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It's 1989 in Romania and the country is living under a totalitarian regime. In the new novel Astronaut!, an 8-year-old girl craves bright colors among otherwise gray surroundings as she comes of age during the fall of the Iron Curtain. Simultaneously, a serial killer is on the loose, but the government denies any criminal activity. Instead, they blame a bear. In today's episode, author Oana Aristide talks with Weekend Edition's Scott Simon about communist humor and how her upbringing in Transylvania helped shape the novel.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
John Vorhaus is making his third appearance on StoryBeat. John is best known for his classic comedy-writing book, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not.At last count, he's taught and trained writers in 40 countries on six continents, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and more than two dozen works of non-fiction.John's latest books are The Book of Practice: How to do Better What You Want to do Well and The Comedy Writer's Companion. I've read all three of these books and can highly recommend them to anyone who is thinking about writing comedy or in the middle of doing so. We'll chat more today about The Comedy Writers Companion, which I find to be highly helpful when working on funny stories and scripts.
Air Date: 8/29/2026 Today we examine what happens when the state wants to decide whether a person reproduces. A century ago, American courts sanctioned the forced sterilization of women deemed unfit to reproduce. 60 years ago, a communist dictator ran a pronatalist experiment with disastrous results. Now, abortion access is collapsing and a new pronatalist movement is rising to wreak havoc. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Buck V. Bell Part 1 - 5-4 - Air Date 5-26-20 KP 2: Fannie Lou Hamer - Who Did What Now - Air Date 3-5-26 KP 3: Erika Cohn - Belly of the Beast Part 1 - Bitch Talk Podcast - Air Date 1-27-21 KP 4: Explaining This Moment of Pronatalism Part 1 - rePROS Fight Back - Air Date 6-16-26 KP 5: If Roe Was Never Enough, Why Was It Everything (And a Word to My Boom! Lawyered Fam) Part 1 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 6-11-26 KP 6: Explaining This Moment of Pronatalism Part 2 - rePROS Fight Back - Air Date 6-16-26 (00:50:53) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Update on Recovery From Work Burnout My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:55:30) SECTION A: EUGENIC LEGAL FOUNDATION A1: Buck V. Bell Part 1 - Stuff You Missed in History Class - Air Date 8-20-25 A2: Buck V. Bell Part 2 - 5-4 - Air Date 5-26-20 A3: Buck V. Bell Part 2 - Stuff You Missed in History Class - Air Date 8-20-25 (01:19:19) SECTION B: COERCED STERILIZATION TODAY B1: The Dark History of Forced Sterilization - Breakthrough News - Air Date 10-21-20 B2: We're Still Here with Simon and Julie - The John Fugelsang Podcast - Air Date 6-21-25 B3: Erika Cohn - Belly of the Beast Part 2 - Bitch Talk Podcast - Air Date 1-27-21 (01:40:32) SECTION C: POST-DOBBS LEGAL BATTLEFIELD C1: The Voters Have Spoken Protecting Reproductive Freedom Through Ballot Initiatives Part 1 - rePROs Fight Back - Air Date 3-31-26 C2: Return of the Abortion Pill Wars - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 5-16-26 C3: Uncertainty Is a Given Litigation Post-Roe Part 1 - rePROs Fight Back - Air Date 7-28-26 C4: The Voters Have Spoken Protecting Reproductive Freedom Through Ballot Initiatives Part 2 - rePROs Fight Back - Air Date 3-31-26 C5: If Roe Was Never Enough, Why Was It Everything (And a Word to My Boom! Lawyered Fam) Part 2 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 6-11-26 C6: Uncertainty Is a Given Litigation Post-Roe Part 2 - rePROs Fight Back - Air Date 7-28-26 (02:33:29) SECTION D: PRONATALISM, STATE-DIRECTED REPRODUCTION IN REVERSE D1: Pronatalism Make America Procreate Again Part 1 - The Global Story - Air Date 3-27-25 D2: Why Do Musk and Vance Want More US Babies - BBC News - Air Date 10-8-25 D3: The Lost Children of Romania's Ceaușescu Dictatorship Part 1 - FRANCE 24 English - Air Date 2-14-25 D4: Findings From the Bucharest Early Intervention Project Early Life Deprivation Charles A. Nelson - UCTV - Air Date 12-14-19 D5: Pronatalism Make America Procreate Again Part 2 - The Global Story - Air Date 3-27-25 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
In this episode, we sit down with Emilian Isaila, founder of the Vlad the Impaler Facebook community and RomaniaTravelTips.com, for a gripping journey into Romania's rich folklore, turbulent history, and chilling paranormal lore.We explore the life of Vlad the Impaler—the 15th-century Wallachian prince whose ruthless tactics against invaders earned him a fearsome reputation across Europe, yet transformed him into a national hero still celebrated in Romania today. Discover how this complex figure became forever linked to the legend of Count Dracula and the iconic Bran Castle in Transylvania.Then we venture into the infamous Hoia Baciu Forest, one of the world's most enigmatic and haunted places—where Emilian himself has encountered high strangeness. At its heart lies a barren circular clearing where nothing grows and cell signals vanish. Locals report UFOs entering and exiting the woods, entities emerging from craft, unexplained sounds, and an overwhelming sense of dread that lingers for those bold enough to enter.http://romaniatraveltips.comGear up and get freaky with official Let's Get Freaky merchandise! Our spooky-cool collection features hoodies, t-shirts, mugs, stickers, and more—perfect for showing your love of the paranormal while staying comfy and stylish. Dive into the full range now: https://tee.pub/lic/wX4lEJj3DMIGot a mind-blowing paranormal encounter, cryptid sighting, UFO experience, or any high-strangeness story that still gives you chills? We want to hear it—and we want YOU on the show! Become a guest on Let's Get Freaky and share your true story with our growing freaky community. Drop us a line at: letsgetfreakypodcast@mail.com Or slide into our DMs on socials: Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, or YouTube → @tcletsgetfreakypodcast.
Andrew and Tristan Tate, brothers with heavy influence in the "manosphere," were arrested last month in Miami on charges of sexual assault and sex trafficking. They are now stuck in a Miami jail cell but are fighting to leave, citing the need to fight other charges in Romania and the UK. On top of that, their attorneys have argued that the brothers' online personas are a "type of performance" and not proof of a crime.
Virgina Prodan grew up in Communist Romania, watching her parents whisper behind closed doors about a government that took a little more from them every year. She decided as a kid she was going to become a lawyer and find the truth.She did. Top ten percent of her class, using a forgotten law book she found in a library to get Christian prisoners out of jail. Then the dictator took notice. He sent a man to her office with a gun, told her she wouldn't listen, and said he was there to end that.She shared the gospel with him instead. He put the gun down and walked out. Years later, Reagan helped get her family out of Romania. She landed in America with two daughters, one more on the way, and no English, and rebuilt her life from nothing.What we covered: → Growing up under a dictator who declared himself God → Finding a forgotten law book that got prisoners out of jail → The man sent to kill her, and what happened when he pulled the gun → Reagan, the State Department, and a case that reached the United Nations → Starting over in America with three kids and no EnglishYou don't need everything figured out to obey. You need the nerve to walk through whatever door is actually in front of you.Thank you to Virginia for sitting down and telling this story start to finish. It's not an easy one to tell, and she gave us all of it.*Chapters*00:00 Intro01:49 Growing up in Communist Romania03:50 Passing the government's test to get into law school06:02 Quitting law and finding faith in a stranger's church10:26 Defending Christian prisoners and becoming international news17:07 House arrest and threats against her family19:11 The document that reached Reagan, and the beating that followed24:18 The assassin sent to kill her27:11 Escaping to America and starting over with three kids43:57 The dictator's fall and what she still believes about justice*Connect with Virginia Prodan*https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-prodan-0244581b/https://www.instagram.com/virginiaprodan/https://www.facebook.com/virginiaprodanauthor/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-dillon-england-show--6370921/support.*Connect with Dillon*https://www.instagram.com/thedillonenglandshow/https://twitter.com/imdillonenglandhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonmengland/https://www.facebook.com/dillon.england.5*Sponsor — Broadcast Brew (Low-Acid Coffee)*Order our LOW ACID COFFEE “THE BROADCAST BREW”Thank you to Cool Beans Coffee Brewery for your partnership.https://www.coolbeanscoffeemi.com/product-page/broadcast-brew-low-acid-blend*ABOUT THE DILLON ENGLAND SHOW*Authentic conversations with interesting people across personal growth, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle — direct, faith-forward, Detroit grit.Subscribe for full conversations and weekly clips.Share this with someone on your leadership team.Comment your biggest takeaway.
This Day in Legal History: The Murder of Emmett TillOn August 28, 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was abducted, tortured, and murdered in the Mississippi Delta by two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, after Till—a Black teenager visiting from Chicago—was accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store. His killers beat him, shot him, weighted his body, and threw it in the Tallahatchie River. He was a child, and his murder, and what came after, helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.The legal story is one of justice utterly failing, and then, slowly, refusing to disappear. Bryant and Milam were tried the next month in a segregated Mississippi courtroom. The trial lasted five days; the all-white, all-male jury deliberated for barely an hour before acquitting both men, with one juror later saying it wouldn't have taken that long if they hadn't stopped for a soda. Protected by double jeopardy, the two men then sold their confession to a magazine for a few thousand dollars, describing in detail how they'd killed the boy they had just been acquitted of murdering. It was one of the starkest demonstrations imaginable that the machinery of Southern justice was not built to deliver justice to Black victims.The significance of August 28, 1955 reaches across the decades. Emmett's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, made the searing decision to hold an open-casket funeral and let the world photograph her son. That act of witness galvanized a generation. And there is a haunting piece of calendar symmetry worth honoring: exactly eight years later, on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial and delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech to the March on Washington. The law eventually, partially, caught up—the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and, only in 2022, a federal anti-lynching law that bears Emmett Till's name. It's a reminder that some of the most important developments in American law began not in a courtroom win, but in a courtroom failure so profound that the country could not look away.The brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate were back in a Miami federal courtroom this week, shackled, asking a judge to release them on bond while they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. The two, who have built a massive and controversial online following, have been held in a federal detention center since their July arrest on U.K. rape and sex-trafficking charges. Their lawyers made a pointed argument: if Romania, where the brothers face a separate sex-crimes case, is willing to let them remain free pending those proceedings, then a U.S. court should free them too—especially since, they argue, two of the most recognizable men on the internet can't exactly disappear. Prosecutors pushed back hard, and here the law is decidedly against the Tates. In ordinary criminal cases, release pending trial is the norm. But international extradition is different: there is a strong, long-standing presumption against bail, rooted in the idea that the United States has a treaty obligation to actually produce the person for the requesting country, and that letting an extradition target go free risks a diplomatic and legal failure if they flee. Courts generally require “special circumstances” to grant bail in an extradition case—a demanding standard—and prosecutors noted the brothers have money and have bragged about holding multiple passports. Legal experts quoted in the coverage thought it unlikely they'd win release. The significance is a useful window into a corner of the law most people never see: that fighting extradition is not like fighting ordinary charges, and the presumption of liberty that normally protects defendants is largely flipped when a foreign government is waiting to prosecute.Tate brothers press for release from US jail during extradition fight | ReutersPBS NewsHour · NPRA federal appeals court has cleared a significant hurdle for Bayer's $7.25 billion settlement of tens of thousands of Roundup cancer claims. The Eighth Circuit dismissed a challenge by a group of objecting plaintiffs who were trying to derail the deal—and the fight was about forum, which sounds dry but matters enormously in mass litigation. Bayer structured this as a class-action settlement in Missouri state court, an unusual move: it's using a single state-court proceeding to try to resolve claims nationwide. The objectors argued that a state court has no business fast-tracking a nationwide resolution, and that the whole thing belongs in front of the federal judge already overseeing the consolidated federal Roundup litigation. A federal judge ruled in June that the case could stay in Missouri state court, and now the Eighth Circuit has agreed, dismissing the appeal. Why does the forum matter so much? Because a settlement that binds a nationwide class of people—including people who haven't actively participated—raises real due-process questions about whether a single state court can bind absent claimants across the country, and because plaintiffs and defendants often have strong strategic preferences about which court, and which rules, govern a mega-settlement. This connects to the Bayer story we covered earlier this summer, when the Supreme Court handed the company a big win on failure-to-warn claims; this settlement is the other half of Bayer's campaign to finally contain a decade of Roundup litigation. A hearing to approve the deal is set for September 14, with roughly 65,000 claims hanging in the balance. The significance is that Bayer is close to buying its way out of a liability that has dogged it for years—and the courts just removed one of the last procedural obstacles.US court dismisses appeal over objections to $7.25 billion Roundup deal | ReutersRTÉ · Maryland Daily RecordAnd finally—though this is anything but a footnote—the biggest story of the week, and arguably the summer: Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion and fundamentally change how its apps work for teenagers, settling the landmark case accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children. This is the resolution of the very trial we watched begin just ten days ago—the 29-state case in Oakland, with the whistleblower testimony from Arturo Bejar. Rather than let it run to a verdict, Meta settled, and the numbers are staggering: more than $17.6 billion to 48 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the territories, plus another $459 million to resolve privacy claims tied to the old Cambridge Analytica scandal. But the money may be the less important part. For the next decade, Meta has agreed to concrete design changes: teens will be capped at two hours a day on the apps, and blocked from using them between midnight and 6 a.m. without a parent's consent. And in a clever pressure mechanism, part of the payout is contingent on whether YouTube and TikTok adopt similar protections—effectively using this settlement to try to move the whole industry. Everything we've tracked all summer led here: the New Mexico verdict, the Tennessee trial, the bellwether cases, the Ninth Circuit clearing these suits past Section 230. This is the reckoning arriving. It still needs approval from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presided over the trial, but if it holds, it's one of the largest consumer-protection settlements in American history—and, more consequentially, the first time a court-supervised deal will reach inside these platforms and re-engineer them for the safety of kids. The era of treating social media's effect on children as an unregulated externality may have just ended, not with a verdict, but with $18 billion and a clock that shuts the app off at midnight.Meta reaches $18 billion of settlements over children's social media addiction | ReutersCNN · Al Jazeera This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe
By 1916, the Allied governments had promised Romania control of Transylvania and other territories if the Central Powers were defeated. Encouraged by the Brusilov Offensive, which had inflicted heavy losses on Austria-Hungary, Romanian leaders concluded that the moment was favourable for ...
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"When I walked inside that office, so disappointed, face to face with a man who was joyful in a joyless land — and I heard Jesus say, I am the truth. You've been looking in the wrong places." — Virginia Prodan What would you do if a man came to your office, waited for your assistant to leave, drew a gun, and told you he was there to kill you? Virginia Prodan's answer — share the gospel — is either the most audacious act of faith you have ever heard of, or the most inexplicable. Probably both. Virginia grew up in socialist Romania under Ceaușescu, watching her parents comply in public and whisper dissent at home. She chose a different path: law school, then a legal practice that put her in front of judges defending persecuted Christians, armed with human rights laws she found in a library that the regime never expected anyone to use. Western government representatives sat behind her in those courtrooms, unknown to her, sending her name and her arguments back to their countries. Voice of America broadcast her story across the Berlin Wall. When the dictator had enough, he sent a member of his secret police to finish it. Virginia shared the gospel. The man put the gun down and accepted Christ. President Ronald Reagan called Ceaușescu personally and negotiated her release from Romania. She arrived in America as a single mother, barely speaking English, with three young children. She earned a law degree from SMU, opened her own firm, and wrote the memoir Saving My Assassin — including a chapter written by the man who came to her office with a gun, who twenty years later tracked her down in Dallas to tell her he had become a pastor. Virginia Prodan's story is a reminder that the people working hardest against you may be one conversation away from becoming your greatest allies — and that sometimes, the most powerful person in the world is on your side without your knowledge. Learn more & connect: Virginia Prodan — https://virginiaprodanbooks.com Resources mentioned: Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan — https://virginiaprodanbooks.com Voice of America — https://www.voanews.com Congressman Christopher Smith — https://chrissmith.house.gov Frank Wolf (former Congressman, human rights advocate) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wolf_(politician) Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.
Dennis Agajanian is an award-winning country musician who has traveled the world with Franklin Graham performing at evangelistic crusades and working closely with Samaritan's Purse. Izabella McMillan grew up in communist Romania and at age 13 received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox from Samaritan's Purse, changing her life forever. She later emigrated to the USA and now serves as a spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child. In this conversation with John Coulombe and Wayne Rice, Dennis and Izabella describe how Samaritan's Purse shares the gospel around the world one shoebox at a time. If you have been looking for a way to get your grandchildren involved in a service project during the upcoming holiday season, give this podcast a listen.Website mentioned during this podcast:SamaritansPurse.org/OCC
Hey, soccer fans! The Chicago Fire front office continues its pursuit of midfield firepower during the summer transfer window. They have targeted Georgian international Anzor Mekvabishvili, currently playing in Romania's top flight. The Men in Red were turned down by his current club, Universitatea Craiova earlier this year, but the club have stuck with their valuation (reportedly a little above $2 million) and the deal looks close to getting done. The signing seems to fit the Fire's profile for recent midfield targets: Kevin De Bruyne, Patrick Berg, and Leon Goretzka. However, they've settled for Dje D'Avilla and Anton Saletros, whose performances in the midfield leave soemthing to be desired on a team with trophy aspirations. Tune in to hear Nick's takes on the transfer target, including how the Fire got to this point/what need they're trying to fill, what's the profile of Mekvabishvili, and how will he integrate to the team. If this signing goes the way the Fire want it to, Mekvabishvili will unlock the offense and control matches from his midfield position. If this is a bust, then the Fire will have another decent defensive midfielder taking up an international roster slot. What do you think about the transfer target? How will Mekvabishvili fare in Major League Soccer? Subscribe for weekly Chicago Fire soccer breakdowns, and comment below on which player you think has been the most important during this winning run. Tune in and join the conversation! Make sure you like & subscribe, rate & review, and keep growing the show. Follow the Fire on SportSpyder. Connect on social media: Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - YouTube Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Europe's drought has reduced water levels on the Danube, causing headaches and lost income for companies generating electricity from hydro, coal-fired and nuclear power plants. We travel down the river, stopping off in Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania to look at how each country is dealing with the challenges and what ordinary people are doing to help. Presenter: Hannah Mullane Producer: Gideon LongCredit: Photo by ZOLTAN BALOGH/EPA/Shutterstock People check the Danube River as it flows at a record-low water level in downtown Budapest, Hungary, 28 July 2026)
When Dr. Laura Petrescu opened Athena Direct Primary Care & Lifestyle Medicine, she was the only Direct Primary Care physician in the Rochester, NY metropolitan area. Health system leadership thought she was out of her mind. Colleagues told her nobody would pay a membership on top of insurance. The advice everywhere was the same: New York is too restrictive, and DPC will not work here.Today there are seven or eight DPC practices in the Rochester area, and Dr. Petrescu has founded the New York State Direct Care Physicians Alliance with board members from Buffalo, Syracuse, Hudson Valley, and New York City.In this episode of My DPC Story, she and Dr. Maryal Concepcion get specific about the mechanics most physicians never hear.In this episode:Why she filed as a 501(c)(6) business league instead of a 501(c)(3), and why the charitable designation would have blocked advocacy entirelyWhat the state and IRS filings actually cost, and where the paperwork gets returnedHow reading her contract first led to her health system releasing her from a 10-mile non-compete radiusHow to build a board representing rural, metropolitan, and downstate practicesWhy eight busy physician owners vote on motions by email instead of scheduling Zoom callsWhat New York's lab restrictions mean in practice, and why they are the alliance's top legislative priorityHow California organized, from monthly meetings that fizzled to a state summit with 80 physiciansAbout the guest: Dr. Laura Petrescu is triple board certified in internal medicine, lifestyle medicine, and menopause medicine, with 25 years in practice. Originally trained as a surgeon in Romania, she is founding president of the New York State Direct Care Physicians Alliance.Links:New York State Direct Care Physicians Alliance: nysdirectcare.com California DPC: calidpc.com Legal question for My DPC Story State by State with Dr. Phil Eskew? Leave a voicemail at mydpcstory.com/contact Organizing in your state? Leave a voicemail there too so we can highlight your group Free startup checklist, The Physician Owner's Planner, The Toolkit Magazine, and every episode: mydpcstory.com Follow @mydpcstoryUpcoming: Illinois DPC Summit, October 2 to 3, NIU Naperville. California DPC Summit, June 2027, registration open. caradirectcare.com/summitExplore Hint's Marketplace today, an app-like experience connecting all your tools into Hint! CHIEF COMPLAINT COFFEE & TEA. Celebrating when nothing comes between you and your patient. NO PRIOR AUTHS. Literally, that's one of the coffees you'll find at CHIEF COMPLAINT COFFEE & TEA.Support the showGET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOADBecome A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE PODMy DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG!FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube
For the first time in 4 years we are pausing the podcast for a couple of weeks. I love doing it, but sometimes life has other plans. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and while I am ok, I need to free up space for family and medical appointments.I'm not fully disappearing and will be recording in advance. While I'm away we are releasing some of our most listened to episodes.Battling any illness is a challenges in and of itself, but when it comes to often unknown autonomic conditions, the medical field can leave patients feeling lost, ignored and forgotten.Combine that with trying to seek medical help in the 90's in a second world country like Uzbekistan and you might begin to imagine the overwhelming challenge that Marie Claire faced in her journey to be diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).Marie-Claire is a Clinical Nurse consultant who has previously held several specialist clinical nurse roles including in emergency nursing, clinical education and academia. She coheads a multi-disciplinary practice in Adelaide, SA which specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Long Covid. She is undertaking her PhD at The University of Adelaide where she is exploring the association between autonomic disorders and post-acute sequalae of Covid-19.Marie-Claire has a keen interest in reducing time to diagnosis and in improving outcomes for those living with POTS and associated environmentally triggered syndromesShe believes in the power of the 'lived experience' researcher and has established The Australian POTS FoundationIn today's episode Marie-Claire shares:- Her time in Romania and other similar countries shortly after the ball of the Berlin wall- The distinct moment she felt herself develop POTS- The extremely long and difficult process of seeking a medical diagnosis overseas- The sexist diagnosis practices she encountered in Australia that left her undiagnosed for years- How POTS and long covid are connected- Her advice on treatment and management for POTS- Information on Australia's first POTS conference this year.Key Quotes“I remember that feeling of thinking how can you not know what's just happened because it was so dramatic and loud in my ears.”“I don't tend to seek help which is typical of country people”“I feel like I was accused of murder, I was stood up to give my defence and the judge says no you cant have a defence, you're guilty.”“Just telling them their not mad is a great thing in terms of their ability to cope with this condition.”Find out more about Marie-Claire SeeleyYou can find out more about Marie-Claire and the Australian Pots Foundation here: https://potsfoundation.org.au/You can also follow them on social media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australianpotsfoundation/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082147502638You can get involved with the podcast onlineOn facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au/personality-performanceFor her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.auOr you can follow them on Instagram:@Altitudefitnessarmidale@trialtitudeperformance Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's Headlines: Melania Trump made a surprise White House appearance — her first in weeks or possibly months — to announce a foster care initiative, opening with "I heard you missed me, here I am," which nobody would have thought twice about if it hadn't come directly after Jon Ossoff's comment that Trump wants to "travel with Natalie." The timing really did the heavy lifting there. Walmart posted its weakest growth since 2020, the FDA upgraded its frozen berry recall to its highest risk level over e.coli contamination, sourdough bread in Seattle was recalled for metal shards, and 65,000 people in Gary, Indiana have been without power for nine days with no restoration until at least next Tuesday. In other unpleasant news, the FBI raided Eric Swalwell's home and took his phone and computer as part of an investigation into his relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, because some people really do make it too easy. The USS Abraham Lincoln was finally relieved of its nine-month deployment and is heading back to San Diego — a direct result of its crew publicly threatening to take their own lives. The publisher of Stars and Stripes announced his retirement citing "fundamental differences" with Hegseth's Pentagon, one week after the publication broke the Abraham Lincoln story, so do what you will with that information. Meanwhile, North Korea fired ballistic missiles hours after Kim Jong Un's sister dismissed Trump's requests for a diplomatic meeting and denied they'd even been in contact, which is a remarkable response to throwing South Korea under the bus for nothing. Russia flew a naval drone into Romanian airspace, which Romanian jets destroyed, and the EU Commission president called it hybrid warfare without naming Russia, which is the diplomatic equivalent of a strongly worded letter. And Trump is fighting to build a ballroom at his golf course in the Irish village of Doonbeg, where his only obstacle is a local hermit with no phone or social media who has blocked thousands of development projects across Ireland purely for sport. Resources/Articles mentioned: The Guardian: Michael Cohen, ex-fixer for Trump who once testified against him, hosts president on his radio show – US politics live WaPo: Walmart posts weakest growth in years, a worrying sign of inflation-weary Americans WaPo: FDA upgrades recall of frozen berries to highest-risk warning FDA: Updated – Grand Central Bakery Seattle Recalls Potato Sourdough Bread Due to Possible Foreign Object CBS Chicago: Gary, Indiana residents must wait until Tuesday for power, more than a week after severe storms The Hill: FBI raided Swalwell's home, seized devices as part of Chinese spy probe WaPo: Trump increasingly lashing out at allies as victory in Iran war proves elusive NYT: U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Leaves Middle East After Months at Sea in Operation Against Iran FT: North Korea launches missile barrage after dismissing Donald Trump's overture The Guardian: EU's von der Leyen warns of ‘escalating campaign of threats' as Romania destroys naval drone – as it happened | Ukraine WaPo: Trump wants a ballroom in Ireland. One man is having a ball fighting it. Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
(Presented by TLPBLACK: A cybersecurity intelligence platform focused on sharing curated, high-sensitivity threat insights and research with trusted security professionals.) Three Buddy Problem - Episode 110: We dig into Computer Weekly's scoop on the EncroChat hack and news that the French law enforcement implant was cobbled together from GitHub. Plus, Irregular, the $450M startup running sandboxes for OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, drones over Romania's gas platforms, OpenAI's two-week training pause, and T-Mobile taking scissors to a cable during Salt Typhoon incident response. Stick around for a UFO segment that somehow involves Dr. Phil. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Ryan Naraine and Costin Raiu. Timestamps: 0:00 Introductory banter; LabsCon speakers announced 9:06 A naval drone reaches the Neptun Deep gas platform 17:38 OpenAI pauses RL training: what "slowing the pace of scaling" costs 24:34 Guardrails vs refusals vs alignment. 33:54 Irregular, formerly Pattern Labs: $80M, $450M valuation, one job 46:11 JAGS on why security needs a new batch of startups right now 1:06:52 EncroChat revealed: a GitHub-sourced implant, IOCs 1:15:12 Law enforcement malware vs intelligence malware 1:21:07 T-Mobile, Salt Typhoon, and cutting the cable with a pair of scissors 1:32:06 Captive Crunch: hotel Wi-Fi, OAuth token theft, and the MSP supply chain 1:47:00 ICE RELIC, UNC6293, and the trouble with subcluster naming 2:00:39 UFO corner: David Grusch, Dr. Phil, and the Skywatcher Project 2:05:44 Shout outs, the Costin Challenge
Don't open your veins just yet, NYCFC faithful. Come commiserate with your pals. We chat the brutal 2-3 loss to Philly and the misery in the 91st minute against Cincinnati. Plus rumors out of Romania, and your questions and comments. Plus: will Mr. Harrison jack three points from NYCFC? Or will New England find the pigeons Revolting? Put the safety back on that thing; you've got Blue Balls.
Plus: China's Alibaba reports weaker earnings. And jet fighters destroyed a Russian naval drone that Romania says threatened hundreds of lives near a Black Sea gas platform. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Schoolteacher A.J. Mackinnon sailing and rowing the locks and canals of the UK across the English Channel to Romania in a small dinghy. Years later, boarded another little boat to voyage from Romania to Venice.
In Part Two, the “living team” behind A Psychic's Story gets into the woo of it all. After meeting Nicolae Bogdan Bratis, Megan Murphy, and Dr. Scott Guerin in Part One, Nichole turns the conversation toward their own paranormal, supernatural, psychic, and intuitive experiences — from startling psychic readings and childhood spirit encounters to manifestation, animal communication, divine intervention, and possible “exit points.” Along the way, the team explores the many ways intuitive information can arrive, what happens when we listen to it, and how working on A Psychic's Story and hearing hundreds of different perspectives has expanded what each of them believes may be possible. If you haven't listened to Part One yet, start there to meet the team and learn how Nicolae, Megan, and Scott became part of A Psychic's Story and what they do behind the scenes. In this episode, you'll hear: How a palm reader knew deeply personal information about Nicolae — and why he refused to tell him what his future held. The unusual spiritual experiences and beliefs Nicolae encountered growing up in Romania, along with his experiences with manifestation, intention, and healing. How Megan saw a deceased family friend as a child and the other intuitive experiences that began early in her life. How a powerful inner voice helped redirect Megan's path — and the possible telepathic communication she experienced while working with wild canines. Why Scott believes a frightening highway accident may have involved divine intervention and what the experience taught him about possible “exit points.” How working on A Psychic's Story has changed or expanded what Nicolae, Megan, and Scott believe about psychic abilities, spirituality, the paranormal, and what may be possible. To learn more about Nicolae and his work in podcast production, visit Saspod. If you're interested in working with the Saspod team to launch, produce, or grow your own podcast, get started HERE. To connect with Megan, follow her on Instagram at @_caniscorvus. To learn more about the wolf sanctuary Megan discusses in the episode, visit Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. To learn more about Scott and his work, visit his bio site, Angel in Training. To schedule a 1:1 session or explore all of Nichole's offerings, head HERE. If you feel called to become certified in energy healing or go deeper into your healing work, there is one remaining in-person Energy Healing Retreat & Certification experience in 2026: October 16–18. Learn more and register at apsychicsstory.com/awakening-the-healer-within. If you'd like to further support the podcast, please subscribe to it and/or: FOLLOW @apsychicsstory on Instagram. BOOK a session with Nichole. SIGN UP to the newsletter for updates. JOIN Patreon for exclusive, ad-free content. BECOME A MEMBER of The Psychic Club. REGISTER for The Angelic Academy. Thanks to you, A Psychic's Story is a #1 spiritual and psychic podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with someone who would benefit from hearing it or leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts. Your support helps others discover A Psychic's Story and helps us continue creating meaningful content. This podcast is intended to inspire you on your personal journey to inner peace. The podcast host, co-hosts, and guests are not medical doctors or psychologists and do not provide medical or psychological advice. The information shared is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition, nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical or mental health care. If you have concerns about your physical or mental health, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Let me know what you think of this episode? Most of us carry trauma, loss, and regrets that seem impossible to overcome—until someone shows us that starting over is not only possible, but a divine gift. Mihaela Galfrey's extraordinary story of surviving communist Romania, addiction, and heartbreaking loss reveals the raw power of faith, forgiveness, and resilience to transform suffering into purpose.Raised under oppressive regimes and facing her father's secret moonshine distillery, Mihaela's journey of healing spans decades and continents—culminating in her becoming a life coach and author of Very Netplogging, a memoir of survival and starting again. Her intimate, unfiltered storytelling takes you inside moments of betrayal, grief, and redemption—proving that even in our darkest hours, grace is at work.You'll discover how Mia navigated childhood trauma, the importance of community and professional help in breaking addictive cycles, and the pivotal role faith played in her most profound breakthroughs. We break down: How to rewrite your story with intention and purpose Practical steps for asking for help and vulnerability as acts of strength The transformative power of forgiving ourselves and others The importance of community, therapy, and faith in healing from trauma and loss The upcoming framework and courses Mia is developing to help others step into their true identity This episode is essential listening for anyone feeling buried under life's hardships—those who need a reminder that their story isn't finished yet. Mihaela's unwavering hope, fuelled by her faith and resilience, promises that purpose is always within reach. And her insights on starting over—time and time again—will inspire you to rewrite your own chapter with courage.Whether you're facing grief, addiction, or the need for a new beginning, Mihaela's journey shows that hope is a choice—and a divine calling. Tune in to feel empowered, uplifted, and reminded that even brokenness can be turned into beautiful, purposeful living.Mihaela Galfrey is a transformational life coach, speaker, and author known for her compelling story of survival and renewal. Her work helps others rediscover their purpose, break free from past regrets, and step boldly into the life they're meant to live.If you've ever wondered whether your past can be a foundation for your future, this episode is your starting point. Step into hope. Reclaim your story. Ignite your next chapter. Support the showWant to be a financial supporter of the show, click here, https://www.buzzsprout.com/1754677/supporters/newFollow and subscribe to the podcast here, and get weekly updates on when new episodes are released. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dorsey-ross-show/id1495921329Social Media Links, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dorsey.ross/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DROCKROSS/ My Book Amazon Book Overcomer https://bit.ly/4h7NGIPWant to be a guest on Dorsey Ross Show? Send Dorsey Ross a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1615423845838x127949785844303500Affiliate Link For Podmatch https://www.joinpodmatch.com/dorseyross
With Moldova vulnerable to Russian pressure and EU membership still years away, could reunification with Romania offer a shortcut to greater security? Andrew Mueller explains.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we review Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein's A24 sports-hustle drama starring Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a table-tennis prodigy with Olympic-level confidence and almost no visible concern for anyone else.Only Dan and Chris have done the homework this week, leaving Sidey and Reegs to interrogate them on the plot, the tone, the ping-pong, the Gwyneth Paltrow of it all, and whether Chalamet can truly carry a film when he still looks like a haunted Victorian child who has discovered hair product.Along the way we discuss:Chris failing to return from Romania with the promised contrabandparents discovering IMAX and immediately wanting a monthly cinema clubthe Safdie brothers going their separate ways, with Josh Safdie on this and Benny Safdie off with The RockMarty working in a shoe shop but dreaming of table-tennis glorya sperm-and-egg title sequence that nobody had quite expectedMarty robbing the family business while trying to frame it as sensible career planningLondon tournaments, The Ritz and the ping-pong federationGwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone, a famous actress in a loveless marriageEndo, the terrifying Japanese player with the modern grip and superior paddlewhether the table-tennis sequences are CGI, doubles or just very committed editingorange ping-pong balls, champagne bills and Marty's endless self-mythologisinga hotel bath falling through the ceilingMoses the gangster dogHarlem Globetrotters-style ping-pong tricksMarty getting to Japan, losing an exhibition match, refusing to kiss a pig, and demanding one more gamewhether achieving your dream means anything if you have used everyone around you to get thereThe big question: is Marty a brilliant, driven outsider, or just a selfish arsehole with a paddle?Dan finds the character so unpleasant that it limits his enjoyment, even while acknowledging the film is very well made. Chris is more taken with the craft, the period detail, the tension and the way the film keeps moving despite its hefty runtime. Reegs hears shades of The Karate Kid, White Men Can't Jump and Uncut Gems, while Sidey remains deeply suspicious of Timothée Chalamet's pixie leading-man energy.Verdicts: Chris is on a strong recommend, Dan is somewhere between mid and strong recommend, and Sidey and Reegs are officially TBC.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads
China is launching an Arctic Sea route as an alternative to the fraught Middle East shipping lanes. How would this shift global ties? Plus: will Moldova and Romania merge? Then: Libyan reggae and Lebanese city-pop with Habibi Funk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this session, attendees will be equipped to navigate the discernment process of identifying the best-fit sending agency for them.
In today's episode the boys are UP LATE in Gold Creek Idaho, where ben got lost in the mountains before he even arrived. Spenny tells his story about riding dirt bikes in Redbull Romaniacs in Romania and finishing top 10. Cops in France on Rollerblades. Our Cow Bobby running for mayor, And about how we accidentally bought a dirt bike with FAKE money. Enjoy! For a limited time only, new customers get 20% off + free shipping at blueprint.bryanjohnson.com by using code LIFEWIDEOPEN at checkout. #Blueprint #ad Shopify: Be your own boss. No dress code, no commute, no Steve from accounting. Free trial at shopify.com/wideopen Download Cash App Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/zz85607d #CashAppPartner Terms apply. Bitcoin services by Block, Inc. See the Bitcoin disclosures at cash.app/legal/podcast.
The Space Show Presents Lisa La Bonte, Sunday, 8-2-26.Quick summaryThe Sunday Space Show featured Lisa LaBonte discussing the rapid growth of national space agencies worldwide, with approximately 90 countries now having space programs primarily in emerging and developing markets. LaBonte presented data showing how these agencies are focused on using space for economic development, infrastructure building, and addressing national needs rather than pursuing prestige missions. The discussion covered how these emerging space nations are collaborating with established programs like China's lunar missions, using services like Starlink for connectivity, and developing their own launch capabilities. Participants explored topics including IP protection challenges for foreign investors, the role of STEM education in these countries, and how political risks affect business opportunities. The conversation also touched on cultural differences in how failure is perceived in different countries and the varying levels of public interest in space exploration.Detailed Summary:The conversation focused on space agencies, where Lisa explained that approximately 80-90 countries have space agencies, including both national agencies and international consortiums like ESA. Lisa presented on the growth of national space agencies, highlighting how these agencies have expanded exponentially in emerging markets over the past decade. She explained that these space programs serve as economic development tools, providing infrastructure, connectivity, and job opportunities, particularly in Africa where they are transformational rather than just supportive of growth. Lisa noted significant international collaborations emerging, including a first-of-its-kind partnership between the African Space Agency and China for lunar exploration at the South Pole.Our guest discussed the growing global space economy, noting that most countries are embracing private enterprises for economic development rather than state-driven approaches, with some implementing startup contests and incubators. STEM education was brought up by telling us how it is being integrated into school systems in various countries, with Bahrain specifically highlighting this initiative. Lisa emphasized that while space programs are driven by national goals rather than profit motives, they are building infrastructure that will eventually support economic development and generate revenue through tax dollars and other funding sources.Lisa provided a detailed overview of space activities across different continents, focusing on Africa as an example where countries like Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are engaging in various space applications including Earth observation, agriculture monitoring, and communications. Dr. Ajay raised concerns about declining U.S. interest in space compared to growing interest in emerging markets, questioning how to participate in these opportunities. Our guest responded that while U.S. space interest may be declining, NASA remains influential globally and emerging markets like the UAE have significant budgets, noting a $34 billion total budget for UAE space initiatives.We discussed how political competition between nations, particularly between the US and China, does not significantly impact space collaboration, as countries prioritize their national space program goals over political alliances. She provided examples of countries like UAE working with both US and Chinese programs simultaneously and noted that developing nations are primarily focused on establishing sovereign space capabilities rather than relying on others. She also explained that many developing and emerging nations are currently using Starlink for satellite connectivity, though the long-term strategy for building their own satellite capabilities remains uncertain.Lisa emphasized that the US needs to recognize it is not the only player in the space industry and should collaborate with emerging and developing nations. He noted that countries like China and India have been active in space for some time, and China has been particularly engaged in infrastructure development in Africa through initiatives like the Belt and Road. Lisa expressed hope that NASA would leverage its global reputation to partner with these nations, particularly given that over 60 countries have signed up for the Artemis Accords. The discussion also touched on the potential for space-based solar power and AI integration in these countries' space programs, though Carnegie admitted he was not an expert on these topics.Dr. Ajay inquired about Saudi Arabia's space initiatives following his recent visit. The group discussed how emerging nations are approaching space, explaining that while human spaceflight is a goal for many countries, most are still in early stages and focusing on basic satellite launches rather than aggressive defense programs. Lisa advised that any space investment should prioritize strong IP protection mechanisms and legal frameworks in the target country, noting that UAE lacks adequate IP protection despite its space activities. The discussion concluded with Joe raising a question about whether national space programs could generate national pride and encourage youth interest in engineering and technical fields.We talked about the varying levels of engineering talent across different countries, particularly highlighting robust STEM education in Saudi Arabia and UAE due to their oil and gas industries. He explained that while these countries produce skilled engineers, the lack of established infrastructure for protecting intellectual property and supporting technology startups creates challenges for entrepreneurs. It was noted that many talented engineers choose to work in countries with better IP protection and startup support systems, rather than returning to their home countries.Lisa discussed the challenges of political risk in international business, noting that unexpected events like the Arab Spring and recent conflicts with Iran can significantly impact operations. When asked about opportunities in emerging economies versus developed countries and advised that while opportunities exist abroad, young engineers should carefully consider their adaptability and cultural readiness, as many countries prioritize hiring locals first. She emphasized the importance of having strong character and tolerance for ambiguity when considering international opportunities.Lisa advised David that the key factor in deciding whether to pursue an overseas opportunity is not the specific opportunity itself, but rather whether the person can adapt to the cultural and environmental challenges of the destination. She emphasized the importance of having the right personality traits, including fortitude and the ability to get out of one's comfort zone, particularly when dealing with different cultures and potentially difficult working conditions. Lisa shared her own experience working in the Middle East, explaining how she navigated cultural differences as a woman by maintaining professional behavior and dress standards, which helped her be treated with respect in the region.Carnegie discussed cultural attitudes toward animals in different regions, noting that while dogs are considered unclean in some Muslim countries, they are widely loved in Japan. She shared that interest in space exploration, particularly Mars colonization, is limited among people she knows, though SpaceX and Elon Musk are still respected in the Middle East. She explained that failure is perceived differently across cultures, with risk aversion being higher in many countries compared to the Western approach of learning from failures. She revealed that her STEM and space education programs in the Middle East have been successful, particularly in engaging girls in engineering, though she has since shifted focus away from space education due to bureaucratic challenges.The group discussed space programs around the world, with our guest highlighting unexpected space activities in countries like Croatia and Romania, particularly noting Romania's satellite program driven by educational institutions rather than government agencies. Lisa explained that budget constraints and existing partnerships with established space agencies like SpaceX make it unlikely for countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE to develop their own reusable rockets. The conversation also covered her current location in the US due to weather conditions in Saudi Arabia, and plans for future meetings with participants in locations like Las Vegas.Special thanks to our sponsors:American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Helix Space in Luxembourg, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Astrox Corporation, Dr. Haym Benaroya of Rutgers University, The Space Settlement Progress Blog by John Jossy, The Atlantis Project, and Artless EntertainmentWe use Zoom phone numbers for program participation.For real time program participation, email Dr. Space at: drspace@thespaceshow.com for instructions and access.The Space Show is a non-profit 501C3 through its parent, One Giant Leap Foundation, Inc. To donate via Pay Pal, use:To donate with Zelle, use the email address: david@onegiantleapfoundation.org.If you prefer donating with a check, please make the check payable to One Giant Leap Foundation and mail to:One Giant Leap Foundation, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive Ste. 160-306 Las Vegas, NV 89135Upcoming Programs:Tuesday, August 18, 2026: No program today | Tuesday 18 Aug 2026 700PM PTGuests: Dr. David LivingstonNo program today.Broadcast 4578 Hotel Mars featuring Rohan Naidu on the black hole star discovery | Wednesday 19 Aug 2026 930AM PTGuests: John Batchelor, Dr. David Livingston, Rohan NaiduHotel Mars Featuring Rohan Naidu on the newly discovered black hole starBroadcast 4579 Zoom: Amir Notea, Shar Bahiri, Fred Simon | Friday 21 Aug 2026 930AM PTGuests: Amir Notea, Shar Bahiri, Fred SimonZoom: Our guests discuss the Israeli company Moonshot.space and moreBroadcast 450 Zoom: Open Lines Discussion | Sunday 23 Aug 2026 1200PM PTGuests: Dr. David LivingstonZoom: Open Lines Discussion. Join us if you can. Get full access to The Space Show-One Giant Leap Foundation at doctorspace.substack.com/subscribe
A.M. Edition for Aug. 17. For the second time in three days, NATO warplanes on Sunday were forced to shoot down a drone in alliance airspace. WSJ Brussels bureau chief Daniel Michaels says that while electronic jamming could make the drone incursions an accident, some countries fear Russia is deliberately probing European air defenses. Plus, the Colorado River's water crisis worsens as Lake Powell joins Lake Mead at record lows. And we'll look at the race among job seekers to write AI experience into their résumés. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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In this episode, Mary Sullivan, co-founder of Sweet but Fearless, talks with life coach and Bible counselor Mia Godfrey about her remarkable journey from Romania to a life shaped by faith, resilience, and purpose. Throughout their conversation, Mia shares how her faith guided her through uncertainty, how she learned to recognize her purpose, and why surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people can make such a difference when rebuilding your life. What begins as a story of heartbreak becomes a story of transformation, a reminder that even after devastating loss, we can rise from the ashes, find renewed purpose, and discover that we are buried, not broken. Mia is the author of Buried, Not Broken: A Memoir of Survival, Sisterhood, and Starting Over, a moving memoir about survival, sisterhood, faith, and rediscovering hope after profound loss. ABOUT MIA GODFREY: LinkedIn – Mia Godfrey Website – Scribbled Pages Book – Buried, Not Broken: A Memoir of Survival, Sisterhood, and Starting Over ABOUT SWEET BUT FEARLESS: Website - Sweet but Fearless LinkedIn - Sweet but Fearless
We started this morning in a strange place for a Sunday, an orphanage in Romania in the early 1990s. When Ceausescu's regime fell, workers found thousands of children who had stopped crying because they had learned no one was coming. Psychologists called the pattern they saw in these kids indiscriminate friendliness, kids so starved for touch they would wrap themselves around a stranger's leg for a few seconds of contact. Most of us never lived through anything close to that. But a lot of us carry the same quiet belief. There is not enough love, not enough grace, not enough security, so we grab what we can get and hold on tight.We call that the orphan mindset, and scripture names it too, using the word slave. A slave lives in someone's house but never belongs to the family. From there we walked through Mark 5, the story of Jairus and his dying daughter tangled together with the story of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She reached out and touched the tassel on Jesus' cloak, believing the healing promised in Malachi was woven right into it. Jesus stopped everything to find her, not to shame her, but to call her Daughter, the only time in the New Testament he uses that word for a woman. Then he walked into a dead girl's room and said two words that meant get up, honey.Both stories point the same direction. Wealth couldn't buy Jairus a single minute. Poverty couldn't disqualify the woman from being healed. Uncleanness and death, the two most contaminating things in that culture, both got overpowered by what was in Jesus instead of the other way around. Paul says the same thing in Romans 8, that we were not given a spirit of slavery back to fear, but a spirit of adoption. We looked at how that plays out practically, in our emotions, in how we treat people, in how we handle being wrong. The invitation this week is simple. Stop sneaking around God hoping he won't notice your mess, and let him call you what he already calls you.Scripture referenced: Mark 5:21-34, Psalm 23:1, Malachi 4:2, Romans 8:15Watch the full message, share it with someone who needs it, or join us in person for the rest of the Pursuit series.
"Stop Living Like You're Running Out" Pastor Rhonda Davis Subtitle: No Scarcity in the Father's House I. Defining the Scarcity Mindset The World's Definition of Scarcity: Scarcity occurs when demand outpaces available resources, creating shortages, panic, and cutthroat competition. The Herd Mentality & Modern Panics: Pastor Rhonda illustrated scarcity using two real-world examples: The 2020 Toilet Paper Panic: How uncertainty and herd mentality caused citizens to clear store shelves out of irrational fear during the pandemic. The November 28, 2008, Black Friday Tragedy: A Long Island, New York Walmart where a worker was tragically trampled to death by a crowd driven by the panic of missing out on limited electronics. Even after announcements declared a death in the store, shoppers kept shopping. Black Friday vs. Good Friday: The world operates on a "Black Friday" mentality—driven by insufficient supply where one must fight, push, and kick to get theirs. Believers, however, live in a "Good Friday" reality. A decree has gone across the Earth that a Man died for us, paying the full price, so we no longer need to desperately "shop the aisles of the world." Four Pillar Truths of Divine Abundance Pastor Rhonda outlined four foundational pillars showing why scarcity has no place in the life of a believer: 1. You Are Chosen Before the Earth Was Formed: According to Ephesians 1:4-5, God loved us and chose us to be holy and blameless before the creation of the world. Adopting us into His family gave Him great pleasure. Sonship Over Scarcity: A scarcity mindset makes you tightly grasp what is in your own hand; a sonship mindset teaches you to rest in and trust what is in your Father's hand. 2. You Are Accepted Accepted in the Beloved: Citing Ephesians 1:6, believers are fully accepted in Christ. Human acceptance is fickle, but divine approval is settled. Antidote to Insecurity: Accepting at the core of our being that we are chosen by God is the divine antidote for insecurity, neurotic fear, and the exhausting drive for human validation. Personal White House Testimony: Pastor Rhonda shared about her recent invitation to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House for a Women of Faith briefing. Despite initial thoughts of insecurity ("Who am I to be here?"), she covered her mind in prayer, walked in as a daughter of the Most High God, and experienced divine favor, connections, and peace without needing to jockey for position or prove herself. 3. You Are Redeemed The Redeemer's Business: Redemption (Jehovah Goel) means to buy back, pay a ransom, restore, and atone for mistakes. God specializes in cleaning up what humans mess up. The Expiration Date on Trials: Citing Isaiah 43:1-2 and Jeremiah 29:11, Pastor Rhonda declared that whatever hard situation a believer is facing does not have the right to own them. In God's economy, every trial and season of suffering has an expiration date. Kairos Time vs. Kronos Time: Humans live in linear time (Kronos), but God operates in appointed, strategic time (Kairos). God can accelerate restoration and make up for years of lost ground in a matter of days. 4. You Are Adopted From Chains to the Table: Citing John 1:12-13 and Romans 8, adoption gives us the Father's name, a seat at His table, and joint-heir status with Christ. Redemption breaks the chains, but adoption brings us into the family. The Story of Josiah Brian Giles: To illustrate adoption and restoration, Pastor Rhonda shared the powerful story of her nephew, Josiah: In 1996, her brother Brian visited Romania and was moved by an infant named John Christmas, who was rocking himself in an orphanage bed. Brian adopted him, changed his legal name to Josiah Brian Giles ("Josiah" meaning God will heal/support), and brought him home to Tennessee. Despite being adopted into a loving family, life brought complicated turns, including a parental divorce and years of separation from the family. Father's Day & Deathbed Restoration: After years of silence, an 18-year-old Josiah unexpectedly walked back into the family homestead on Father's Day. Years later, on August 13, 2025, as Pastor Rhonda's father lay unconscious in hospice, Josiah entered the room. For two hours, aunt and nephew sat together, poured out their hearts, cried, laughed, and reconciled. Shortly after Josiah kissed his grandfather goodbye and declared he would see him in eternity, their father passed peacefully into heaven. Full Restoration: Pastor Rhonda presented a photo of all the grandchildren restored together at her father's gravesite—a living picture of how God restores lost prodigals and completes family stories. Scripture Index Here are the primary scriptures read, cited, or expounded upon during the service: Galatians 4:4-5 > "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." 2 Corinthians 9:8 > "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." Ephesians 1:4-6 > "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world... Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself... To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Isaiah 47:4 > "As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 44:6 > "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." Isaiah 43:1-2 > "But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee..." Jeremiah 29:11 > "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 50:34 > "Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause..." John 1:14 > "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Matthew 20:28 > "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." 1 Peter 1:18-19 > "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... But with the precious blood of Christ..." John 1:12-13 > "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." 1 John 3:1 > "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God..." "Thanks for listening! For more information, visit churchoftheharvest.com. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and YouTube @cothcleveland.
To be “born with a veil” (or caul) was once regarded as far more than an unusual circumstance of birth. Being born with a caul—a portion of the amniotic membrane adhering to a newborn's head or face—is exceedingly rare, but across centuries of European folklore it has been interpreted as a visible mark of destiny. Those born with one might be exceptionally lucky, possess healing powers or second sight, or enjoy supernatural protection. In darker traditions, however, the same sign could mark a future witch, vampire, or uncanny wanderer between worlds. We begin with a quoted passage from Stephen King’s The Shining, in which it’s revealed that the psychically gifted boy, Danny, is born with a veil and then go on to explore the colorful vocabulary once used to describe the caul. Across Europe, the membrane was imagined as a cap, hood, helmet, veil, cloak, or even a “shirt.” Such expressions as the Scottish “sely hoo,” or blessed hood, and various European equivalents of “lucky cap” and “victor's cloak” reveal how closely the caul became associated with good fortune. Next, we explore the earliest written references to caul superstition. A fourth-century biography of the short-lived Roman emperor Diadumenian claims that he was born with a strange membrane resembling a diadem. The same source remarks that midwives sold preserved cauls to lawyers who believed they would bring success in court. Medieval clerical writings likewise condemn officials who carried cauls as charms to silence their opponents. From there, the episode turns to the long practice of preserving cauls as family treasures. Surviving examples include a fragment enclosed in a locket made for John Monson in 1597 and the caul of King Frederik III, kept in a silver casket in the Danish royal collections. Seventeenth-century wills describe cauls mounted in jeweled gold settings and passed down as heirlooms believed to ensure a family's continuing prosperity. We then address the caul's most famous power: protection from drowning. By the eighteenth century, cauls were carefully dried on paper and sold to sailors. Newspaper advertisements addressed “gentlemen of the Navy” and offered them as proven safeguards for long voyages. Dickens satirized the trade in the opening of David Copperfield, whose caul attracts only one bidder—an attorney offering cash and sherry, but refusing to pay enough to guarantee himself against drowning. Caul kept as sailor’s charm displayed at Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Mrs. Karswell then shares some amusing 19th-century anecdotes found in the long-running Oxford University publication, Notes and Queries. One report has a caul-bearing child who hild floated like a cork whenever his mother tried to bathe him. Another describes a prognosticating caul that physically transformed in sympathy to events unfolding in the life of the person consulting it. We then travel to Iceland, where fetal membranes were associated with the fylgja, a guardian spirit or external portion of the soul. The afterbirth could not safely be discarded, exposed to animals, or burned, lest the child lose this spiritual companion. Yet the caul's magical potential also made it dangerous: witches were said to use it in love potions, and a seventeenth-century French royal midwife warned her colleagues never to preserve one because sorcerers might obtain it. The episode then moves eastward, where caul folklore grows considerably darker. In Romania and Poland, those born beneath the membrane might be destined to become strigoi or other vampiric beings after death. In Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia, however, caul-born men could become supernatural defenders known as Krsniki or Zduhaći. Their spirits left their bodies at night to battle dragons, witches, night-hags, and rival spirit warriors threatening the community's health, weather, and harvest. Next, we encounter their Italian counterparts, the Friulian Benandanti, or “good walkers.” Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century inquisitorial records describe men and women who claimed that everyone born with a caul was summoned in adulthood to fight witches during nocturnal spirit journeys. Their preserved “little shirts” were worn around the neck, blessed with prayers and Masses, and believed to protect soldiers or help lawyers win cases. Finally, we return to the sea with the curious modern discovery of a preserved caul purportedly belonging to a survivor of the the sinking of the Titanic. Its provenance may be uncertain, but the topic at least provides an excuse to close out with a snippet of the uniquely grim yet lighthearted folk song, “When the Great Ship Went Down.”
In this episode of The Costume House with Spencer Williams, we return to the gothic halls of Nevermore Academy for a conversation with production designer Mark Scruton, the creative force behind the world of Wednesday.Spencer and Mark dive into the making of one of the season's most spectacular sequences: the Venetian Masquerade, including the extraordinary process of building a real canal and gondola so that Hester Frump could make her grand entrance in suitably spectacular fashion. They also discuss collaborating with legendary director Tim Burton, moving production from Romania to Dublin, and the challenges and opportunities that came with expanding the visual world of Wednesday.From gothic architecture and elaborate sets to the smallest details that shape a character's world, this conversation explores why production design is far more than simply creating a backdrop.
In this episode of The Costume House with Spencer Williams, we return to the gothic halls of Nevermore Academy for a conversation with production designer Mark Scruton, the creative force behind the world of Wednesday.Spencer and Mark dive into the making of one of the season's most spectacular sequences: the Venetian Masquerade, including the extraordinary process of building a real canal and gondola so that Hester Frump could make her grand entrance in suitably spectacular fashion. They also discuss collaborating with legendary director Tim Burton, moving production from Romania to Dublin, and the challenges and opportunities that came with expanding the visual world of Wednesday.From gothic architecture and elaborate sets to the smallest details that shape a character's world, this conversation explores why production design is far more than simply creating a backdrop.
A.M. Edition for Aug. 14. Meatpacking giant Tyson Foods is planning to close a major beef processing plant, its latest bid to cut costs as the industry tries to cope with a yearslong cattle shortage. Plus, President Trump turns to tariffs to try and reshore drone production. And WSJ South Asia bureau chief Tripti Lahiri takes us inside the frantic scramble for work in India, where thousands of young people are competing for each new job. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode, Scott Cairns talks about certainty and mystery and getting glimpses of the unknowable God. Scott has spent forty years wrestling with, investigating, navigating words to help make meaning in our lives. In this conversation, we talk about words as things rather than labels, about reading a text the way the rabbis did - layer on layer, meaning that never closes - about prayer as communion rather than petition, and about what a culture loses as it stops reading. Underneath it all is a God who is endless, which means the knowing is never fully attained, but it's a beautiful pursuit.Librettist, essayist, translator, and author of multiple poetry collections, Scott Cairns is Curators' Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at University of Missouri. His poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Image, Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and many other venues, and both have been anthologized in multiple editions of Best American Spiritual Writing. He has blogged for the Religion Section of The Huffington Post. His recent poetry books include the recently released Against Certainty (2026), Correspondence with My Greeks (2024), Lacunae (2023), Anaphora (2019), Slow Pilgrim: The Collected Poems (2015), and Idiot Psalms (2014). His spiritual memoir, Short Trip to the Edge, first appeared from HarperSanFrancisco in 2006, and has been translated into Greek and Romania. His Endless Life (translations and adaptations of Christian mystics, appeared in 2014, and his book-length essay, The End of Suffering: Finding Purpose in Pain, was first published in 2009, and has also been translated into Greek. He wrote the libretti for two oratoria, The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp and A Melancholy Beauty. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006, and the Denise Levertov Award in 2014. His current projects include Descent to the Heart, verse adaptations of selections from the homilies of Saint Isaak the Syrian, and a new poetry collection, Ways of Not Knowing.Scott's Book:Against CertaintyScott's Recommendations:LaurasA History of the IslandConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTubeSupport the podcast and the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Support the show
The army said it was acting to protect residents in Qusra and that it had demolished two illegal settler outposts. The mayor of Qusra says the village in the occupied West Bank has been declared a closed military zone. Also: Russia's president Vladimir Putin visits an island claimed by Japan - causing sharp criticism from Tokyo; Romania shuts down its only nuclear power plant because of low water levels in the Danube; why vultures are becoming endangered in West Africa; and Cameroon and Malawi make the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, as the hosts Morocco crash out.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: Palestinians observe Israeli soldiers during a raid in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, West Bank, 13 August 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock
In this episode, Ray Cochrane breaks down NVIDIA’s case for world action models, the shift that swaps a robot’s picture-describing backbone for one trained to predict what happens next. He also covers Perseverance closing in on the off-world driving record, a derelict SpaceX rocket stage hitting the Moon, and Anthropic’s rework of Claude Fable 5’s biology safeguards. Finally, he digs into Gemini Omni, Google’s undisclosed trip-planning rankings, the Danube’s record low, and iFixit’s call for Apple to unlock the iPad bootloader. – Want to start a podcast? It’s easy to get started! Sign up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Ray if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Cochrane opens with a personal update. Wildfires in Eastern Oregon made for a rough week of heavy smoke, and a local building burned down, which he calls a real tragedy. Meanwhile, his work at Blubrry has centered on PowerPress fixes, where reproducing customer-reported bugs remains the biggest headache. Support tickets rarely carry enough detail, and the errors themselves are often too vague to diagnose. Consequently, he is leaning toward a stronger logging and error layer, and he asks experienced developers to share what actually works for them. Beyond VLAs: NVIDIA’s Case for World Action Models The featured story comes from NVIDIA’s developer blog, and it answers a question sitting underneath this year’s robot news. Why do robot arms fall apart the moment anything changes? Move a cup six inches, swap its shape, or change the lighting, and a policy that worked perfectly in training fails. The answer, according to NVIDIA, is not the robot but the model underneath it. For the last few years, the dominant approach has been the vision-language-action model, or VLA, built on an AI that originally learned to describe pictures. Consequently, it recognizes a banana it has never seen, in a kitchen it has never seen, yet it has no idea what that banana will do next. As the article puts it, such a model “does not learn what happens to a mug when the gripper closes, how a towel folds, where an object lands when released.” Because the physics never arrives with the model, every scrap of it has to come out of hand-recorded demonstrations. The proposed fix swaps the foundation entirely. Instead of building on a model that learned to caption images, a world action model builds on one trained to predict how video continues, so the physics is already paid for. Notably, these models output an action and a prediction of what the robot’s cameras will see, in the same pass. Cochrane likens it to forethought, imagining your own motion as you make it. NVIDIA’s implementation is Cosmos 3, pretrained on roughly 767 million images and 348 million videos of real-world dynamics. It ships in 4, 16, and 64 billion parameter sizes named Edge, Nano, and Super, and it runs in real time on a Jetson Thor board bolted to the robot itself. Cochrane recalls his dad owning one of those Jetson boards, and he asks anyone working in robotics to explain how the throughput figures fit together. However, he closes on an open question: where did 348 million videos actually come from? For deeper detail, he points listeners to the source article and to NVIDIA researcher Jim Fan. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. Perseverance Closes In on the Off-World Driving Record Ars Technica reports that NASA’s Perseverance rover is about to take the record for most distance driven on another world. The mark sits at roughly 28 miles, set by NASA’s own Opportunity rover across more than fourteen years before it went quiet in 2018. As Cochrane works out on air, that averages about two miles a year. Perseverance will pass it in roughly five years instead. The difference is a navigation system called AutoNav. Since a radio signal takes several minutes to reach Mars, earlier rovers crept along pre-plotted routes and stopped every half meter to think. Perseverance carries a second computer dedicated to processing what its cameras see, so it plans while the wheels keep turning. Consequently, about ninety percent of its driving is autonomous, against roughly ten percent for Curiosity, and it averages around 110 meters an hour rather than 15 to 18. Cochrane notes researchers finding the rover at planned sites days ahead of schedule, and he wonders aloud whether world action models might drive the next one. A SpaceX Rocket Stage Slammed Into the Moon Next, Smithsonian Magazine covered the Falcon 9 upper stage that struck the Moon on August 5. That stage flew back in January 2025, carrying Firefly’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience landers, and it was never meant to end up there. SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman says a mixture of solar activity and gravity nudged the derelict onto a lunar path after nineteen months adrift. Four tonnes of dead hardware arrived at about 5,400 miles per hour. Nobody watched it happen, and the reason is a nice bit of physics. It struck sunlit ground near a crater called Einstein, and no impact flash has ever been detected on the lit part of the Moon. However, the instruments caught the aftermath. South Korea’s Danuri orbiter imaged a dark new mark, while the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope picked up sodium and lithium in the plume, the lithium possibly shed by the rocket itself. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell quipped that he has “Sir Isaac Newton’s personal assurance that it did indeed hit the moon,” while planetary scientist Hannah Sargeant warns against making a habit of it. Cochrane points out the Apollo landing sites are still sitting up there. Anthropic Reworks Claude Fable 5’s Biology Safeguards Anthropic published a post on how Claude Fable 5 handles biology questions, and the bind is genuine. Biology is the textbook dual-use problem, since the knowledge behind reading your own lab results also helps someone build a weapon. Rather than refusing outright, a classifier watches for risky requests and quietly reroutes them to Claude Opus 5, a capable model without Fable 5’s biological depth. Anthropic calls that mechanism a fallback. The trouble was how often it fired on people doing nothing wrong. This update cut biology-related fallbacks by roughly 85 percent in Anthropic’s own testing, with expected overall drops of 67 percent on Claude.ai and 55 percent on Cowork. Genuinely dual-use territory still trips it, and Anthropic names virology, toxicology, and molecular design. Cochrane hit the old behavior himself and found it irritating, so he welcomes the refinement. Even so, he would rather see a false positive than a model helping someone produce a virus. Five Builders Put Gemini Omni Through Its Paces Google highlighted five builders working with Gemini Omni. Omni is a model rather than an app, and it generates video from text, images, other video, or audio, while also editing footage you already have. Google claims it “combines an intuitive understanding of physics with Gemini’s real-world knowledge,” citing gravity, kinetic energy, and fluid dynamics. As Cochrane observes, that is the same bet NVIDIA is making with robots, only pointed at video generation instead. He also flags a naming collision worth knowing about. NVIDIA calls its architecture an omni-model while Google’s product is simply Omni, two different things landing in the same week. Additionally, he encourages listeners to watch the demos, though he still senses a disconnect in AI-generated video and concedes that knowing its origin may color the impression. Gemini Wants to Plan Your Vacation Another Gemini piece, a how-to on trip planning, drew Cochrane’s sharpest take of the night. Gemini plugs straight into Google Maps, Flights, and Hotels, pulling live locations, reviews, and prices to build an itinerary. Switch on a feature called Personal Intelligence, and it reads across your Google apps, turning a messy trip-planning email chain into a clean master plan. Clever, but he calls it extremely concerning. Once these become services, he expects partnerships to quietly push particular hotels, restaurants, resorts, and destinations onto users. Notably, Google’s post never explains how any of it gets ranked, and the words sponsored, ad, affiliate, commission, and paid never appear once. There is no disclosure of a commercial arrangement, and no denial of one either. Meanwhile the post hands readers off to Viator to book tours without describing that relationship at all. Cochrane suspects the real effect shows up slowly, in the shape of small businesses continuing to disappear. The Senate Blocks a Rule on Who Controls Research Money Science reports that the Senate passed a temporary spending bill in the early hours of Saturday the 8th. The Senate’s version carries a one-paragraph rider the House version lacks, and that rider stops the White House Office of Management and Budget from finalizing a set of proposed rules. OMB builds the president’s budget, clears agency regulations, and controls how approved money actually reaches agencies. The bill itself is a stopgap, which prevents a shutdown without settling anything. The rules reach every organization that takes federal money, a pot of roughly $1.1 trillion across 41 agencies, about $150 billion of it research grants. They would let political appointees second-guess which grants get funded, allow awarded grants to be pulled when the work does not match presidential priorities, and put several countries off limits for research partnerships, China first among them. Senator Susan Collins pushed the block through after telling OMB director Russell Vought the proposal was deeply flawed, noting nearly 500,000 public comments, the vast majority opposed. However, the 90-6 vote is not law. Both chambers are on recess. Vought reportedly said the rule would not have been finalized before December anyway, and the block only lasts as long as the stopgap, which expires December 11. The Danube Falls to a Record Low ESA published a pair of Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images showing the same bend of the Danube, 45 kilometers upstream of Budapest, photographed a year apart. Cochrane calls the before-and-after shocking, going from green to brown completely. Wire reports put the Budapest gauge near 10 centimeters at the start of the month, about four inches of water, against a previous record of 33 centimeters set in 2018. The knock-on effects arrived fast. Budapest ran short on both power and drinking water, while the shrinking flow concentrated pollution in what remained. Romania hit record lows on its own stretch as well. Cochrane hopes the recovery is already underway. What a Heatwave Actually Does to the Power Grid That river story runs directly into a Carbon Brief factcheck. Nuclear plants cool themselves with river water, so when the Danube dropped, plants in Hungary and Romania throttled back and pulled roughly 2.5 gigawatts off the grid. Romania declared a state of alert in its energy sector, and its navy reportedly used explosives to steer more water toward a plant intake. Carbon Brief then walked through what heatwaves do to each way of making electricity. Nuclear loses efficiency when the cooling water is already warm, though its shutdowns are mostly regulatory rather than mechanical. Gas turbines pull in less air because hot air is thinner, costing capacity. Wind falls off hardest, since a heatwave is a big stalled dome of high pressure and nearly still air. Solar is the surprise: cells genuinely do get less efficient as they heat up, yet total output climbs anyway, with UK solar up 46 percent during a four-day June heatwave against the week before. Butterflies Are on the Move Everywhere A new study in Nature Ecology and Evolution covered 1,758 butterfly species, roughly one in ten of every species we have named. The team pulled 6,182 records from 105 countries, reading non-English research alongside 68 expert write-ups. Four out of five species pushed into new territory, and about 79 percent of the logged shifts traced back to climate change and extreme weather. Separately, 27 percent saw their range shrink somewhere, and 22 percent moved up or down a mountain slope chasing cooler air. That sounds like good news, and it really is not. Expansion means a boundary moved, not that butterflies are thriving, since a species can push its northern edge forward while its southern edge quietly collapses. Lead author Shawan Chowdhury says the shifts turn up on every continent where butterflies occur. Additionally, monitoring gaps leave Central Africa, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and the Amazon Basin barely counted at all. Cochrane recalls hearing years ago that butterflies were disappearing in Hawaii, and he invites listeners spotting unfamiliar species locally to contribute what they see. Primates Make Friends Across Species Cochrane called this one a fun find. A study in the journal Primates, led by Cyril Grueter at Oxford, gathered 427 documented cases going back to the 1970s across 88 primate species and 127 partner species. Play and grooming dominated at 139 and 136 cases, alongside carrying, huddling, food sharing, and even adoption. Primates usually started the interactions themselves, with juveniles playing most, adult females handling grooming and caregiving, and adult males least likely to join in. The examples are remarkable. Japanese macaques on the island of Yakushima groom sika deer and climb on their backs, a silverback gorilla cradled a tiny wild bushbaby, and wild capuchins in Brazil adopted an infant marmoset in a bond that held for weeks. However, Grueter rejects the pet-keeping headline and prefers the hedged term proto-pet keeping. The actual claim is smaller and more interesting: curiosity, tolerance, caregiving, and play have roots running far deeper than humans do. iFixit Tells Apple to Unlock the iPad Finally, an opinion piece from Charlie Sorrel at iFixit struck a chord. This fall, iPadOS 27 drops support for a batch of older iPads, including the 8th-generation iPad, the third-generation Air, the fifth-generation mini, and the first-generation iPad Pros. Cochrane owns one of those Pros and reports it still works fine. Those devices will not break, but they stop getting OS and security updates until apps abandon them and the battery gives out. The obvious second life is Linux, except the bootloader stays locked. Apple’s iBoot will not load anything else, unlike a Mac, a PC, or most Android phones. Sorrel argues it “should be a user choice, not a vendor choice,” and Cochrane agrees flatly. You own the device, so why does Apple decide what runs on it? He compares the situation to jailbreaking, and he suspects most consumers have never pushed back simply because it never occurs to them. Nevertheless, he hopes an unlock eventually breathes new life into hardware that still works perfectly well. Cochrane wraps with housekeeping: become a GNC Insider at geeknewscentral.com/insider, email geeknews@gmail.com, subscribe to the newsletter, and grab a modern podcast app at podcastapps.com. He thanks GoDaddy for over twenty years of keeping the show on the air, and he signs off wishing listeners a wonderful evening. The post The Robot That Imagines First #1872 appeared first on Geek News Central.
learn about interjections
According to the NeuroAffective Relational Model, chronic shame isn't an emotion, it's actually a strategy. Stephan K. Niederwieser is the co-author of the new book Healing Shame and Guilt.Shame tells us something is wrong with who we are, while guilt tells us something was wrong with what we did. In this brief episode, Luciana Baicea and Adrian Dinu talk with Stephan Niederwieser about why neither one behaves like an emotion: emotions come, tell us something and pass, while shame settles in and stays. He also explains what shame did FOR us: it helped us disconnect from needs, anger and grief that once felt too dangerous to have.Stephan Niederwieser has been in private practice in Berlin since the late 1980s. He initially trained in Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing before moving to the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), which he now teaches internationally. He is the co-author, alongside Laurence Heller, PhD, of Healing Shame and Guilt, recently published in Romanian by Editura Herald.In this episode we briefly explored:Why "toxic shame" is the wrong term, and what "chronic" points to insteadThe five core developmental needs (connection, attunement, trust, autonomy, love and sexuality) and the survival styles that appear when they are not metShame-based identification and its opposite - pride-based counter-identificationDepression as anger that has been pushed down rather than feltWhether an AI companion can offer connection without rupture and repairThe difference between being loved and being admiredResources mentioned in the conversation:Book: Healing Shame and Guilt by Laurence Heller, PhD & Stephan K. Niederwieser (Romanian edition by Editura Herald) Book: Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller & Aline LaPierreThe NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) method, founded by Laurence HellerNARM in RomaniaEpisode produced in partnership with Editura Herald."(00:00) Stephan Niederwieser on chronic shame & chronic guilt""(02:04) Stephan's journey: from Hakomi & Somatic Experiencing to NARM""(06:30) Shame vs. Guilt and why 'chronic' describes them better than 'toxic'""(11:05) Why shame and guilt are not emotions according to NARM's approach""(14:03) Disconnection from our needs - how it came from suppressing our emotions""(16:48) Burnout, exhaustion and the high of being productive as symptoms""(19:25) How Depression is connected to anger, according to NARM""(21:19) Where NARM starts and how it works: what do you want for yourself?""(25:32) AI companionship - facilitating connection or bypassing it?""(30:35) Developmental Trauma & the 5 development stages""(33:30) Our 5 developmental needs""(38:59) Pride-based counter-identification and shame-based identification""(41:29) Identification and counter-identification for each developmental stage""(43:58) Attunement, trust & autonomy: always helping, dominating, disappointing""(46:31) The need for love vs. the survival strategy of being admired""(49:43) One final idea for the audience & where to find NARM in Romania"
We catch up after a long gap, from Drummond launching a new appointment-only service studio in Bricktown to traveling nonstop with teams and races. Ryan tells us what racing and supporting a rider in Romania really feels like, then we swing through GP New York chaos, Nationals motivation, the Oz Stage Race, and the moment I finally cave and buy an e-bike. • Drummond Performance Studio setup, services, and why bike fits matter • Life on the road as a mechanic and sometimes race director • Romania UCI stage race details, cobbles, TTs, and mountain finishes • Real pro peloton speed, watts, crosswinds, and the mental toll • Feeding from the car, race radio, and how the caravan avoids disaster • GP New York start on the George Washington Bridge and scary traffic moments • Cyclocross planning, UCI points, call-ups, and building a bigger engine • Mountain Bike Nationals in Roanoke, why Oklahoma riders should show up • Oz Stage Race logistics, rain, flats, and why it's a great first stage race • E-bike handling realities, corner timing, weight, and why it's so fun • Tour dominance debate and what makes riders likable Give More Overhead Door a call, let them take care of you for anything and everything you need. Phone number, it's easily found on Google. It's 405-799-9214. Support OMBA. It's 50 bucks a year.
In this episode of the People Behind Energy Podcast, Troy and Joselynn Tittlemier, the host geologists, sit down with Iulian Hulea: physicist, saturation height modeling specialist, former Shell subject-matter expert, SPWLA leader, and independent petrophysics consultant. Iulian takes us from his early life in Romania to a PhD in organic semiconductors, where he worked on the science behind flexible electronic displays. He then shares the unexpected moment that pulled him into oil and gas: seeing a piece of core and learning that a significant portion of it could contain oil. This episode goes deep into: Why critical thinking starts with asking “why?” Organic semiconductors, transistors, flexible displays, and graphene The transition from physics into petrophysics and Shell research Saturation height modeling and capillary pressure explained simply Heavy oil, brine, density differences, viscosity, and reservoir complexity The role of SPWLA in technical growth and professional community Building connection through the SPWLA 5K fun run Discipline, running, accountability, and keeping promises to yourself Reinventing your career through independent consulting
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I met Yonatan Sompolinsky in Romania during his summer holiday, so we decided to do a roadtrip interview about covenants, the state of Kaspa development, why intents are more interesting than smart contracts & stag hunts. 00:00:54 – Intro: a road trip with Yonatan Sompolinsky 00:01:50 – Life since S16 E41: Oxford Union & the state of Kaspa 00:02:53 – Kaspa shipped covenants while Bitcoin debates OP_CAT 00:04:24 – Sequencing commitments & based apps explained 00:06:48 – Why OP_CAT alone can't do censorship-resistant based rollups 00:07:21 – BitVM & optimistic vs optimistically verified rollups 00:08:05 – ZK was born for privacy but lives for scaling 00:09:18 – "For the record, I'm very bearish on rollups" 00:12:27 – Ethereum quietly abandons the L2 roadmap 00:13:33 – What ZK is actually for: a thin L1 & separation of layers 00:15:05 – Kaspa follows Bitcoin's UTXO design principles 00:16:04 – Ephemeral logic: generalized atomic swaps 00:17:25 – Camera gymnastics & an Aston Martin 00:19:28 – What covenants won't give you: the DeFi Lego box 00:20:05 – One-time logic vs contract deployment 00:23:18 – The use case question & crypto's crisis of utility 00:26:17 – Bitcoin the turtle & the DAGKnight progress report 00:28:17 – DAGKnight: 49% Byzantine resilience, no latency parameter 00:29:50 – Why 100 BPS on GHOSTDAG would 8x confirmation times 00:30:21 – Sponsors: Cake Wallet, LayerTwo Labs, Braiins, Orange Rock & SideShift 00:34:33 – Zcash made a comeback 00:35:19 – The mental map: where Kaspa is unique 00:38:49 – Real-time decentralization: sampling the honest majority 00:39:47 – Solana & Hyperliquid: fast, but led by one 00:42:46 – Only proof of work bundles proposing & content 00:44:35 – A bear market in usage, not just price 00:45:53 – Old-world use case: bridges & oracles 00:47:22 – Tourism break: Bușteni, mascots & ski resorts 00:49:38 – Hit-and-run agents & the agentic economy 00:51:06 – Having your cake and eating it too 00:54:32 – Vlad on Ecash, miner fees & Satoshi's biggest bet 00:56:37 – Sinaia & the royal train station 00:57:38 – "Bitcoin is dead boring to me at this stage" 00:59:50 – Ironwood, verifiable supply & Tachyon 01:00:39 – Driving like six confirmations 01:01:59 – The tectonic shift nobody noticed: verifying the supply 01:03:43 – The bug & Zcash's unfixable history 01:06:04 – Kaspa's pruning vs historical correctness 01:08:12 – How Zcash's rise paves the way for Kaspa 01:09:17 – The Zooko sleeping-in-the-car story 01:10:32 – "Just launch": Zooko one day before the Sapling bug 01:12:05 – Downplaying the bug & the counterfeit scenario 01:14:34 – Peter Todd's demurrage & the Ironwood migration 01:17:25 – Would any other coin survive this? 01:18:55 – Ethereum's identity crisis 01:21:28 – Back to L1: too little, too late; Solana's cohesion 01:22:46 – Oxford Union & political ambitions 01:24:44 – Hayek: true vs false individualism 01:26:04 – The isolated individual: Lopp, Poelstra & early Bitcoiners 01:32:52 – The enthusiastic individualist 01:34:52 – Coordination markets & Project Stag Hunt 01:35:19 – Prisoner's dilemma vs stag hunt 01:36:24 – Moloch, the demon of defection 01:37:18 – Part 2: stag hunt as the optimistic game 01:42:43 – Intents & NEAR Intents 01:44:03 – Intents vs smart contracts 01:45:21 – Part 3: Rousseau's ape men 01:49:45 – Intendos: "if many sign this, consider mine signed" 01:51:44 – Example: migrating a liquidity pool together 01:53:34 – Pack formation & threshold homomorphic encryption 01:55:42 – Actionable but not committed 01:57:18 – The Netflix example: voice for the scattered majority 02:01:36 – Who are the stags we need to hunt? 02:02:11 – Minarchist, anarchist or libertarian? 02:03:32 – Stag = shared utility; escaping Ethereum's L2 mess 02:06:28 – Composable Intendos 02:07:58 – Exiting network effects 02:09:11 – The Kaspa-Ethereum overlap: GHOST & Casper 02:11:55 – "I don't like DAGs": it's just a data structure 02:12:51 – Why DAGKnight survives a world war 02:15:22 – Michael Sutton & the Argent language 02:16:58 – Bypassing the impossibility theorem 02:18:06 – Ahead of his time or poor communicator? 02:19:31 – BPS vs TPS: the shift already happened 02:21:05 – Falling between the cracks 02:23:17 – The next narrative: coordination markets 02:24:26 – Brașov to Bucharest: documenting the trip 02:25:31 – Roles reversed: Yonatan interviews Vlad 02:27:06 – ACTA protests, internet freedom & political science 02:28:53 – Sztorc's party metaphor 02:29:57 – Zcash at $30 & the Coldcard hack 02:31:40 – What Kaspa actually needs: wallets, not exchanges 02:33:56 – Broadening cypherpunk: from protective to positive 02:37:16 – What have we really accomplished? 02:39:33 – Arriving at the Palace of Parliament 02:43:57 – The secret handshake & farewell
By 1944, a German defeat seemed inevitable. In August, Romania defected from the Axis and joined the Allies. Within weeks, Bulgaria followed suit, while Finland agreed to an armistice with the USSR. This left Hungary as Germany's sole remaining ally in Europe, and Hungary only stayed loyal because of German military intervention.
In the late '90s, in daring feats of DIY networking on rooftops across Romania's capital, Bucharest, teenagers are stringing computer cables between tower blocks to share an internet connection. This guerilla infrastructure starts out scrappy, but it sprawls into an impressive improvised network that catches the attention of telecom giants. Told by those who built it, this is the extraordinary story of how a homemade system became the backbone of a city - a reflection of what the internet was meant to be and what it became.
In today's podcast the boys recap an insane weekend of kicking the dust up around cormorant, resulting in 10+ tattoos being given out at one of Kens crazy house parties. We talk about his alter ego Greg, Ryan taking his uber driver to a concert, Micah blowing up his corvette, Crashing his drift car, Spenser being in Romania riding dirtbikes, Sending Peyton across the country to pick up our new giveaway cars, acquiring a new shop cat and more! Subscribe for the Micah Bowl cut at 1 million subscribers Get 10% Off your entire order & take advantage of Ridge's Annual Sweepstakes by going to https://www.Ridge.com/WIDEOPEN #Ridgepod NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the promotion territory, who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence. Void elsewhere & where prohibited by law. Enter by 9:00 a.m. USPT on 8 September 2026. 2 winners, prizes total ARV: up to approx. $539,165 CAD / £284,170. Skill-testing question required in CA. See Official Rules at ridge.com/pages/rules for complete eligibility, entry instructions, how to enter without a purchase, entry limits, prize details, odds, and restrictions. Sponsor: The Ridge Wallet LLC. Turns out you don't need a real job. Build your own business with a free trial at shopify.com/wideopen Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/wideopen #rulapod Get $10 off at BRUNT with code LWO at https://www.bruntworkwear.com/LWO and enter THE BRUNT POTTY OF GOLD SWEEPSTAKES for your chance to win $50,000. No purchase necessary. Ends 9/18/26. Official rules apply. #Bruntpod To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/LifeWideOpenYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/LifeWideOpenWithCboysTV If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/LifeWideOpenWithCboysTV You can also check out our main YouTube channel CboysTV: https://www.youtube.com/c/CboysTV
President Trump has said talks with Iran are going on right now. Speaking to reporters, he said Iran faced decapitation unless it agreed a deal. Mr Trump also said oil companies were making too much money, as a result of the shortages caused by the war. Also in the programme: Russian officials say seven people have been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a Black Sea beach resort; drought in eastern Europe and why it's having serious implications for Hungary and Romania's electricity generation; and we hear from Kim Aris after the Red Cross visits his mother Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a political prisoner in Myanmar.(Photo credit: Reuters)