Podcasts about Reform

Today, Plaid Cymru have won a by-election in an area Labour haven't lost in for 100 years. Adam and Chris discuss what it means for Welsh Labour, and for Reform who came second. Plus they are joined by Alex and Joe to round up the political week. Is the political pressure on Prince Andrew's living situation sustainable? Is Keir Starmer re-thinking how to sell digital id? And, Newscast welcomes a major celebrity into the studio. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Joe Wilkinson. The social producer was Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy . The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

On the face of it, the Caerphilly by-election result is a disaster, a drubbing and a humiliation for Keir Starmer's Labour party. A once secure bastion of the Welsh Labour heartlands fell without a squeak from the governing party. Their vote collapsed to a miserable 11 per cent, while Plaid Cymru won with 47 per cent and Reform surged to second place with 36 per cent. The result suggests Labour is on course to surrender a boatload of seats at the 2029 general election, both to Reform and to whatever protest party is best suited to beat the government around the head – be it Plaid, the Greens, the Corbynites, the Islamist independents or the SNP. But is there good news for the PM beyond the headlines? Lucy Dunn speaks to Tim Shipman and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this profound episode of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb delve deeply into the Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30), exploring its implications for Christian assurance. Building on their previous discussion, they examine how this parable speaks to the mixed nature of the visible church, the sovereignty of Christ over His kingdom, and most significantly, the doctrine of assurance. Through careful theological reflection, the hosts unpack how true believers can find solid ground for assurance not in their own works or fruit-checking, but in the promises of Christ and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. This episode offers both encouragement for those struggling with doubts and a sobering challenge to those resting in false assurance. Key Takeaways The Parable of the Tares teaches that the visible church will be mixed until the final judgment, containing both true believers (wheat) and false professors (tares) who may appear outwardly similar. True assurance is not based primarily on good works but on the promises of Christ, the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit, and the evidences of grace in our lives. False assurance is a real danger, as many who think they belong to Christ will discover at the final judgment that they never truly knew Him. The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 18) provides a helpful framework for understanding biblical assurance as the proper possession of every Christian. Christ's role as the divine Master of the house (the world) and Lord of the angels is subtly yet powerfully affirmed in this parable, grounding our assurance in His sovereignty. Good works are the fruit of assurance, not its cause—when we are secure in our salvation, we are freed to serve Christ joyfully rather than anxiously trying to earn assurance. The final judgment will bring perfect clarity, revealing what was hidden and separating the wheat from the tares with divine precision that humans cannot achieve now. The Doctrine of Assurance: Reformed Understanding The Reformed tradition has always emphasized that believers can and should have assurance of their salvation—a conviction recovered during the Reformation in contrast to Rome's teaching. As Tony noted when reading from the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 18), this assurance is "not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation." This assurance rests on three pillars: the promises of God in Scripture, the inward evidence of grace, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit witnessing with our spirit. What makes this understanding particularly comforting is that it shifts the foundation of assurance away from our performance to God's faithfulness. While self-examination has its place, the Reformed understanding recognizes that looking too intensely at our own hearts and works can lead either to despair or to false confidence. Instead, we're directed to look primarily to Christ and His finished work, finding in Him the anchor for our souls. The Problem of False Assurance One of the most sobering aspects of the Parable of the Tares is its implicit warning about false assurance. Just as the tares resemble wheat until maturity reveals their true nature, many professing Christians may outwardly appear to belong to Christ while inwardly remaining unregenerate. As Jesse observed, "The tares typically live under false assurance. They may attend church, confess belief, appear righteous, yet their hearts are unregenerate. Their faith is maybe historical, it's not saving, it could be intellectual, but it's not spiritual." This echoes Jesus' warning in Matthew 7 that many will say to Him, "Lord, Lord," but will hear the devastating response, "I never knew you." The parable teaches us that this self-deception is not always conscious hypocrisy but often the result of spiritual blindness. As Jesse noted, referencing Romans 1, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 2, the unregenerate are "not merely ignorant, they're blinded... to the spiritual truth by nature and by Satan." This understanding should prompt humble self-examination while simultaneously driving us to depend not on our own discernment but on Christ's perfect knowledge and saving work. Memorable Quotes "Assurance is the believer's arc where he sits Noah alike quiets and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions." - Thomas Brooks, quoted by Jesse Schwamb "When we are confessing, repenting, seeking like our status in Christ because of Christ, then we have confidence that we are in fact part of the children of God. When everything is stripped away from us and all we're crying out is only and completely and solely and unequivocally Jesus Christ, then I think we have great reason to understand that we should be confident in our assurance." - Jesse Schwamb "The sacrifice and the service that a husband performs for his wife, whom he loves and trusts and is committed to and knows that she's faithful and committed to him, that is not causing that faithfulness. It's not causing that trust and that love. It is the outcome and the outflow of it." - Tony Arsenal on how good works flow from assurance rather than cause it Resources Mentioned Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 7:21-23, Romans 1, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 2, 2 Timothy 3:5 Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter 18 "Of Assurance of Grace and Salvation" Thomas Brooks: "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices" YouTube Channel: My Wild Backyard Khan Academy: Educational resource recommended during "Affirmations and Denials" segment Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 466 of the Reform the Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. We're going back to the farm again. Can't stop. Won't stop. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I'm stoked. [00:01:02] Discussion on the Parable of the Tears Tony Arsenal: The last week's discussion was interesting and I think, um, it's gonna be nice to sort of round it out and talk about some things you might not think about, uh, when you first read this parable. So I'm, I'm pretty excited. Jesse Schwamb: Oh, what a tease that is. So if you're wondering what Tony's talking about, we're hanging out. In Matthew 13, we are just really enjoying these teachings of Jesus. And they are shocking and they're challenging, and they're encouraging, and they're awesome, of course. And so we're gonna be finishing out the Parable of the Tears and you need to go back and listen to the previous conversation. This, this is all set up because we have some unfinished business. We didn't talk about the eschatological implications. We have this really big this, this matza ball hanging over us. So to speak, which was the, do the TAs in this parable even know that they are tarry, that they are the TAs? And so in this parable, the disciples learn that the kingdom itself, God's kingdom, the kingdom that Jesus is enumerating and explaining and bringing into being, they are learning that it's gonna be mixed in character. So that's correcting this expectation that the kingdom would be perfectly pure and would have, would evolve righteous rule over all of the unrighteous world. And so it's a little bit shocking that Jesus says, listen, they're gonna be. Tears within the wheats that is in the world, the seed that God himself, the sun has planted and that they're gonna exist side by side for a long time. And so we, they have to wait patiently and give ourselves to building up the wheats as the sons of the kingdom and be careful in their judgment, not to harm those who are believers. We covered a lot of that last week, but left so much unsaid we couldn't even fit it in. This is gonna be jam packed, so I'm gonna stop giving the tees instead start moving us into affirmations and denials. [00:02:45] Affirmations and Denials Jesse Schwamb: It's of course that time in our conversation where we either affirm with something really like or we think is undervalued or we deny against something that we don't really like or is a little overvalued. So as I usually say to you, Tony, what have you got for us? [00:03:00] YouTube Channel Recommendation: My Wild Backyard Tony Arsenal: I am affirming a YouTube channel. Um, I, I think the algorithm goes through these cycles where it wants me to learn about bugs and things because I get Okay, like videos about bugs. And so I'm, I'm interested. There's been this, uh, channel that's been coming up on my algorithm lately called My Wild Backyard, and it, it's a guy, he's like an entomologist. He seems like a, a like a legit academic, but what he does is he basically goes through and he talks about different bugs, creepy crawlies, looks at like snakes, all that kinds of stuff. It seems like his wheelhouse is the stuff that can kill you or hurt you pretty bad. Nice. But, um, it's interesting and it's. It's good educational content. It's, you know, it's not sensationalized, it's not, uh, it's not dramatized. Um, it's very real. There's occasionally an instance where he, he's not, sometimes he will intentionally get bit or stung by an, uh, by an animal to show you what it does. So he can experience and explain what he's experiencing. And sometimes he just accidentally gets bit or stung. And so those are some of the most interesting ones. So like, for example, just looking at his, his channel, his most recent, um, his most recent video is called The most venomous Desert Creatures in the US ranked the one previous was. The world's most terrifying arachni isn't a spider. And then previous to that was what happens if a giant centipede bites you? So it's interesting stuff. If you are one of those people that likes bugs and likes creepy crawlies and things, um, this is definitely the channel for you if you're not one of those people. I actually think this probably is the channel for you too. 'cause it kind of demystifies a lot of this stuff. Um. You know, for example, he, he will commonly point out that, um, spiders don't wanna bite you and they just wanna leave you alone. And, and as long as you leave them alone, even, even something like a black widow, which people are terrified of, and I think, right, rightfully so. I mean, they can be scary. Those can be scary bites. He'll, he'll handle those, no problem. And as long as he's not like putting downward pressure on them, uh, they have no interest in biting, they really just want to get away. So even seeing that kind of stuff, I think can help demystify and, and sort of, uh, make it a little bit easier. So my Wild Backyard, he can find it on YouTube. Um, he's safe for kids. He's not, he's not cussing even. I mean, I think occasionally when he gets bit on accident, you might, you know, you might have a beep here or there, but, um, he's not, he's not regularly swearing or things like that. And he does a pretty good job of adding that stuff out. Jesse Schwamb: What a great title for that, isn't it? This, yeah. Confluence of your backyard. That space that seems domesticated is also stealing its own. Right. Wild. And there's a be Yeah. Both those things coming together. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. It, it's interesting stuff and it's really good. I mean, it's really compelling videography. He does a good job of taking good photos. You'll see insects that you usually won't see, or spiders you usually won't see. Um, so yeah, it's cool. Check it out. [00:05:51] Discussion on Spiders and Creepy Crawlies Jesse Schwamb: What are you, uh, yeah, I myself would like to become more comfortable with the arachni variety. If only be, I mean, I don't know. It's, it's a weird creature, so my instinct is to be like, kill them all. And then if I can't find them and I know they're around, then we just burn everything that we own. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: They just can't sink into the ground fast enough. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. There's something about the way they move, like their, their bodies don't move the way you would anticipate them to. Right. And it freaks, it just weirds out human sensibilities, so. Right. Jesse Schwamb: They're also like, I find them to be very surprising. Often. It's not kind of a, a very like, kind of measured welcome into your life. It's like you just go to get in the shower and there's a giant spider. Yeah. Oh yeah. Although I guess that spider, he's, he or she's probably like, whoa, where'd you come from? You know, like, yeah. He's like, I was just taking a Tony Arsenal: shower. You know what's interesting? Um, I saw another video was on a different channel, um, like common jumping spiders. Yeah. Which there are like hundreds of species of common jumping spiders. Jesse Schwamb: True. Tony Arsenal: Um, but spiders and jumping spiders specifically, actually you can form almost like a pet bond with, so like the, that jumping spider that like lives in your house and sees you every day. He, he probably knows who you are and is like, comfortable with you. And they've done studies that like you can actually domesticate jumping spiders, so they're not as foreign and alien as you might think. Although they certainly do look a little bit strange and weird. And the way their bodies move is almost designed to weird out people like it just the skinness, like the way their legs skitter and move it, it just is, it's, it triggers something very primal in us to That's wild. Be weirded out by it. Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: It's wild. I love it. That's a good, a affirmation. I'm definitely gonna check that out. I, any, anything? I really want to know what the, what like the terrifying arachni is. That's not a spider. Tony Arsenal: It's a, well, it's called a camel spider, but it's not really a spider. Oh, Jesse Schwamb: I know what you're talking about. That is kind of terrifying. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. They, they actually don't have any venom. Um, yeah. Check out the video. I mean, it, it was a good video. Um, but yeah, they're freaky looking and, um, but even that, like he was handling it No problem. Yeah. Like it wasn't, it wasn't aggressive with him once Wow. Once it figured out it wasn't, he wasn't trying to hurt him and, and that it couldn't eat him. Um, it, it just sort of like hung out until he let it go. So Jesse Schwamb: yeah, just be careful if you watch it one before bed or while in bed. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Probably not right before bed. Yeah. You'll, you'll get the creepy crawlies all night. Jesse Schwamb: I love it. But there's something somewhat. Like invigorating about that isn't there? Like it's, it's kind of a natural, just like kind of holy respect for the world that God has created, that they're these features that are so different, so wild, so interesting and a little bit frightening, but in the sense that we just draw off from them because they're so different than what we are. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: And you know, again, there's places you would be happy to see them, but maybe your bathtub or like shooting out, like, you know, like where you live, the jumping spiders are legit and they will just pop out on you, you know? Yeah. You're just doing your own thing and then all of a sudden they're popping out. I think part of that is just that what, what gets me is like them just, you know, like I remember in my basement here, once one popped out from a rafter and then I was holding, happened to be holding up broom. My instinct just naturally was to hit it. I hit it with the broom and it went across the room and fell on an empty box and sounded like a silver dollar had hit the box. Like it was just a massive, I mean, again, like, it's like fish stories, like it's a massive spider. It was a big spider. Yeah. But you just don't expect to, to see that kind of thing. Or maybe, maybe I should, but anything that moves in that way, and again, like centipedes, man, forget it. We have those too, like in our basement. Like the long ones. Oh yeah. Yeah. That thing will come like squiggling down the wall at you, like eye level and you just wanna run up the stairs screaming like a little girl. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, you do run up the stairs screaming like a little girl. It's not that you want to, it's that usually you do. I don't mean like you specifically, although probably you specifically. Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There's, yeah, you just react. Well, j Jesse enough freaking out. I mean, we're getting close to Halloween, so I suppose it's appropriate, but, uh, enough of that. What are you affirming or denying today? Jesse Schwamb: Once again, without like any coordination, mine is not unlike yours. I know you and I, we talk about the world in which we live, which God has created, and this lovely command, this ammunition to take dominion over that. And one of the things I appreciate about our conversations is I think you and I often have maybe not like a novel. Kinda perspective on that, but one that I don't hear talked about often and that is this idea of taking dominion over what it is possible to know and to appropriate, and then to apply onto wisdom. [00:10:27] Affirmation: Khan Academy Jesse Schwamb: And so my information is in that realm. It's another form of taking ownership of what's in the wild of knowledge that you can possess. And again, equal parts. What an amazing time to be alive. So I'm affirming with the website, Khan Academy, which I'm sure many are familiar with. And this website offers like. Thousands of hours. Uh, and materials of free instructional videos, practice exercises, quizzes, all these like really bespoke, personalized learning modules you can create for topics like math, science, computing, economics, history, art. I think it goes like even starting at like. Elementary age all the way up into like early college can help you study for things like the SAT, the LSAT AP courses, and I was revisiting it. I have an open account with them that I keep in love and I go back to it from time to time. And I was working on some stuff where I wanted to rehearse some knowledge in like the calculus space, do some things by hand, which I haven't done. And I was just like, I'm blown away at how good this stuff is. And it's all for free. I mean, you should donate if you. You get something from this because it's a nonprofit, but the fact that there are these amazing instructional videos out there that can help us get a better understanding of either things we already know and we can rehearse the knowledge or to learn something brand new essentially for free. But somebody's done all the hard work to curate a pedagogy for you. Honestly, this is incredible. So if you haven't looked at that website in a long time or maybe ever, and you might be thinking, what, what do I really wanna learn? Lemme tell you. There's a lot of interesting stuff there and it's so approachable and it's such a good website for teaching. And if you have children in particular, even if you're looking for help, either helping them with their own coursework or maybe to have like kind of a tutor on the side, this is so good. So I can't say enough good things recently about Khan Academy 'cause it's been so helpful to me and super fun to like just sit and have your own paced study and in the private and comfort of your own home or your desk at work or wherever it is that you need to learn it. To be able to have somebody teach you some things, to do a little practice exercises, and then to go on to the world and to apply the things you've learned. Ah, it's so good. Tony Arsenal: Nice. Yeah, I've, I've never done anything with Khan Academy. I'll have to check it out. There's, um, there's some skills of needing to brush up on, uh, at work that I am probably not gonna be able to find in my normal channels, so I'll have to see if there is anything going on there. Um, but yeah, that's, that's good stuff. And it's free. Love freestyle. It's, and of course, like Jesse Schwamb: things like this are legion. So whatever it is, whatever your discipline or your field of study or work is, there's probably something out there and, uh, might, I humbly maybe encourage you to, if you use something like that and it's funded by donations, it's worth giving, I think, because again, it's just an amazing opportunity to take dominion over the knowledge that God has placed into the world and then to use it for something. I mean, I suppose even if all it is is you just wanna learn more about, like for me, I, I find like the subjects of, of math and science, like just endlessly fascinating and like the computing section I was looking at, I, I don't know much about like programming per se, but there is such a beauty. Like these underlying principles, like the, the organization of the world and the first level principles of like physics for instance, are just like baffling in the most glorious kind of way. How they all come together. So having somebody like teach you at a very like simplistic level, but allow you to grasp those concepts makes you just appreciate it leads me to doxology a lot when I see these things. So in a weird way, it ends up becoming maybe not a weird way and the right way. It becomes worship as often as I'm sitting at my desk and working through like a practice problem on like, you know, partial differential equation or, or derivatives is what I was working on today. And ah, it's just so good. I don't know, maybe I'm the only one. I, it's not be super nerdy, but you, are you ever like at your desk studying something? And it might not be like theological per se, but you just have a moment where you're overcome with some kind of worship. Do you know what I'm talking about? Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, um, this we're the nerdiest people on the planet, but let's Jesse Schwamb: do it. Um, Tony Arsenal: when I find a really fun, interesting. Uh, Excel formula and I can get it to work right. Uh, and it, and then it just like everything unlocks. Like, I feel like I've unlocked all the knowledge in the universe. Um, but yeah, I hear you like the, the Excel thing is, is interesting to me because, like, math is just the description. Like it's just the fabric of reality is just the way we describe reality. But the fact that we can do basically just take math and do all these amazing things with it, uh, in a spreadsheet is really, uh, drives me to praise. Like I said, that's super nerdy, but it is. Oh, you're speaking my language. Jesse Schwamb: I, we have never understood each other better than just this moment right now. We, we had some real talk and, uh, a real moment. Tony Arsenal: Yes. Welcome to the Reformed math cast. Jesse Schwamb: We're so glad that you're here. Tony Arsenal: Yes. We're not gonna do any one plus one plus one equals one kinds of heretical math in, up in here. Jesse Schwamb: No. Tony Arsenal: Well, Jesse, I have a feeling that, excuse me. Wow. Jesse Schwamb: We don't edit anything out. Listen, I'm choked up too. It's it, listen, love ones just so emotional. The moment Tony and I are having it. We're gonna try our best right now to pivot to go into this text, but it's, it's tough because we were just really having something, something special. You got, you got to see there. But thank you for trying to Tony Arsenal: cover for me for that big cough. Jesse Schwamb: This is like presuppositional editing. You know, we don't actually do anything in post. It's not ex anti editing. It's, it's literally presuppositional. [00:15:52] Theological Discussion on Assurance Jesse Schwamb: But to that end, we are in Matthew 13. This is the main course. This is the reason why we're here. There's lots of reasons to worship, and one of them is to come before and admire and love our God who has given us his specific revelation and this incredible teaching of his son. And that's why we're hanging out in Matthew 13. So let me read, because we have just a couple of really sentences here, this really short parable and that way it'll catch us up and then we can just launch right back into we're, we're basically like, we're already in the rocket. Like we're in the stratosphere. We're, we're taking it all the way now. So this is Matthew chapter 13. Come hang out here. It's in the 24th verse. And this is what we find written for us. This is the word of the Lord. He put another parable before them saying. The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the weeds and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also, and the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? He said to them, an enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, then, do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, no less than gathering the weeds, you root up the weed along with them. Let both grow until the harvest. And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn. Tony Arsenal: That's good stuff. That's good stuff. Um, you know, we, we covered most of. I don't know, what do you wanna call it? The first order reading of the parable last week. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: On one level, the parable, uh, as Christ explains it, uh, a little bit down further in the chapter is extremely straightforward. It's almost out, it's almost an allegory. Each, each element of the parable has a, a, a figure that it's representing. And the main purpose of the story is that the world and specifically the church, um, is going to be a mixed body until the last days, until the end of time. And so there's, there's the Sons of God or the Sons of the Kingdom, uh, and then there's the sons of the evil one. And we talked a lot about how. These two figures in the parable, the, the, the weeds or the tears? Um, tears is a better word because it's a specific kind of, uh, specific kind of weed that looks very much like wheat at its immature stages. Right. And you can't actually discern the difference readily, uh, until the weed and the wheat has grown up next to each other. Um, and so, so part of the parable is that. The, the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the enemy, or the sons of the evil one, they don't look all that different in their early stages. And it's not until the sort of end culmination of their lives and the end culmination of things that they're able to be discerned and then therefore, um, the, the sons of the devil are, are reaped and they go off to their eternal judgment and the sons of the kingdom are, uh, are harvested and they go off to their eternal reward. What we wanted to talk about, and part of the reason that we split this into two episodes. Is that we sort of found ourselves spiraling or spiraling around a question about, uh, sort of about assurance, right? And false assurance, true assurance. And there is an eschatological element to this parable that I, I think we probably should at least touch on as we we go through it. Um, but I wanted to just read, um, it's been a little while since we've read the Westminster Confession on the show. So I wanted to read a little bit from the Westminster Confession. Um, this is from chapter 18, which is called of assurance of grace and salvation. This is sort of the answer to Jesse's question. Do the, do the tears know their tears or, or could they possibly think that their wheat? So this is, uh, section one of chapter eight. It says, although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presuppositions or presumptions of being in favor with God in the state of salvation. Which hope of their shall perish yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed. And so we, in the reform tradition at least, which is where we find ourselves in the reform tradition, um, we would affirm that people can. Deceive themselves into believing that they're in proper relation with God. Jesse Schwamb: Right? Tony Arsenal: And so it's not the case that, uh, that the weeds always know they're weeds or think they're weeds. It's not even the case. And this was part of the parable. It's not even the case that the weeds can be easily distinguished even by themselves from, uh, from the weeds. So there is this call, uh, and this is a biblical call. There's a call to seek out assurance and to lay claim to it. That I think is, is worth talking about. But it's not as straightforward as simple proposition as like, yeah, I'm confident. Like it's not just like, right, it's not just mustering up confidence. There's more to it than that. So that's what I wanted to start with, with this parable is just maybe talking through that assurance. 'cause I, I would hate for us to go through this parable. And sort of leave people with maybe you're a weed and you don't know it. 'cause that's not right. That's not the biblical picture of assurance. Um, that's the, that's the Roman Catholic picture of assurance that like, yeah, there's no such thing as assurance and people might not realize, but assurance of salvation is actually one of the, one of the primary things that was recovered particularly by the Reformed in the Reformation. Um, and so I think we, we often sort of overlook it as maybe a secondary thing. Um, but it really is a significant doctrine, a significant feature of reformed theology. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I'm glad you said that because it is a, is a clear reminder. It's a clearing call as the performers put forth that it is. Under like the purview of the Christian to be able to claim the assurance by the blood of Christ in the application of the Holy Spirit in a way that's like fully orbed and fully stopped. So you can contrast that with, and really what was coming outta Catholicism or Rome at the time. And I was just speaking with a dear brother this past week who. Grew up in the Catholic church and he was recounting how his entire religious experience, even his entire relationship, if we can call it that in a kind of colloquial sense with God, was built around this sense of deep-seated guilt and lack of true performance, such that like assurance always seemed like this really vague concept that was never really fully manifested in anything that he did. Even while the church was saying, if you do these things, if you perform this way, if you ensure that you're taking care of your immortal sins and that you're seeking confession for all the venial stuff as well, that somehow you'll be made right, or sufficiently right. But if not, don't worry about it. There's always purgatory, but there'd be some earning that you'd have to accomplish there. Everywhere along the way. He just felt beaten down. So contrasting that with what we have here. I don't believe, as you're saying, Tony, that's Jesus' intention here to somehow beat up the sheep. I, I think it is, to correct something of what's being said about the world in which we live, but it's at the same time to say that there are some that are the TAs is to say there are some that are the children of God, right? That there are some that are fully crisply, clearly identified and securely resting in that identity without any kind of nervous or anxious energy that it might fall out of that state with God that, that in fact their identity is secure. And as I've been thinking about this this week, I, I'm totally with you because I think part of this just falls, the warning here is there's a little bit of the adventures in Romans one here that's waiting for us, that I like what you said about this idea of, of self deception and maybe like a. Subpart to this question would be, are the, are the terrors always nefarious in their lack of understanding? So we might say there's some that are purposely disruptive, that the enemy himself is, is promulgating or trying to bring forward his destruction, his chaos by way of these tears. But are, are there even a subgroup or another group, uh, co-terminus group or, you know, one in the same hierarchy where there's just a lot of self deception? I, I think that's probably where I fall in terms of just trying to explain that. Yes, I think it was present here is a real quantity, a real identity where they're self-deceived. Imagining themselves to be part of God's people, yet lacking that true saving faith. And this just, I'm gonna go in a couple places where I think everybody would expect in the scriptures, if we go to like Ephesians four, they're darkened and they're understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them. And one Corinthians, when Paul writes, the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, and he's not able to understand them because they're spiritually discerned. And then the book that follows the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. And of course then like everything in Romans one, so I bring all that up because E, even at the end, we're gonna get there, the Es, this eschatological reality when you know God is separating out the sheep and the goats. Still, we find this kind of same trope happening there. But the unregenerate, what I'm reading from this. Importantly is that the unregenerate, they're not merely ignorant, they're blinded, as we all were on point to the spiritual truth. Yeah. By nature and by Satan. That that is also his jam. He loves to blind, to lie, to kill, steal, and destroy. So thus, even if they're outwardly belonging to the church, they're outwardly belonging to the world. They're outwardly belonging to some kind of profession. They cannot perceive the reality of their lost condition apart from divine illumination. Who can, that might be stating the obvious, but I think that's like what we're getting after here. I I, I don't know if there's like any kind of like conspiracy here. It's simply that that is the natural state of affairs. So why wouldn't we expect that to be reflected again in the world and that side by side, we're gonna find that shoulder to shoulder. We are, there are the children of God, and there are those that remain blind and ignorant to the truth. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And, and you know, it, again, I, I, um, I don't know why I'm surprised. Uh, I certainly shouldn't be surprised. Um. But Matthew is like a masterful storyteller Yeah. Here, right. He's a masterful, um, editor and narrator. Um, and he's, he's put together here, of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Um, and, and there's some good reason to think in the text we're not gonna get too, in the nitty gritty here, there's some good reason to think in the text that Christ actually delivered these parables as a set as well. So it's not just, it's not just Matthew coating these, although it could be. Um, but it, it seems like these were all delivered probably as like a common set of parables. And the reason I say that is because when we start to look at this parable and the one we previously went through, the parable of the soils, um, or the parable of the sower. Um, what we see is the answer to your question of why do some people, you know, why are some people deceived? Well, yes, there is secondary causation. The devil deceives them. They blind themselves. They, you know, suppress the, the, the truth and right unrighteousness. But on a, on a primary causation level, um, God is the one who is identi, is, is identifying who will be the sons of the, you know, devil and the sons of the kingdom. Mm-hmm. This is another, and yet another example of election is that the, the good sower sowed good seed, and the good seed was the elect and the enemy. Although in God's sovereignty, God is the one who determines this. The enemy is the one who sows the reprobate. Right? So all, all men. Star, and this is, I, I guess I didn't really intend to go here, but this is good evidence in my mind for, um, infra laps, Arianism versus super laps. Arianism, right infra laps, arianism or sub lapse. Arianism would say that God decrees, uh, to permit the fall and then he decrees to redeem some out of the fall, right? Logically speaking, not temporally speaking. Super laps. Arianism, which is the minority. It's the smaller portion of, of the historic tradition, although modern times, I think it's a little bit louder and a little bit more vocal, but super relapses. Arianism would argue that God, um, decrees. Sort of the, the decree of election and reprobation is logically prior to the decree of the fall. And so in, in that former or in the super laps area model, the fall becomes a means by which the reprobate are justly condemned. Not, um, not the cause of their condemnation, but a way to sort of justify the fact that they will be separated from God, right? Because of their reprobate. [00:28:36] Exploring the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares Tony Arsenal: I know that there's, there's probably some super lab streams that would nuance that differently and some that are probably just screaming straw man, uh, in a coffee shop somewhere and, and people are thinking you're crazy. Um, but by and large, that's actually a rel, a relatively accepted, um, explanation of it. There are certainly potential problems with, uh, sub, sub lapse agonism as well. But in this, in this parable, what we see is the people who are, um, who are elect, are sowed into the field and the people who are reprobate are also sowed into the field. And so God saves the people who are sewed into the field that are, they elect, he saves them out of this now mixed world by waiting and allowing them to grow up next to the reprobate, um, in sort of this mixed world setting. And then he redeems them out of that. Um, and, and, and so we have to sort of remember. Although it is a pretty strict, sort of allegorical type of parable, it's still a parable. So we shouldn't, we shouldn't always draw like direct one-to-one comparisons here. It's making a theological point, but, um, but it's important for us to re remember that, that it is ultimately, it is God who determines who is the elected and who is not. But it's, it's our sin. It's the devil deceiving us. It's the secondary causes that are responsible for the sons of the devil, right? It, the, the men come to the, to the sower and say, who is done this? He says it was an enemy. Jesse Schwamb: Right? Right. Tony Arsenal: He doesn't say like, well, actually I put the seed there and so, you know, I'm, I, it's not an equal distribution. He's not sowing good seed and bad seed. He sows the good seed and the devil sows the bad seed. [00:30:24] Theological Implications and Assurance Tony Arsenal: Um, and, and that's a, I think that's an important theological point to make. And as far as assurance goes. We, we can't depend on our ability to perceive or sort of like discern election in a raw sense, right? We have to observe certain kinds of realities around us. Um, and, and primarily we have to depend on the mercy and, and saving faith that God gives us. That's right. Um, you know, our, our assurance of faith does not primarily come from fruit checking. Um, we have to do that. It's important, we're commanded to do it, and it serves as an important secondary evidence. But a, a, a person who wants to find assurance. Of salvation should first and foremost look to the promises of Christ and then depend on them. Um, and, and so that's, I think all of that's kind of wrapped up into this parable. It's, it's, it's amazing to me that we're only like two parables in, and we're already, you know, we're already talking about super lapse arianism and sub lapse arianism, and it's, it's amazing. I, I love this. I'm loving this series so far, and we're barely scratching the surface. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it's all there. I think you're right to call that out. It strikes me, like, as you were speaking, it really just hit me higher that I think you're right. Really the foundation on this, like the hidden foundation is assurance and it's that assurance which splits the groups, or at least divides them, or it gives us, again, like the distinct, kind, discrete compartments or components of each of them. So. Again, I think it's help saying, 'cause we wanna be encouraging. That's, that's our whole point here is when the Apostle Peter says, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing of you. That herein we have the scripture saying to us, time and time again, be sure of what God has done in your life. Be confident in that very thing. And so if assurance is, as we're saying, that's the argument hypothesis we're making. That's the critical thing here. [00:32:11] False Assurance and True Faith Jesse Schwamb: Then the division between the children of God and the children of the devil is false versus true assurance. So the tears, I think what we're saying here, basically they typically live under false asserts. They may attend church, confess, belief, appear righteous, yet their hearts are unregenerate. Their faith is maybe historical. It's not saving, it could be intellectual, but it's not spiritual. And of course, like just a few chapters before this, we hope those famous verses where Jesus himself drops the bomb and says, listen, many of you, he's talking to the people, the, the disciples around him, the crowds that we're gathering and thronging all about. He says, many of you're gonna say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy your name? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me. These are not people who knew they were false, they thought they belonged to Christ. Their shock on judgment day is gonna reveal this profound self-deception. And that self-deception is wrapped up in a false type of assurance, a false righteousness. So I think one of the things that we can really come to terms with and grab a hold of is the fact that when we are. Confessing, repenting seeking like our status in Christ because of Christ. Then we have confidence that we are in fact part of the children of God. When everything is stripped away from us and all we're crying out is only and completely and solely and unequivocally, Jesus Christ, then I think we have great reason to understand that we should be confident in our assurance. [00:33:38] Historical Perspectives on Assurance Jesse Schwamb: You know, I was reading this week from Thomas Brooks and did incidentally come across this, a quote, an assurance and reminded me of this passage, and here's what he writes. You know, of course he's writing in like 16 hundreds, like mid 16 hundreds. It's wild, of course, but we shouldn't be surprised that what you're about to hear sounds like it could have been written today for us. In this conversation, but, uh, he writes, assurance is the believer's arc where he sits Noah alike quiets and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions. However, most Christians live between fears and hopes and hang, as it were, between heaven and hell. Sometimes they hope that their state is good. At other times they fear that their state is bad. Now they hope that all is well and that it shall go well. Well with them forever. Then they fear that they shall perish by the hand of such corruption or by the prevalency of such and such temptation. They're like a ship and a storm tossed here and there, and. I think that he's right about that. And I think the challenge there is to get away from that. I love where it starts, where he says, what wonderful turn of phrase assurance is the believer's arc or Noah, like, you know, we're sitting and the commotion, the destructions, the commotion, the confusions of all the world. That's why to get this right, to be encouraged by this passage, to be challenged by it is so critical because we're all looking for that arc. We all want to know that God has in fact arrested us so completely that no matter what befalls us, that everything, as we talked about before, all of our, all of the world, in fact is subservient to our salvation. But that's a real thing that cannot be snatched away from us because God has ordained it and intended it, built it, created it, and brought it to pass. And so I think that's all like in this passage, it's all the thing that's being called us to. So. I, I don't want us to get like too hung up. It's a good question, I think to ask and answer like we were trying to talk about here, but you're right. If we focus too much just on the like, let's gaff for these tears. Who are they? Like let's people's, like Readers Digest in People's magazine these tears. Like who are they? Do we have a list of them? Who do we think they are? How could it be me? Is it really me? Am I, am I anxious about that? Really what we should be saying is following what Peter calls us to do that is to be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and his choosing. So even there like our emphasis and focus, isn't it like you're saying Tony about like, let me do some fruit inventory. I got like a lot of good bananas. I got a lot of ripe pears. Like, look at the tree. This, this is good. Even there, the emphasis is to turn our eyes on Jesus, as it were, and to make certain about his work, his calling and his choosing of us. And I think when we do that, we're falling down in worship and in yielding and submission to him, rightfully acknowledging that the righteousness of Christ is the one that is always in every way alien to us and imputed. And that is what makes us sons and daughters of God, that good seed sown by Jesus himself. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I just wanna read, I wanna um, round out a few more paragraphs here out of the Westminster confession because I do think, you know, when we even talk about assurance, we're not even always all saying the exact same thing. And I think that's important because when we talk about assurance of faith, we need to be understanding that this is the rightful, not only the rightful possession of all Christians, but it's the rightful responsibility of all Christians to seek it. So here's, here's section two of that same chapter. It says, this certainty referring to assurance. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a, a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our hearts that we are the children of God, which spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. So. One of the, the things that I think is, is important here is people read this and say the inward evidences of those graces unto which these promises are made. They read that and they think that it's referring to like good work and like spiritual renewal, but it's, it's not, it's the inward evidence of those graces unto which of the promises are made. So it's this inner, inner renewal. It's the spirit testifying to our spirit. And then, um, chapter, uh, section three here, it says. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it, yet being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given of God. He may without extraordinary revelation there, right there is response to Roman Catholicism in the right use of ordinary means at attain there unto. And therefore, it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence, to make his calling and election. Sure. And thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and in joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience. The proper fruits of this assurance so far is it from inclining men to looseness? Right. [00:38:53] The Role of Good Works in Assurance Tony Arsenal: So we often hear and and I, I think there are good, um, there are good reformed Christians that put. The emphasis of assurance on, or they, they put an overemphasis, in my opinion, on how good works function within our assurance. Right. They, they often will ask us to look to our good fruit as sort of, not the grounding, but as a strong evidence. But at least in terms of the confession here, the cheerfulness in the duties of obedience is the fruit of assurance. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Not Tony Arsenal: the cause or grounding of assurance. So rather than, this is what this last line says. It says so far, is it from inclining? Mental looseness assurance should drive us to obedience and fruitfulness in Christ. And so yes, it is in a certain sense an evidence because if that fruitfulness and obedience is absent from our lives, there's a good reason for us to question whether this infallible assurance is present in our lives. But the assurance is what drives us to this obedience. Um. You know, like, I think you could use the analogy of like a married couple. A married couple who is very secure in their relationship and in their, uh, love for one another and their faithfulness to each other is more likely to cheerfully serve and submit to each other and to respect each other and to sacrifice for each other than a couple that's maybe not so sure that the other person has their best interest in mind. That's or maybe isn't so sure that this thing is gonna work out. I think that's the same thing, like the sacrifice and the service that a husband, uh, performs for his wife, whom he loves and trusts and is committed to and knows that she's faithful and committed to him. That is not causing that faithfulness. It's not causing that trust and that love. It is the outcome and the outflow of it. It's good evidence that that love exists, but it's not caused by it. And assurance here is the same kind of dynamic assurance is not. We can't assure ourselves of our salvation by doing good works. No matter how many good works you do, there are lots and lots of people who are not saved and who will not be saved, who do perfectly good works in appearance. Right. They have the, the outward appearance of godliness, but lack its power. Right, right. Out of right outta Paul, writing to Timothy there. Yes. So that's, that's important for us as we continue to parse all this out, is yes, the fruit is present. Yes. The wheat is to, is discernible from the tears by its final, fruitful status. Right? It grows up to be grain, which is fruitful rather than weeds and tears, which are only good to be burned, but it is not the fruit that causes it to be wheat. It's wheat that causes the fruit to grow. If, if it wasn't wheat, it wouldn't grow fruit, not because the fruit makes it grain, but because it is in fact wheat to start with. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Yeah, that's right on. So I think like by summation we're kind of saying. At least the answer to this question. You know, do the tears know that they're tears? Yes and no. Some do, some don't. I think, yes, there are some that are gonna be consciously hypocritical, willfully rejecting Christ while pretending for worldly gain. I think that's, that's certainly plain to see. And at the same time, do the tears know the tears? Sometimes? No. There's self deceived under spiritual blindness and they have some kind of false assurance. And this idea of, again, coming in repentance before God and seeking humbly to submit to him is I think one of those signs of that kind of true assurance, not a false assurance. And you already stole where I was thinking of Tony by going to Second Timothy again. Thomas Brooks in precious remedies against Saint's device is one of like the best. Books ever. I know that he's really outspoken. He loves to harp on the fact that one of Satan's most effective snares is to make men and women content with a form of godliness without its power. Yeah. And that's often what we're talking about here, I think, is that Satan loves to fish in the shallow waters a profession. And really that can happen in any kind of church or religious culture, that there is this shallowness where that loves religious appearance, prayer, knowledge fellowship, but not the Christ behind them. And so whether we're looking to somebody like Brooks or Jonathan Edwards and we're trying to parse out what are our true affections, not in a way again, that somehow leans well, I feel enough, then somehow that justifies, not inwardly, but again, definitely trying to understand our conviction for conversion tears. For repentance that. Really what we're after is not like just the blessings of Christ, but Christ himself, which I think really leads us to this eschatological perspective then to round all everything out because you know, we talked about before, there's an old phrase, it's like everywhere. A lot of people talk in heaven. Not everybody's going there. And so this idea of like, people will talk about be so great to be there and it's sometimes this, the heaven that they speak of is like absent Christ, you know, as if like, if Christ wasn't there, at least in their perspective, it still wouldn't be half bad. And so I think that does lead us to understand what is this in gathering? What is this? You know, bringing everything into the barn and burning everything else up. And like you just said, if at the beginning you cannot tell the injurious weed aside from that beautiful kernel of wheat that's coming up, but if in the end you can see what's happening in the end, then that brings us all to consummation. What does it mean in this parable? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:44:19] Eschatological Judgment and Assurance Tony Arsenal: And, and I think this actually sort of forces us to grapple a little bit with, with another sort of persnickety feature of this parable that, that I think, I think personally sometimes gets overlooked is we are very quick to talk about this parable to be about the church. And it is. Right. And, and there's reasons to talk like that. But when Christ explains the parable, he doesn't say the field is the church. He says the field is the world. Right. And so we have to, we have to, we have to do a little bit of, um. We have to do a little bit of hermeneutics to understand that this is also speaking of the church, right? It's not as though the church is some hermetically sealed off body that the dynamics of the world and the, the weed and the tears like that, that doesn't happen in the church. But when we talk about the end of the age here, he says the son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom. All causes of sin in all lawbreakers. Right? So, so the, the final eschatological judgment, it's all encompassing. And I dunno, maybe I'm, maybe I'm becoming a little bit post mill with this, um, the, the world is already the Kingdom of Christ. Right? Right. That's right. It, it's not, it's not just the church on earth that is the kingdom of Christ. And so when we talk about this eschatological reaping, um, what we see is, is very straightforward. There are those who are, uh, who belong to Christ, who were sown by him into the world, who were, uh, were tended by him, who were protected by him, who he intended to harvest from the very beginning, right? The good sower sows good seed into the field, and that good seed is and necessarily will be wheat. It's not as though, um, it's not as though, and again, this is one of those ways where like the parables sometimes, uh, are telling a little bit of a different story. Even though they're sharing some themes in the first parable, in the parable of the sower, he sows the same seed into the world. But the seed in that first parable is not the, is not the person receiving the seed. The seed is the one is the word of God. Yes. And so the word of God is sewn promiscuously, even to those who will be hard soil and who will be rocky soil and have thorns. The word of God is, is sewn to all of those people. Across the whole world in this parable. The seed that is the good seed that is sown is and always was going to be weed that was, or wheat, which was going to grow into fruitfulness and be gathered into the barn. Right? That was a foregone conclusion. The, the, when the sower decided to sow seed, all of that said he is the one who did that. He's the one that chose that. He's the one that will bring us to completion, right? And then also the ones that are not of his kingdom, the sons of the devil, they will also be reaped at the end. Actually we'll be reaped before the, you know, they'll be reaped and gathered and, and tossed into the furnace before the sons of the kingdom are gathered together. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: So it, again, this is a parable and even though this is Christ's explanation of the parable, I don't think that Christ was intending to give us like a strict timeline. Right. I don't think he was encouraging us to draw a chart and try to map out where this all happens in order. Um, I do think it's relevant that, that, at least in the explanation of this parable, I mentioned it last week, that, that the rap, the rapture is actually the wicked being raptured. They're the ones that are gathered and taken out of the world and cast into the fiery furnace before the, before the righteous are gathered together and, and brought into Christ Barn. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's a great unmasking that's happening here in this final stage. I mean, that's critically the point. I think there's a lot of stuff we could talk about open handedly and kind of hypothesize or theorize what it means. But what is plain, I think, is that there's this unmasking, this unveiling of the reality of the light of Christ's perfect judgment. But that judgment is for both parties Here it is coming and what was hidden beneath outward religion or more, a facade is gonna be revealed with eternal clarity. That's just the reality. It is coming. So in some ways it pairs. I think at least well in this, well purposely of course in this teaching because Jesus is saying, hold on, like we talked about last time. Do this is not for you to judge. You are ill-equipped. You are not skilled enough to discern this. And therefore though, you wanna go in hot and get spicy and try to throw out all the weeds. Wait for the right time. Wait for the one like you're saying, Tony has from all of eternity past intended for it to be this way. Super intending his will over all things in the casting of the seed. And as we say, Philippians, of course, finishing that good work, which was started, he will finish. It is God's two finish again. And so he says, listen, that day is coming. There's gonna be a great unmasking. Uh, get ready for it. And the scriptures bear witness to that in so many other ways. So. There's such a journey in these like handful of verses, isn't there? I mean, it's really wild. The things that not like we come up with or we read into the text, but as we sit in it a little bit, as we just spend even a cursory amount of time letting it pour over us, that we find there's like a conviction in a weight in these things that are beyond just the story and beyond just even like the illustrations themselves. What we find is, again, it's as if Jesus himself in his brilliance, of course, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is illuminating the mind in the spirit to open up our conception, understanding of the kingdom of God by bringing it to us through his perspective in our own terms, of course, which is both our language and like the context of the world in which we live, and that simple example of farming and seed. And again, even just that there are these interest weeds that look like wheat. I went on this like rabbit hole this week and did a lot of research on like tears and Yeah, like especially people in like the Midwest United States who like know a lot more about agriculture than I do have a lot to say about this. It's not just like we shouldn't be surprised like. Isn't it incredible that like there are actually weeds out there that look like, yeah, it's a brilliance of just knowing that this teaching is so finely tuned. Like we can even just talk about that. Like the world is finely tuned. This teaching is so finely tuned to these grant theological principles that we can at one point be children and appropriate them enough and assume them into our own intellectual capacity so that we can trust in them. And yet even as like adults with like, let's say like the greatest gift of intellectual capacity, still find that we cannot get to the bottom of them because they're so deep. They draw us into these really, really grand vistas or really like extremely deep cold theological waters. And I just find. That I am in awe then of what Jesus is saying here because there's a truth for us in assurance that we ought to clinging to. And there's also like stuff that we should come back to. We shouldn't just stop it here and put it out of our minds until the next time we, we want to just be stimulated by something that's interesting or that we want to just grab somebody and shake them cage style, cage two style and say like, look at this great thing that I just learned about this, this particular parable. But instead, there's so much here for us to meditate on. And in that, I think rather than the Christian finding fear in this parable, what they should find is great comfort. We should be Noah alike sitting in the ark saying, it is well with my soul. And our reason for that is because we know God has cast a seed through his son Jesus Christ. And to be a child, a child of God is the greatest thing in all the universe. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I, I think that, um, transitions nicely to, uh, I'll make this point quick because we're coming up on time here. Um. [00:52:04] Christ's Divinity and Sovereignty Tony Arsenal: The other little subtle thing that Christ does here in this parable is he, he absolutely asserts his divinity and sovereignty overall creation. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Yep. Tony Arsenal: Right. It, it's almost like a throw. There's a couple little like lines that are almost throwaway lines, right in the, the first, the beginning of the parable here. Um, the parable itself, uh, he says, um, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed into a field. And then he says, um, the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, right? And then when he interprets the parable, he says, well, the, the servants are, the field is the world, right? So he's the master of the world, and the servants are the angels. So he's the master of the angels. And then if, if there was any doubt left in your mind. Says in verse 41, the son of man will send his angels. That's right. And they will gather out of his kingdom, which is the world, all the causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. Right? So we have this, this robust picture that there is election. The the good sower sows good seed into the world, and the good seed will necessarily grow into wheat and will be preserved and protected and ultimately harvest Well, why can we have assurance that that will be the case? Well, because the master of the house is the son of man who is the Lord of the universe and the creator of all things. And his angels do his will. That's right. So, so the whole thing is all wrapped up. Why can we have assurance? Because God is a good God and Christ is a good savior, and the savior of the world is the creator of the universe, right? If any of those facts were not true. Then we couldn't have assurance. If God wasn't good, then maybe he's lying. If Christ wasn't the savior of the world or the God of the universe, the creator of the universe, then he wasn't worthy to be the one who saves. All of this is wrapped up in the parables, and this is what's so exciting about the parables. In most of the instances that we look up, especially of the sort of longer parables, these kinds of dynamics are there where it's not just a simple story making a simple point, it is making one primary point. Usually there's one primary point that a, that a parable is making. But in order to make that primary point, there's all these supporting points and supporting things that have to be the case. If the, if the good sower was not the master of the house and a, a competent, uh, a competent landowner who knew the difference between wheat and weeds, even at the early stage, right? His, his servants go and go, what happened? What's with all of these weeds? They can tell the difference somehow, Jesse Schwamb: right? Tony Arsenal: He's immediately able to go, well, this was an enemy. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Tony Arsenal: And while they're bumbling around going, should we go rip it all up and start over? He is like, no, no, no, no. Just wait until, wait until it all grows up together. And when that happens, the Reapers will come and they'll take care of it and they'll do it in my direction, right? Because he's competent, he's the savior, he's the creator, he's the good master, he is the good sower. Um, we can be confi

Reform UK just pulled off the sequel to the Jackie Weaver Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting, and it's excellent. The leaked Zoom meeting from Reform's flagship Kent County Council shows things aren't perhaps going as well for Nigel Farage's party/business as he may have hoped. Is Reform having a bit of a wobble? Plus, is social media brainrot ruining British politics? And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, things are going from very bad to a lot worse for Prince Andrew. How did we get here, and how much worse can it really get for the British Royal Family?  ESCAPE ROUTES:   • Jason recommends Slow Horses ⁠   • Zöe recommends the podcast On Being • Marie recommends the game HollowKnight: Silksong AND the Eva Helene Pade exhibition at London's Ely House.   • Seth recommends Journey To The Far Side of The Sun If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn Head to nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.  www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow    Presented by Seth Thévoz with Zöe Grünewald, Marie Le Conte and Jason Hazeley  Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.    www.podmasters.co.uk     ENDS  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘The Ultras' are the subject of The Spectator's cover story this week – this is the new Islamo-socialist alliance that has appeared on the left of British politics. Several independent MPs, elected amidst outrage over the war in Gaza, have gone on to back the new party created by former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. The grouping has got off to a rocky start but – as Angus Colwell and Max Jeffery write – there are expectations that they could pick up dozens of seats across the country. Can the hard-left coalition hold?Host Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's deputy political editor James Heale, commissioning editor Lara Brown and Angus Colwell – who also writes the Spectator's new morning newsletter Spectator Daily.As well as the cover, they discuss: the intellectual forces behind Reform UK; whether Piers Morgan is right that ‘woke is dead'; why the American ‘Wasp' aesthetic was once so appealing; and are sex robots a fun consequence of capitalism – or a symptom of a lonely society.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.The Spectator is trialling new formats for this podcast, and we would very much welcome feedback via this email address: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone agrees it takes too long and costs too much to build energy infrastructure in America, but what exactly needs fixing, and can we make progress without rolling back vital environmental protections?In this special episode of Energy Gang, recorded live at the ACORE Grid Forum in Washington D.C., host Ed Crooks takes a deep dive into one of the most complex and consequential issues in US energy policy: permitting reform. Ed begins the episode in conversation with Matt Christiansen, partner at Wilson Sonsini and former General Counsel at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Drawing on his experience inside the commission, Matt explains where the real choke points lie in the permitting process, how federal and state powers intersect, and what the newly confirmed FERC commissioners could do to accelerate much-needed grid investment.Later, Ed sits down with three experts who work daily on these challenges in Congress and the private sector: Elizabeth Horner, partner at ArentFox Schiff and former counsel to Senators Shelley Moore Capito and John Barrasso; Daniel Palken, Director of Infrastructure for Energy and Permitting at Arnold Ventures; and Jeremy Horan, Permitting Lead at ACORE. Together, they unpack the politics behind reform, the relationship between permitting and transmission planning, and the growing urgency created by surging power demand from data centers and new manufacturing.The group also discusses the mood in Washington, and hopes that bipartisan momentum can be built to support pragmatic, economy-wide permitting reform.This episode is the first of two recorded live at the ACORE Grid Forum, where industry leaders, regulators, and policymakers came together to discuss the future of America's electricity system.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We begin today's show with a historic visit to the Vatican, where Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla met with Pope Leo. It's the first time in 500 years that a British monarch has prayed with the Pope, a powerful gesture of reconciliation after centuries of conflict between Protestants and Catholics, and a symbolic encounter between the heads of the Church of England and the Catholic Church. CNN's Chrisopher Lamb, author of “The Outsider: Pope Francis and the Battle to Reform the Church," joins the show to discuss.  Also on today's show: musician Annie Lennox; Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With every new poll predicting a Reform win at the next general election, the party continues its preparation for government. James Heale joins Oscar Edmondson and Tim Shipman to talk about his article in the magazine looking at what – or who – is shaping Reform's intellectual revolution. Cambridge intellectual James Orr, close friend to J.D. Vance, has recently joined as an adviser, following in the footsteps of recent defector Danny Kruger, who was widely seen as an intellectual heavyweight on Conservative benches. Tim also discusses his piece looking at the narrative Rachel Reeves is trying to set ahead of next month's budget. Tim says she has four audiences and is trying to direct the blame elsewhere – namely at the Conservatives. But, with no end in sight for Britain's economic doom loop – and as Farage tries to boost the economic credibility of Reform, could voters start to look elsewhere for some shock medicine?Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with Frank Kendall and talk about one of the biggest traps in defense procurement — the endless search for “acquisition magic.” Frank exposes why every few years, someone promises a revolutionary new system to fix everything — and why those reforms almost always fail. From $30 billion MRAP programs that saved lives but were later abandoned, to R&D overruns averaging 25%, he lays out a brutally honest framework for how the government should manage risk, cost, and speed the right way. Key Takeaways: There's no such thing as acquisition magic — sustainable improvement comes from training, data, and risk management. The MRAP program cost $30B but proved that taking calculated risk can save lives when done strategically. Defense R&D programs average 25% overruns — but smart leadership can bring that down to 10% without killing innovation. Learn more: https://federalhelpcenter.com/ https://govcongiants.org/ 

The phrase “Minneapolis police reform” may bring to mind the events of 2020. The murder of George Floyd that year made the city the center of worldwide calls to change policing. It led the city to enter a process of court-ordered reforms that are still taking shape. A new documentary looks back much further. In “Paradox: Echoes of Reform & the Minneapolis Police,” historian Yohuru Williams traces local politics, community activism and police union organizing over 150 years of Minneapolis policing history. The film by Twin Cities PBS premieres Tuesday night. Yohuru Williams, along with the film's executive producer Daniel Bergin, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to discuss the documentary.

As America ages, states face a tough question: how do we fund long-term care and protect the truly vulnerable without crowding out everything else? In this episode of American Potential, host David From talks with Brian Blase, President of the Paragon Health Institute, about why Medicaid's design is straining state budgets—and what to do about it. Blase explains how open-ended federal matching, expansion to able-bodied adults, and “legalized money-laundering” schemes (like provider taxes) have warped incentives—paying up to seven times more federal dollars for able-bodied adults than for seniors and people with disabilities. Blase lays out a reform roadmap: ideally block-grant Medicaid, but in the near term level the federal match across eligibility groups, curb provider-tax loopholes, tighten eligibility reviews, and require community engagement for able-bodied adults—so states can prioritize long-term care and home- and community-based services for aging Americans. If you want a clear, practical plan to keep Medicaid sustainable while strengthening the safety net, this conversation is your briefing.

In this episode of Hoes Throughout History, we dive deep into the unhinged, unstoppable, and undeniably iconic life of Empress Wu Zetian — the first and only female emperor of China. From concubine to supreme ruler of the Tang dynasty, Wu played the political game like a damn chess master while rewriting what it meant to be a woman in power...and the brutal rumors spread by salty men who couldn't handle her crown. Was she ruthless? Sure. Revolutionary? Absolutely.

There have been lots of movements in foreign affairs over the weekend, including a potential collapse of the Gaza peace deal, a Trump–Putin bilateral and new revelations about the China spy case. But closer to home, all eyes are on Kent Council, Reform's flagship administrative project run by Linden Kemkaran (formerly of this parish).Over the weekend, a Zoom call was leaked to the Guardian, in which council leader Kemkaran used some choice language – many are calling it a Jackie Weaver moment, if you can cast your mind back to 2021. Labour have put out a press release and the Lib Dems are apparently going to capitalise on it with something Traitors-themed, in an attempt to demonstrate that, for all their success in the polls, Reform can't govern. Will this cut through?Lucy Dunn speaks to James Heale and Tim Shipman.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve sits down with Jamie Clover-Adams, Executive Director of the Michigan Asparagus Association, to discuss the Ag Labor Coalition's push for permanent agricultural wage reform. They explore how these reforms could impact farmers, farmworkers, and the broader agricultural industry, while looking at the future of agriculture in Americaand what it means for food security, rural economies, and innovation in farming.

1 - EMPHI - Moongazer /  2 - Exe Cruz - Passion Fruit Perfume /  3 - Hobin Rude - Hollow /  4 - McKeown & Bassiray - An Introduction (Ricky Ryan & Maze 28 Reform) /  5 - RADON, Guuse - Cant Leave /  6 - M.O.S - Without You - Quivver Remix /  7 - Lonya - New Form /  8 - Fernando Olaya, Gorkiz - Soulful Embrace /  9 - Luciano Elvira - Babel /  10 - Gheist - Searching Places (Checo Cotela Edit) /  Download episode on MP3 (Right click, save link as...) Help me support NGO Alegría Intensiva, Hospital Clown, in Argentina. Donate now by clicking here!!! Donar desde Argentina haciendo click aquí!!!

Amid the bumpy launch of a new left-wing party and the rise of the Greens and Reform, the ACFM crew turn their attention to parties. Do we still need them? Do parties work by drawing people together, or by excluding the uninvited? And should a political party have anything in common with a dance party? […]

CannCon and Ashe in America take on one of the biggest election stories in years, Dominion's quiet sale and rebrand to “Liberty Vote.” The duo unpacks how this deal was kept hidden from state officials, why the same players remain in charge, and what it really means for America's election systems. Ashe shares behind-the-scenes details from Colorado's county clerks and the contradictions between official statements and what's being told to local leaders. CannCon exposes the merger's deeper implications, from potential data consolidation to the loss of election transparency, and questions whether the public is simply being pacified with a new name. Joined by election integrity expert Holly Kesler, they trace the tangled web of companies behind Dominion, KnowInk, and Liberty Vote, warning that this merger could create a monopoly over both machines and poll pads. The discussion expands to Georgia's election board corruption, Dr. Jan Johnston's fight for accountability, and Colonel Conrad Reynolds' shocking indictment for exit polling in Arkansas. Packed with revelations, outrage, and humor, this episode pulls back the curtain on what may be the most important, and deceptive, “reform” in modern election history.

Congressional Action Needed for Voting Rights Act Reform Richard Epstein Richard Epstein discusses the Supreme Court arguments concerning the Voting Rights Act of 1965 being used for racial gerrymandering. Epstein argues the issue requires comprehensive legislative reform, not piecemeal court action. He suggests Congress should repeal the 1965 Act and start over with a system that reflects contemporary thinking, although he notes there is no congressional appetite for compromise. 1884 SCOTUS

Soon after winning 10 councils, Reform UK set up a Trump-inspired DOGE department that would cut unnecessary spending.Host: Tomini BabsWriter: Poppy Bullard with reporting from Jon Ungoed-ThomasProducer: Amalie SortlandEpisode photography: Joe MeeExecutive Producer: Rebecca MooreTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been an emotional week after the arrival of a Hamas-Israel ceasefire. This is good news - but issues of humanitarian aid, human rights, and accountability are all still up in the air. The struggle for a lasting peace continues...  Closer to home - Nish and Coco check in with Plaid Cymru's leader Ruan ap Iorwerth, to talk about seeing off Reform, what a new co-operative era in Welsh politics might look like and why voters may find themselves a little "indie-curious". If Oasis can bury the hatchet, so can we! That's Your Party's message, but Nish and Coco aren't  totally sold on the Corbyn-Sultana reunion. In the wake of a Green membership surge, the party without a name is drawing dividing lines…  But are they picking the right battles?   And - the Iron Lady turns 100 - as lavish celebrations begin Nish and Coco ask why the UK is soooooooooo obsessed with Mags. From Right to Buy to Section 28 - her legacy isn't looking so great in 2025. And a scary revelation that Coco is spookily good at imitating her. CHECK OUT THIS DEAL FROM OUR SPONSOR WISE - https://www.wise.com GUESTS Rhun Ap Iorwerth  CREDITS The World Transformed Turn Left Media CNBC USEFUL LINKS  Medical Aid for Palestinians https://www.map.org.uk Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Public power utilities are community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that deliver reliable, low-cost electricity to about 2,000 communities serving more than 55 million Americans. Among the cities served by public power utilities are Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Los Angeles, California; Jacksonville, Florida; and Seattle, Washington. The Large Public Power Council (LPPC) is the voice of large public power in Washington, D.C. It advocates for policies that enable members to build critical energy infrastructure, power the growth of the economy, and provide affordable and reliable electricity to millions of Americans. The LPPC's members are 29 of the largest public power systems in the nation. Together, they serve 30.5 million consumers across 23 states and territories. Tom Falcone, president of the LPPC, noted that all power companies, whether publicly owned, cooperatives, or investor-owned utilities (IOUs), are in the same business, that is, to reliably deliver electricity to customers. The big difference is that public power companies are accountable at home. “We're publicly owned. We are not-for-profit. We are community oriented. We're mission oriented. And so, our real goal, and only goal in life, is reliable, affordable power—sustainable power—back home at the least cost to customers,” Falcone said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “So, we're not necessarily looking to grow loads or grow earnings, unless that's favorable to our community, unless we're meeting the needs of our community or lowering costs for them.” Public power companies face many of the same concerns as co-ops and IOUs. One of the biggest challenges today is rapid load growth, driven by data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and the increasing electrification of manufacturing and transportation. “The biggest thing is that the load is arriving faster and lumpier, and in a more concentrated fashion, than it has in the past,” explained Falcone. “Historically, when somebody new came to town, they wanted, you know, 5 MW, or maybe they were really large and they wanted 100 MW,” said Falcone. “But what we have today is folks who come to town and they want a GW, which is enough to power probably 600,000 homes, depending on what part of the country you're in.” Falcone said about half of LPPC's members are seeing this very, very rapid growth. “They could double over the next 10 years,” he said. While the demand for the energy is very immediate, utilities' ability to build infrastructure is not. “We have to go through the same permitting and public processes, and construction and supply chain, and it just doesn't allow us to build quite that fast,” Falcone reported.

In the first half, John Oakley speaks with Adam Wagman, Partner at Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP, about the civil lawsuit following the deadly 2024 wrong-way police pursuit on Highway 401, and Joseph (Joe) Neuberger, Managing Partner at Neuberger & Partners LLP and host of Not on Record, who breaks down the Liberals' proposed crime-bill reforms on bail, sentencing, and reverse onus. Then, in the Topics Worthy of Discussion panel, Stephen J. Holyday, Toronto City Councillor for Etobicoke Centre, and David Wills, Senior Vice President at Media Profile, join John to debate pickleball noise complaints, new city surveillance technology, the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, modular housing at Downsview, and early buzz about the next mayoral race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HEADLINE: UK Political Realignment and the Migration Crisis GUEST NAME: Joseph Sternberg SUMMARY:Joseph Sternberg discusses the UK's political realignment following the Conservative Party's 14-year misrule. Kemi Badenoch aims to revive the Tories with Thatcherite economic policies and a strong stance on welfare reform, prioritizing work and fairness. However, the Tories lack credibility on the highly controversial issue of illegal immigration across the English Channel, allowing Nigel Farage's Reform party to gain ground. The migration problem remains intractable due to high costs and lack of political incentive. 1880

    CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR 1957 THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT THE GLOBAL RARE EARTH SUPPLY CHAIN. . 10-14-25 FIRST HOUR 9-915 HEADLINE: China's Rare Earth Threat and Trump's Unacknowledged Win GUEST NAME: Liz Peek SUMMARY:Liz Peek discusses US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's harsh critique of China's rare earth threats, viewing it as confirmation of Beijing's failing export-driven economy and desperation. She notes the US vulnerability due to dependence on China for rare earth processing. Domestically, the failure of subprime auto loan lenders signals stress in the private credit market and consumer weakness. Peek also highlights the reluctance of Democrats and the left to acknowledge President Trump's success in achieving the Gaza ceasefire. 915-930 HEADLINE: China's Rare Earth Threat and Trump's Unacknowledged Win GUEST NAME: Liz Peek SUMMARY:Liz Peek discusses US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's harsh critique of China's rare earth threats, viewing it as confirmation of Beijing's failing export-driven economy and desperation. She notes the US vulnerability due to dependence on China for rare earth processing. Domestically, the failure of subprime auto loan lenders signals stress in the private credit market and consumer weakness. Peek also highlights the reluctance of Democrats and the left to acknowledge President Trump's success in achieving the Gaza ceasefire. 930-945 HEADLINE: Gaza Fragility and Germany's Trade Concerns with China GUEST NAME: Judy Dempsey SUMMARY:Judy Dempsey analyzes the fragile Gaza ceasefire, noting Gazans return to destruction while Hamas fights rivals and remains armed. Arab states are cautious about taking over governance. She credits President Trump for forcing the peace deal, appreciating his decisive, non-ideological approach. The discussion shifts to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's aggressive stance on China's rare earth export threats. Germany's powerful auto industry faces risk, but Berlin is responding calmly and diversifying its supply chains. 945-1000 HEADLINE: Gaza Fragility and Germany's Trade Concerns with China GUEST NAME: Judy Dempsey SUMMARY:Judy Dempsey analyzes the fragile Gaza ceasefire, noting Gazans return to destruction while Hamas fights rivals and remains armed. Arab states are cautious about taking over governance. She credits President Trump for forcing the peace deal, appreciating his decisive, non-ideological approach. The discussion shifts to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's aggressive stance on China's rare earth export threats. Germany's powerful auto industry faces risk, but Berlin is responding calmly and diversifying its supply chains. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 HEADLINE: UK Political Realignment and the Migration Crisis GUEST NAME: Joseph Sternberg SUMMARY:Joseph Sternberg discusses the UK's political realignment following the Conservative Party's 14-year misrule. Kemi Badenoch aims to revive the Tories with Thatcherite economic policies and a strong stance on welfare reform, prioritizing work and fairness. However, the Tories lack credibility on the highly controversial issue of illegal immigration across the English Channel, allowing Nigel Farage's Reform party to gain ground. The migration problem remains intractable due to high costs and lack of political incentive. 1015-1030 HEADLINE: UK Political Realignment and the Migration Crisis GUEST NAME: Joseph Sternberg SUMMARY:Joseph Sternberg discusses the UK's political realignment following the Conservative Party's 14-year misrule. Kemi Badenoch aims to revive the Tories with Thatcherite economic policies and a strong stance on welfare reform, prioritizing work and fairness. However, the Tories lack credibility on the highly controversial issue of illegal immigration across the English Channel, allowing Nigel Farage's Reform party to gain ground. The migration problem remains intractable due to high costs and lack of political incentive. 1030-1045 HEADLINE: Gaza Ceasefire, Hamas Regeneration, and Iran's Tactical Retreat GUEST NAMES: David Daoud, Bill Roggio SUMMARY: David Daoud analyzes the Gaza ceasefire, noting Hamas refuses to disarm and is executing rivals to reassert control. He views the truce as a tactical lull in the "long war," expecting released senior prisoners to help regenerate terrorist leadership. Iran, which skipped the summit, is seen as engaging in a tactical retreat to staunch losses and rebuild proxies, letting adversaries adopt a false sense of victory. 1045-1100HEADLINE: Gaza Ceasefire, Hamas Regeneration, and Iran's Tactical Retreat GUEST NAMES: David Daoud, Bill Roggio SUMMARY: David Daoud analyzes the Gaza ceasefire, noting Hamas refuses to disarm and is executing rivals to reassert control. He views the truce as a tactical lull in the "long war," expecting released senior prisoners to help regenerate terrorist leadership. Iran, which skipped the summit, is seen as engaging in a tactical retreat to staunch losses and rebuild proxies, letting adversaries adopt a false sense of victory. THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 HEADLINE: Released Palestinian Prisoners and Mideast Instability GUEST NAMES: Ahmad Sharawi, Bill Roggio SUMMARY: Ahmad Sharawi and Bill Roggio discuss the risks associated with Israel's release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad figures. They argue these terrorists will likely rejoin militant movements, providing crucial replacement leadership. Concerns are raised about monitoring them, especially those deported to countries like Qatar or Turkey. The conversation also covers stability risks in Syria, particularly regarding ISIS and Turkish intervention. 1115-1130 HEADLINE: Released Palestinian Prisoners and Mideast Instability GUEST NAMES: Ahmad Sharawi, Bill Roggio SUMMARY: Ahmad Sharawi and Bill Roggio discuss the risks associated with Israel's release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad figures. They argue these terrorists will likely rejoin militant movements, providing crucial replacement leadership. Concerns are raised about monitoring them, especially those deported to countries like Qatar or Turkey. The conversation also covers stability risks in Syria, particularly regarding ISIS and Turkish intervention. 1130-1145 HEADLINE: Ceasefire Challenges, Border Conflicts, and Ukraine's Weapons Needs GUEST NAME: Colonel Jeff McCausland SUMMARY: Colonel Jeff McCausland reviews the Gaza ceasefire, noting the prisoner exchange and aid delivery, but stresses that disarming Hamas remains the key challenge. Released senior prisoners could regenerate leadership. He discusses the long-standing conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban/TTP, noting deep mistrust exacerbated by perceived Indian influence. Regarding Ukraine, the potential delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles, viewed by Putin as escalation, is uncertain due to past US bluffs and domestic supply concerns. 1145-1200 HEADLINE: Ceasefire Challenges, Border Conflicts, and Ukraine's Weapons Needs GUEST NAME: Colonel Jeff McCausland SUMMARY: Colonel Jeff McCausland reviews the Gaza ceasefire, noting the prisoner exchange and aid delivery, but stresses that disarming Hamas remains the key challenge. Released senior prisoners could regenerate leadership. He discusses the long-standing conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban/TTP, noting deep mistrust exacerbated by perceived Indian influence. Regarding Ukraine, the potential delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles, viewed by Putin as escalation, is uncertain due to past US bluffs and domestic supply concerns. FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 HEADLINE: Global Turmoil: Turkey's War Aims, China's Coup, and Iran's Pivot GUEST NAME: Gregory Copley SUMMARY: Gregory Copley discusses the Gaza ceasefire's instability, noting Hamas, backed by Turkey, is reasserting control. He analyzes Turkey's neo-Ottomanist need to continue confrontation. Iran is seen as strategically weakened, potentially seeking a deal with Trump. The conversation pivots to China, detailing rumored internal turmoil, including a coup led by General Zhang Youxia, and linking China's rare earth export threats to Beijing's leadership struggles. 1215-1230 HEADLINE: Global Turmoil: Turkey's War Aims, China's Coup, and Iran's Pivot GUEST NAME: Gregory Copley SUMMARY: Gregory Copley discusses the Gaza ceasefire's instability, noting Hamas, backed by Turkey, is reasserting control. He analyzes Turkey's neo-Ottomanist need to continue confrontation. Iran is seen as strategically weakened, potentially seeking a deal with Trump. The conversation pivots to China, detailing rumored internal turmoil, including a coup led by General Zhang Youxia, and linking China's rare earth export threats to Beijing's leadership struggles. 1230-1245 HEADLINE: Global Turmoil: Turkey's War Aims, China's Coup, and Iran's Pivot GUEST NAME: Gregory Copley SUMMARY: Gregory Copley discusses the Gaza ceasefire's instability, noting Hamas, backed by Turkey, is reasserting control. He analyzes Turkey's neo-Ottomanist need to continue confrontation. Iran is seen as strategically weakened, potentially seeking a deal with Trump. The conversation pivots to China, detailing rumored internal turmoil, including a coup led by General Zhang Youxia, and linking China's rare earth export threats to Beijing's leadership struggles. 1245-100 AM HEADLINE: Global Turmoil: Turkey's War Aims, China's Coup, and Iran's Pivot GUEST NAME: Gregory Copley SUMMARY: Gregory Copley discusses the Gaza ceasefire's instability, noting Hamas, backed by Turkey, is reasserting control. He analyzes Turkey's neo-Ottomanist need to continue confrontation. Iran is seen as strategically weakened, potentially seeking a deal with Trump. The conversation pivots to China, detailing rumored internal turmoil, including a coup led by General Zhang Youxia, and linking China's rare earth export threats to Beijing's leadership struggles.

HEADLINE: UK Political Realignment and the Migration Crisis GUEST NAME: Joseph Sternberg SUMMARY:Joseph Sternberg discusses the UK's political realignment following the Conservative Party's 14-year misrule. Kemi Badenoch aims to revive the Tories with Thatcherite economic policies and a strong stance on welfare reform, prioritizing work and fairness. However, the Tories lack credibility on the highly controversial issue of illegal immigration across the English Channel, allowing Nigel Farage's Reform party to gain ground. The migration problem remains intractable due to high costs and lack of political incentive. 1866

In this special live episode recorded in front of pupils from Hill House and Hayfield schools in Doncaster, David talks to political scientist Rob Ford about whether Nigel Farage is really going to be the UK's next PM. Is there anything comparable to the prospect of a Farage premiership in British political history? What are the electoral routes that might lead Farage to No 10? What are the events or scandals that might derail him? Plus we hear from the pupils as well – what do they think of Reform and its leader? Next time on Fixing Democracy: What is TikTok doing to Politics? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who's offering hope in politics today? Where are the real environmental success stories? And what one law would Rory and Alastair make a reality? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Fuse are giving away free TRIP Plus membership for all of 2025 to new sign ups

As the Gaza ceasefire continues to hold, what road lies ahead in the peace process? John Harris speaks to the Guardian's diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour. Plus, what is at the heart of the Chinese spying case row? Why has Rachel Reeves changed her tone when it comes to Brexit? What's behind the Green party's surge in membership? And should Labour follow Zack Polanski's lead in taking the fight to Reform? Kiran Stacey joins Harris to discuss. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod

#NigelFarage #ReformUK #UKGeneralElection #JonGaunt #FarageForPM #IllegalImmigration #SmallBoatsCrisis #KeirStarmer #UKPolitics  Britain is boiling over. A bombshell mega-poll shows Nigel Farage's Reform UK on track for the biggest Commons majority in modern history, while Keir Starmer's popularity crashes to record lows.  With the country deeply divided over illegal immigration, the small boats crisis, rising antisemitism, and questions of national identity, millions feel betrayed by the political elite. The next general election isn't for four long years — but the British people are demanding real change now.  In tonight's show, Jon Gaunt asks the explosive question:

It's the fourth anniversary of the murder of Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP who was killed by an Islamic State sympathiser during a surgery in his Southend constituency. At Prime Minister's Questions this lunchtime, Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to a “much-loved”, “kind” and “generous” man and talked of the “huge loss” many across the house still feel.Watching on from her home in Los Angeles was Sir David's daughter, Katie, and she tells Camilla Tominey and Tim Stanley on today's Daily T of her disgust at hearing the Prime Minister paying such a fulsome tribute when he'd “ignored (her) letters” and had been “so disrespectful” after she'd “pleaded with him to hold an inquiry” into the failings that allowed Sir David's murderer to slip through the net.Camilla and Tim also reflect on the questions that still need to be answered about the China spying scandal, as well as Sir Keir calling for a calming of the political rhetoric whilst simultaneously accusing Reform of being “Kremlin cronies”.► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Hugo Verelst-WaySenior Producer: John CadiganVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textSchedule an Rx AssessmentSubscribe to Master The MarginAs a pharmacy owner, it often feels like you're fighting battles against systems designed to work against you.Few battles loom larger than the fight against Pharmacy Benefit Managers whose opaque practices have chipped away at margins, patient trust, and sustainability for independents.In this episode, we have two very special guests on the front lines of PBM reform: Dared Price, President of OreadRx and Price Pharmacies and Mark Cuban, legendary entrepreneur and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs.Scotty Sykes, CPA, CFP®, Bonnie Bond, CPA, MBA, and Austin Murray sit down with Mark Cuban and Dared Price to explore how transparent models are reshaping the future of drug pricing and pharmacy benefit management.We cover:The real impact of spread pricing, rebates, and hidden contracts on pharmacy ownersHow Cost Plus Drugs is cutting out middlemen to bring transparency to patients and pharmaciesWhy OreadRx's transparent PBM model could change the game for independentsWhat a fair reimbursement ecosystem might look like and how owners can prepareAnd more!Stay connected with Dared Price, OreadRx, Mark Cuban and Cost Plus Drugs:  Dared Price LinkedInOreadRx WebsiteOreadRx FacebookCost Plus Drugs WebsiteCost Plus Drugs LinkedInCost Plus Drugs FacebookStay connected with us on social mediaFacebookTwitter (X)LinkedInInstagramScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP LinkedInScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP TwitterBonnie Bond - CPA, MBA LinkedInMore resources about this topic:Podcast - Pharmacy's Never Ending Story: PBM Reform Act and Medicare Drug Pricing ChangesPodcast - Pharmacy Ownership Through TimePodcast – The State of PBM Reform

2025-10-14 | Silicon Wafers 028 | DAILY UPDATES | Right-wing authoritarian populism is gaining sway around the world, exemplified in the US by the phenomenon of Trump's MAGA movement, across Europe and in the UK by Farage's latest pop-up populist part Reform, and by Tommy Robinson. This episode explores the assets, agents and useful idiots of the Kremlin, how they seek to leverage populism, and what we know about support and financing for extremist movements, politicians and contrarian voices by the Kremlin. We dive into the phenomenon of paradigm shifting, 'pop-up' populist parties, that often resemble Kremlin projects, such as Reform UK, Farage and his associates. Especially explore the topic through the lens of Pekka Kallioniemi and his Vatnik Soup series of profiles, which sadly has come to an end, publishing it's final episode this week.----------Partner on this video: KYIV OF MINE Watch the trailer now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arJUcE1rxY0'Kyiv of Mine' is a documentary series about Ukraine's beautiful capital, Kyiv. The film production began in 2018, and much has changed since then. It is now 2025, and this story is far from over.https://www.youtube.com/@UCz6UbVKfqutH-N7WXnC5Ykg https://www.kyivofmine.com/#theprojectKyiv of Mine is fast paced, beautifully filmed, humorous, fun, insightful, heartbreaking, moving, hopeful. The very antithesis in fact of a doom-laden and worthy wartime documentary. This is a work that is extraordinarily uplifting. My friend Operator Starsky says the film is “Made with so much love. The film series will make you laugh and cry.” ----------Autumn Harvest: Silicon Curtain (Goal €22,000)This is super important. We'll be supporting troops in Pokrovsk, Kharkiv, and other regions where the trucks are needed the most. There are so many Battalions in Ukraine, fighting to defend our freedoms, but lack basics such as vehicles. These are destroyed on a regular basis, and lack of transport is costs lives, and Ukrainian territory. Once again Silicon Curtain has teamed up with Car4Ukraine and a group of wonderful creators to provide much-needed assistance: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-silicon-curtain----------SOURCES: Ukraine: The Latest by The Telegraph team ---https://open.spotify.com/show/6cnkk1J0I1UqtxTYVUL4Fe?si=fb9c151d2f21405a In Moscow's Shadows, hosted by Mark Galeotti ---https://open.spotify.com/show/1NKCazxYstY6o8vhpGQSjF?si=4215e2d786a44d64 Russian Roulette hosted by Max Bergmann and Dr. Maria Snegovaya ---https://podcasts.apple.com/tw/podcast/russian-roulette/id1112258664?l=en-GB Hosted by Michael Naki ---https://www.youtube.com/@MackNack Faygin Live channel ---https://www.youtube.com/@FeyginLive Hromadske channel ---https://www.youtube.com/@hromadske_ua Hosted by Vitaly Portnikov ---https://www.youtube.com/@portnikov Hosted by Vladimir Milov ---https://www.youtube.com/@Vladimir_Milov Sternenko channel ---https://www.youtube.com/@STERNENKO The Power Vertical with Brian Whitmore https://www.powervertical.org/ ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------

Send us a textWe trace Teresa of Avila's move from lukewarm routine to fierce friendship with God, and how that interior shift powered a barefoot reform that reshaped the Carmelite Order. Mysticism meets practicality as we unpack the transverberation, the Interior Castle, and a simple path to deeper prayer.• Spain's social pressures and Teresa's early zeal• Grief, vanity, and the first stirrings of reform• A hard-won conversion sparked by the wounded Christ• Prayer as friendship rather than obligation• Visions discerned with humility and obedience• Founding the Discalced Carmelites amid opposition• Partnership with John of the Cross• The seven mansions of the Interior Castle• The Way of Perfection as a practical guide• Enduring legacy through pilgrimages, retreats, and resourcesSubscribe to our updates for inspiring stories, upcoming events, and exclusive content to fuel your faithSaint Teresa of Avila CollectionOpen by Steve Bailey Support the show

Lecture by Sergei Antonov (Yale University). Russia's landmark judicial reform of 1864 introduced the public jury trial and turned the courtroom into a protected forum for social and sometimes even political debates. This lecture will explore some of the most prominent criminal cases of the post-reform era that involved elite women accused of murder, forgery, and embezzlement. For the only time in Russian history, late imperial criminal trials exposed the hidden lives of Russia's elites to public scrutiny and discussion, framing many key “questions” of the age, such as the limits of permissible violence, bourgeois privacy and autonomy, exercise of personal power, and profit-seeking. Also for the only time in Russia's history, powerful persons could reliably expect to go on trial for major crimes, while also expecting that trial to be fundamentally fair. But the effects of this panoptic gaze were complex and ambiguous, and the narratives produced during the trials were unintentionally ambivalent not only about those being prosecuted, but also about the new governing regime itself.

A new pilot program in Arkansas seeks to break the cycle of poverty by shifting focus from government assistance to collaboration with non-profit, faith-based, and business partners to tackle welfare challenges. Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins the Rundown to discuss the initiative's goal of connecting those in need with diverse services and support, such as job training, housing, and healthcare. She explains how this approach could prevent individuals from becoming permanently reliant on government aid and potentially serve as a model for other states. The White House is striving to establish global dominance in the critical minerals sector, which is essential for powering our phones and producing our medicines. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum joins the Rundown to discuss the significance of these minerals for national security, the economy, and technological advancement. He explores how shifting U.S. investments could lessen dependence on China for critical mineral supplies and addresses the environmental concerns involved in the Trump administration's push for increased domestic mineral production. Plus, commentary by a former investment banker and author of 'You Will Own Nothing,' Carol Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If the 30's were Burgundy's Critical Decade, the 40's were...less critical. But that's not to say that nothing happened, over the course of the 40's Philip the Good and his government continued to work on centralizing the Burgundian State and bringing it's component pieces into alignment.Time Period Covered: 1438-1450Notable People: Philip the Good, Nicolas Rolin, Hugh de Lannoy, William de Lalaing, Jean de Lannoy, Frank van Borselen, Reinoud van Brederode, Goeswijn de Wilde, Bengaert SayNotable Events/Developments: Creation of the Rekenkamer in Holland, Reform of the Burgundian Council, Rise of the Middle Class in the Burgundian Administration, Creation of the Epargne

More analysis at https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/ The fact that steps are being taken to develop ‘Your Party' will be very welcome news to the 800,000 who have already said they want to join. Against the background of brutal austerity from Starmer's New Labour Mark II and electoral gains for Reform the need for a workers' party with socialist policies could not be clearer. The Socialist Party will be joining ‘Your Party' and fighting for it to become a mass anti-war and anti-cuts workers' party. To be successful, Your Party must base itself on the power of the mass trade union movement, and its power in the workplaces, where workers come together and prepare to take collective action in defence of their interests. Your Party must also have a socialist programme, opposing the capitalist system and the war and poverty inherent in it. A new party that takes off will need to face up to the challenges of filling the vacuum with a concrete programme to oppose war and cuts, with candidates across the country in next May's local elections. This will be an opportunity to harness the anger at Labour and the capitalist establishment, and cut across the growth of Reform UK. ‘Your Party' could potentially win hundreds of councillors and even take control of councils. That in itself would be a huge boost to the confidence of millions. It would open up decisive battles to deliver real change via the significant powers local authorities have to deliver real change on jobs, housing, rent controls and restoring vital services. If you want to help and fight to transform the world then join us! Here are all your socialist party links: https://linkin.bio/socialistparty/ Further reading ‘Your Party' membership launched – Socialist Party members join to argue for a workers' party with a socialist programme:https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/143138/25-09-2025/your-party-membership-launched-socialist-party-members-join-to-argue-for-a-workers-party-with-a-socialist-programme/ Editorial: The case for a workers-led new party gets even stronger https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/143075/24-09-2025/editorial-the-case-for-a-workers-led-new-party-gets-even-stronger/

In this episode of Lead-Lag Live, I sit down with Ethan Penner — independent candidate for California governor and a trailblazer in U.S. commercial real-estate finance — to break down what he calls the “collapse of competent governance” in California.From a radical tax overhaul to fixing housing and energy costs, Penner outlines how he'd reverse decades of political decay — and why he believes Gavin Newsom's policies have left the state weaker, poorer, and more divided.In this episode:– Why Penner says there's “absolutely nothing” worth continuing from Newsom's tenure– How a single-tax system could revitalize California's economy– The real drivers of the housing and affordability crisis– How bureaucratic red tape adds $100K+ to every new apartment build– Why leadership grounded in empathy and business discipline matters now more than everLead-Lag Live brings you inside conversations with the financial thinkers who shape markets. Subscribe for interviews that go deeper than the noise.Start your adventure with TableTalk Friday: A D&D Podcast at the link below or wherever you get your podcasts!Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgB6B-mAeWlPM9KzGJ2O4cU0-m5lO0lkr&si=W_-jLsiREjyAIgEsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75YJ921WGQqUtwxRT71UQB?si=4R6kaAYOTtO2V Sign up to The Lead-Lag Report on Substack and get 30% off the annual subscription today by visiting http://theleadlag.report/leadlaglive. Support the show

On today's Daily T, we bring you an exclusive interview with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Boris joined us in the studio on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Thatcher, and he makes the case for why he was right to follow the science over Covid lockdowns, why Kemi Badenoch is the best person to lead the Conservatives and how the current Prime Minister has "made no difference" over the war in Gaza - comparing his recogntition of a Palestinian state to a "fart in a gale".Camilla and Tim also grill him over the record levels of immigration during his premiership, ask whether the China spy story could bring down "hyprocrite" Starmer and he explains why he's worried by Reform leader Nigel Farage's previous warm words about Vladimir Putin.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Hugo Verelst-WaySenior Producer: John CadiganVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new pilot program in Arkansas seeks to break the cycle of poverty by shifting focus from government assistance to collaboration with non-profit, faith-based, and business partners to tackle welfare challenges. Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins the Rundown to discuss the initiative's goal of connecting those in need with diverse services and support, such as job training, housing, and healthcare. She explains how this approach could prevent individuals from becoming permanently reliant on government aid and potentially serve as a model for other states. The White House is striving to establish global dominance in the critical minerals sector, which is essential for powering our phones and producing our medicines. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum joins the Rundown to discuss the significance of these minerals for national security, the economy, and technological advancement. He explores how shifting U.S. investments could lessen dependence on China for critical mineral supplies and addresses the environmental concerns involved in the Trump administration's push for increased domestic mineral production. Plus, commentary by a former investment banker and author of 'You Will Own Nothing,' Carol Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marina and Jemma were delighted to welcome the new leader of the Green Party onto the pod.Will he consider a rebrand? Would he form a strategic alliance if it helped prevent a Reform government and how much ‘banquet balderdash' would he tolerate from Trump if he was PM? Find out this and so much more in this latest instalment of The Trawl Meets. Enjoy!Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you've even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you'll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there's a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it's your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you're not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first of a three-part series on the English Reformation with a particular focus on the life, contribution, and martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556), Archbishop of Canterbury. This introduction touches on the uniqueness of both the Reformation in England and Cranmer as a reformer. Background is presented that sets up the emphasis on his contribution to strategically persevere for truth over tradition in the Church of England.

Is Labour reading from the Reform handbook? And what is the government doing to address rising child poverty?Oli Dugmore is joined by Rachel Cunliffe to answer listener questions.Got a question? Ask us here!LISTEN AD-FREE:

Recorded live in Manchester, during the Conservative Party conference, Michael Gove sits down with Tim Shipman, Madeline Grant and Tim Montgomerie to discuss how the Tories can turn their fortunes around. Do the Tories need to show contrition for their record in government? Has the party basically been split ever since the Coalition years? And does Nigel Farage need to set a deadline for Tory to Reform defectors? Plus – from Canada to Italy – which countries do British Conservatives need to look towards for inspiration?Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The host has been a community pharmacy advocate for 22 years. Always looking for ways to help community pharmacies be more profitable. The guest is an experienced Pharmacist with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceutical industry. Skilled in Diabetes, Pharmacy Practice, Community Pharmacy, and Clinical Pharmacology.

Edition No252 | 10-10-2025 - For those not following British politics, and in fact for those that only get their news via the mainstream media the following story may com as a shock. We have our own problem with Kremlin assets, propaganda mouthpieces and useful idiots. Yes, support for Ukraine is higher than in most other countries of the world. But we also have unprincipled scumbags that are prepared to take the Kremlin's tainted pieces of silver in return for their souls. A shadow has been cast over Nigel Farage's Reform party, as Nathan Gill pleads guilty to essentially being a – Russian asset, and traitor to his country. On 26 September, former Welsh Brexit Party MEP and Reform UK official Nathan Gill pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to accepting payments for making pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament. The eight counts of bribery relate to both television and appearances in public forums. He faces sentencing in November. These charges quite likely come with a custodial sentence. This is not a fringe political scandal, but the silence of the mainstream, mostly right-wing tabloid, media, owned by a handful of billionaires is deafening. Plus, BBC coverage is minimal, in a shocking display of institutional sycophancy to the most extreme forces in British politics. ----------This is super important. There are so many Battalions in Ukraine, fighting to defend our freedoms, but lack basics such as vehicles. These are destroyed on a regular basis, and lack of transport is costs lives, and Ukrainian territory. Once again Silicon Curtain has teamed up with Car4Ukraine and a group of wonderful creators to provide much-needed assistance: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-silicon-curtainAutumn Harvest: Silicon Curtain (Goal€22,000)We'll be supporting troops in Pokrovsk, Kharkiv, and other regions where the trucks are needed the most. 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalionhttps://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-silicon-curtain----------SOURCES: https://bylinetimes.com/2025/10/04/thick-as-thieves-nathan-gill-and-nigel-farages-putin-problem/----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Recorded live in Manchester, during the Conservative Party conference, Michael Gove sits down with Tim Shipman, Madeline Grant and Tim Montgomerie to discuss how the Tories can turn their fortunes around. Do the Tories need to show contrition for their record in government? Has the party basically been split ever since the Coalition years? And does Nigel Farage need to set a deadline for Tory to Reform defectors? Plus – from Canada to Italy – which countries do British Conservatives need to look towards for inspiration?Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was Enoch Powell, the deeply controversial British conservative politician? Why is he the father of Brexit, and possibly even Reform? And, how did he come to make his inflammatory ‘Rivers of Blood speech', in 1968?    Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss Enoch Powell - one of the most incendiary and contentious figures in all of British political history - and his enduring shadow today. Start generating your own greener electricity for less, with £500 off Solar. Visit https://www.hivehome.com/history for more information. T&Cs apply* *Output and savings varies by season, electricity usage and system size. Paid-for surplus requires an eligible SEG tariff. Offer for new customers only. Ends 17th November. Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Producer: Tabby Syrett Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude  Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From September 20, 2024: Bob Bauer, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law, and Liza Goitein, Senior Director of Liberty & National Security at the Brennan Center, join Kevin Frazier, Assistant Professor at St. Thomas University College of Law and a Tarbell Fellow at Lawfare, to review the emergency powers afforded to the president under the National Emergency Act, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the Insurrection Act. The trio also inspect ongoing bipartisan efforts to reform emergency powers.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.