Podcasts about queen elizabeth ii

Step into the late-night twilight zone with Walter Sterling on The Other Side of Midnight. In this jam-packed, eccentric hour, Walter and UFO expert Dave Scott dive into the deep end of conspiracy theories—from the suspicious, rapid cleanup of Ground Zero and Sandra Bullock's secret alien sightings to whether Queen Elizabeth was actually a shape-shifting reptilian. Plus, Walter rants about the corruption of the Port Authority, exposes a famous radio host who died broke, advises a caller whose girlfriend describes him as merely an "interesting feature" in her life, and shares an introvert's ultimate survival guide to surviving social interaction. It's wild, it's unfiltered, and it's the perfect antidote to your late-night insomnia.

1 September 2026 is Rosebud's THIRD birthday! And to celebrate, we are giving you the chance to listen again to one of our best every episodes: with the late Queen Elizabeth II's groom, Terry Pendry. Terry worked with Queen Elizabeth II for over 28 years, as her Stud Groom and Manager at Windsor Castle. Terry's relationship with the Queen was unique, because he rode with her every morning when she was at Windsor. This is when the Queen was able to relax, and talk about her passions - for horses, dogs, animals and the countryside. And so, this interview with Terry - which we recorded in the Royal Mews at Windsor - gives an unusual level of insight into what it was like to spend time with the Queen, and tells us all about her love and knowledge of horses. And we meet her favourite pony, Emma, who she rode for the last few years of her life. Our thanks to Terry for this wonderful conversation, for introducing us to Noble and Emma, and to Sue Pendry for her hospitality and cake.We won't need to remind you that we're also coming up to the fourth anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, on 8th September 2026. Which gives us another very fitting reason to replay this episode today. Thank you so much to all of you - our listeners. Whether you've been here since the start, or have only discovered us recently - we love having you here. We couldn't do this without you. So happy birthday to Rosebud, happy birthday to us, and happy birthday to all of you. Sit down with a slice of cake, a cup of tea, or maybe just snuggle up under the duvet and enjoy this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is reportedly relieved that Harry and Meghan's return has shifted attention away from his own troubles, while a new film prepares to dramatize the scandal surrounding him. Plus, Sarah Ferguson is said to be returning to Britain and considering a major television interview, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie face fresh speculation over whether they should give up their titles, critics question Eugenie's tribute to Queen Elizabeth in her new baby's name, and we revisit the extraordinary story of King Charles reportedly erupting over David Beckham's private Buckingham Palace photographs.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

In part 3 of our series, we spend a lot of time talking about the continuing war with Spain - including the famous Spanish Armada. We also detail the fate of the Roanoke Colony, and discuss the fallout with Queen Elizabeth over Raleigh's secret marriage. Sponsors: Quince. Get free shipping with your order by using code EXPLORERS at quince.com/explorers The Explorers Podcast is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on the Explorers Podcast? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one was Meta AI - it's a free model and it did a pretty good job. Obviously I am not going to read that and neither will anyone else, but outside of the lack of brevity here it's a decent write up. Well done, Mark. EPISODE TITLE OPTIONSUse one as main title, others as alternates for SEO:One Nation's Immigration Muddle, 18C on Trial, and Tampa 25 Years OnFarley the Throwback, AI Bubble Warnings and the Swans Self-DestructFrom Narrandera to Norway: Immigration, Data Centres and Banning AI in SchoolsThe Two Jacks on Pauline Hanson vs 18C, the UK's Boat Camps and America's Voting MessCocaine Capital, $600 Grams in Perth and a 49ers Billionaire in a Trailer Park StingBloods Culture to Boarding School: Tampa, Tribunals and What Went Wrong at the SwansEPISODE SUMMARYEpisode 170 is a wide-ranging end-of-winter news wrap from Sydney and Hong Kong.Jack the Insider and Hong Kong Jack start with One Nation's confused immigration numbers - David Farley suggesting an intake not far from Labor's, Pauline Hanson unclear on net overseas migration - and ask whether vagueness matters when neither government nor opposition has a clear story either. Farley, the Narrandera-based former Labor aspirant now with One Nation, is singled out as a throwback to old Country Party-style ministers like Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair and Peter Nixon - rural common sense and real-world experience.The conversation moves to energy and tech. The Albanese government's proposal that new data centres from mid-next year need their own water source and 100% renewable power triggers a debate about global electricity demand. Data centre consumption is projected to double from 460 TWh in 2024 to over 1000 TWh by 2030. The Jacks question small modular nuclear reactors in Australia and warn of an AI investment bubble, with 15% of the S&P 500 now AI-configured and Chinese open-source models undercutting expensive US startups.On law, they unpack Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Context is Pauline Hanson's 2022 tweet to Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi telling her to "piss off back to Pakistan" after Faruqi's comments on Queen Elizabeth, which led to a Federal Court finding and a reported $200,000 penalty. Hanson is seeking leave to appeal to the High Court. The Jacks also discuss the White Australia Party's attempt to circumvent hate-group laws linked to the National Socialist Network and ASIO's role, and debate whether repugnant speech should be illegal.Twenty-five years on from the MV Tampa, they revisit the Howard-era response, children overboard, the excision of Christmas Island and other northern territories from the migration zone, and the legacy of mandatory detention introduced under Keating. Hong Kong Jack draws on his ten years on the Refugee Review Tribunal, including a harrowing self-harm incident during a video hearing in Woomera.Internationally: the UK's new camps for unscheduled boat arrivals after the High Court blocked the Rwanda plan, and the problematic Daily Mail reporting of gyms, football pitches and halal-only food; the US Supreme Court allowing state-based moves to restrict mail-in ballots, the stalled SAVE Act requiring birth certificates to vote and its impact on married women, and why America needs an AEC-style independent electoral commission.The Jacks note Norway banning generative AI in primary schools and restricting it in upper years after a decline in reading and writing, and pay tribute to Dolly Parton and the Dollywood Foundation's 325 million books program as a springboard into phonics vs whole-language teaching. Jack the Insider credits his mother and the Whitlam-era disadvantaged schools program for championing phonics.Court and crime: a mistrial in Pennsylvania after a juror allegedly smoked marijuana in the jury room during a murder trial; and Australia's cocaine problem in the context of the Sydney Swans hotel-room scandal. The Jacks discuss the legal risk of supply of a trafficable quantity (15 years in Victoria), self-reporting data suggesting 4% to 11% usage, 1500 possession arrests in the Eastern Suburbs, $600 a gram in Perth creating a Nullarbor business model, and the shift to crystal meth where cocaine is scarce.Sport to close: Italy's Giorgia Meloni becoming the longest-serving PM of the Italian Republic, polling 25-26% for Brothers of Italy as a buffer against the harder right; the Swans culture piece by Andrew Webster - the end of the Bloods self-sacrifice era of Kirk and Kelly, late nights at the Beach Road and Clovelly Hotels, adult entertainment in the team hotel, four-week bans, presumption of innocence, and Nick Blakey demanding a trade to North Melbourne where his father played; NRL - Roosters and Panthers as premiership threats; AFL - Carlton vs Melbourne as a clash of new game plans; cricket - England vs Pakistan at Lord's, Pakistan in disarray, Babar Azam out of form, and whether Marnus Labuschagne should tour South Africa or if he is at the "thanks for your service" stage; and finally the NFL - the San Francisco 49ers CEO caught in a police sting in East Palestine, Ohio, $140 agreed on WhatsApp, no trailer or brothel at the lot, two days jail with credit for time served and $1000 in fines and costs.Next week: listener feedback on booze and upper-middle-class parenting.SHOW NOTES - TOPICS COVEREDAustralian Politics: One Nation immigration policy split between David Farley and Pauline Hanson, net overseas migration confusion, Albanese wedge politics, Opposition property ban for temporary residents, Labor's delayed immigration announcement and refugee intake numbers.Energy and Technology: Data centres in Australia, water and renewable requirements, small-scale nuclear reactors in Russia and China, global power demand, AI bubble vs dotcom bubble, US vs Chinese AI models, S&P 500 exposure.Law and Free Speech: Section 18C - offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate, Pauline Hanson vs Mehreen Faruqi Federal Court decision, High Court leave to appeal process, White Australia Party and National Socialist Network, hate group laws, implied freedom of political communication.Immigration History: 25th anniversary of Tampa, MV Tampa and Captain, Merak and Christmas Island, children overboard, excision of Australian territories, mandatory detention, Woomera, Port Hedland, Villawood and Maribyrnong, Manus Island and Nauru costs.UK and US: UK mandatory processing centres, minibuses, no-document arrivals, security risks and Nick Radev case, Daily Mail coverage; US mail-in ballots, electoral rolls, SAVE Act, automatic voter registration in Oregon/Washington/California, gerrymandering and partisan control, Ross Perot and third-party candidates.Education and Culture: Norway AI ban, iPads in schools, national testing decline, phonics revival in Australia, Dr Seuss, John and Betty readers, Dolly Parton and literacy, scholarships for Year 7 retention.Courts and Drugs: Pennsylvania juror and devil's lettuce mistrial, field sobriety and judge's chambers process, Christian Brothers at St Pat's Ballarat, Sydney Swans scandal and allegations of indecent assault, white powder found, trafficable quantity laws, Australia as highest self-reported cocaine users, Double Bay and Waverley Local Court, cardiac risks.Sport: Swans culture, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey trade to North Melbourne, Andrew Webster SMH column, AFL finals odds Sydney at $34, NRL Warriors Roosters Panthers, Carlton vs Melbourne injuries, England vs Pakistan second Test, Marnus Labuschagne technique and Steve Smith comparison, Ricky Ponting assessment, San Francisco 49ers CEO East Palestine sting.All timestamps below are adjusted by +25 seconds to account for theme music at the top of the episode.TIMESTAMPED HIGHLIGHTS (Adjusted +25s)00:00:25 - Open: End of winter in Sydney and the Highlands, mid-20s, bracing for a stinking hot summer. Hong Kong Jack on the Hungry Ghost Festival heat and humidity.00:01:54 - One Nation's immigration numbers: David Farley vs Pauline Hanson, does vagueness matter?00:03:36 - Old Country Party ministers: Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair, Peter Nixon, Peter Walsh, John Kerin, Mick Young. Farley as a rural common-sense throwback and best new MP in ages.00:04:39 - How long will Farley stay with One Nation? History of independents.00:06:07 - Government and Opposition also unclear on migration, cabinet donnybrook, Albo's populist instincts and a potential wedge.00:14:50 - Data centres are coming to Australia: Albanese plan for own water source and renewables from July 1 next year.00:15:52 - Small modular nuclear: one in Russia, one in China, cost issues, worldwide energy growth before AI.00:16:47 - Electricity to double: 460 TWh in 2024 to 1000+ TWh by 2030, S&P 500 AI exposure, trillions invested.00:18:50 - Tech bubble vs AI bubble: companies with no revenue then vs Meta and Google with revenue now, but startup risk for Anthropic and others.00:21:41 - What is Section 18C? Offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate explained.00:22:23 - Pauline Hanson tweet to Mehreen Faruqi "piss off back to Pakistan", Queen Elizabeth context, Federal Court appeal, $200k fine, High Court leave.00:23:12 - White Australia Party, National Socialist Network, ASIO recommendation to Home Affairs Minister to shut down hate groups.00:25:38 - Will Hanson succeed? Prediction 18C rendered toothless on offend/insult/humiliate.00:28:08 - 25 years since Tampa: ABC docudrama, Norwegian tanker MV Tampa, 2001.00:29:26 - Children overboard, Peter Reith gilding the lily.00:30:43 - How Tampa changed the rules permanently: no unscheduled arrival lands in migration zone.00:32:12 - Refugee Tribunal reality: Woomera/Port Hedland video hearing, self-harm incident, need for thick skin.00:35:00 - UK's new camps after Rwanda failure, mandatory processing, fingerprints, 17 minibuses, not locked up like Villawood.00:38:27 - Security risk: Nick Radev - Nick the Russian/Bulgarian, wiped criminal history, prison tattoos, arriving with clean sheet.00:42:46 - SCOTUS and US mail-in ballots: state administrators, postal workers, accurate electoral rolls, attempt to slow mail voting.00:49:21 - Norway bans generative AI in primary schools, iPads since 1990s, decline in reading/writing, return to books.00:51:30 - Dolly Parton tribute: Dollywood Foundation 325 million books to US, Ireland, UK, Australia, NZ, functional illiteracy, pathway to imagination. 4,000 songs and 9 to 5 story with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.00:57:30 - Phonics vs whole language: Dolly's father, $500 scholarships to get through Year 7, Australian education decline, Whitlam disadvantaged schools program, Dr Seuss and Cat in the Hat 1957.01:01:22 - Devil's lettuce in the jury room: Pennsylvania murder trial of Saffron Gump and Gregory Prince, juror smoked in fifth-floor room, lawyers argue prescription, judge calls jurors one by one, mistrial, boarding school parallels.01:04:31 - Cocaine and the Swans: Australian article, two bags of white powder in hotel room, no one claims ownership, supply trafficable quantity 15 years jail, agency providing girls.01:07:29 - Australia's cocaine appetite: biggest users in world on self-reporting, 4% to 11%, tradies on the bags, financial and legal sectors, Double Bay 1500 possession arrests.01:12:53 - $600 a gram in Perth, Nullarbor drug run business model, when cocaine scarce users turn to crystal meth.01:14:58 - Italy: Giorgia Meloni longest-serving PM of Italian Republic, Brothers of Italy polling 25.4 to 26.4%, buffer against extreme right, far-right label rendered meaningless.01:17:38 - Swans culture: Brett Kirk and Paul Kelly Bloods era vs now, Andrew Webster column, Beach Road Hotel and Clovelly Hotel, self-sacrificing myth.01:20:22 - Hotel scandal: 4am return, 7am bus, adult entertainment, disrespect for teammates, four-week bans near certain, victims and presumption of innocence.01:25:26 - Nick Blakey demands immediate trade, North Melbourne link, dad John Blakey, Heeney Warner and Blakey as top liners someone will want.01:26:09 - NRL: Warriors, Roosters premiership winning form if past Panthers.01:26:38 - AFL tonight: Carlton vs Melbourne preview, injuries to Lever, Will Hayward, attractive footy and game plan changes.01:28:20 - Cricket England vs Pakistan at Lord's: Pakistan dismissed cheaply, in disarray, Joe Root captaincy phone call.01:29:46 - Does Marnus Labuschagne go to South Africa? Renshaw, Campbell Callaway, Oliver Peake options, Ricky Ponting says thanks for your service.01:32:30 - NFL not football: San Francisco 49ers CEO in East Palestine, Ohio trailer park sting, WhatsApp $140, no trailer there, two days jail with time served, $1000 fines, attempt to seal records denied, quick trip to Tiffany's.01:35:?? - Close: Spring next week, listener feedback on booze and parenting coming up.

A diagnosis can change your life, but it does not have to decide what comes next. My guest Paul Bugeja has built a life shaped by curiosity, career change, travel, creativity, and a determination to keep moving forward. Paul lives with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, a condition he calls his “dark angel.” We talk about how disability has influenced his choices without defining them, why staying active matters to him, and how personal agency has helped him face uncertainty without becoming trapped by fear. Paul also shares his path from acting and writing into journalism and digital media, where he now works as a quizmaster. We explore disability advocacy, media accessibility, the role of AI in journalism, and the danger of losing critical thinking. Paul's story reminds us that resilience is not about denying challenges. It is about understanding them while continuing to choose how we live. Highlights: 01:10 – How moving often helped Paul learn to adapt. 12:15 – How a gym visit led to his FSHD diagnosis. 20:39 – Why disability gave Paul a stronger drive to live fully. 22:53 – How knowledge of his condition gave him more agency. 38:35 – Why accessible media still has room to improve. 45:57 – How staying present helps Paul manage worry and fear. About the Guest: Working as a quizmaster for a major media organisation isn't somewhere I could have predicted I'd end up professionally, but, then again, life has taken so many twists and turns it doesn't surprise me this is where I currently find myself. Despite early aspirations to be an actor, I completed a double degree in Arts and Commerce at the University of Melbourne, with the final year spent on exchange at UC Berkeley, California. On my return to Australia, not to be denied, the ever-persistent actor in me got me admission to the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts Drama School: the decade or so following saw me immersed in the challenging but exciting life of the struggling actor. This period was also the launching pad into studies in writing, editing, journalism and screenwriting, which I did as I worked in book publishing and wrote half a dozen books, even as I edged into the rapidly evolving professional world of content, digital marketing and journalism. Throughout this entire time, I've lived alongside and managed my “dark angel”—a diagnosis of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy—which has only served to galvanise me further to live a life less ordinary along the road less travelled … And that has made all the difference. Ways to connect with Paul**:** LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/peebee/ 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/ 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 subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . 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  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi, everyone. I'd like to thank you once again for coming to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. And if you're new to the podcast, we hope you enjoy our episode today. We're glad you're here wherever you may happen to be. Today we are communicating a long way away. We're communicating with Melbourne, Australia, to Paul Bugeja, and Paul is fondly known as a quizmaster. We're going to have to find out more about that, but he's had a lot of interest in acting and media and such things as that, and has had clearly a pretty adventurous life. And again, I'm sure we're going to hear a lot about a lot of that today. So, Paul, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad you're here. Paul Bugeja  01:44 Thank you for having me, Michael. Michael Hingson  01:46 So why don't we start? I love to do this with the early Paul, kind of growing up and how things all got started. If you remember back that far, or at least as far back as you remember, or what you were told anyway. Paul Bugeja  01:59 You know, pretty standard like childhood story for me. Grew up in the green leafy sort of suburbs of Melbourne. You know, did all the things that kids do in their growing up years. My my mother actually divorced my father quite young for me, so that was a little bit of a a critical sort of point for a child to sort of, you know, have to grapple with, but um, it was pretty smooth, and you know, um, it didn't really disrupt my childhood, except it meant that I moved around a lot when I was quite young. So I probably moved about seven or eight times by the time I was maybe eight years old. Um, but I think, in a way, that that that sort of has worked for me because it meant that even as a young child, I had to learn to adapt and change and evolve very quickly. Particularly when it came to meeting people, and you know, as a child, obviously making friends-that's one of the trickiest parts as a kid sometimes. So I think that actually stood me in good stead in in that regard, yeah. Michael Hingson  03:04 Well, I I didn't have to move a whole lot growing up. We moved from Chicago to California when I was five and stayed in the same house since college. I have moved a bunch of times, but those things happen. I understand what you're saying. I'm I'm used to it, but am am of the opinion that I'd rather not move again. It is a lot of work to move, and now also it's just me. My wife passed away two almost two and a half years ago, so I don't want to pack and move again. But yeah, well, we're in a house that we built, and and so we built it really around her because she's in a wheelchair her whole life. So it's an accessible house, but it's a very comfortable house. So I I have no complaints, and and the dog and the cat seem to like it as well. So we're here. Paul Bugeja  04:01 It's a win for everyone, and I think look, that's that's a really interesting. I had this very similar conversation with a friend yesterday about there's a time to put down roots and there's a time to be a you know a rolling stone, and and for some people that's at different times in their life, you know. So I I can understand why you would have chosen to find your comfy spot to settle into and enjoy. Michael Hingson  04:23 Well, and I have a good mortgage rate and all that, so yeah, we're happy with with things the way they are. And as long as the dog and the cat are happy, I can't complain a bit. Paul Bugeja  04:33 Excellent, excellent. Michael Hingson  04:34 But but now you're and and you you're not moving as much around anymore. Paul Bugeja  04:40 Sort of the opposite, actually. I think, like, to to go back to what we were originally discussing. Like, I think having moved so much as a younger person has meant I've lived a life that's almost constantly moving. Like, there certainly have been periods where I've lived for reasonably long periods in the one place, but particularly over the past. We maybe 10 to 12 years or so. I've moved like literally maybe 10 to 12 times. Like it's becoming, Michael Hingson  05:09 it Paul Bugeja  05:10 almost becomes a bit addictive. Sort of the ability to to be transportable when your professional life allows you and your personal life allows you as well. Michael Hingson  05:18 Yeah, I can understand that. For me, I don't want to go through all the rigors of packing and finding a new home and all that, so we're good. But but it it's okay because I can go anywhere from here, and so that works out pretty well. So I'm I'm content, and that that's the way it it should be. So we'll see how it all goes. But I'm glad that you did well, so you grew up, had kind of a normal life, even though you moved around a lot. Yeah, did all the things that that that kids do growing up, and so on. And where did you go to college, or did you? Paul Bugeja  05:53 Yeah, so I my original, I've I was a bit of a perpetual student for probably you know the first several decades as an adult, my original degree was from the University of Melbourne, which is one of the sort of larger universities in both Melbourne and Australia, and I did a double degree in arts and commerce. But you know, I had long wanted to be an actor, and so originally, like when I finished high school, my my intention was to audition for drama school. But my mother very wisely convinced me to go to university first, and then check that out. And if I didn't like it, then maybe audition for drama school a bit later on. And it was, as mothers can be on most occasions, very sagely advice from her, because the thing that she wasn't aware of was that even though I I definitely enjoyed the academic aspect of my studies at MLB Uni, it has a very strong theater department as well, and very big names have actually been through there and gone on to bigger and better things, namely Kate Blanchett. She was one of my colleagues back in the day. So you know, it was a it was a proving ground for talent. And so I did a lot of theater during my my studies at the University of Melbourne while completing the academic side as well. So I never quite lost that sort of underlying desire to maybe go on and and study acting and maybe do some acting. I actually completed the final year of my degree at Cal at UC Berkeley, which was an amazing experience, and sort of also launched me into the next part of my life. So that that was at a time when you know, like I think in a lot of ways, more and more students were traveling between countries to study. It was becoming a real thing to study overseas, so it was such an amazing experience to finish at Cal. Michael Hingson  07:48 So, do you keep in touch with Kate at Paul Bugeja  07:52 all? Haven't seen Kate in probably maybe 20 years or so. We kept in contact during the beginning of her career, of course, and then you know that life has taken her to such places that it's almost impossible to keep Michael Hingson  08:07 touch, right? Paul Bugeja  08:08 That's right. But you know, I dare say, if I think she's probably maintained the sort of personality and character that she had when I knew her, which would mean that if I bumped into her on the street and I said hello and gave her a bit of a nudge about where we knew each other from. She'd be the first one to lean into that and and you know be quite happy to reminisce on old times as you know she's not an aloof sort of person. I think that's my feel about her, even given her amazing success. Michael Hingson  08:37 I've never had that impression of her either, so I I'm with you. Well, that's pretty cool. What What took you to Berkeley for your last year? Paul Bugeja  08:45 Yeah, so I actually started working during my studies on campus at the university, and I worked in the international student office. So I was dealing with a lot of incoming study abroad and exchange students, which meant I began to have a real desire to do the same thing myself, and initially I was looking at a couple of other universities like Georgetown. I think NYU was one of the options, and I actually met a guy from Cal who was like, "You should come to Berkeley and study. It's an amazing institution. You'll love California. It's so similar to Australia, and I'd I'd I'd actually been to California before my first overseas trip when I was 19, and so I had a taste of California already. So initially, I was looking at the whole sort of Cal system, the whole you know UC system. So I looked at UCLA, UC San UCSJ maybe and anyway yeah and and then I fell and I fell in Berkeley as the final one just because what a great city to live outside of you know San Francisco's such a beautiful city and and yeah so I ended up spending an entire year there which was just like you know life defining. Michael Hingson  09:57 What'd your mom think of that? Paul Bugeja  10:00 Yeah, typical of mum's. There was a lot of tears at the airport, but you know, and this was you know like at a time when social media was really not even happening, so it was all about the phone calls regularly. But she was happy. She's I'm very lucky in that, even though I'm an only child, mum's not a clingy a clingy mum, you know, she has always encouraged me to just go out and do everything that I possibly can, and and she would never, she would rarely, you know, get get in the way of me living out my life and my dreams. Michael Hingson  10:33 Do you still? Is she still here? Paul Bugeja  10:35 She is. Yep, she's um 78, so she's you know I'm still a youngish older person, and even though we don't, we sort of you know like see each other as much as maybe I'd like because we don't live in the same place. You know, we we talk every two days or so on the phone, and I stay in regular contact. And yeah, it's it's still a very very strong relationship. Michael Hingson  10:56 That's cool. That that's a good thing though. So you you went to Berkeley. You were here. You were out here in California for a year, and then what happened? Paul Bugeja  11:05 Well, I actually I bounced back to Australia, feeling very encouraged to to follow my acting pursuits because I I did a couple of shows at when I was at Cal. I did one drama class as well in the drama department, you know, made some lifetime friendships and and felt very connected to myself as an actor again. And so, even though originally my plans were to apply to become a diplomat through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the acting thing was a bit too strong. So I came back and and felt a little not torn, but certainly I had to I had to weigh up the competing desire to want to be an actor against the fact that I had a great degree that I could maybe go on and do something completely different with. So in fact, I spent a year thinking about that and ended up quite on a different track and enrolled in a master's of environmental studies, which you know was something that interested me definitely. And but decided that I would, in addition to drama school as well, which I did do, and I got into. So I did one year of that master's, and then I went on to study at the Victorian College of the Arts, which is one of the big three drama schools in Australia, and so I finally got to that took that circuitous route to drama school, despite my mum's earlier advice, and she was happy because you know I got there under my own auspices in terms of I'd made a decision as an adult to finally get there, rather than maybe as an excited teenager who you know could obviously do so many things, and so I had both the academic degree, and now I was into a program that I'd always wanted to sort of be involved with. Michael Hingson  12:49 Right. Well, and and that that's fine. That makes sense. Yes. So I'm not sure when to bring this up. So I'll bring it up now. Sure. Tell us about your dark angel. Paul Bugeja  13:01 Yeah, absolutely. So probably in my in my in my late 20s, I started working at a university in back at University of Melbourne. Actually, my old alma mater, and by then, you know, I was actually you know sort of I I was doing some acting, you know, some professional acting, not a lot of it, but enough to sort of be remain interested. So I needed a part time job on the side, you know, to to keep it going as most actors do. And when I started working at the university, I became very interested in fitness as well. I joined a gym and started going to the gym there and made some sort of friends with the local personal trainers. And one day I was doing some training and on one of the big, big sort of bouncy medicine balls that you can sit on for balance and training work, and one of the instructors came up to me and said, "Do you realize that your scapular wings? And I was firstly thinking, "Well, what the hell is my scapular? And then I sort of made sense that it was my shoulders, you know. And and I said, "What do you mean? He said, "Well, when you do upper body workouts, your scapula has quite a lot of movement in it, and it's quite visible. Now, I've always been a very thin person, like I've always sort of been. We've joked about being a tall, skinny dude, you know, and and so I I'd never thought anything about maybe the fact that my my shoulder blades were a bit more prominent. I figured that was because I was a slim person, you know. Of course, so he recommended I see a physiotherapist, and I did. I saw a sports physio in case I'd injured myself or there was some underlying issue. After a couple of sessions with a sports physio. I was referred to a neurologist because the sports physio had some inklings about it may be being a neurological condition potentially of some kind, but had no idea what it might be. And this is when I guess my dark angel first really. Began alerting me to its presence in the background of my life, and I'll explain why I call it my dark angel in a moment. Yeah, the neurologist and I did some tests, and I went in for a biopsy, a muscle biopsy, and I was diagnosed with one of the variants of muscular dystrophy, which is fascioscapiohumeral muscular dystrophy, so it affects the face, the humerus, and the scapula, but in general affects the muscles across the body. It's a degenerative neuromuscular disease. It's not that common; about one in 8000 have it. So you know, enough people have it that it's out there. Some people live with live with it their entire lives and don't know they have it for the reasons that I've just sort of elaborated on, which are it can it can be there but be so minor that you just think it's because you're a slim person or you don't have much you don't go to the gym so you don't work out so your muscles aren't growing or whatever. So yeah, and I was not that thrown by it at the time. It was it was in our family, so it wasn't that much of a surprise to me that maybe I had it. Given that another family member, even though they're quite distant on the family tree for me, also had it, and yeah, I began to just think about you know like what life would be like with this condition, and you know began to have regular sort of checks with the neurologist and you know other sort of allied health professionals around how to manage that. Luckily, it was very my and still is very mild in terms of how severe that it can be. But as I sort of began thinking more about my professional life. I I actually took on a an editing and writing degree and a screenwriting degree as I started to move away from acting because I figured I am a creative person. I love writing and I want to improve my craft. I was interested in journalism as well and I could do that as part of this degree. Paul Bugeja  16:58 So I started studying and that then led to me actually writing a couple of books, four or five books, working as an editor, and then at one point I began thinking, I think I need to write my own book about my journey with this condition, or you know, disability, whatever you want to call it. And I had watched the TV show Dexter, which you may or may not have watched. Yep, and Dexter talks about his dark passenger. You know, as and that's the the sort of I mean, it's a weird correlation. I know in some ways, but that's the serial killer in him. That's his dark passenger. But it really resonated as um this idea of there being this sort of passenger in your life. You know, for whatever reason, whatever it is, and I didn't obviously want to steal that sort of figurative term, but I began thinking about a dark angel instead because, for me, it's a double thing. I mean, I was whatever Catholic. I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore, but you know, the notions of angels around us is something you know we all sort of think about, I guess. But the notion of my scapular wing and those being wings as well was very sort of resonated with me, and so I began feeling that for me my entire life this dark angel had been somewhere in the background, very very far in the background to the point where I wasn't even really aware of that dark angel, and then of course when the diagnosis came along, the dark angel began to make its presence more known, and yeah, and and then over time, I'm very, I live with, you know, like anyone with any sort of disability or chronic medical condition, like you live with it 24/7, and some days it's more of a burden, other days you don't not even aware of it, but you have to learn to live with it, and and so I now feel like I have this sort of dance with the dark angel, I like to call it, who sometimes is more present in my life and sometimes much more in the background. Michael Hingson  18:53 So, what kinds of things does it sort of limit you, or what what do you have to do to to make sure you don't let it get too much of a control over you. Paul Bugeja  19:04 Sure. So for me, the biggest thing I ever did was start going to the gym. You know, I did that just out of pure practicality because there was a gym on campus. It was very easy to join it. It was very close to go to on my lunch break, and so I've now maintained a really rigorous gym schedule, even though my upper body strength is quite weak and limited. I've been able to, I think, the my GP and say allied healthcare professionals like physios and exercise physiologists and occupational therapists have all commented that my gym program is one of the things that may you know this it's a may but may have prevented the condition progressing more severely than it has. So staying fit has been really important. I think by nature, I like to call myself a pragmatic optimist or optimistic pragmatist. By nature, I'm a practical person. I sort of feel as though, unlike I mean, look, everyone manages the news of some sort of health situation differently. You know, some people it can lay low, and I understand why because it can be very confronting, and every condition has a different set of limitations, like you know, it can be quite severe for some people. Like my my cousin had a different form of muscular dystrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which meant that he was in a wheelchair from the age of five and died at the age of 28. So you know, like like in my case, I feel blessed on some level that my condition is slowly deteriorating, but I do think that I'm lucky that I have enough of a practical and positive attitude about not letting it. I don't call, I never ignore it or or deny it, but I call about. I just resist it. The resistance is there. Like I I push back against it. So mentally, I try to stay positive physically. I try to stay healthy, but you know it does limit me. I have part of the condition. I have something called foot drop, which means that my feet catch a lot as I walk. So I trip a lot. So I I have damaged elbows and knees a lot because of that. So as a consequence, I have to be conscious when I walk. It's not just a. It's not like for most people, walking is an unconscious action. Of course, for me, it's a conscious action to ensure that I trip less. And of course, as I get older, tripping becomes a thing as you get older anyway, because you know your muscle tone changes and you know all kinds of things. So you know, it's about almost in a way you have to become. You do have to be aware of it all the time, and you have to manage it all the time. But that doesn't mean it has to become a burden. I think in many ways it's pushed me the other way, which is it's made me have a lust for life. It's made me want to do more. It's it's probably pushed me to be more nomadic while I can be, just in case there's a point where I can't be, and that sounds a little bit sad, and I mean probably in some ways, but I see that as a positive. Like a really small example I can give you is whenever I visit my mum, like I don't drive, so I use public transport like trains and busses and and the like. And if I catch a train to to go visit my mum, she always insists I'll come and pick you up at the at the train station, rather than you walk to my place, and I insist every time I'm going to walk because while I can walk, I want to walk. You know, so I don't. It's not. I reject. I don't reject her kindness, and I understand it. But it's me saying to the dark angel, "No, I will. Does she? Michael Hingson  22:36 Does she understand Paul Bugeja  22:38 it? I think so on some level, but she still Michael Hingson  22:41 wants to come and get you. Of course, Paul Bugeja  22:43 she does. Of course, there can be the tiniest trickle of rain, and she's like, "Oh, you can't walk in that rain. You know, I've got an umbrella, mum. No, no, no. You know, it's all that stuff. Um, it's it's delightful of her, and I'm glad, and I'll always expect the offer in those situations. But um, yeah, no, she um, you know, unfortunately, and I think a lot of parents will who pass on genetic conditions because this is a genetically passed on condition for me. She feels a sense of guilt about you know having passed on through her line, and so I think she we've talked about it a few times, and it's not a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she has a sense of it. Yeah. Michael Hingson  23:20 Well, I I appreciate that. What was it like when you first got the diagnosis? Though, did it did did it depress you? Did it kind of knock you on your ear in in any way, or did you really decide almost right from the beginning? Okay, this is here, but I can deal with Paul Bugeja  23:37 it. Yeah, it look, you know. So I'm writing a book about this, as I was saying at the moment, and in the in the chapter of the book that I'm writing, I think I wrote something along the lines of life just moved on. You know, like there was no discernible difference. Like I didn't feel physically any difference because there was no physical difference. But for me, I mean, you know, I I work in the media and I've worked in the knowledge industries of any kind for quite some time. Knowledge is power, you know. And and I would rather know about something and then be able to to to have some agency about how to act on it than to bury my head in the sand. Or, but by the same token, I can understand that knowledge can really throw some people. And you know, I have a friend, for example, who I was diagnosed with MS, and that can be an awful condition to be diagnosed with because it can progress very quickly. And for her, the knowledge wasn't great. You know, it's it's been a very big challenge for her. But you know, five years on, now that she has much more knowledge about it because she's had to live with it, she's going the opposite way. So you know, everyone is different, but for me, the knowledge actually catapulted me forward rather than weighed me down. Michael Hingson  24:46 Well, that was a choice that you had to make, or that you got to make, and you made it. And you're you're choosing to move forward with life, which is great. Paul Bugeja  24:55 Yeah, yeah. I feel lucky. As I said, I know. Everyone can can make that choice because of their own set of circumstances, and I do feel lucky about some of my circumstances. And you know, so I don't think everyone can necessarily be that practical or optimistic about things. But I encourage people to you know take a breath and and try and sit with whatever it is that they have to manage at any particular time, because you know people. A lot of people have a lot heavier challenges than I do, and they meet them as well. So it's possible to meet your challenges, I think, even if it limits you still. Michael Hingson  25:36 Well, so it's something that you live with, and so on. And I appreciate that. What what makes you get out of bed every day and and move forward, or is that what what you've been describing? Paul Bugeja  25:48 Look, I think I mean you know I'm I'm an I'm a lark, so I'm at about 430 in the morning, and I'm a Monday person, and I had this conversation with someone just this past Monday at the gym who you know dragged herself into the gym, and she was you know can't be bothered. I hate Mondays so much, you know, blah blah blah. And I get all that, you know. People love their weekends and a break. I love, I love the beginning of a day, and I and I have no problems getting up because I love the thought of there being so much in front of me, you know. And and even as as I grow older, and and you know, life obviously begins to go into a different phase. I still feel there's so much ahead, and and and it sounds a little bit Pollyanna of me, maybe, and a little bit overly optimistic, and a little bit Hollywood. But you know, I feel so hungry for life, and and even though that doesn't mean my life is perfect by any means, and that every day is perfect, and that there are some days that are are challenging. I face that all the time, as do we all in our different ways. But I I just feel so eager for the things that I mean. I have a great professional life, I have a great personal life, I have great friends, I have a good family. You know, my health is fine given the situation. Doesn't mean it's perfect, like I just said. But I don't have much to complain about, really. So, really, getting up is each day is is not a hard thing for me. It's it's it's a joy most days. Michael Hingson  27:15 So, are you married? Paul Bugeja  27:17 No, single. And this is, and I often frame conversations with this because sometimes my friends say to me, "Gosh, you have a great life, and I say, "Yeah, but I chose to be single, to not have children, and to not have pets-the three big things that change the course of your life sometimes in a good way, quite often. But also, I have more choices ahead of me because I am single and childless and petless, you know. Michael Hingson  27:42 Yep. Paul Bugeja  27:43 But you know, I don't. I'm not. I don't. I don't feel. I feel like I could have made other choices around this, of course. And I don't think there is a right or a wrong choice. It's just you have to find the right choice for you, especially when it comes to these big life choices. Michael Hingson  27:59 Well, you know, and when I got married, my wife and I had discussions about children, and she felt that she didn't want to have a child because she was in a wheelchair, and she felt in her specific situation, it would have been a lot harder on the body, and she would have been in bed a whole lot during a pregnancy, and she was afraid she would lose a lot of the the upper body strength and so on that she had. And my belief was that was her choice to make, and so we we both decided that we didn't want children. We would very happily entertain our nieces and nephews and throw them out of the house at the end of the day and send them home, which worked out really well. Paul Bugeja  28:49 I can I can understand that choice, and I I certainly I always thought I would be a father to be to be honest about that. When I was in my late teens and early 20s, it was forefront of my mind. Even though I had all these other adventures planned, and I had a couple of opportunities, actually, probably in my 30s, where I could have chosen to go down that road. And yeah, around the time I was diagnosed, I began thinking what that might mean. Like, and I began to not fear passing on my my FSHD to my potential children, but because often it passes through the female to the male, so it's less likely to pass through me. But if I had a female child, I might have passed it on genetically to her, who then passed it on to my grandchild. And not that that should stop anyone ever wanting children, but to your point and and the way you and your wife discuss the situation, I I made a conscious decision that probably given the life choices I was making around my career as well and other and personal life, it might not be the best choice. So yeah, I can understand where where. If Speaker 1  30:04 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community. Michael Hingson  30:36 So, in in your life, what is one of the well? What would be the greatest thing in your life, personal or professional, that you've experienced so far? Paul Bugeja  30:47 The greatest thing, yeah, it's a it's a great question. That's a Michael Hingson  30:52 toughie because there are probably several. Paul Bugeja  30:54 Yeah, no, there are, there are. I mean, you know, I think, and this will seem a little sort of not so great. I mean, as in not great. Sorry, but I think the the first job in journalism that I got, which was working for the Guardian, the Australian Mars said version of the Guardian, that was pretty amazing for me because I had I had thought, and it wasn't as a journalist. It was as a like a community sort of an audience sort of person, basically. So I wasn't writing and I wasn't generating content, but just to be finally in a media organization after probably 10 or 15 years of always thinking, God, I'd love to work in the media. I'm a real news hound. I love news. I love current affairs, and even though for some it was just getting a job, for me it was taking a step into something that I had thought about for a while, and finally, and you know, working for a really reputable and very well known masthead as well, that had a lot of credibility. So that was pretty exciting, and and that sort of set me on the path of, I think this is where I will stay now if I can. Even though, as you would know, the media is under a lot of pressure to sort of evolve with a lot of external threats to the way it works and and you know staying financially viable. So I've sort of put myself into a very hot pot, and I hope I'm not the frog that jumps out. But I don't think I will be. I think I've managed to forge a bit of a career now that will keep me going. So yeah, it's not a a life like sort of fireworks sort of moment, but it was a it was certainly the day that I got the phone call saying we'd we'd love you to come and join us was was you know very similar to that? I got the phone call from drama school saying you got into drama school. It was a real like everything felt lifted. You know the whole I felt like I was floating that day. Michael Hingson  32:52 Yeah, I'm with you. So what other kinds of jobs then did you progress to over time? Paul Bugeja  32:59 Yeah, so because because I was pursuing acting for for quite some time, probably for about 10 to 15 years, really. You know, I had to do what most actors do, which is work a lot of other jobs. You know, like you just have to. The work is never constant, even for the for the biggest actors in the world. You know, I mean, most of them obviously work constantly, but you know, like to be a working actor is is never let anyone say that being an actor is not a real job. It's a really hard job, you know. And so, I I worked for a long time in casual jobs. I worked in a lot of theaters in in like the sort of the ticketing sort of area of of theaters. So I worked at both the Sydney Opera House and the Victorian Art Center, two big theater. You would know the Sydney Opera House, obviously, but yeah, Victoria Arts Center is another big theater organization in Australia. And while I was doing that, I began doing some freelance editing as a book editor. This was where I really began getting interested in content and copy, and and I had the part-time job at the university while I was studying and sort of doing all these other casual things and acting, and a role came up working in digital sort of content with a large betting agency. So you know, sports betting, which is very big in Australia, and it was managing their blog, their sports blog. So lots of content about what's happening in all the different sports, but you know, sort of a marketing slash copy role. But it was my first foray into digital content, you know, and this was at a time when it was really starting to amp up, and that therefore, you know, made me really think much more about journalism and and wanting to pursue that. So that was sort of the springboard into working in digital marketing, working as a sub editor, and then sort of finally landing this role at the Guardian, which didn't last super long, unfortunately, because I was completing a master's in publishing and communications at the time, and discovered that I. I'd left I'd left Melbourne to move to Sydney to work in the role and had two subjects left and I'd been told by the university that I could complete them in Sydney, and then I was told by an administrator that that was not possible, so I had to leave my job at the Guardian to go back to Melbourne to finish the masters, which was fine to do, and I kept doing other casual kind of jobs and you know contract roles. Well, I did that, but it meant leaving the Guardian, which was a bit disappointing. But it meant I got my masters, which was really critical because again, that was more of a springboard onwards. In fact, I, as part of my masters, I went to China and did a an intensive class in Shanghai, and from that, got offered a role in China, in Shanghai, with a with a Chinese media company that that produced content for for the very big expat community in Shanghai, and I was about to leave to go to Shanghai to take up the role, and you'll you'll probably will have a wry smile, which was February 2020, and fortunately, not long after that, everything kind of went pear-shaped with COVID, and so had to. I mean, it's sort of lucky in a way because Shanghai had a pretty awful time during COVID, where it was a very strict lockdown. So I probably dodged a bit of a COVID bullet in that regard, even though Australia had its own share of lockdowns. But yeah, so that sort of threw a bit of a spanner in the works of what looked like the next part of my media career. But then, of course, you know, I'm a I'm a fatalist. I I run with fate. I I don't push back against the things that sort of maybe look like negatives or or take us off our path. Paul Bugeja  36:38 And I just feel like it's another another fork in the path that takes us on a on a route that will hopefully get us to where we were meant to be, and not taking that role meant, of course, about a year later, I saw the job with Stuff, which is the New Zealand media company that I currently work for, and that was the middle of 2021. It was based in Auckland. We were still in the middle of COVID, but I applied anyway because why not? And yeah, they offered me the role pending the borders opening, effectively. And luckily for me, there was a two-week window where New Zealand and Australia thought things were going to go okay, and the borders opened, and I jumped on the first flight out and got myself to Auckland, and then I started my current job, or actually a different version of my current job with stuff. Michael Hingson  37:27 And what is your your current job? Paul Bugeja  37:30 So I am currently I create digital content for stuff for stuff digital, as we're called now. I mostly create trivia quizzes, so fun daily quizzes that we have a very very dedicated audience for. People love a quiz. I also create a word puzzle called the Hard Word, which is an anagram kind of puzzle. I create that every day. I create a news quiz for them. I also help manage the community, the online community that interacts with with us as another part of my role, which is the role that I originally went to New Zealand for, but as a full time gig, and now it's just sort of part of my my role. So yeah, I am a quizmaster. I love it. I had previously worked in television quiz shows during my time in Australia when I was juggling other stuff, so I had a bit of a background in in quiz question writing and quiz research and verifying, and so I'm now really in such a wonderful job. But I always like to be very clear about this to people because it sounds like the best job in the world. Wow, sitting and making cool quizzes every day-it's a really involved job, and it it takes a lot of kind of like time to research and put together these quizzes because you know you're trying to please a very broad audience of from you know 15 year olds to 75 year olds. So you know, it's it's a it's a very involved job, even if it's a fun job, and so it does, you know, it it does still have a very critical kind of like professional aspect to it, even though it sounds like to some of my friends and and people who learn about it the best job in the world. Michael Hingson  39:17 Well, I'm sure it's a great job, but it is a clearly a challenging job. Have you ever encountered people who talk to you about making your your quizzes or trying to work with staff to make quizzes and some of the things they do more accessible? So, like people who are blind can solve the quizzes or work the quizzes and use screen readers and so on to do the same things that others do. Paul Bugeja  39:45 Excellent point. So yeah, I feel quite often when I'm making my quizzes that clearly they are for an audience that can access them very easily. You know, as opposed to an audience that might need assistance to access. Them and you know we do the the the basic stuff as we you know you must you know um like you know putting an alt tag so that um you know people who maybe are but are able to to use to access the quiz as a as a an audio rather than a video rather than a written um quiz but you know, I think you're right. And look, to be fair, I think you know the way that the media is going. The media is going very video oriented now, anyway. I think, which is a brilliant thing for people who do need have some access, because you know, with the video, of course, a video quiz, there'll be audio as well as visual, as well as the written word potentially. So there's a way that covers off all the bases, you know, or you know, many of the bases anyway. At the moment, you know, we are starting to bring in some minor changes, but I think going forward, it's pretty critical because you know the world is very aware that people do have some limitations in the way that they can access, especially digital content, and even though there are a lot of great forms of software that you can use to to make like your your life less limited by whatever you know sort of limitation you may have, it still isn't as good as it can be. And and I think certainly as someone with a disability, I'm an advocate for disability. You know, I'm on the board of a major disability organization in Australia. I'm on an engagement advisory committee for the same organization. I'm very pro and very much an advocate for ensuring that anyone with any form of disability can access and have as as great a life as possible, as untrammeled. I'm not untrammeled. That's the wrong word. As as as you know, as a life that has no barricades to them, basically. Michael Hingson  41:49 Well, the the reality is that crossword puzzles, for example, can be made accessible. Yep. And of course, I wouldn't expect the organization to suddenly produce Braille puzzles, but there are there are still ways Speaker 2  42:11 to do it Michael Hingson  42:11 to create audio, for example, kinds of things. And you mentioned the the value of video that only works if people truly put the appropriate descriptions in in audio form, the video, which a lot of people don't do, which is unfortunate, but it is possible to make to make them more accessible than they are. Paul Bugeja  42:36 Yeah, but it is a but it is a it is Michael Hingson  42:38 a challenge, and I hope that over time more more kinds of things will be accessible. I get the New York Times online, and a lot of what they do isn't nearly as accessible as it should be, and I can see how it it could be made more Accessible, but they haven't just been really willing to do it. And and ironically, a lot of the media has been one of the places where access has has truly not been addressed nearly like it it should be. And and the the result of that is that there are problems, and of course they say, well, things change so fast. They they do, except that it's all about coding and it's all about understanding programming and coding. And if you do it right, and if you know it, you can keep up either way. But you know, people don't necessarily do that. Paul Bugeja  43:38 Yeah, look, I agree, and I think you know. Look, without I'm not going to become a defender of the media, even though I'm part of it. But I think they definitely can do better as a as an entire sort of profession. I think that the tricky thing for the media at the moment is, I mean, you look at what happened this week. You know, 300 reporters, you know, sacked at the Washington Post. You know the media is under a lot of pressure to be financial, and that's not a great defense against not being accessible, mind you. But their mind is on survival at the moment, and that's an unfortunate thing because it means that they can't do the stuff that would actually benefit everyone, you know, their entire audience. So, not to defend it, but that's that's the only sort of rationale I can think of as to why they're not doing more. But that shouldn't stop them trying. That shouldn't stop them trying. Michael Hingson  44:32 Well, and I think that's really the issue: is that people do need to try, and people need to make an effort. And if they would, it would help a lot more than than it does today. Paul Bugeja  44:43 Agreed. Michael Hingson  44:44 So, if you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? Paul Bugeja  44:47 Not very much. Like I really love my life. You know, I I I even and this will sound quite odd. I even probably wouldn't change having a disability. You know, like it it who I am. It's it's in my. You know, it's it's so it's in my DNA. Like you can't get any deeper into someone than their DNA. You know, like of course I'd rather not have this, but it's it it it doesn't as we've discussed. It doesn't stop me. It doesn't limit me. It just modifies my life on the edges. It's Michael Hingson  45:16 just it's just part of you. Paul Bugeja  45:18 That's exactly right. And so I have to embrace that. You know, as you know, does anyone with any sort of situation that is slightly left of you know what people might call you know normal or ordinary, you know? And I, I always say I try to live my life less ordinary, you know, and and I think it's that attitude which really stands me in good stead because when you choose like I like as we discussed earlier, I'm in a position where I can make different choices to people who do have a partner, or do have kids, or do have a massive mortgage, or do have whatever you know job that keeps them in one place. But you know, you know the old saying about you make your own luck, right? And circumstance does change things definitely, and some circumstances are outside of our control. For example, getting having a genetic disability is outside of my control, but you know you do make your own luck as well. And I sort of feel that I am so about agency, and I'm so about you know like taking responsibility for your actions that I feel that everything about my life is because of the choices that I've made, and I want to own that. So you know why would I want to change any of that? In terms of, if I want to change it, then I will change it. So I think I have a great life. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I've got a you know like I was saying earlier, I have great friends, a good family, a great job. I'm able to you know like talk to people like this about things and and and like it's yeah life's pretty life's pretty good for me. Um, you know, there are things about the world I'd like to change, like as would we all, you know, like, um, but those things we can only sort of change on the edges, and I do that as much as I can as well. So, well, there are things that we don't Michael Hingson  46:54 have control over, and and if we worry about them, that's just going to cause us grief. It's not going to bother others. Paul Bugeja  47:01 No, no worries. Worry. I mean, I worry about something. Of course, I do. We all do. But you know, eventually, I manage to bat most of my worries away because I realize, as you said, it's usually something that is out of my control. It's funny when I talk to my actor friends, and speaking for myself, of course, you know, actors have to rehearse. You know, we rehearse favorite. You know, you rehearse for roles and whatever, and that sometimes for me has meant that I tend to rehearse things prior to you know the situation. So it means that my mind goes at 100 miles an hour about a lot of things, and that can lead to anxiety and worry. You know because you overthink, you worry about a situation that hasn't even occurred yet. You're thinking, not over. Well, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. So, you know, I think the the biggest lesson I've probably taken as well from my diagnosis and and the the thing I committed to this year a little bit as a part of my New Year's resolution or whatever you want to call it is to just be as present as I can. You know, like to live in this moment right now. That doesn't mean I don't have an eye to the future, and and I don't make plans, and I don't am not excited about the future. But I'm I'm trying to be as present as I can because if you're present, then all then all this worry disappears in a way because you just can only deal with with with what's right in front of you. Michael Hingson  48:18 Right. Do you have any regrets? Paul Bugeja  48:22 Um, not really. I mean, you know, like there've been a few moments in my life. So, for example, I can I can name a few things. Like when I was in my early 30s, I entered the the diversity visa program, which is the green card lottery in America. Yeah, and I I got it. I got a green card, you know, and so I was all ready to move to the states back in the late 90. Oh no, when was it? Yeah, the late 90s. Yeah, yeah, um, early noughties, and I got into the writing editing course in Australia. So I was really enjoying that. I was doing some acting and some paid acting work, and so I had to. I had a moment where I was like, "Well, do I really want to take up this green card off and become a resident of America? I have lived there before when I studied. I travel there regularly to see my friends, you know. And so I had this crunch time. It was a sliding doors moment. I I did visit a few times. I spent a bit of time in the states, and then I eventually dropped the green card. Now, occasionally, I look back on that and think, "Was that a silly thing to do with what would have opened up to me had I moved to the states? You know, like would my acting career have taken off? Would I have ended up working for the New York Times? Look, whatever it is. So there's a sense of regret about it, but it's such a faint shade of regret that it doesn't it doesn't hold me back. You know, I don't want to be held back by anything in my life. And I think, for me, regrets can hold you back too much. You know, oh yeah, Michael Hingson  49:49 yeah. Oh, absolutely. Well, and and it seems to me that that it's one of those things that could have gone either way, as you said, a sliding door moment. I think that's a really interesting way to put it. But but the fact of the matter is, you made a choice. You're happy with the choice, and you may or may not have been as happy with the choice if you had moved to America. But you wouldn't have experienced a lot of the things that you have experienced. So it's okay. Paul Bugeja  50:14 That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So even you know occasional relationships that went awry, or you know what else? Gosh, what if I stay pursue my career as an actor? There are always going to be what ifs with life, you know, and it's the what ifs that tend to cause us regret. I think, and Michael Hingson  50:29 well, and and cause us so much fear. Paul Bugeja  50:32 That's exactly right. And regret and fear should be the same word, effectively, because that's all that's playing. And if you can find a way to manage that as best you can, and and look. I always say I try to to look down at my feet on the ground to see where I am, and to look forward to see where I'm going, rather than look back where I've come from. And look, we can learn a lot from where we've come from. And in fact, the book that I'm writing is almost like a detective novel, where I track back through my life to see if I can see moments where I might have known that I had FSHD much earlier, so in that regard, I do look backwards. You know, I'm happy to to to have a critical eye on the past and to learn from it. You know, but I don't ever want it to drag me back to it. I'm always looking to be pulled forward. Michael Hingson  51:18 Well, that's the operative part, right? There's nothing wrong with looking back and and learning from what you've experienced, and and more people should should do more of that. It seems to me, but Paul Bugeja  51:29 oh yeah, let's. That's a much longer conversation, isn't it? It Michael Hingson  51:32 is. Who's been the most most influential person in your life, and why? Paul Bugeja  51:38 Yep. Michael Hingson  51:40 Besides Kate Blanchett, but that's another yeah, Paul Bugeja  51:42 of course, very influential, Kate. If you're listening, if she is, I hope she'll Michael Hingson  51:47 reach out. I'd love to have her on the podcast. But anyway, you Paul Bugeja  51:50 never know, my friend. You never know. Look, I mean, it's it's a hard question because, but it's a good question. I mean, there have been so many influences in my life, you know, and and I don't want to step on toes by not naming people in a way, but you know, for one one really influential person who has given me, you know, I have a friend who's a film journalist actually, and has written, you know, a lot mostly about the production side of the industry rather than film reviews, and I feel she only came into my life about maybe 10 or 12 years ago. So she's a relatively new friend, but a very dear friend. And I think I did an internship at a magazine that she worked for, and she was the the editor of at the time, and I think she had a really great influence on my life because she made me realize that I definitely wanted to pursue a career in the media. That I was done with journalism. That working in the media was exciting and interesting. You know, she made sure she pushed me in a lot of ways that I might not have been pushed otherwise, and she's remained a really dear and constant president in my life ever since. So yeah, I really feel like her coming into my life at that particular moment really was like critical in a lot of ways. But you know, she was one of many that have that have definitely given me great advice, or have been very supportive, or have just been there for me. So, yeah, big call out to her. She's she was being wonderful. Michael Hingson  53:29 Do you think that if you had never been diagnosed with or ever had FSHD, that your your job and your careers would have gone differently, or do you think that this was just a natural progression and FSHD is there, but it didn't really dictate what you did. Paul Bugeja  53:46 I think because of my approach to this situation, which is it's there, but it's not going to stop me. I think that look clearly, it's a physical condition, so it does limit me a little bit physically. So, like, I was never going to be like for for instance even with acting you know it did limit me a little bit with acting like there were certain things that like I can't do a headstand you know and I know that's a really a small thing but like in in drama classes there was I remember one class particularly always asked to do a headstand and I couldn't do it and this was pre diagnosis and I had I just thought it was because I was clumsy or uncoordinated or not muscular enough, so like certainly the diagnosis probably gets in the way of some some some kinds of careers that I might have pursued. But generally, you know, I'm a I'm a computer based person. I'm a knowledge and and and and content based person, and I was already going that way pre-diagnosis, so you know I don't think it really intervened in where I would have gone, whether it helped me or not, or whether you know it was part of the reason why I'm where I am. Look, I think it's it's part of the reason of everything that I do. You know, even if it's not all. That the defining reason, but it's it's a consideration definitely. Michael Hingson  55:04 Well, it is, and and it's helped build your resilience, and there's nothing wrong with that. Paul Bugeja  55:10 Yep, and that's right. And I'm in a career that requires resilience, and so it definitely, in that regard, yes, it's it's helped me build that further resilience. Michael Hingson  55:18 So there you go. Has AI helped you in terms of any of the things that you do on your job? Do you use it to to help in finding out information about quizzes or or that you put in quizzes or any of that? Has AI been a useful tool for you? Paul Bugeja  55:35 So again, this we could talk about this for 12 hours a time. Topics right, especially working in the media. I am. I love the fact that I'm an early adopter. Right, I love technology. I I embrace it. I'm you know I'm that guy who gets the new iPhone not every year but every other year. You know, I I'm really I embrace the new. You know, I was doing digital content well the beginning like not at the beginning of it all but you know I was I was I jump in quickly with AI I have reservations I certainly you know I tend to still use standard search but of course now with Google search AI is built into that Google search so I am using it in that regard as a media organization, we have a very strict policy about AI, as one must. You know, we have to be very careful because while it's definitely the next big revolution for everyone, whoever you are, from you know like a dog walker to a you know president, like it's going to affect everyone's lives, you know. I feel as though, so you know, for example, as a media organization, we're encouraged. We are looking at improving the way we work with AI, but there always needs to be a human oversight. Yeah, Michael Hingson  56:57 absolutely. Paul Bugeja  56:58 Yep, yep. And you would appreciate that, of course. So I don't use it in the way I think. I I think over time I will have to use it because I won't have any choice. But you know, we in the media, I think we're looking at. I don't think this is giving anything away, but we're looking at agentic AI more than generative AI because agentic AI is really useful. If I can ask an AI bot to put together the the not the quiz itself, but the the actual article the quiz will appear in that goes on the site. Well, that's just a practical like role you've given a system if you had one anyway, right? So I definitely think the media and me in in my role will will more and more embrace agentic AI as we're able to build it into our systems to help us with mundane practical tasks that you'd give the intern, that you'd give the the first year journal student out or whatever. Right? In terms of generative AI, I I've used it a bit just to see what it will throw back at me, and for example, I do a lot of quizzes as a quizmaster because I love to just do quizzes. I can tell a quiz that's been made with AI. It's very clear. I did a quiz the other day, and I kid you not. The first question was, "If I'm a Bolivian, what country might I come from? Now, I mean, for an editor or the actual person who put together that quiz, not to realize that a that's a pretty awful quiz question, but but it's such an obviously AI generated quiz question, you know. So yeah, I think we I think, and I'm also very aware that the amount of money that's being poured into AI at the moment is looking like a big bubble that will burst at some point, you know, because they can't keep plowing all this money in and expect big returns because it's not returning anything at the moment to them. Really, that doesn't mean it's not going to continue. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't embrace it. That doesn't mean that it's not going to maybe find a cure for cancer. Like I feel like there is a lot of positive that can come from it, so long as the humans stay in control. Michael Hingson  59:03 Well, I think that's the the real issue in the operative part of it. I have used AI in in writing articles, and the way I've used AI is I've I've asked it to give me give me your thoughts on or write an article about, and I'll do that like about six or seven times, and I will go through all of the things that that are created, and it gives me ideas. But I would never let it write the article, and I I would never do that because I want it to be me. And even if it could get to the point where it truly emulates me, it's not me, and I wouldn't want to do that. I so I'm I'm with what you're saying. Paul Bugeja  59:44 Yeah, yeah, and I think that's the trick. My, I think probably like with all you know, sort of new ages of technology, whether it was just the internet, and then it was sort of probably social media was the next big you know sort of critical juncture, and now it's AI. You know, it it means that the a younger. Generation that comes along that only knows this. So my my probably biggest concern would be, and I don't have children, but you know for my friends' children and the children that are going to grow up with AI, that they come to rely on it so heavily that they lose the ability to critically think, that they that they believe everything that AI says, and it will get better and it will get more accurate, but it's still throwing back. So I'll give you one quick example. When I was playing around with it back in 2022, I think, or whatever year the Queen died, Queen Elizabeth II died. I asked it, "Who's the current monarch of England? And I kept bringing Queen Elizabeth II back, and I kept arguing with it, and it kept saying no, and I started feeding it New York Times articles, Guardian articles, you know the Telegraph articles, and I kept saying these aren't reliable sources. Now this was you know back three or four years ago now, but that really concerned me, and I fear that that's the only fear for me is that people will lose their curiosity and their own ability to critically think and and and rely on it so heavily that they forget how to do really simple tasks that we should still be able to do. Michael Hingson  1:01:04 If you could change one thing about the world, whether it's big or small or whatever, what would Paul Bugeja  1:01:10 it be? I actually, so this will reveal me as a like a bit of a almost a communist. But I wish that people's obsession with money would change. I would love to change that. Like I love that people want to be comfortable and they want good lives and that we want our creature comforts and that we want to travel and have a great TV and all that somewhere to live. But I do feel li

The latest great Dame to join our party!  Dame Meera Syal is an award-winning actress, comedian and writer, who sat down with us on the scorching-hot day of the solar eclipse. It's a busy time for Meera ahead of the release of her life story, Vigilauntie: A Memoir - Innit?, and the opening of her new play, The Children. So, imagine our surprise when she arrived with home-baked goods in hand! What a legend. Meera is a firm believer in the power of food to get people talking and sharing stories, which is exactly what happens in our time with her around the Dish table. There are loving stories about her proud and supportive parents (including the secret to her mum's saag paneer), and how Meera's bakes bring new acting casts together. When discussing her rich and warm memoir (out on 3 September), we take a trip back to the groundbreaking work of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, where she played a grandmother to the man who'd become her husband: Sanjeev Bhaskar.  It's a feast of an episode, with a cooling mango & passion fruit frozen lassi to start, followed by a summery fish, fennel & saffron stew, a recipe by Eleanor Maidment. This is paired with a bottle of Altos de Torona Albariño by the Waitrose wine experts. We then have double dessert, including hug-worthy tahini, cherry and cardamom meringues and Meera's own (and very yummy) lemon polenta cake. Don't worry, we did get the recipe!  You can watch full episodes of Dish on YouTube and on Spotify.  All recipes from this podcast can be found at waitrose.com/dishrecipes The recipe for the summery fish, fennel & saffron stew was created for Waitrose by Eleanor Maidment. The recipe for the tahini, cherry and cardamom meringues was created for Waitrose by Benjamina Ebuehi. ' A transcript for this episode can be found at waitrose.com/dish If you want to get in touch with us about anything at all, contact dish@waitrose.co.uk  Dish from Waitrose is made by Cold Glass Productions 00:00 - Coming up on Dish 00:50 - Welcome! 01:20 - Nick Grimshaw is Dish Guy!  04:45 - Let's speak about saffron 06:26 - Dame Meera Syal is here!  08:10 - A Lassi cheers!  08:45 - Life at the moment for Meera & superstitions  12:49 - Dame life!  15:37 - From baking to food growing up  18:23 - Meera's food likes  22:40 - Meera's food dislikes  24:11 - Stew is served!  27:47 - Wine pairing  28:11 - Meera's new memoir ‘Vigilauntie'  32:45 - The Kumars at No. 42  34:28 - Queen Elizabeth II approved!  36:18 - Goodness Gracious Me  38:39 - Time for dessert! 39:21 - Meringues are Meera approved!  39:47 - From meringue mishaps to chewy tips!  41:19 - Time for Meera's lemon polenta cake  42:43 - Reminiscing on some of Meera's milestones  46:16 - Fast food quiz  47:50 - End of the show question Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Queen Elizabeth II is accused by unnamed royal sources of repeatedly shielding Prince Andrew and ignoring warnings about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The claims center partly on documents indicating that the Queen supported Andrew's appointment as Britain's special trade representative in 2000, a position that gave him extensive international access and placed him in contact with wealthy business figures. Critics now argue that the role may have provided Andrew with opportunities to pursue questionable dealings connected to Epstein, including unproven allegations that he benefited financially from business introductions. One unidentified insider goes much further, claiming that the Queen knew about Epstein, the girls and the trafficking but protected Andrew because he was her favorite son. Those allegations remain unverified, and Andrew has consistently denied criminal wrongdoing.The broader suggestion is that the Queen's loyalty to Andrew may have overridden concerns within the royal family and government about his judgment and conduct. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, was reportedly skeptical of Andrew's suitability for the trade role, but the appointment moved forward with support from figures including Peter Mandelson. The claims have resurfaced as authorities examine whether Andrew improperly shared confidential trade information with Epstein, placing renewed pressure on the royal family to explain what palace officials knew and when they knew it. However, much of the account relies on anonymous sources, recycled tabloid allegations and unrelated conspiracy theories, meaning the central accusation—that Elizabeth knowingly covered up Andrew's Epstein connections—has not been established by official findings or tested in court.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Queen Elizabeth Blindly Covered Up Ex-Prince Andrew's Epstein Ties, Royal Insider Claims | IBTimes UKBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Queen Camilla gives a remarkably personal account of the moment King Charles was diagnosed with cancer and reveals how difficult it was to keep the news secret during a public engagement. Plus, Andrew reportedly turns down an invitation to Balmoral and is spotted in the South of France, Sarah Ferguson is said to be getting a little too comfortable around Eugenie's Portugal home, Sophie recalls Queen Elizabeth fleeing the tension of an Olympic hockey shootout, and Meghan brings “Peak Summer” to As Ever customers as American families head back to school.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

Das Essen war "interesting". Der Wein "not bad". Und auf die höfliche Frage "Would you mind?" folgt besser keine Diskussion. Wer britisches Englisch wörtlich nimmt, versteht oft genau das Gegenteil von dem, was gemeint ist. Denn in Großbritannien entscheidet nicht nur das Wort über seine Bedeutung, sondern auch Tonfall, Situation und das, was bewusst unausgesprochen bleibt. In dieser Folge BRITPOD – England at its best entschlüsseln Alexander-Klaus Stecher und Claus Beling die verborgenen Regeln britischer Kommunikation. Warum kann "not bad" ein außergewöhnliches Kompliment sein? Weshalb bedeutet "I'm afraid..." häufig schlicht Nein? Und warum ist "With all due respect" oft das sichere Zeichen dafür, dass gleich etwas ausgesprochen wird, das alles andere als respektvoll ist? Die beiden zeigen, wie tief Understatement in der britischen Kultur verwurzelt ist. Queen Elizabeth II. machte aus einem royalen Katastrophenjahr mit zwei lateinischen Wörtern ein Stück Weltgeschichte. König Charles III. verpackt diplomatische Botschaften in feinen Humor. Und Hugh Grant schafft es mit einem einzigen trockenen "Almost", mehr zu sagen als andere in einem ganzen Interview. BRITPOD – England at its best. WhatsApp: Du kannst Alexander und Claus direkt auf ihre Handys Nachrichten schicken! Welche Ecke Englands sollten die beiden mal besuchen? Zu welchen Themen wünschst Du Dir mehr Folgen? Warst Du schon mal in Great Britain und magst ein paar Fotos mit Claus und Alexander teilen? Probiere es gleich aus: +49 8152 989770 - einfach diese Nummer einspeichern und schon kannst Du BRITPOD per WhatsApp erreichen. BRITPOD – England at its best. ➡️ Mit dem Code BRIT erhaltet ihr bei unserem Podcast-Partner BRAINEFFECT immer den höchsten verfügbaren Rabatt. (mind. 20 %)

How did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go from a celebrated royal wedding to Megxit—and why are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now returning to Britain?This complete Palace Intrigue explainer traces Harry and Meghan's relationship from their first meeting and 2018 wedding through the creation of their separate Sussex household, the birth of Prince Archie, their conflict with the British press and their January 2020 departure from working royal life. We explain what “Megxit” actually meant, why Queen Elizabeth II rejected a half-in, half-out royal role, and how Harry and Meghan moved from Canada to California.The story continues through the Oprah interview, allegations involving race and mental health, the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, Prince Harry's memoir Spare, his estrangement from King Charles III and Prince William, the loss of Frogmore Cottage, and his litigation over UK police protection.Finally, we examine the Sussexes' reported 2026 return with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, their possible new British home, the children's schools, reconciliation with King Charles, tensions with Prince William and Princess Catherine, and whether Britain is about to witness two competing centers of royal influence.Who Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—and How Did Their Relationship Begin?What Happened at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding?Why Did Harry and Meghan Create a Separate Royal Household?When Did the Sussexes' Relationship With the British Press Break Down?What Was Megxit—and What Did Harry and Meghan Originally Want?What Were the Final Megxit Terms?Why Did Harry and Meghan Move to North America and California?What Did Harry and Meghan Say in the Oprah Interview?What Did the Netflix Documentary Harry & Meghan Reveal?What Did Prince Harry Write in Spare?Why Did Spare Deepen the Royal Family Rift?Why Are Prince Harry and Prince William Estranged?What Happened Between Harry and King Charles III?Why Did Prince Harry Challenge His UK Security Arrangements?Why Are Harry and Meghan Returning to Britain in 2026?Will the Sussexes Return as Working Royals?Could Harry and Meghan's Return Create Two Royal Courts?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced plans to return to the United Kingdom, moving their family to a private, non-royal residence outside London after six years in Montecito, with Archie and Lilibet already enrolled in British schools for the September term. Kate is joined by Kinsey Schofield, creator and host of To Di For Daily, a royal-focused podcast with a pop-culture perspective, and host of the YouTube show Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered. Schofield has covered the British monarchy since 2017 and reported live from London on the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, and King Charles III's coronation, to unpack why the Sussexes are making this move now and what it signals for their relationship with the royal family. Reality Life with Kate Casey Summer Reading List: https://katecasey.substack.com/p/books-i-cant-stop-talking-about-this Vanity Fair Article: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/story/martha-moxleys-diary What to Watch List: https://katecasey.substack.com Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/katecasey Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/katecaseyca Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itskatecasey?lang=en Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113157919338245 Amazon List: https://www.amazon.com/shop/katecasey Twitter: https://twitter.com/katecaseySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HOUR 3 (08/20) - Gary & Shannon cover the day’s biggest stories in #WhatsHappening, including a sharp market drop, Walmart feeling the pullback in consumer spending, Lindsay Clancy supporters gathering outside court and Malibu’s new speed-camera enforcement.Then #SwampWatch turns to the latest phase of the Iran conflict and new polling. Plus, chicken prices are finally falling, GLP-1 drugs continue reshaping the food industry and Queen Elizabeth II offers a posthumous take on Harry and Meghan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chad opens up some Swift Takes! with a surprise voicemail from Queen Elizabeth, calling from the great beyond with her thoughts on Harry and Meghan moving from California back to England.

Former members of Princess Diana's inner circle reveal how closely she followed newspaper coverage about herself and how she managed to perform royal duties even after reading painful headlines. Plus, former royal chefs and bodyguards share stories about Diana at Balmoral, her late-night visits to palace kitchens, Prince William's love of burgers and pizza, and Diana's strong sense of duty to Queen Elizabeth II. We also look at the million-dollar sale of a trilogy of Diana portraits and the complicated relationship between Diana and the late Queen.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

Ten years on from Team GB women's historic hockey gold medal at Rio 2016, Eleanor Oldroyd reunites key figures from the squad and coaching team, including Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh, Alex Danson-Bennett, Maddie Hinch and Lily Owsley, to relive one of Britain's greatest Olympic moments. The Duchess of Edinburgh also recalls watching the dramatic final with the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Balmoral.TIMECODES: 00:30 - Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh on the legacy of Rio. 02:40 - Tribute to Craig Keegan. 04:10 - Alex Danson-Bennett joins the show. 12:45 - Danson-Bennett on her retirement from hockey. 14:30 - Kate and Helen on becoming the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic gold. 17:30 - "Helen just screamed at us!" 20:30 - 5 Live commentary of the penalty shoot-out. 22:55 - Interview with Maddie Hinch and Lily Owsley. 28:30 - Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh on the penalties. 29:50 - HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh joins the show. 30:15 - Where did HRH watch the penalties? 31:50 - "Oh for goodness' sake, just go!" 34:20 - The Duchess talks about how GB worked so hard to become Olympic champions. 35:10 - More on the celebrations. 36:15 - Lily Owsley on the party flight home. 38:25 - Where did Elly Oldroyd experience the shoot-out? 39:10 - Where did HRH's love of hockey come from? 41:26 - More on the legacy of that Olympic triumph.

Waar de gevolgen van klimaatverandering voor de Britten tot dusver vooral een probleem elders waren, zet deze zomer de boel op scherp. Bosbranden, hittegolven en een dreigend drinkwatertekort, de Britten hebben het over weinig anders. Tegelijkertijd wil de nieuwe Labour-regering van Andy Burnham gaan boren naar fossiele brandstoffen in de Noordzee. En dat is minder tegenstrijdig dan het klinkt, vindt hij. Ook in deze aflevering Na een - uiteraard geheime - peiling onder spionnen in Europa, van de CIA en de Mossad komt de Britse geheime dienst MI6 als beste ter wereld uit de bus. Zijn ze daar blij mee? Ze zeggen er niets over. Wat maakt de Britse spionnendienst zo goed? Over Van Bekhovens Britten In van Bekhovens Britten praten Lia van Bekhoven en Connor Clerx elke week over de grootste nieuwsonderwerpen en de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Van Brexit naar binnenlandse politiek, van de Royals tot de tabloids. Waarom fascineert het VK Nederlanders meer dan zo veel andere Europese landen? Welke rol speelt het vooralsnog Verenigd Koninkrijk in Europa, nu het woord Brexit uit het Britse leven lijkt verbannen, maar de gevolgen van de beslissing om uit de EU te stappen iedere dag duidelijker worden? De Britse monarchie, en daarmee de staat, staat voor grote veranderingen na de dood van Queen Elisabeth en de kroning van haar zoon Charles. De populariteit van het Koningshuis staat op een dieptepunt. Hoe verandert de Britse monarchie onder koning Charles, en welke gevolgen heeft dat voor de Gemenebest? In Van Bekhovens Britten analyseren Lia en Connor een Koninkrijk met tanende welvaart, invloed en macht. De Conservatieve Partij leverde veertien jaar op rij de premier, maar nu heeft Labour onder Keir Starmer de teugels in handen. Hoe ziet het VK er onder Keir Starmer uit? En hoe gaan de ‘gewone’ Britten, voor zover die bestaan, daar mee om? Al deze vragen en meer komen aan bod in Van Bekhovens Britten. Een kritische blik op het Verenigd Koninkrijk, waar het een race tussen Noord-Ierland en Schotland lijkt te worden wie zich het eerst af kan scheiden van het VK. Hoe lang blijft het Koninkrijk verenigd? Na ruim 45 jaar onder de Britten heeft Lia van Bekhoven een unieke kijk op het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Als inwoner, maar zeker geen anglofiel, heeft ze een scherpe blik op het nieuws, de politiek, de monarchie en het dagelijkse leven aan de overkant van de Noordzee. Elke woensdag krijg je een nieuwe podcast over het leven van Van Bekhovens Britten in je podcastapp. Scherpe analyses, diepgang waar op de radio geen tijd voor is en een flinke portie humor. Abonneer en mis geen aflevering. Over Lia Lia van Bekhoven is correspondent Verenigd Koninkrijk voor onder andere BNR Nieuwsradio, VRT, Knack en Elsevier en is regelmatig in talkshows te zien als duider van het nieuws uit het VK. Ze woont sinds 1976 in Londen, en is naast correspondent voor radio, televisie en geschreven media ook auteur van de boeken Mama gaat uit dansen, het erfgoed van Diana, prinses van Wales (1997), Land van de gespleten God, Noord-Ierland en de troubles (2000), In Londen, 9 wandelingen door de Britse hoofdstad (2009) en Klein-Brittannië (2022). Over Connor Connor Clerx is presentator en podcastmaker bij BNR Nieuwsradio. Hij werkt sinds 2017 voor BNR en was voorheen regelmatig te horen in De Ochtendspits, Boekestijn en de Wijk en BNR Breekt. Als podcastmaker werkte hij de afgelopen tijd aan onder andere De Taxi-oorlog, Kuipers en de Kosmos, Splijtstof, Baan door het Brein en Welkom in de AI-Fabriek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In part 2 of our series, Raleigh rises up at the court of Queen Elizabeth. He also begins series of expeditions to North America - to try and establish the first permanent English settlement in the New World. While all that happens, the military might of King Phillip and Spain looms on the horizon. Sponsors: Quince. Get free shipping with your order by using code EXPLORERS at quince.com/explorers The Explorers Podcast is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on the Explorers Podcast? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Princess Diana's death remains one of the defining moments in modern royal history. With FOX revisiting the fatal August 31, 1997 Paris car crash in its new special Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana, we look back at Diana's final hours, her relationship with Dodi Fayed, the pursuit by paparazzi, the crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel and the investigations that followed.We also revisit the extraordinary reaction in Britain after Diana's death at age 36, including the unprecedented crowds outside Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, Tony Blair's famous description of Diana as “the people's princess,” Queen Elizabeth II's response, and the emotional funeral procession in which Prince William and Prince Harry walked behind their mother's coffin.Nearly three decades later, Princess Diana's legacy continues to shape the British Royal Family. We examine how her death changed public expectations of the monarchy, how it influenced Prince William and Prince Harry, and why questions and conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death continue to attract attention despite extensive investigations into the crash.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

If you trace Princess Diana's sapphire ring, Queen Mary's crown and the Koh-i-Noor back far enough, one name keeps appearing: Garrard. In this episode of Gem Pursuit, Matthew Weldon and Fenia Sigkoudi tell the story of Garrard & Co, Britain's oldest luxury jewellery house and the first official Crown Jeweller. The story begins in 1735 with master silversmith George Wickes, follows Robert Garrard's rise from stockkeeping assistant to owner of the firm, and explains how Queen Victoria's 1843 appointment placed Garrard at the centre of British royal ceremony. Matthew and Fenia look at what the role of Crown Jeweller actually involved, from making jewels for the Royal Family to maintaining and securing regalia used in coronations, state openings and public ceremonies. They also explore Garrard's work on the Koh-i-Noor, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik Tiara, and the sapphire cluster engagement ring chosen by Princess Diana in 1981. The episode closes by looking at Garrard's modern legacy, the end of its Crown Jeweller appointment in 2007, and the difficult balance between protecting a historic jewellery house and adapting it for a new audience. Key Takeaways - Garrard's story does not begin with a Garrard. The house traces its origins to George Wickes, a master silversmith working in London from 1735. - Location mattered from the beginning. The episode connects Wickes's West End position with royal and aristocratic access, and compares that logic with Boucheron's Place Vendome move and Courtville's own position in Powerscourt Townhouse. - Robert Garrard joined the business before giving the house the name it still carries. The transcript frames his move from stockkeeping assistant to sole owner as part of a familiar jewellery-house pattern: people, succession and trust shaping the brand. - A royal warrant and the Crown Jeweller role are not the same thing. A warrant can be held by several firms, while the Crown Jeweller is an appointed individual responsible for the Crown Jewels. - The Crown Jeweller role was practical as well as prestigious. The episode describes making jewels, maintaining existing pieces, resetting stones, visiting the Tower of London and guarding regalia when it appeared in public ceremonies. - Garrard's royal importance is not limited to one jewel. The episode references Queen Mary's Crown, the Imperial Crown of India, the Imperial State Crown, the Coronation Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Koh-i-Noor and several major tiaras. - The Koh-i-Noor section shows Garrard's technical ambition and the changing taste around diamond cutting. After the diamond disappointed some viewers at the 1851 Great Exhibition, Garrard oversaw a high-risk recut involving Amsterdam cutters, a steam engine and 38 days of work. - The royal tiaras show two sides of Garrard's design language: the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara as a classic western royal tiara, and Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik Tiara as a Russian-inspired "wall of diamonds". - Princess Diana's sapphire engagement ring gives Garrard a modern commercial legacy. Matthew connects the ring to the lasting popularity of sapphire cluster rings in the jewellery trade. - The end of Garrard's Crown Jeweller appointment in 2007 opens the wider business question of the episode: how does a house protect its historic identity while still adapting to a modern luxury market? www.courtville.ie www.gempursuit.com Get social with Courtville, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok This podcast was produced for Courtville by Tape Deck

Royal commentators are once again making the case that Catherine, Princess of Wales, has become one of the monarchy's most valuable figures, with Katie Nicholl calling her “the monarchy's greatest asset” and Helena Chard saying King Charles believes he has “struck gold.” Plus, why Queen Elizabeth reportedly believed Kate was better prepared for royal life than Princess Diana, the deeper meaning behind Catherine's carefully constructed royal wardrobe, and the surprisingly varied list of drinks associated with the Princess of Wales — from green smoothies to Guinness, gin and tonics and spicy margaritas.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-harry-meghan-the-crown-royal-family-news-and-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

William Orbit, the pioneering DJ and music producer, through his work with synthesizers and new studio technology he combined electronic dance music with pop, to create chart toppers. He grew up surrounded by classical music. His epiphany came when he discovered Tonto's Expanding Head Band, an electronic duo and so began his passion for electronic music. The DJ and A&R executive Pete Tong tells us his story.Wang Quanying was believed to be the last surviving female participant in China's Long March, one of the most significant events in modern Chinese history. The historian and film maker Shuyun Sun learned about the Long March at school and many years later walked the 6,000 mile route herself, where she met women like Wang who told her they'd tie a belt around their stomachs so they wouldn't feel hunger.Lady Hornby was the broadcast journalist who championed women's rights. After hitting her own glass ceiling at work she set about making sure other women had an easier path to the top. As a founding member of the 300 Group, she promoted women's participation in politics and public life. And, as a reporter working for Woman's Hour, she took on the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as her daughter Victoria Hornby explains.“A good trainer can hear a horse speak to him. A great trainer can hear him whisper.” The words of Monty Roberts, the Californian horse psychologist who used gentle persuasion rather than harsh punishment to get the best out of his horses. His autobiography “The Man Who Listens to Horses” sold six million copies and he became a close adviser to Queen Elizabeth II. As his friend and fellow horse behaviourist Kelly Marks told Matthew, when he first began promoting his techniques, he was met with widespread scepticism.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ribika Moktan Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyARCHIVE: The First Time With..., BBC 6 Music, 26/02/2023; Front Row, Radio 4, 11/08/2010; Spotlight, BBC Archive, 29/09/1966; Assignment, China's Long March, 04/09/2000; Women's Hour, Radio 4, 11/12/1986; Women's Hour, Radio 4, 23/09/1976; Monty Roberts, Q.E.D.: Talking Horses, BBC One, 01/08/1995; Monty Roberts, Lowri, BBC Two, 09/09/1999.

Michael Cragg's devotion to all things Kylie once led him to Melbourne in search of the actual carousel horse she rode in a pop video. He got a tattoo a day later. Can't Get You Out Of My Head is a funny and fondly detailed personal account of the risk-taking variety of her records, the mystery of her private life and the irresistible nature of her appeal, a girl who, were there a war on, would be painted on the tail fins of aircraft. He looks back here at … … her ‘90s reinvention by association – with Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence and Bobby Gillespie … how records about joy never get enough credit … wrestling back control after life with Stock Aitken & Waterman … the root of her appeal as a gay icon ... being vilified by the press for any public pronouncement … a capacity to charm her detractors when she meets them … reciting I Should Be So Lucky at the Poetry Olympics alongside Patti Smith and Allen Ginsberg … a mixture of the ordinary and the exotic and the ‘Carry On' sexuality of her videos … only Queen Elizabeth 11 has had more waxworks at Madame Tussauds … and Michael's meeting with her – “I'm six foot eight, she's five foot one” - and the resulting photo. Order copies of ‘Can't Get You Out of My Head' here: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571392766-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-in-search-of-kylie/Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Cragg's devotion to all things Kylie once led him to Melbourne in search of the actual carousel horse she rode in a pop video. He got a tattoo a day later. Can't Get You Out Of My Head is a funny and fondly detailed personal account of the risk-taking variety of her records, the mystery of her private life and the irresistible nature of her appeal, a girl who, were there a war on, would be painted on the tail fins of aircraft. He looks back here at … … her ‘90s reinvention by association – with Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence and Bobby Gillespie … how records about joy never get enough credit … wrestling back control after life with Stock Aitken & Waterman … the root of her appeal as a gay icon ... being vilified by the press for any public pronouncement … a capacity to charm her detractors when she meets them … reciting I Should Be So Lucky at the Poetry Olympics alongside Patti Smith and Allen Ginsberg … a mixture of the ordinary and the exotic and the ‘Carry On' sexuality of her videos … only Queen Elizabeth 11 has had more waxworks at Madame Tussauds … and Michael's meeting with her – “I'm six foot eight, she's five foot one” - and the resulting photo. Order copies of ‘Can't Get You Out of My Head' here: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571392766-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-in-search-of-kylie/Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Cragg's devotion to all things Kylie once led him to Melbourne in search of the actual carousel horse she rode in a pop video. He got a tattoo a day later. Can't Get You Out Of My Head is a funny and fondly detailed personal account of the risk-taking variety of her records, the mystery of her private life and the irresistible nature of her appeal, a girl who, were there a war on, would be painted on the tail fins of aircraft. He looks back here at … … her ‘90s reinvention by association – with Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence and Bobby Gillespie … how records about joy never get enough credit … wrestling back control after life with Stock Aitken & Waterman … the root of her appeal as a gay icon ... being vilified by the press for any public pronouncement … a capacity to charm her detractors when she meets them … reciting I Should Be So Lucky at the Poetry Olympics alongside Patti Smith and Allen Ginsberg … a mixture of the ordinary and the exotic and the ‘Carry On' sexuality of her videos … only Queen Elizabeth 11 has had more waxworks at Madame Tussauds … and Michael's meeting with her – “I'm six foot eight, she's five foot one” - and the resulting photo. Order copies of ‘Can't Get You Out of My Head' here: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571392766-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-in-search-of-kylie/Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Walter Raleigh would be one of the most recognizable person of the Elizabethan era. He was a soldier, explorer, adventurer, writer, poet and favorite of Queen Elizabeth. In part one of our story, we look at his humble beginnings, including his time as a solder in France and Ireland, a stint as a privateer, and finally a fixture in the cutthroat world of Queen Elizabeth's court. Sponsors: Quince. Get free shipping with your order by using code EXPLORERS at quince.com/explorers The Explorers Podcast is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on the Explorers Podcast? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meghan Markle surprises a young Girl Scout by revealing she dips Thin Mints in jam, while her latest As ever summer message gets a decidedly mixed reaction online. Plus, unnamed sources claim Meghan felt “muzzled” and tightly controlled during the Sussexes' private royal visit, another report suggests Harry and Meghan could actually acknowledge the damage caused by their family feud, and we look back at the extraordinary and tragic story of Queen Elizabeth's distant cousin Elizabeth Alice Wise.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-royal-family-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

Netflix treated the Jeffrey Epstein scandal very differently depending on the project. In the 2020 documentary series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, the streaming service put Epstein's survivors at the center of the story and examined how his wealth, connections, lawyers, employees, and social standing helped him escape meaningful accountability for years. The series explored the 2005 Palm Beach investigation, the extraordinarily lenient non-prosecution agreement, Epstein's relationships with powerful figures, and the machinery surrounding his abuse. Prince Andrew was part of that story because of his well-documented friendship with Epstein and the allegations made against him by Virginia Giuffre, including her account that she had been trafficked to the prince when she was 17, allegations Andrew denied. In that documentary context, Andrew's association with Epstein represented one of the clearest examples of how Epstein gained access to elite circles and how the scandal extended far beyond Epstein himself.By contrast, Netflix's enormously popular drama The Crown largely sidestepped Prince Andrew's role in the Epstein scandal, even as the series moved into the period when Andrew's relationship with Epstein was becoming increasingly consequential. Andrew appeared as a comparatively minor member of the royal family, and the show devoted far more attention to Charles, Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, William, and the monarchy's broader crises. Because The Crown ended its story in 2005, it stopped before the 2010 photographs of Andrew walking with Epstein in New York, Giuffre's allegations becoming internationally prominent, Andrew's disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview, and his subsequent withdrawal from public duties. Still, Epstein's abuse was already under investigation by 2005, and Andrew's friendship with him had begun years earlier, meaning the series had opportunities to foreshadow or examine that relationship but essentially chose not to. The result was a striking contrast within Netflix's own catalog: Filthy Rich presented Epstein's access to royalty as an important component of the scandal, while The Crown told the modern monarchy's story with Andrew's connection to one of the most notorious sex offenders of the era almost entirely outside the frame.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

“It's very important that we expose this work early on, so that people from different cultures see ballet as a way of a career. But in the 1990s or 2000s, it was pretty much closed, we didn't have - even in school - a lot of black ballet dancers from which to choose from. But now, obviously, things have moved on. Now, diversity is at the top of every director's agenda… it's great that we've seen a big shift and we see the right kind of representation of the world as we have it today, on stage.”Michael Berkeley speaks to ballet star Carlos Acosta about his life and career.Born in 1973, Acosta grew up in a poor part of Havana, where he was the 11th child in a very large family.He began training at the National Ballet School of Cuba at 9 years old, and quickly rose to prominence. At 18, he became the youngest principal dancer at the English National Ballet.After gaining further international experience, Acosta joined the Royal Ballet in 1998 - making it his home for nearly two decades, and performing every major classical role. Such was his impact, in 2014 he received a CBE in Queen Elizabeth's honours list for services to ballet.Now the Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, he's fostered some unexpected collaborations, including a show based on the music of the city's heavy rock legends Black Sabbath, as well as classics like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker.Thank you to the Private Passions team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Oscar-winning filmmaker Sir Christopher Nolan, music icon Chaka Khan, and artist Tracey Emin. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Michael Berkeley Producers: Ben Cooper and Clare Walker Editor: Damon RoseGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Carlos Acosta. Credit: Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Sir Clive Alderton, the King's most senior aide, is preparing to step down after 20 years at Charles and Camilla's side. But who will replace him as King Charles's new right-hand man?Kate Mansey is joined by Queen Elizabeth II's former communications secretary Simon Lewis and royal biographer Robert Hardman to enter the hidden world of royal courtiers. What do the palace's so-called “men in grey suits” actually do? How much influence do they wield over the royal family? And what happens when their advice is ignored?Simon reveals what life was really like inside Buckingham Palace, from driving the Queen at Balmoral to advising the sovereign behind closed doors. They also discuss Prince Harry's clashes with Sir Clive, how Andrew circumvented palace officials, and the qualities the King will need in his next principal private secretary.Get in touch: theroyals@thetimes.co.ukImage: GettyProducer: Robert WallaceVideo Producer: Eve ChadbournExecutive Producer: Priyanka DeladiaWatch us on YouTube.Read more: Wanted: skilled diplomat who knows how to make the King laugh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Early Wednesday morning, part of an abandoned SpaceX rocket will slam into the moon. That collision is making a huge impression on astronomers, one of whom tells us it could also have an impact on future lunar missions. The U.S. has resumed deporting people to Venezuela for the first time since the devastating earthquakes in June. But Washington Post reporter María Luisa Paúl says it's still unclear what happened to the people on board the last deportation flight, which landed hours before the quakes hit. We remember the late Monty Roberts, a celebrated equine trainer and friend of Queen Elizabeth who championed gentler training methods and was known as the man who listens to horses. A four-inch tall kitten named Gelato is getting around just fine despite an injury, thanks to a new custom wheelchair made out of toy cars. A restaurant in South Florida makes news for its strip steak — as in, its once-a-month nude-dining event at which customers strip to eat steak. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that assumes they all want the dressing on the side.

No American or foreign leader has met with as many sitting U.S. presidents as Queen Elizabeth II. Her 70-year reign witnessed the highs and lows of the close and crucial alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, from the Suez crisis to Brexit. Following the advice of her mentor, Winston Churchill, to “stay close to the Americans,” Queen Elizabeth played an unexpected role behind the scenes that has never been thoroughly explored. Susan Page changes that with her new book The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History. Described as “The Crown” meets “The West Wing,” it chronicles the largely unknown story of Queen Elizabeth II's relationship with 13 American presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Donald J. Trump. With that, she changed the world. Veteran political reporter Susan Page goes beyond the image of a staid monarch in colorful hats to reveal a skilled strategist, who, like many powerful women, was routinely underestimated and discounted. She also shows the impact American presidents had on the monarch as she developed from a shy, anxious princess to a powerful and persuasive global leader, and analyzes both the reach and the limits of the “soft power” she wielded. These accounts of the Queen's deft diplomacy provide candid and telling assessments of her partners in the Oval Office as well. What was the reality of the relationship between Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth? What did the Queen and Barack Obama think about each other? How did she navigate between Ronald Reagan and her own prime minister, Margaret Thatcher? And what about Richard Nixon seeking the Queen's help during Watergate—and even wanting to make her a relative? Join us for a fascinating discussion about an often underestimated figure who played a big role in the history of the United States and Britain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genevieve sits down with longtime collaborator and fabricator Dan Blanton to recount how trade‑show expertise, bold ideas, and careful engineering brought major museum projects to life, from The Pope Exhibit and Shroud of Turin to Thanks for the Memories and modern immersive displays. Plan your visit to the museum today at nmfh.org and take a journey through over 30,000 square feet of fascinating history. Subscribe to The Final Curtain Never Closes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Key Takeaways1. Dan’s path into funeral‑related work began with a single casket display project in a St. Louis funeral home, which led to early collaborations with Bob and the museum. 2. The relationship between Dan, Bob, and Genevieve quickly became a symbiotic working flow, blending grand concepts with realistic fabrication and structural problem‑solving. 3. Major exhibits such as the Pope Exhibit, Thanks for the Memories, cremation, and the Shroud of Turin demanded both creative vision and intricate technical solutions, often under tight deadlines. 4. The museum’s evolution from a space dominated by vehicles to richly layered exhibits required difficult choices about what to keep, remove, and reinterpret. 5. Trade‑show work is temporary; Dan values museum projects because he can return decades later and see permanent exhibits still educating visitors. Timestamped Overview 00:00 Dan recalls his initial hesitation about working in the funeral industry and mentions early projects that included high‑profile subjects from pop culture and the Shroud of Turin.01:01 Genevieve introduces Dan Blanton, owner of AD Craft, notes their two‑decade partnership, and describes her first impression of his large, impressive shop.02:21 Dan explains how a last‑minute call from a funeral home in South St. Louis about a casket display led to his first funeral‑related fabrication project.02:38 He describes designing slat‑wall casket selection displays, which in turn drew Bob’s attention and opened the door to work with the National Museum of Funeral History.05:11 Dan reflects on the natural working chemistry between himself, Bob, and Genevieve, with Bob dreaming big and Dan grounding ideas in structural reality.06:49 Dan remembers Bob calling late at night while watching the televised funeral of Pope John Paul II, saying the museum needed to do an exhibit on it, sparking their first major project together.07:13 They discuss the scale of the Papal exhibit, including flying to St. Louis, laying out parts at Dan’s facility, managing multiple exhibits at once, and reconfiguring museum space to accommodate a large expansion.10:40 Genevieve notes how often Dan seems to “read her mind” in design, and Dan comments on their rare creative alignment and deep familiarity with the museum’s footprint.11:12 They talk about Dan’s intensive working visits, long hours, and his appreciation for museum work as a permanent alternative to short‑lived trade shows.13:00 Dan compares the fleeting nature of trade‑show exhibits with the lasting gratification of seeing long‑standing museum projects like the Papal exhibit still on display years later.14:00 Together they recall challenges from the cremation exhibit, especially the complex copy panel on cremation diamonds and scientific processes that took weeks to refine.15:30 Genevieve and Dan describe working under tight deadlines for the Shroud exhibit, proofreading panels remotely, and making last‑minute adjustments to meet Easter opening.16:33 They revisit the Queen Elizabeth coffin replica, explaining the problem of visitor sightlines and Dan’s solution of installing a large overhead mirror made from mirror acrylic instead of glass.17:22 Dan shares his concern about transporting a huge mirror safely and the relief of discovering mirror acrylic as a lighter, more practical option.17:47 Genevieve notes their habit of realizing late in the process that special equipment is needed, such as lifts and forklifts, and how they adapt.18:45 Dan identifies Thanks for the Memories as his most enjoyable exhibit, because it allowed him to work with beloved entertainers and animals and creative display elements like retro televisions.19:39 He describes visual flourishes such as movie‑reel carpeting and last‑minute design choices that helped tie the exhibit together visually.20:32 Dan calls the Shroud exhibit one of the scariest projects because of the responsibility of handling and hanging a unique, DNA‑derived replica cloth.21:30 Genevieve expresses trust in Dan’s care for sensitive artifacts and gratitude for his craftsmanship on behalf of the museum.22:22 Dan shares how his entire staff feels energized when new museum projects arrive, enjoying the change from standard exhibits and willingly working to meet tight timelines.23:02 Genevieve closes with appreciation for Dan and his team, noting the museum’s good fortune in having such a committed fabricator, before they both return to the work of building more exhibits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The English Football Association is set to become the latest governing body to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino's bid for re-election as head of FIFA, increasing the pressure on him to quit. Wales and Finland have already dropped their support. Mr Infantino is under pressure because of his abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments. Also: Japan and the US say they took coordinated action to prop up the yen last week after the Japanese currency fell to a 40-year low. The number of ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo passes 3.600, making it the biggest outbreak of the disease there. The remarkable womb surgery which fixed a miracle baby with intestines outside its body. And the death of the "Horse Whisperer", Monty Roberts, who became friends with the late Queen Elizabeth.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: File photo, Gianni Infantino, Washington December 2025 Credit: PA

The Great Leader is so powerful. He has such influence. That aside, however, he is an odd man. He was an odd boy too and this is only proven further today. Meanwhile, Steve pontificates on the Dartford Crossing and how often Queen Elizabeth II might have visited it and there's a paranormal update from Anglesey.Please send your listener comments to Danny@radiox.co.ukThis week's podcast is dedicated to The Nameless 16 Year Old, of Ian's.Thank you.

In this exclusive and deeply revealing episode, veteran royal correspondent Simon Vigar sits down to dissect the groundbreaking dynamic behind four key royal women. As "outsiders" entering the world's most famous family, Princess Diana, Queen Camilla, Princess Catherine, and Meghan Markle have each served as powerful catalysts for shaping the monarchy.From Diana's radical approach to raising her sons outside palace walls to the behind-the-scenes warmth of King Charles and Queen Camilla, we explore how these incredible women have shaped British history. Simon reveals fascinating insider details about Princess Kate's long-term strategic influence, the truth behind the Sussexes' explosive departure, and how the Prince and Princess of Wales are fiercely protecting George, Charlotte, and Louis to break the cycle of royal childhood trauma.#princesskate #princewilliam #royalfamily00:00 - Introduction & "The Four Wives of Windsor"00:58 - The Outsiders: How 4 Women Modernized the Monarchy02:01 - Queuing for Milk: Introducing Real-World Life to Royals02:50 - The Middleton Impact & Queen Elizabeth's Early Approval03:38 - Covering Diana's Death: Public Grief & Media Backlash05:45 - Diana's Forgiveness Factor & The Panorama Tragedy07:58 - Camilla & Catherine: Adapting to the Palace Machine09:25 - The "Third Way": Why Harry & Meghan's Hybrid Plan Failed11:04 - Archie & Lilibet: Will Their Titles Change?12:35 - Courtier Claims: What Meghan Really Faced at the Palace14:30 - Media Reality Check: 2018 Headlines vs. Edit Manipulations18:24 - The Surprising Arc of Queen Camilla & Her Secret Power21:33 - Debriefs in the Bentley: Humor in Royal Marriages23:55 - Harry's "Spare" Claims & The Secret Highgrove Reunion26:25 - What Changed Harry? The Media, Chelsea, and Cressida28:24 - Princess Catherine's Quiet Evolution & Future Influence30:38 - Protecting George, Charlotte, and Louis from History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our April Fools' Episode, in which we explain how it is we know that things purported to have existed in the Middle Ages did not actually exist! It's late, for April Fools' Day, by any known calendar, since it's the end of June, and also the Bisley Boy, who did not exist, did his not existing after the Middle Ages, thereby qualifying this episode as a Special Episode. Anne explains the stupidity of the Bisley Boy Theory, which is, in short, that Queen Elizabeth I died at the age of 9 and got replaced by a little boy from Bisley, and Michelle, who found herself at the bottom of a rabbit hole consisting of Bram Stoker's book Famous Imposters, from 1910, in which Bram Stoker reveals WAY more of his concerns about gender identity than he probably meant to, and gives Anne even more reason to dislike Stoker, has a great deal of enjoyment and gets to explain to us the  Chevalier d'Eon, who confuses Stoker even more than Queen Elizabeth.  

Prince Andrew reportedly attempted to use Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie as part of a carefully managed return to royal life in 2022, only months after settling Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit and losing his military affiliations and royal patronages. With his own reputation badly damaged, Andrew pushed for his daughters to receive larger public roles as working royals, a move that would have strengthened the House of York's position inside the monarchy while giving him an indirect route back toward royal relevance. Reports indicated that he lobbied Queen Elizabeth II on their behalf and viewed the Platinum Jubilee as an opportunity to reappear alongside the family, despite strong resistance from Prince Charles and Prince William. His daughters' titles, charity work and comparatively unblemished public standing offered him something he no longer possessed himself: a respectable connection to the institution from which he had been largely excluded.The strategy placed Beatrice and Eugenie in an uncomfortable position because neither woman had been accused of involvement in her father's misconduct, yet their royal futures were repeatedly drawn into his campaign for rehabilitation. By promoting them as potential working royals and appearing with them at family occasions, Andrew could present himself not simply as a disgraced individual seeking a comeback, but as the head of a loyal royal family unit deserving continued inclusion. It also allowed him to test the palace's willingness to restore him gradually, using his daughters as intermediaries and public proof that he remained connected to the monarchy. The effort ultimately failed because senior royals maintained that Andrew would not return to official public duties, while Beatrice and Eugenie remained non-working members of the royal family rather than becoming vehicles for their father's restoration.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

Een pleidooi voor vermogensbelasting uit onverwachte hoek: honderdtwintig rijke Britten vragen aan kersverse premier Andy Burnham: belast ons vermogen! Op de lijst van ondertekenaars onder anderen oud-voetballer en succesvol mediamaker Gary Linker, Richard Curtis, de koning van de romcom, Brian Eno en crime-thrillerschrijver Val McDermid. In hun pleidooi voor een vermogensbelasting van 2 procent boven de tien miljoen pond noemen ze zichzelf Patriotic Millionairs, en zeggen ze dat de allerrijksten, die inkomen halen uit vermogen dat ze al bezitten, meer zouden moeten betalen. Niet de mensen die werken voor hun geld. Economen hebben twijfels bij het nut en de haalbaarheid van de plannen, en het is voorlopig gissen of de regering van Burnham het een goed idee vinden. Ook in deze aflevering In het land van de tuinen is de tuinslang deze zomer verboden. Vanwege watertekorten mag je de tuin niet sproeien. Britten zijn er woedend over. Niet zozeer omdat ze niet willen bijdragen aan het besparen van water, maar omdat de geprivatiseerde waterbedrijven een veelvoud van deze besparing iedere dag laten weglekken door slecht onderhouden riolering. Over Van Bekhovens Britten In van Bekhovens Britten praten Lia van Bekhoven en Connor Clerx elke week over de grootste nieuwsonderwerpen en de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Van Brexit naar binnenlandse politiek, van de Royals tot de tabloids. Waarom fascineert het VK Nederlanders meer dan zo veel andere Europese landen? Welke rol speelt het vooralsnog Verenigd Koninkrijk in Europa, nu het woord Brexit uit het Britse leven lijkt verbannen, maar de gevolgen van de beslissing om uit de EU te stappen iedere dag duidelijker worden? De Britse monarchie, en daarmee de staat, staat voor grote veranderingen na de dood van Queen Elisabeth en de kroning van haar zoon Charles. De populariteit van het Koningshuis staat op een dieptepunt. Hoe verandert de Britse monarchie onder koning Charles, en welke gevolgen heeft dat voor de Gemenebest? In Van Bekhovens Britten analyseren Lia en Connor een Koninkrijk met tanende welvaart, invloed en macht. De Conservatieve Partij leverde veertien jaar op rij de premier, maar nu heeft Labour onder Keir Starmer de teugels in handen. Hoe ziet het VK er onder Keir Starmer uit? En hoe gaan de ‘gewone’ Britten, voor zover die bestaan, daar mee om? Al deze vragen en meer komen aan bod in Van Bekhovens Britten. Een kritische blik op het Verenigd Koninkrijk, waar het een race tussen Noord-Ierland en Schotland lijkt te worden wie zich het eerst af kan scheiden van het VK. Hoe lang blijft het Koninkrijk verenigd? Na ruim 45 jaar onder de Britten heeft Lia van Bekhoven een unieke kijk op het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Als inwoner, maar zeker geen anglofiel, heeft ze een scherpe blik op het nieuws, de politiek, de monarchie en het dagelijkse leven aan de overkant van de Noordzee. Elke woensdag krijg je een nieuwe podcast over het leven van Van Bekhovens Britten in je podcastapp. Scherpe analyses, diepgang waar op de radio geen tijd voor is en een flinke portie humor. Abonneer en mis geen aflevering. Over Lia Lia van Bekhoven is correspondent Verenigd Koninkrijk voor onder andere BNR Nieuwsradio, VRT, Knack en Elsevier en is regelmatig in talkshows te zien als duider van het nieuws uit het VK. Ze woont sinds 1976 in Londen, en is naast correspondent voor radio, televisie en geschreven media ook auteur van de boeken Mama gaat uit dansen, het erfgoed van Diana, prinses van Wales (1997), Land van de gespleten God, Noord-Ierland en de troubles (2000), In Londen, 9 wandelingen door de Britse hoofdstad (2009) en Klein-Brittannië (2022). Over Connor Connor Clerx is presentator en podcastmaker bij BNR Nieuwsradio. Hij werkt sinds 2017 voor BNR en was voorheen regelmatig te horen in De Ochtendspits, Boekestijn en de Wijk en BNR Breekt. Als podcastmaker werkte hij de afgelopen tijd aan onder andere De Taxi-oorlog, Kuipers en de Kosmos, Splijtstof, Baan door het Brein en Welkom in de AI-Fabriek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The stunningly beautiful goddess Calypso offers Odysseus something that you might think no human being could ever refuse: never to age and never to die. Stay with me on this Island and you will achieve immortality. And yet refuse it he does. I am really excited to see the new Christopher Nolan film version of The Odyssey. Last summer holidays I read it to my boys whilst we were holidaying on the next island along from Ithica. And there are so many fascinating philosophical and theological issues it raised: not least, what are we to make of Odysseus' preference for risk and death over immortality and agelessness. Earlier this year the American tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson launched his Immortals programme; at a cost to the individual of a million dollars a year, it offers a promise held out in its strap line “don't die”. In a fascinating essay on why Odysseus is right to refuse this, the philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues that there are some things that the immortal Gods are not able to do that human beings are: not least amongst them is to show courage. If you can't risk anything because you cannot die, then how can you possibly be courageous? What sort of life would the hero Odysseus have if he stayed with Calypso on her deathless realm, and gave up any need for his famous craft and resourcefulness? And what would love itself mean if you could never put anything on the line for others? That's why we cheer Odysseus on as he decides to refuse Calyspso her seemingly unrefusable offer. Despite being a convert from Christianity to Judaism, Nussbaum intriguingly suggests that there is something about this giving up of immortality that explains one of the key features of Christian theology: of God becoming human, of a God who is prepared to suffer and die in the name of love. What is attractive about both Odysseus and Jesus is that they are both prepared to have skin in the game, which is pretty much the very definition of incarnation. Personally, I don't buy the idea that that science could one day make us immortal. But, and here's the point, even if it were true, I think we should refuse it. Indeed, I don't think we often fully grasp what immortality of this sort would mean. Because to live beyond the realm of suffering and death is to live in a way that is no longer human – without the possibility of heroism, without the possibility of risking all for love. Why is it, for instance, that so often in Greek mythology, perfect Gods fall in love with imperfect human beings rather than their own kind? Because fragile humanity can exhibit exciting virtues, risky love-soaked courage in the way that the gods just cannot. Of course we don't want those we love to be taken from us. Yet also, death is what makes life valuable and precious. In the words of the late Queen Elizabeth II, “grief is the price we pay for love”. What Odysseus discovers on Calypso's Island, is that without death, life will be drained of its meaning.

Why is Britain's monarch called “Defender of the Faith”—and what does that title actually mean in the twenty-first century? This episode traces one of the oldest constitutional traditions of the British Crown, from King Henry VIII receiving the title from a Pope in 1521, through England's break with Rome, to the Church of England's unique place inside the British constitution. We explore why King Charles once suggested he preferred the phrase “Defender of Faith,” why that sparked decades of constitutional debate, how Queen Elizabeth II balanced Christian leadership with a multi-faith Britain, and why Charles ultimately took the traditional coronation oath unchanged in 2023. Along the way, we explain the monarch's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, why Parliament—not the King—ultimately controls these constitutional arrangements, and how one ancient title continues to shape the modern monarchy.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-king-charles-meghan-markle-and-all-the-royal-family-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

What does it really take to make a presidential event look effortless? In this fascinating episode of The White House 1600 Sessions, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin sits down with Jean Becker and Tom Collamore, authors of Don't Tell the President, to reveal the hidden world of White House advance teams - the people responsible for sweating the details of every presidential appearance, foreign trip, summit, speech, and state visit. From Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech and Bill Clinton's teleprompter mishap, to George H. W. Bush's meetings with Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II, the conversation explores the extraordinary pressure, split-second decision-making, and behind-the-scenes stories that rarely make the history books. It also reflects on darker moments, including September 11, and the immense responsibility carried by those working behind the scenes. Along the way, you'll hear remarkable stories about presidential campaigns, Secret Service coordination, international diplomacy, and the dedicated people who quietly ensure that every presidential event runs smoothly, even when everything appears to be falling apart.

Emmet Kennedy is joined by Andy Newton, George Gorman, Peter Michael and Jaime Wrenn to preview Saturday's biggest betting opportunities from Ascot and York, headlined by the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Could Prince Harry eventually lose his position as a Counsellor of State? Royal commentators debate whether King Charles has quietly solved the problem—or simply postponed it for King William. We also examine the deeper constitutional question of who would actually govern if Prince George inherited the throne while still a minor, and whether Parliament should legislate now to avoid a future crisis. Then we turn to another royal mystery: why neither Queen Elizabeth II nor King Charles has truly wanted to live at Buckingham Palace, and whether transforming Britain's most famous palace into little more than a ceremonial office changes the symbolism of the modern monarchy.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/palace-intrigue-king-charles-meghan-markle-and-all-the-royal-family-gossip--4522904/support.Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

Edward IV finally has it all. With his enemies vanquished, the Yorkist king can now focus on what really matters to him — pleasure. But, after one fateful fishing trip, he drops dead at 41. The kingdom is now left to his 12-year-old son, Edward V.  It's not like England hasn't seen this before. After all, Henry VI ascended to the throne at nine-months-old. So the realm expects another royal council to steer things on Edward's behalf until he gets older. And there's a long list of nobles who are more than happy to shepherd the young king.  This includes Edward IV's brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who has other plans. Diabolical plans that will change the course of Plantagenet — and indeed English history — forever.  – As always, Dan's royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It's where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week's episode Dan tells us about why Edward's gluttony was his undoing, and just how much life the Yorkist king packed into his 41 years. Plus: Hear about what links Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth II in the afterlife.  – A Sony Music Entertainment production.  Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts  To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com  Learn more about your ad choices.  Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices  –– Presented by Dan Jones  Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock Executive Producer - Louisa Field  Executive Producer - Dan Jones Production Manager - Jen Mistri  Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan  Head of Content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill Maher welcomes British comedian Jack Whitehall for a conversation that starts with a World Cup conspiracy theory and only gets more unhinged from there. Somewhere between the soccer talk and the soul-baring, Jack admits he cried watching Deal or No Deal but worried he wouldn't cry when his daughter was born. They also dive into Jack's infamous Queen Elizabeth joke that sparked outrage across the UK, and the Michael Jackson sketch he prayed wouldn't air. Bill weighs in on surviving cancel culture, Woody Harrelson's legendary hangouts, the Beatles, dating before smartphones, and why comedians often find it easier to perform than to actually be themselves. Support our Advertisers: Try Claude for free at https://www.claude.ai/clubrandom Subscribe to the Club Random YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/clubrandompodcast?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Watch episodes ad-free – subscribe to Bill Maher's Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://billmaher.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you listen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Club Random Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://clubrandom.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices ABOUT CLUB RANDOM Bill Maher rewrites the rules of podcasting the way he did in television in this series of one on one, hour long conversations with a wide variety of unexpected guests in the undisclosed location called Club Random. There's a whole big world out there that isn't about politics and Bill and his guests—from Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld to Jordan Peterson, Quentin Tarantino and Neil DeGrasse Tyson—talk about all of it.  For advertising opportunities please email: PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com ABOUT BILL MAHER Bill Maher was the host of “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC) from 1993-2002, and for the last fourteen years on HBO's “Real Time,” Maher's combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him 40 Emmy nominations. Maher won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer for the HBO series, “VICE.” In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher's uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous.” Maher has written five bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden,” “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” and most recently, “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass.” FOLLOW CLUB RANDOM https://www.clubrandom.com https://www.facebook.com/Club-Random-101776489118185 https://twitter.com/clubrandom_ https://www.instagram.com/clubrandompodcast https://www.tiktok.com/@clubrandompodcast FOLLOW BILL MAHER https://www.billmaher.com https://twitter.com/billmaher https://www.instagram.com/billmaher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prince Andrew repeatedly attempted to rebuild his public position after stepping away from royal duties in 2019, but those efforts were firmly resisted by his older brother Charles while he was still Prince of Wales. Andrew reportedly viewed appearances at Prince Philip's memorial service, the Order of the Garter ceremony and Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee as opportunities to demonstrate that he remained part of the monarchy's public life. Charles, supported by Prince William, believed that allowing Andrew to return in any meaningful capacity would reopen the Epstein scandal and further damage the institution. Andrew was ultimately prevented from participating publicly in the Order of the Garter procession in June 2022, despite retaining membership in the order, and his wider hopes of resuming official duties went nowhere. By that point, he had already lost his military affiliations, royal patronages and permission to use the style “His Royal Highness” in an official capacity.After Queen Elizabeth's death and Charles's accession to the throne in September 2022, the barrier standing between Andrew and a comeback became even stronger. As king, Charles continued to permit his brother to attend certain private family gatherings and ceremonial occasions, but he refused to restore Andrew as a working royal or give him an official public platform. The distinction was deliberate: Andrew could remain a member of the family, but he would not again represent the Crown. Charles understood that every attempted rehabilitation risked making the monarchy appear indifferent to the allegations surrounding Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, which Andrew settled in 2022 without admitting liability. Andrew's strategy depended heavily on the protection and affection of his mother, but once Charles became king, that avenue effectively closed, leaving his repeated comeback campaigns blocked by the same brother who had opposed them while waiting for the throne.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

SynopsisToday we note the birthday of a remarkable composer, conductor and virtuoso violinist: Eugéne Ysaÿe, who was born in Liége, Belgium, on today's date in 1858. After studies with two of the most famous violin composers of his day, Henyrk Wieniawski of Poland and his Belgian compatriot, Henri Vieuxtemps, he soon was touring Europe and Russia as a star performer himself.In 1886, when 28-year old Ysaÿe married, great Belgian composer Cesar Franck presented the young couple with his Violin Sonata as a wedding present. That same year, Ysaÿe founded a famous string quartet, and in 1893 it was the Ysaÿe Quartet that gave the premiere performance of Claude Debussy's String Quartet, a work its composer dedicated to the ensemble in admiration.In 1918, he made his American debut as a conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony, and made such a great impression there that he remained as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony from 1918 to 1922.As a composer, he wrote eight concertos and a set of six solo sonatas for the violin. In 1928, at 70, the patriotic Belgian began work on an opera, Peter the Miner to a libretto in his native Walloon language, and was at work on a second opera when he died at 72, in 1931. In 1937, Queen Elizabeth of Belgium inaugurated the annual Eugene Ysaÿe International Prize for promising young violinists.Music Played in Today's ProgramCesar Franck (1822-1890): Violin Sonata; Itzhak Perlman, violin; Martha Argerich, piano; EMI 56815Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931): Chant d'hiver; Aaron Rosand, violin; Radio Luxembourg Orchestra; Louis de Froment, conductor; Vox Box 5102

Garrett Morris' eggplant goes viral, Eli Zaret stops by as Dusty May leaves Michigan for the NBA, RIP Clive Davis, Carlos Mencia arrested for tax fraud, Corey Feldman's new song, Richie Sambora drunk tweets, Meghan Markle's manic speech, and everyone hates Al Roker. Drew still hasn't caught has World Cup fever. The US plays a bunch of Turkeys on Thursday. Lionel Messi is pretty good at soccer. Keith Stironek & Deena Centofanti are in our thoughts. Amy Andrews is in our thoughts. Eli Zaret joins the show as Dusty May bails on Michigan for the NBA, Dave Portnoy's thought on the departure, everybody quits on MSU, the Detroit Tigers at a pivotal point in the season, Jahmai Jones sucks at baseball, AJ Hinch sucks at managing baseball, baseball vs nuts part 1, baseball vs nuts part 2, Eli vs gambling part 3,000, update us on some golf nonsense with the US Open, King Charles' horse sucks, UFC Freedom 250 reactions and more. Other Sports: 2-time Super Bowl champ, Mike Pennel, straight up killed a bitch in 2021. Geno Smith is bad at football and bad at being a boyfriend too. Trudi has a lawn of skank. BranDon got a tick and grosses out the room. Comedian Carlos Mencia "forgot" to pay taxes for 5 years. Oops. He's been charged with tax evasion. Joe Rogan wears really stupid ties. Stephen Colbert cost CBS some money on his way out the door. RIP Clive Davis. He didn't get to have a gay young adulthood ... so he lived a wild homo life in his old age. RIP Alan Greenspan. Boring! Rod Stewart is old and needs oxygen on stage. Richie Sambora has a problem Tweeting while drunk. Drew consumes W.A.S.P. content. Olivia Wilde is a BEAST. Corey Feldman has a sweet new track. We check out the making of a Feldman tune. Corey's health has improved since last week. Former SNL cast member, Garrett Morris, shows off his monster dong in a pic with Taraji P. Henson. Nick Reiner is going to sell a book to fund his lawyers. John Hinckley Jr. hopped on Megyn Kelly's podcast. Robert Romanus (Mike Damone) is making the podcast rounds. We learn of a new film with Damone in it. Marc details Dead Man's Wire available now on Netflix. The boring National Archives are going on tour and coming to Detroit. Gorillaz are coming to LCA on October 7. Markleverse: Harry and Meghan are going to get royal treatment again. The couple is likely the reason the Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth died. We watch Markle butcher a speech while introducing Harry at some boring Invictus event. You are still not allowed to see their brat's faces. They are going broke fast. GMA kisses their non-royal asses. Britney Spears continues to her post crazy on Instagram. Jasleen Singh is the worst person ever and destroyed her husband's career. Rosie O'Donnell headlines the replacement hosts for Jimmy Kimmel this summer. She finally saw her loser daughter in jail. Billy Bush HATES Al Roker. Megyn Kelly HATES Al Roker. Al once pooped his pants at the White House. Merch, yo. Check it. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley, BranDon, and Roberto).