toad. Paulette. Manil. Now Freddie. Not another one. Not Freddie. No. Hold it together. Big bois don't cry. [Full transcript after the cut] Hello! Welcome to GlitterShip Episode 49 for February 13, 2018. This is your host, Keffy, and I'm super excited to be sharing this story with you. I'm sorry that it's been so long since I last brought you any fiction—to make it up to you, this episode is part of a double issue, which means that there are six originals and six reprints coming your way as quickly as I can get them out for you. I would also like to officially welcome Nibedita Sen as GlitterShip's official assistant editor. She will be helping out with keeping the Ship running smoothly... and hopefully more on time than it has been in the past. Today we have a poem and a GlitterShip original for you. The poem is "Seven Handy Ideas for Algorithmic Shapeshifting," by Bogi Takács read by Bogi eirself. Bogi Takács is a Hungarian Jewish agender trans person currently living in the US as a resident alien. Eir speculative fiction, poetry and nonfiction have been published in a variety of venues like Clarkesworld, Apex, Strange Horizons and podcast on Glittership, among others. You can follow Bogi on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon, or visit eir website at www.prezzey.net. Bogi also recently edited Transcendent 2: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction 2016, for Lethe Press. Seven Handy Ideas for Algorithmic Shapeshifting by Bogi Takács Try it now – guaranteed enjoyment or your money back! Loss of life not covered under the terms of the user agreement. The classic original: Shapeshift to a surface color the inverse of your environment [reverse chameleon]To confuse people: Shapeshift to duplicate a nearby object, then change as others move you around [pulse in rhythm / undulate / who turned the sound off]For a drinking game: Shapeshift into a weasel for 5 seconds whenever someone drinks a stout [some puns deserve to remain obscure] [mind: wildlife needs to be careful around humans] To make a somewhat mangled political statement: Shapeshift into an object whose possession is illegal in the state and/or country you are entering [no human is illegal] [weaponize your thoughts / fall under export restrictions] [make sure to read the small print] To receive blessings: Shapeshift into a monk when in the 500 m radius of a Catholic church, respond to Laudetur [nunc et in æternum – practice] [works well in combination with previous]For the trickster types: Shapeshift into a set of food items, then change back to your original shape as the first person attempts to eat you [do not change back] [change back after you passed through the alimentary canal / the plumbing / all water returns to the sea] To satisfy extreme curiosity: Shapeshift into a cis person, at random intervals of time. Cry for 5 minutes. Change back [how did that feel?] The GlitterShip original short story is "Granny Death and the Drag King of London" by A.J. Fitzwater, also read by the author. Amanda Fitzwater is a dragon wearing a human meat suit from Christchurch, New Zealand. A graduate of Clarion 2014, she’s had stories published in Shimmer Magazine, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, and in Paper Road Press's "At The Edge" anthology. She also has stories coming soon at Kaleidotrope and PodCastle. As a narrator, her voice has been heard across the Escape Artists Network, on Redstone SF, and Interzone. She tweets under her penname as @AJFitzwater There is a content warning for slurs, homophobia and a lot discussion of AIDS deaths. Granny Death and the Drag King of London By A.J. Fitzwater Monday, November 25, 1991. Lacey James had been working for Redpath Catering for three months when Freddie Mercury died. "Fuck," she mouthed around her fist and bit harder into her numb flesh. The news was hours old, but still her esophagus made odd wheezy hiccups, and she couldn't swallow past the perpetual lump of granite in her chest. "Fuck fuck fuck." All going terrible, the weird black sparkles that invaded her vision at a whiff of death would arrive soon, the awful memories of helping nurse Stevie and Toad would nail her, or the creepy old lady that haunted funerals on her catering beat would turn up. Or all at once. Kitty. Stevie. Gin-Gin. Toad. Paulette. Manil. Now Freddie. Not another one. Not Freddie. No. Hold it together. Big bois don't cry. The brick wall of the east end church (where the hell am I today?) didn't do its job of holding her up and she slumped behind the rubbish skip. She didn't care if that bastard Rocko docked her pay for a wet and dirty uniform. She didn't care about the latest job rejection letter crumpled in her pocket. She didn't care if the cold bricks made her back seize up; there'd be no sleep tonight. The back door pinged on its spring-hinge, banging off the scabby handrail, and Lacey sprang to her feet. "Oi!" Rocko Redpath barked, all six foot two of his dirty blondness. "How long does it take one to take out the rubbish. Move one's dyke arse." Not a dyke, arsehole. Lacey let her square ragged nails do the work on her palms. "Coming." "You better be." The stagnant scent of cabbage and wine biscuits gusted out as the door banged shut. Why do I have to keep putting up with this git? Because I can't get a serious job in this town. No one wants a dyke import. Loser. Lacey knuckled her dry eyes and straightened her ill-fitting jacket best she could. The darts under the arms made it too tight across the chest even though she'd bound up with a fresh Ace bandage that morning. Come on, loser. Be the best king Freddie'd want you to be. Inside, the strange blast of cold concrete and oven heat sunk claws into Lacey's flesh. She bit her lip hard to hold back another dry heave sob. Breathing deeply sometimes delayed the black sparkles. But this was a funeral. They were bound to come. Stainless steel clanged. Ovens whooped. Crockery clattered. Scones hunkered everywhere. Girls in too tight skirts bickered with too young chefs in too skinny pants. Rocko Redpath lorded over it all. Redpath sounded like a lad but he dressed Saint Pauls, pretending he was James Bond on a Maxwell Smart budget. "Jesus, you kiwis are all so bloody lazy." He sneered, the perfect villain. "What's the matter, Lace? Who took a dump in your cornflakes?" Only my friends call me Lace, arsehole. "Got the news a friend died," she mumbled as she swung towards the door with a tray of finger sandwiches. Was that a flinch from Rocko? "Aww, poor widdle Wace all boo hoo. You gonna cry, widdle girl?" He clicked his fingers in front of her face, blocking her path, sunshine breaking across his craggy, broken-nose face. "Wait, wait. I think I heard it on the news. That rock star fag you like. That who you mean?" That...feeling. A tickle on the back of her neck; it was how she imagined if the black sparkles were made flesh. All jokes about gaydars aside, she was one hundred percent dead on (dead. on) at picking them. She knew some closeted gay guys had massive internalized issues, but Rocko? One of the girls whipping cream flinched, her pink mouth popping open in shock. "But Freddie only announced two days ago..." Rocko snapped his fingers in her direction and pointed, finger quivering slightly. "Quiet. Lace. That homo with the mo. That who you cut up about?" Shut up I need this job shut up. Good girls don't get into fights. "Ah forget it. One less virulent motherfucker clogging up the NHS." Rocko flipped a hand. Lacey flinched away. Rocko's eyes were red like he was on another bender. "Do yer job. Go say hello to your favorite funeral-loving geriatric." "What?" "Eff-day Granny-yay," Rocko stage whispered as he whisked aside dramatically and held the door open. Fuck. Now this. Granny Death. Parishioners were doddering into the hall while bored kids played in the dusty blue velvet curtains. Ancient radiant heaters fizzed and popped, and Lacey dodged along the walls from cold to heat. She needed a new pair of brogues as desperately as she needed a haircut, but neither was in her next pay day. The black sparkles arrived. The languor of death clung tight to church walls, its nails scraping along the gravel lodged in her chest like on a blackboard. Freddie Freddie Freddie's dead that fucking virus who's next you's next DEAD. Lacey swung with the sandwich tray through waves of evil-smelling olds. Sure enough, there she was in all her silver coiffed, green-pink-cream-yellow floral glory. The scent of lavender smacked Lacey in the face clear across the hall. Fucking Granny Death. An emotional vampire. An ever moving shark in necrophiliac waters. She was worse than the front page of The Sun. "Excuse me, dear. Could you tell me where the powder room is please?" Fucking hell! She was Right There. Her face wrinkled by a smile and expectation, but still oddly smooth. Her eyes weren't blue like Lacey had expected but a very light green. God, I spaced out again. Concentrate. They'll send you right back to the loony bin. "Umm." Where it always is in these cold concrete pits of 1950s hell, you creepy old bat. "Down that ramp by the kitchen, then straight ahead." "Thank you, dear." Granny Death's walking stick thumped a death march on the heel-scarred floor. Lacey bit her free fist again, squeezing her eyes shut. They made a liquid pop when she opened them. The black sparkles parted just enough. In between the strands of perfectly set silver hair on the back of Granny Death's head, a gold eye stared out at Lacey, bloodshot, like it had been crying. What the...?! That's it. They said this is what happens to girls who wear too much black. I've got that fucking virus and it's made me batshit. The idea of some loony old lollypop lady going round churches scaring the beejus out of mourners weighed heavy. If she turned up at Freddie's funeral, I fucking swear... The stench of ammonia and cheap soap hit Lacey full in the face as she pushed into the ladies toilets. Granny Death leaned against the cracked sink, hands folded primly before her. "Well, this is interesting," she said. "What?" Lacey pulled up short. The finality of the door boom sealed her in. Oh shit. What if she's some sort of serial killer? "You can See." "What?" Granny Death sighed and rolled her eyes. Lacey shuddered, imagining that third eye doing the same. "Come now, dear. I know you're not stupid. I don't have all the time in the world. There are other funerals to get to today. What did you See?" Freddie, help me. That fucking virus is eating my brain. "Uh. I get black sparkles," Lacey stammered, wriggling her fingers beside her temples. "But you...you've got an eye in the back of your head." "Hmm." Granny Death's stillness disturbed Lacey. Come on, this is absurd! "What do you mean 'hmm'?" she demanded, hands on hips in an attempt to make herself bigger. "You have an eye in the back of your head, lady!" "I mean 'hmm' because usually they see horns—" Granny Death twiddled her fingers above her head. "—or hooves. Or wings. Sometimes just bloody stumps of wings, depending." "On what?" Lacey glanced behind her, but no one came in. No rampaging horde of hell beasts? Granny Death chuckled as if she could hear the noise constantly taking up space in Lacey's head. "Whatever they gods pleases them. Whatever they think lurks under the skin of a harmless old lady." Lacey backed up two steps. "Lady, there is no god in this world if AIDS exists. There's an explanation for everything. I'm having a meltdown coz it's a bad day. You don't seem harmless to me. What are you? What's with all the funerals?" "Hmm. So you've seen me before." Granny Death stroked a beard that wasn't there. "Damn right. I see you stuffing sandwiches in your handbag at least twice a week." Now it was Lacey's turn to fold her arms, but it didn't have quite the same effect as Granny Death's quiet poise. "Is this how you get your jollies? Knocking off the catering staff, scaring them into not reporting you to the police?" Granny Death didn't stare at Lacey like she imagined a whacko would size up their prey. "You have questions. You deserve answers." Granny Death scooped up her walking stick and took an assured step towards towards Lacey. "I take the sandwiches because I like them. No, I don't like scaring people. Funerals are hard enough places as they are. And people who See—" Granny Death scratched the back of her head. "—do so because they are close to the end of the line." Oh god, I do have that fucking virus. Despite her tiny stature, Granny Death came face to face with Lacey. She continued: "You have lost someone very dear to you recently. That agony slices through The Templace. We feel those cuts." Lacey flinched, but Granny Death didn't pat her on the shoulder awkwardly in comfort. She didn't even say she was sorry. What's the point of saying you're sorry to the bereaved, anyway? The black danced close around Lacey's vision again. Granny Death nodded. "When you're ready for the full truth, we'll be ready for you. We'll find you. We need more good people." Granny Death pushed out through the toilet door, her lavender scent obscuring the dankness. "Wait!" Lacey called. "Who is this 'we' you speak of?" The third eye winked, and Granny Death glanced back. She didn't smile or grimace, sneer or raise her eyebrows. "Death," came her quiet reply. "I work for the entity you know as Death." Tuesday, November 26, 1991. Even the tube couldn't lull Lacey into a desperate rest. Calling in sick allowed Rocko a hysteria-tinged rant about lazy kiwi dykes. The tea-bags her flatmates had left for her—what she had stolen from the Redpath pantries had run out—gave her no sense of comradeship. Throwing the letter from Gore, New Zealand unopened in the rubbish extended none of the usual satisfaction. Wrapping herself around a hot water bottle in her dank Hackney flat didn't bring any comfort. The impossible backwards lean, open lips, and microphone as extension of self of her Queen: Live at Wembley poster was a constant reminder. I'll never see darling Freddie live, see him alive, now. I'm two years too late. Did you know way back when, dear Freddie? Did you have that fucking alien in your brain, and you were just ignoring it? Don't look don't look don't look don't look death in the eye. The crowd on the tube did their best to ignore the girl in a cheap suit, though her pride and joy was the only thing holding her together. The granite lump in her chest grew too large, the mountain of its pressure almost choking her. The younger ones eyed the AIDS posters like they'd leap out and bite them. Kitty. Stevie. Gin-Gin. Toad. Paulette. Manil. All Gone. All invaded. All stats. Maybe I picked it up off the shit piss blood vomit. Maybe it's been dormant in my mattress all this time. She'd had no experience in nursing, but she did her best when the families of her friends shut their doors, ignoring their wasting away until it was time to play the magnanimous heroes and return their soul to where it didn't want to be. A strange thought grabbed her: Had Granny been there? Had she witnessed? A too skinny guy in a too big trench coat coughed, and Lacey swore everyone in the tube car flinched. Never going to eat going to die emaciated and covered in lesions never going to fuck again. Would Granny Death come and laugh at my funeral? She'd be the only one I'd want there. Where had that come from? Logan Place would now be packed with, but a crowd meant touching. A crowd meant all new sorts of pain, a public display of grief she couldn't face yet. Old Compton Street felt the safest place to be. The girls there knew when to touch and when to not. It would be a shitter of a wake, but at least she could bum free alcohol off Blue. Someone behind her barked a laugh just like Rocko's and she had to turn to check it wasn't him. He'd been his usual self on the phone, but his nastiness had sounded forced. Judging tone of voice, pitch, weight of the words had been a skill she'd honed over her years to avoid the knife tip slipping under her ribs. Questions. Granny said she had the answers. What a load of horse shit. No one has answers to anything. Not a yes for a good job. Not to this virus. "STOP WHINING," said her mother, thousands of miles and years ago. "Why can't you just wear a dress like all good little girls? You'd look so much prettier." I don't want to be pretty. I want to be handsome. The walk from King's Cross looked the same. The tourists, the red buses, the yuppies in their Savile Row suits, the casuals in their too clean Adidas trackies yelling slurs at the too tired girls in their big wigs and small skirts. Some caring Soho record store blared out Bohemian Rhapsody. Street lights flickered up, too bright for the street, too dim for the faces. How can you all carry on like nothing has changed? It had taken Lacey an entire year to work up the gumption to walk back on to Old Compton Street after a disastrous first visit to the Pembroke in Earls Court. Even three years on she often had to stop and take a moment to check if she was allowed on the street, but women in suits or ripped jeans and plaid either ignored her or offered small up-nods. Lacey shivered, resisting the urge to touch-check the mascara on her upper lip and sideburns. Her chest binding and suit were alright, but just alright. She didn't have the money to keep up with Soho. I like my suit. My suit likes me. The door to The Belle Jar was propped open. Lacey watched a pair of kings enter the black maw before working up the courage to approach. Flipper sat inside the stairs on a slashed up chair, licking closed a thin rollie. The muscled bouncer stood up when she saw Lacey, but didn't offer a hand. The girls round here knew how things went. "Fucking sucks, man," Flipper grunted, her blue eyes more steel than sea. "Tell me about it," Lacey sighed. "You're taking it well." Flipper undid the two buttons of her Sonny Crockett jacket, then did them back up. Lacey shrugged. "You want in? Blue says no cover charge tonight and tomorrow." "Good of her. Might ask for a shift." "Yeah. The girls have been crying into their Midoris since the news broke. It's like a fucking morgue in there." Flipper offered Lacey a drag of her cigarette, but Lacey shook her head. More down-in-the-mouth kings, queens, femmes, and butches passed by (just for once all moving in the same direction; marching to or from death?). Flipper blew out a long trail of smoke. "Funeral is tomorrow. Private thing." "Yeah, saw that on the news." Lacey couldn't look at Flipper in the eye. The big girl had tears forming (no no don't please fuck what do I do). Lacey barrelled down the stairs. The sticky-sweet stench of years of liquor trod into the carpet, sweaty eye shadow, weed, and clove cigarettes rose up to greet her. Bronski Beat throbbed gently from the speakers. Girls lounged over every upright surface, too many glasses scattered across table and bar top. None of them were anywhere near old enough to be Granny. Have you ever seen an old drag queen? An old dyke? Where do they go? Two shot glasses banged on the bar. "How the fuck is Maggie Thatcher still alive, and Freddie Mercury isn't," growled Blue, sloshing tequila. Lacey accepted the offering without complaint despite her bad relationship with tequila. How is anyone alive while Freddie isn't? "We only just get the country back from the old witch, now this." Lacey tried on a joke for size. "God fuck the Iron Lady," Blue growled. They tugged the bottoms of their waistcoats, saluted with their glasses, and slammed. "Next one you'll have to pay for, darlin'," Blue said after they coughed it down. "Don't worry. I 'spect tonight will be easy selling the top shelf." Lacey took a long hard look around the bar. It was already too full. When girls got all up in their liquor, tears and fists tended to fly. "Great, we're short-handed. I'll give you six percent, cause I'm feelin' generous." Blue slid a glass of water towards Lacey. "Ten." Lacey grimaced at the DJ who had just put on Adam Ant. It was too early for Adam Ant. No one got up to dance. Lacey gave the DJ the fingers. "Seven and a half. Final offer." "Tally carries over if I don't use it all tonight." The DJ gave Lacey the fingers back and lit a cigarette. Blue sighed. "Fine." "Tell that dick to play better music." "Oh god, shut up," slurred some girl at the bar with bright red lipstick. "I happen to like Adam Ant." "Lacey. Drop it," Blue said in a low voice. "Go sell something to table five. They've got dosh." The lipstick girl's top lip curled up and she whispered something to her friend. A flash of silver caught Lacey's eye as someone slid onto an empty stool. "What's the best whiskey you would recommend?" Lacey's tongue went numb. "You!" "Hello, dear." "Hey, Blue! You see this old bag here?" Lacey pointed at Granny Death smoothing out her gloves on the sticky bar top. Blue gave a don't-care shrug and turned away to serve Lipstick again. "Sure. I see her round here all the time. Her money is good as any other girl's." All the time? Oh my god, not Blue no no no NO. Lacey sat, blocking Granny's view of the rest of the bar. "This funeral bloody well isn't for you," she growled. "Perhaps not," Granny replied. Her eye shadow was a green twenty years out of date. "But I go wherever I'm needed, and tonight I am needed here." Lacey leaned to get a better look at the back of Granny's head. Sure enough, the red-rimmed gold eye blinked at her. She gestured at Blue to pour out a couple fingers of whiskey. Granny smoothed out a note, Blue pinged it into the register without comment, and made the first mark on Lacey's tally. Lacey drank without salute. "Come to get your jollies off a pack of miserable kings and queens, huh?" "I get my jollies off a good cup of tea and watching Star Trek," Granny replied, sipping delicately at her drink. "I get no joy from seeing people in pain. I'd take it all away from all you lovely dears if I could. I like your clothes. I like your faces." Granny sighed. "It's not fair. He was a very nice chap." It's not fair. Lacey grimaced and helped herself to another measure. She didn't care she was drinking too fast. "Then what's with—" She circled a hand. "—doing Death's dirty work tonight? Freddie's funeral is tomorrow." Granny dabbed her lips with a paper serviette. "Mister Bulsara does not get just one funeral, my dear. There are many funerals, big and small, happening all over the world. The unmarked ones are just as important. There's no quality control on this particular passing. Mister Bulsara's essence has well and truly passed through a Rift to the next dimension. A stable Rift in the Templace is simply a random, if rare, occurrence." Lacey rudely crunched ice through the speech. "Nice line, grandma." Granny placed the glass carefully on the bar. "I am no one's grandmother, let alone anyone's mother. This is a calling, not a job. And besides, despite what this form may allude to, I could not procreate if I wished to. Which I do not." Bloody hell. "I have another, more important reason to be at this particular funeral," Granny continued. "I am here for you." Lacey slid backwards off her stool, hands up. "Woah now there, whack job." I AM dead, I just don't know it. Granny sighed. "I am here with a proposition—" "You got to be shitting me. Our age gap has to be illegal." Lacey backed up further until she bumped into Lipstick, who cussed her out for spilling her drink. "—of a position within our administration. Death wants you to apprentice to me. You can See me. You talk about the black sparkles. That's a prelude to being trained to see the Rifts.." "I said, you owe me another fucking drink, you ugly cunt!" Hate that word hate it go on call me it again. "And I said hold your fucking horses," Lacey growled. But when she turned back, Granny Death was gone. Only the prim outline of pink lipstick on her glass suggested she had even been there. Lipstick shoved Lacey in the shoulder. "You fucking ugly dyke cunt. Replace my drink now or I fucking swear." "Or what?" Lacey whirled, fingernails cutting her palms. Don't don't, be a good girl. Everyone's desperate. Desperately sad, desperately drunk, desperately afraid. Lipstick scowled. She looked just as scared as Rocko had been the day before. "Have some common decency." Lacey lowered her voice. "There's a funeral going on here." Lipstick's friend tugged on her arm. "Come on, not tonight." Lipstick shook her off. "Oh yeah? Which of these ugly trannies did us a favor and fucked off?" Lacey's fists ached. Heat rushed from her groin to the top of her skull. Good girls don't get angry anger is so ugly. Lipstick's friend whispered at her. "Oh riiight. Wah wah. One less gay white man to colonize our spaces," Lipstick spat. "That's it, you're cut off," Blue growled. Don't don't I've got this. "He's not gay. He's bisexual, like me. And Parsi. He's from Zanzibar." "Wot?" Liptstick got so close Lacey could taste the sour sweetness on her breath. "Bisexual? You hiding a dick in there too?" By now the friend was backing away, hands up, wanting no part in Lipstick's charade. Lacey knew the taste of a bully's fear. "Wrong one, asshole. Bye-secks-ual." "You a Paki loving tranny? Is that it?" Lipstick sneered. "You better stop," Lacey said. There was something satisfying in the simple threat. "Or what? Bisexual. Bullshit. You're either with us or against us. No wonder he died. So fucking promiscuous. Good riddance to bad rubbish." The bar disappeared. The granite in Lacey's chest didn't so much as shatter as simply melt away. What she had imagined as meters-thick solid rock was nothing more than a millimeter thin shell that gave way beneath the lightest touch. Kitty. Stevie. Gin-Gin. Toad. Paulette. Manil. Freddie. The names became a chant, faces whirling about, grating along her knuckles, clipping the rims of her ears, the smell of antiseptics and fresh washed sheets clogging up her nostrils. Infect. Rinse. Repeat. The granite infected her fists, like she was attempting to build a wall one punch at a time. "Lace." Blue's voice. "Hey, Lace." Hands on her arms. Arms across her chest. "God damn it, Lace." Flipper's voice, angry, cold, annoyed, satisfied. Lacey struggled to shake off the infecting hands, but they held tight. Lipstick stood near the stairs, a wall of girls in suits blocking her in. Blue stared the girl down, her words lost beneath the screech of stone on stone in Lacey's head. Lipstick had a hand over her bloodied nose. The virus is passed through the sharing of infected bodily fluids. Someone sauntered out of the bathrooms. "Hey Blue. The condom and dam dispensers are empty," they shouted, oblivious to the tense scene. Flipper's hands relaxed, and she smoothed Lacey's hair with a sigh. Don't TOUCH me... "What?" grumbled Blue. "I've refilled them once tonight already." A figure at the top of the stairs, weak twilight framing curly hair into a halo. When they turned away, a golden point of light shrunk with each step, like a train moving back up a tunnel. Doom moving in reverse. That's right, little virus, you better run. Wednesday, November 27, 1991. Lacey fingered the scratch down the side of her nose. 'Tis nothing. How much of me is left under her fingernails though? The crowd milled about Logan Place in respectful patterns. Most were sitting, waiting for something, anything. Lacey ran her fingers along the flapping letters tacked up on the fence, catching a word here or there. I should write something let him know but I can't I can't what are words inadequate how could I compete. "Hello dear." Granny Death blocked her way, wrinkled face scrunched up at the outpouring of love and grief. Lacey hung her head. "I'm sorry you had to see that display last night. It wasn't like me at all." "You're not sorry, and of course it was you. That was you in that moment, the you you needed to be." Granny Death didn't scold. Blue had done that enough. "I'm banned from The Belle Jar for a month," Lacey said. "That other chick's banned for life. She's not going to press charges because that was her third strike. Caught her flipping coke in the bathroom. Blue assures me she threw the first bitch slap, but, well, I don't remember. It was pretty tame by all accounts. But I did land a good one on her nose." "And you're very proud of that." "First and last, Granny. First and last." But it felt GOOD. Flick of the wrist, and you're gone baby. Lacey looked up from her battered sneakers, raised an eyebrow. "You said you have a job for me. Some interview that was, then." "So you believe I am who I say I am." Granny Death pressed a floral note in amongst the forest of words. Lacey didn't recognize the language. "No. Yes. I don't know." Lacey sighed and rubbed her eyes, catching the edge of the scratch. She licked blood off her finger. "Everything's...weird. Heavy and light at the same time. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I'm having a dissociative break." "Yes, it has been a strange few days," Granny Death replied, sounding surprised at being surprised. She pulled the shade of a tree around them and the quiet murmur dampened further. "What do you want to believe?" Granny continued, taking out a pack of hard mints. Lacey sucked the lolly thoughtfully until the taste stung the back of her nose. "That Freddie isn't dead," she said, voice as meek as if her mother stood over her. "It doesn't work like that," Granny said. "We only see them to the edge of the Rift. What becomes of them after? Death doesn't even know." "You make Death sound like a semi-decent kinda person," Lacey said. "As far as employers go, they're better than most," Granny said. "It's a service someone has got to do. And the benefits aren't all that bad. Form of your choosing, extended life span—" "—free lunch." "You get to know who does the better catering," Granny admitted. Suddenly her eyebrows lifted. Expecting a spectral figure in a black robe come to put her blood on the dotted line, Lacey turned to follow her gaze. Rocko Redpath slinked through the crowd, features set in a brokenness Lacey could never have imagined his rat-like face achieving. He held the hand of a handsome muscle man. Lacey couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Rocko was right in front of her. He flinched, shuffled a little. Muscles said 'You right, love?' Lacey gave her boss a nod. Rocko nodded back, fumbled in his net shopping bag. A peace offering: a packet of PG Tips. He melted into the crowd. "So, I'm beginning to suspect I don't just See things when it comes to Death," Lacey said. "I knew about Rocko, and it wasn't just gaydar. Not sure if I forgive him though." "You don't have to," Granny said. "Let time do its thing. Life has a way of surprising you." "Does Life have an admin division too?" Lacey shoved the packet of tea into her backpack, and scrubbed at her face with her palms. Her scratch caught again. Pain is good. I can feel it this time. "I presume so, but we don't do Sunday barbeques in Hyde Park," Granny replied, deadly serious. "Never the twain, and all that." "Something like that," Granny said. A ripple passed through the crowd. People were returning to the house after the service. Some paparazzi called out, jostling for space. Fucking paps. "So, is a benefit one of those eyes in the back of your head?" Lacey asked in an undertone. Her fingers tingled, and she felt like her body was rushing through a tunnel, rushing through all the spaces in the world at once but the meat of her brain stood stock still, sloshing up against the thin eggshell that held her inside. Asking for release. Let me out, let me be. "Dear." Granny patted the air above Lacey's hand. "We have eyes in all sorts of places." Together, they waited out the rest of vigil in silence. Because silence felt good. Monday, April 20, 1992. Lacey paused in her duties of handing out red ribbons, condoms, and dams to watch in wonder as Extreme stormed the Wembley Stadium stage with a hot shit rendition of 'Keep Yourself Alive'. Seventy-two thousand people surged, thundered, cried, and laughed. It was turning out to be a hell of a funeral. Granny Death popped up beside Lacey, one of her hideous floral scarves tied around her forehead like an aging hippy. It went well with the terrible green polyester flares, sleeveless pastel pink twin set, and pearls. "How the hell did you get tickets!" Lacey laugh-shouted over the roar of the crowd. "This concert sold out in three hours!" "I have a little sway here and there." Granny clapped out of time with the music. "What, Death is a Queen fan?" "Something like that." Lacey squinted up into the glary Easter Monday sky. The weather held, actually pleasant for London temperatures, but the haze made it difficult to spot Rifts. Granny followed her gaze. "Relax. This is a day off." "You? Saying relax?" Lacey made a whip-crack noise. "Someone else is covering our territory for the day," Granny replied, jiggling her ample hips. That's new. More passers-by dug their hands into Lacey's box of goodies. She'd have to go back for a refill soon. Just like Blue had to keep refilling the dispensers in the bogs at the Belle Jar. Just like supplies had to topped up at the house. 'No rubber, no loving' had become the slogan whenever someone brought a date home to the Hackney flat. Even Blue had gone to get herself tested. Clear. Thank the Templace, she's all clear. Lacey carried her own letter detailing her HIV negative position like a good luck charm in a hidden inner suit jacket pocket. Granny followed her at a trot as she took a swing through the upper terraces, getting winks and up-nods from the odd king or butch. "That's nice dear," Granny said, sipping a beer. "What is?" "Seeing you smile." "Ugh, Granny." Lacey rolled her eyes. "Don't be so sloppy." Freddie, my darling. I miss you so hard gone away gone away. The chunk of granite in her chest orbited once. Glittering dust sanded off, softening an edge. Rubbing the hopeful bump on the back of her head, Lacey stared hard into the white hazy sky, forcing her eyes—all of them—to stay dry. With a gleam like the dust from the fresh edge in her chest, a Rift pondered its way open over the top of stadium. "Granny, look!" Lacey pointed up. "That's the biggest I've seen yet!" "Well done!" Granny clapped her hands, bouncing in place. Lacey was sure the old bat would ache like buggery the next day, and she'd be fetching cups of tea and hot water bottles. "Goodness me, that's a pretty one!" And it was pretty, layers of blue-shot silver with sparkling black on top, the edges curled up like a smile. Lacey nudged Granny. "He's watching us, I swear!" "Now you're just being fanciful." Granny danced off into the crowd. Her voice wafted back along with a teaser of lavender perfume. "You know the Rifts are only a one way trip." The Rift stayed open for the entirety of the concert, the longest Lacey had seen. Every time she looked up at the iridescent void, the Nothing that held Everything, her voice inside quelled to a quiet murmur. Tomorrow. I'll take my letter down to the fence at Logan Place tomorrow... END "Seven Handy Ideas for Algorithmic Shapeshifting" is copyright Bogi Takács 2018. "Granny Death and the Drag King of London" is copyright A.J. Fitzwater 2018. This recording is a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license which means you can share it with anyone you’d like, but please don’t change or sell it. Our theme is “Aurora Borealis” by Bird Creek, available through the Google Audio Library. You can support GlitterShip by checking out our Patreon at patreon.com/keffy, subscribing to our feed, or by leaving reviews on iTunes. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back soon with a reprint of "Smooth Stones and Empty Bones" by Bennett North.
Excessive slurping ahead. Matthew schools us on tea leaves, buying a zoo and what to do with PG Tips while Lil ol' Molly offends absolutely no one. Directions: bash, fester, dry, repeat. EXPLICIT. www.spilledmilkpodcast.com Brad Pitt in GQ
This week Luke talks about surprise parties, PG Tips, viral videos and Coldplay. Facebook: Luke Stephen - Funny Man Twitter: @Luke_Stephen1 Email: crushingitpc@hotmail.com
My guest this show is Dwayne Perkins - standup comedian, actor, author, and fellow podcaster. In this episode, we discuss: What is a "foodie?" How Dwayne likes his sandwiches at Subway, and his tea at Starbucks. PG Tips n Toast. Body Image, Diet, The Four Hour Body, and Dwayne's Morning Shake Recipe, and the wonderful world of Green Smoothies. Eating at Comedy Clubs - The Glee in Birmingham, Hunan Food in China, Comedy Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, The Ha Ha Cafe and The Improv. Thai Town food (Ruen Pair) Theme music by Goh Nakamura. Keep in touch via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @mslynnchen. xo Lynn
Illustrator Josh Cleland joins me for episode 70 of Unfinished Business this week. We discuss about how I’m struggling with an idea for the next version of the Stuff and Nonsense header and I baffle Josh by talking about vintage British adverts, including the PG Tips chimps and Cadbury Smash’s famous Martians.
The most powerful thing any leader can gain from this conference is not technical, but spiritual; that you would return home newly equipped and energised to walk closely with God. Of course, we know that prayer was the key to Christ's ministry and that it has been the heartbeat of Christian leadership, in every sphere of society, ever since. But we also know that prayer can be bewildering, boring and hard. In this session, Pete Greig will talk honestly and humorously about his own discoveries, sharing hard-won insights to help you grow your own personal prayer life as well as the corporate prayer life of your church.
The most powerful thing any leader can gain from this conference is not technical, but spiritual; that you would return home newly equipped and energised to walk closely with God. Of course, we know that prayer was the key to Christ's ministry and that it has been the heartbeat of Christian leadership, in every sphere of society, ever since. But we also know that prayer can be bewildering, boring and hard. In this session, Pete Greig will talk honestly and humorously about his own discoveries, sharing hard-won insights to help you grow your own personal prayer life as well as the corporate prayer life of your church.
Pete Greig, leader of Emmaus Road Church in Guildford and Director of Prayer for HTB, speaks on 'Growing your Prayer Life' at the 2013 Leadership Conference.
Pete Greig, leader of Emmaus Road Church in Guildford and Director of Prayer for HTB, speaks on 'Growing your Prayer Life' at the 2013 Leadership Conference.
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