Podcasts about Romany

We read the week with Page of Wands for love, Death for money, and Nine of Swords for guidance. We talk play, endings, anxiety, and the small actions that shift your week toward ease and momentum.• playful outreach and low-pressure connection with Page of Wands• solo dates and creative self-nurture• Death card as compost for finances and work• pruning subscriptions and spending habits• shifting money beliefs and planning for slowdowns• making space for rest when overwhelmed• interrupting anxious loops with time-boxed feeling• practical actions: call reps, journal, ask for help• spooky story bonus episodes and where to book readingsAnd if you would like to get one-on-one readings with us, you can book with Jez at jezminavonthiele.com. And you can also book with Paulina at romaniholistic.com. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah VardoSupport the show

We have your reading for the week! We pull The Empress for love, the Nine of Wands for money, and the King of Swords for guidance, tying tenderness to stamina and clear speech. We connect personal care with principled action and offer grounded steps for steady finances and brave communication.Make good choices; take down the patriarchy.Book with Jez at jezminavonthiele.comBook with Paulina at romaniholistic.comThank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Pierce & Raquel Horvath, hosts of O Verda Darano by Dead Scared Entertainment, takeover Romanistan for our annual spooky stories episode! Visit https://www.deadscaredentertainment.com/https://www.instagram.com/deadscaredentertainmenthttps://www.tiktok.com/@deadscaredentertainmentAnd Haunted History Tours in Portland, Maine https://hhtoursmaine.com/Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Paulina and Jez deliver your weekly tarot reading for love, money, and guidance for the week of September 29th, 2025, offering insights to help navigate the energies ahead. It's all about communication, balance, & empowerment this week! Stay tuned for exciting spooky episodes coming this October!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

"Mother Ramona" Torres was born in the 1960s in a Kalon campsite in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Raised in a traditional Kalon Evoriana family, Ramona embodies the role of a Shuvanni—a spiritual guide, storyteller, and keeper of Romani magic and culture. Passionate about literature and mysticism from an early age, she began preserving her heritage through writing and teaching. Deeply devoted to Ramasordé—the spiritual path of her people—Ramona offers rituals, readings, and ceremonies rooted in Kalon wisdom. She began teaching at a time when sharing Romani magic publicly was rare, and became a respected figure in holistic and esoteric spaces across Brazil. With eloquence and vision, she invites others to honor Romani culture through love, celebration, and connection to the sacred. Ramona lives for the Ramasordé, which she sees as both her calling and her joy, and runs the spiritual center, Confraria Universalista ViAurum.Follow @luzdeevora on Instagram and Confraria Universalista ViAurum on Facebook. WhatsApp 55 21 998883687Romani crushes this episode are Sergio Paulo Adolfo, author of Rom: Uma odisséia cigana (1999). Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca (not Romani, but an ally), and author Deborah Sathler Ferreira. Thank you to Debora Greer for translating! Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by ViktorAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Paulina and Jez provide a complete tarot reading for the week of September 22nd, 2025, covering love, money, and spiritual guidance with insights from traditional Romani fortune-telling practices.• The Ace of Wands appears for love, suggesting a time of renewed attraction, passion, and sparks flying• Taking action is recommended – communicate feelings, do activities together, and don't be afraid to make the first move• The Hierophant card for money encourages finding deeper purpose in your career or exploring new opportunities• Consider getting expert help with finances – systems don't have to be intimidating when approached with guidance• The Four of Cups warns against taking things for granted and reminds us to notice what's right under our noses• Reflection on whether you're experiencing boredom or peace can help determine if action is needed• Special Halloween episodes featuring listener scary stories are coming soonCheck out our book "Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling" available everywhere books are sold to learn more about reading and our style.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Big Hermit energy this week. How can we avoid self sabotage in the week ahead? Plus, a personal story from Paulina, all in this weeks tarot forecast!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

A big week for meeting our inner devils and focusing on our foundations. Tune in for some guidance going into the week ahead, and let us know what you think!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Welcome to your tarot reading for the week of September 1, 2025! Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor Pachas, Bianca, Dia LunaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Romany had an interesting request...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us for our tarot reading for the week of August 25th, 2025! We pull a card for love, money, & guidance. Visit Bustle for Jezmina's monthly tarot reading! Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. If you love it, please give us 5 stars on Amazon & Goodreads. Visit https://romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Bianca With Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Cecilia Woloch is an American poet, writer, teacher, and performer. She's published seven collections of poems, a novel, and numerous essays and reviews. Her honors include three fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, CEC/ArtsLink International, the Center for International Theatre Development, and others, as well as a Pushcart Prize. Her writing has been published in translation into French, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Romanes and Spanish. An expanded and updated edition of her second book, Tsigan: The Gypsy Poem, has been the basis for multilingual, multi-media performances in Los Angeles, Paris, Warsaw, Athens and elsewhere. Her latest publication is a poetry chapbook, Labor: The Testimony of Ted Gall, which Joy Priest has called “an important contribution to Appalachian docu-poetics and cross-racial labor solidarity.” She was born in Pennsylvania and raised there and in rural Kentucky and has been fortunate to have traveled the world as a writer and teacher, leading writing workshops and teaching literature in China, Turkey, Mexico, Poland, France, Germany and across the U.S. In 2026, Cecilia will return to Poland as a Fulbright Scholar at Jagiellonian University in Kraków.The Romani crush this episode is Tony Gatlif.Cecilia reads poetry from KIN: An Anthology of Poetry, Story and Art by Women from Romani, Traveller and Nomadic Communities. Request from the library or your local bookstores, or buy online or wherever else you get books!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

In our 103rd episode, Mike Couillard is joined by Duke Hill (@oriolebird.bsky.social?), creator of Prospect Savant (@prospectsavant.bsky.social) to talk about all things about his site - how to use it for fantasy and card collecting scouting, neat features, and much more!You can find us on bluesky at @cardscategories.bsky.social, @mcouill7.bsky.social, and @jbrewer17.bsky.social. Email the pod at cardscategories@gmail.com.You can find us on bluesky at @cardscategories.bsky.social, @mcouill7.bsky.social, and @jbrewer17.bsky.social. Email the pod at cardscategories@gmail.com.We have Cards & Categories swag for purchase here!Links to things discussed in the pod:Prospect Savant LeaderboardsProspect Savant Trending PlayersRoman Anthony signs extension with Red SoxJosh Hader nursing shoulder strain, lands on ILFelix Bautista and Zach Eflin shelved for remainder of 2025Shane McClanahan has season-ending and career-threatening surgery for nerve issue

Heres our tarot reading for the week of August 11, 2025! Feel free to write in with any divination questions!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by BiancaWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo 

We're releasing it from the vault! It's the Weiser Books' Stewarding Traditions Panel, which we recorded on 3/29/25 at Cottage Magick as part of our Welcome to Romanistan Festival tour in New Orleans for our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling. Lilith Dorsey joined us for the discussion and Bimbo Yaga moderated. What a wonderful evening!Since 1991, Lilith Dorsey has been doing successful magick for patrons of her business. She is editor/publisher of Oshun-African Magickal Quarterly, and filmmaker of the experimental documentary Bodies of Water:Voodoo Identity and Tranceformation. Lilith Dorsey is also author of Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism, The African-American Ritual Cookbook, Love Magic, and was choreographer for jazz legend Dr. John's “Night Tripper” Voodoo Show. In July 2013, she led her first ever Voodoo Zombie Silent Rave, complete with very confused Thriller flash mob. Please contact her at voodoouniverse@yahoo.com for information about psychic readings and services. Bimbo Yaga has graced our podcast many times, and you can follow her at @bimboyaga on Instagram.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Alexian Santino Spinelli, musician, composer, writer, poet and university professor. The first Italian Roma to be appointed Commendatore of the Italian Republic for artistic and cultural merits. Spinelli with the Alexian Group holds numerous concerts in Italy and abroad. With his son Gennaro, he is the first Roma to have played at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples with the soloists of the Scala, the San Carlo and the G. Rossini Symphony Orchestra of Pesaro. He has played worldwide for Pope Benedict XVI and several times for Pope Francis. Founder and president of the cultural association Thèm Romanò, he is an ambassador of Romani culture in the world. His poem Auschwitz is on the Roma Memorial in Berlin inaugurated with Chancellor Angela Merkel. He currently teaches Romani Language and Culture at La Sapienza University in Rome.Listen to the Alexian Group here and wherever you get music. Romani crushes this episode are Raјko Đurić, Marcel Courthaid, Ian Hancock Esme Redzepova, Roby Lakatos, and Marian Serban.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Shownotes:In this heartfelt episode of Sacred You, Rachel welcomes Eloise Bennett — Magdalene Rose Priestess, oracle, and creator of the Magdalene Rose Healing Oracle — back to the show.Eloise shares her extraordinary life journey of awakening as an oracle, from her early childhood experiences seeing beyond the veils to her profound initiations at sacred sites like Avebury and Glastonbury. She recounts her pivotal "four dragons" activation and how it led to the reclaiming of her ancient gifts.They discuss Eloise's Romany lineage and its deep ties to Sarah (Sarai), daughter of Mary Magdalene and Yeshua, exploring ancestral healing, sacred lineages, and the hidden wisdom carried in the blood and bones. Rachel and Eloise weave personal stories of ancestry and the importance of reconnecting with our roots to heal the past and shape the future.Eloise also shares the birthing journey of her Magdalene Rose Oracle deck — a creation seven years in the making — and how each card was received and embodied through deep alchemical experiences in Avalon and Cyprus. She reveals how the cards integrate sacred technologies of essential oils, crystals, affirmations, and invocations to support practical, soul-aligned transformation.At the end of the episode, Eloise gifts us a live three-card Magdalene Rose Oracle reading, offering messages from Mary Magdalene and Yeshua about stepping onto the rainbow bridge of our true path, igniting the diamond flame within our hearts, and fully embracing our life purpose and mission.Special offer for listeners:Eloise is offering half-price Magdalene Rose bespoke soul readings for podcast listeners using the code SARAH (normally £222, now £111).Highlights:Eloise's story of awakening as an oracle and healing her ancestral lineageThe connection between Romany lineage and Sarah, the daughter of MagdaleneThe mystical journey of creating the Magdalene Rose OracleThe importance of embracing your true life purpose and missionA beautiful live oracle reading with messages of faith, healing, and soul alignmentConnect with Eloise and order the Magdalene Rose Oracle:

Daughter of printmakers and painters – an English Romany father and Scottish-English-Irish mother – Lynn Hutchinson Lee is a multidisciplinary artist and writer based in Toronto, Canada. Lynn spent her childhood summers in a forest surrounded by marshes and bogs, and their lush beauty and magic haunt her writing. She was first place winner of the 2022 Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction. Her writing is published in Room; Weird Horror; Northern Nights; KIN: An Anthology of Poetry, Story and Art by Women from Romani, Traveller and Nomadic Communities; Prairie Fire's 50 Over 50; Wagtail: The Romani Women's Poetry Anthology; Guernica's This Will Only Take a Minute (winning the Editor's Choice Award); and elsewhere. She is co-editor of Through the Portal: Tales from a Hopeful Dystopia (Exile Editions). Following her novella Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens, her novel Nightshade, shortlisted for the Guernica Prize, will be released by Assembly Press in 2026.No major spoilers about Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens, but we do discuss the plot at length from 26 mins-45 mins. Romani crushes for this episode are Mihaela Drăgan of Giuvlipen and the late and great Ronald Lee. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

V Omeletkách si povídáme o zločinu. Klidný tirák zašel do restaurace, kde ho pořád provokovali tři motorkáři. Zaplatil útratu a odešel. „Ten posera asi nebude moc velkej rváč,“ ušklíbl se jeden z motorkářů. Servírka dodala: „Asi nebude ani moc dobrý řidič. Právě přejel kamionem přes tři motorky.“ Uslyšíte příspěvek Romany Štěpánkové Komunikativní manžel. Halina Pawlowská přidá recept na křupavé pikantní olivy. A přečte svoji povídku Už se mnou nepočítej miláčku.

Here's the edited release of Tales from Romanistan: A Night of Romani Storytelling, our first live show, in New Orleans, LA at Cafe Istanbul, 3/28/2025!Hosted by Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele, Produced by Bimbo Yaga, Cast includes Tsarina Hellfire, Moonbear, Milly Raccoon, Bimbo Yaga, and our editor and musician, Viktor! Photos by Arian Aragon. Special thanks to our cast, crew, and everyone who attended! Special shoutout to the sweet couple who flew in from Ohio! And thank you to our sponsors for this event, Weiser Books and Emerald Comics Distro. Jezmina's poem "White Caravan" first appeared in Zoeglossia.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

In this third episode of Season Nine, host Andrew Martin meets Gary Stanley - a family historian who has researched his Romany roots. Andrew hears about Gary's research web project in which he documents all references in the UK and USA of Roma families, and he explains the challenges of researching relatives, the benefit of baptismal records and newspapers, and how he participated in a DNA test led by Professor Turi King.THE LIFE STORY - ELIZABETH NICHOLS Gary has chosen to tell the life story of one of his Romany relatives Elizabeth Nichols... and it is quite extraordinary!Elizabeth appeared to baptise a child, with the father noted as Antonio Nichols - a Portuguese sailor. Then Gary finds another baptism... then another... except the baptisms spread around the area, and sometimes the details are a little different. Sometimes Elizabeth's surname is Nichols, Nicholas, or Nicholson, sometimes it's Stivery or Twivey. Sometimes Antonio is deceased or at sea.This pattern intrigued Gary, and following the clues and an incredible amount of research, he has found around 600 baptisms during the 1830s! So many, that he even created a website to map them around England and Scotland.It's very clear that Elizabeth did not have 600 children, and the register entries note that sometimes the child is a new-born, or of a few years old. So, did Elizabeth have a few children that could span this age?The question is obviously; Why go to this much effort? Gary believes that in order for Elizabeth to receive parish relief (a monetary benefit paid by the church), the child had to be baptised. Given Elizabeth's Romany heritage, she moved around regularly, and therefore amassed 600 known baptisms for her children, in order to receive relief!  THE BRICK WALL - ELIZABETH NICHOLS Connecting directly to the Life Story that Gary has told, is his brick wall.Gary may well have found hundreds of baptisms for her children, but he's wanting to find out;Where was Elizabeth Nichols before the 1830sWhat became of Elizabeth Nichols after 1840s?If you think you have a research idea or clue to help Gary with his research, you can send him a message via his website, alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it along to him.In the meantime, Andrew offers Gary some help, but will he be judged on his effort?- - -Episode CreditsAndrew Martin - Host and ProducerGary Stanley - GuestSupport the showThank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Welcome to our teaser for our first live show recording, and a recap! We hosted our first Welcome to Romanistan Festival in New Orleans, featuring six events that brought together incredible queer and trans Romani performers from across the country. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME! The festival showcased Romani culture through academic panels, live performances, fortune telling, ancestral rituals, and traditional cuisine. It also celebrated the release of our first book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling!• Kicked off with "Romani Tropes and Contributions in Pop Culture" panel at the Hotel Monteleone as part of the Tennessee Williams Festival• Hosted "Tales from Romanistan" live show featuring Millie Raccoon (fiddle/vocals), Moon Bear (drag), Serena Hellfire (burlesque), and Ylva/Bimbo Yaga (ritual performance)-- soon to be released!• Conducted "Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling" pop-up at the Mystic Resource Center• Led "Stewarding Traditions" with Lilith Dorsey, featuring a literary panel and blessing ritual with a community fire • Taught our "Tarot and Ancestor Communication" workshop! You can take more workshops online and/or in person here!• Concluded with "Bibi's Kitchen" featuring traditional Romani cooking, music, and tea leaf reading as part of the Tennessee Williams FestivalSpecial thanks to our sponsors: Weiser Books, Emerald Comics Distro, Cottage Magic, and especially to Bimbo Yaga (Ylva) who was instrumental in making the festival happen. AND THANK YOU TO DONORS AND ATTENDEES! Photos from the events are available on our Instagram @romanistanpodcastThank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Orhan Tahir is a Romani lawyer, scholar and journalist, originally from Bulgaria, who has lived in Western Europe for the past 10 years. He is currently engaged as a PhD researcher in Political Science at the Heidelberg University in Germany. Orhan's focus is on the construction of "Gypsies" as an outcast "Pariah people" in European imagination in line with the Orientalist narratives of colonial India, and the impact of this concept on modern perceptions of Roma. He is among the first scholars in Europe to examine the situation of the Roma from the perspective of "caste" - a new approach still unpopular in European academia.Orhan's LinkedInOur Romani crush is the artist and anarchist, Helios GomezSome information about enslaved African's language heritage https://wordscr.com/what-language-did-slaves-speak/https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/sysMeaningA.htm Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

"Seeking Warmth," an art exhibit curated by artist Sharon Svec, held at Art At The Cave in Vancouver, WA running March 4-29, 2025, aims to explore humanity's need for emotional and physical warmth, especially during times of extreme circumstances such as those caused by genocide, war, oppression and neglect. Ceija Stojka (1933-2013) was a child survivor of the Romani Holocaust (Samudaripen) who began sharing her experiences in written and painted format in 1988 at age 55. She is recognized as a bold activist of Roma, who continue to face persecution today. Sam Marroquin works in collage and paint to expose current and historical trauma within society, emphasizing systems that mask the atrocities against humanity. Daniel Baker examines the role of artistic practice as a form of social agency with a focus on Roma aesthetics. Read The Memoirs of Ceija Stojka, Child Survivor of the Roma Holocaust, translated by Lorely FrenchFollow @sharonimous, @cave.gallery.vancouver, @ceijastojka_int_association, @danielbakerartsOur Romani crush is Susie. CN: from minute 42-44 we discuss a story involving suicide. Skip ahead if you don't want to listen. Reach out for support if you feel vulnerable. You are not alone. Here are Crisis Hotlines That Don't Call The CopsWelcome to Romanistan Festival March 28-30, 2025 in New Orleans! Visit our website for tickets and events!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Join Ruth, Harry and James as we discuss the world's highest resolution full frame sensor and the tragic case of the tiger blinded by photographer's flashes. We also find out what happened to the Californian drone pilot who grounded a firefighting aircraft during the recent fires. Plus Harry plays his first ever POP Quiz and we decide if the world is ready to pay extra for a garish new series of SanDisk products and look at some new product lines from ThinkTank bags. LINKS

Not the welcome we expectedWhen your tour guide is an assassin, what can go wrong?By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.You can do wrong while trying to do right.FlashbackAlal's 'milk of human kindness' had finally run dry as the Visigoths sacked his Roman villa. While looters ran off with his latest trappings of wealth, and deserted by his servants and his slaves, Grandpa decided that he was tired of fucking around with the Human Race. He felt they were simply too stupid, venal and weak to make any positive, lasting changes in the world.Alal decided that he was going to make the key choices for them. Fuck free will. Fuck letting the vermin that floated to the top of the cesspool destroy everything good in the world, as he had witnessed them doing time and time again. He had lost count of the monuments destroyed, histories of peoples forgotten and benefits to mankind burned away by barbarism and ignorance.By the fading light of August the 26th, 410 CE, Alal found himself sitting back in the pergola (a sort of mini-gazebo) in his rear gardens, drinking through several amphora of wine all the while having a deep philosophical debate with the several dozen very dead Goths decorating his environs.As three or four looters would enter the garden, he would kill them. And then three or four more would show up looking for the earlier group,, on and on. This reinforced Alal's belief that something drastic had to be done. He seriously considered going to the coast, getting a ship and five solid stone anchors. He'd sail out two days, maybe three, wrap himself in the anchors and jump overboard.The problem, as he saw it, was that given a few decades, the ropes would rot and he'd bob to the surface to see again that none of the fundamentals had changed. Further complicating his current thinking was that every time he came close to throwing in the cosmic towel, some more GOD DAMN GOTHS would come around, calling for their buddies, the dead ones. Somewhere around noon on August the 27th, Alal vowed that he was tired of this shit.Right on cue, around twenty Goths came strolling through the rear of his villa and soaked up the carnage out back. Fifty-two of their brethren were in various states of dismemberment and defilement (Alal had been, as usual, angry). They saw this dark-skinned Roman and rightly asked 'where's the army that killed these fellows?' He walked up to them in his wine-splashed toga."Are you the one in charge?" he asked the meanest looking Visigoth in passible Goth."I am," the leader responded. With lightning speed, he killed the man with his own sword. The Germans weren't sure what to make of that, it had happened so fast."You can join me," Alal indicated himself, "or you can join him," he indicated the corpse of their former leader. He had his new band of followers and the rest was Illuminati history.End FlashbackFor me, this meant more to me than living with the memories of a very bitter, driven and pitiless man. Alal was essentially the anti-me. It gave me chills to realize that all of Alal's gifts were bestowed on me with a purpose. I knew it was part of his greater plan. Normally, to end-run an evil genius, you just find him and kill him. Not only would Alal not stay dead, I now knew how well he could fight.I knew only four people who might be in his league, and I wasn't one of them. Of the four, Sakuniyas wasn't likely to help Pamela, Saint Marie and Elsa get the job done. That meant I had to rev up the deception engine to comfort my Aunts with hope, while dispelling the knowledge of how little they mattered to their sire. Almost as bad, I had to ignore what horribly people they were while extending that portion of my soul.It was with some relief that I hugged, kissed, and forcefully separated myself from the Aunts in Dublin. We were going on to Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport. My next action was to make my request to Selena for a contract with the Ghost Tigers to defend Hana when she arrived in Russia. (Of the three 9 Clan Assassin-Babes, Selena was the least impressed with me.) She informed me that the Ghost Tigers didn't do bodyguard work. I still wanted her to relay my request, so she relented. After that, I passed out.We left Dublin around 9:30 am Friday morning and landed in Budapest at 1:45 pm., still Friday. As Rachel rousted me so I could grab a quick shower before touchdown, I was gifted with the misconceptions of my fellow travelers:To put it nicely, Riki thought I was somewhat revolting, Virginia was disturbed and Chaz had lowered his opinion of my moral character. It was the incest thing. Vincent being polite was a pleasant surprise, Delilah's camaraderie less so and Odette was peaches with my most recent sexcapades. She was far too good to me. The Amazons uniformly didn't give a crap."So, is there going to be any other bizarre behavior we should be prepared for?" Riki sat down next to me as I was drying my hair. I was back to my 'jeans, t-shirt and wind-breaker' style."Fine, " I said loudly. "It is really none of your business what I did with and to my mother's clones. Yes, they are all clones of my mother, who died when I was seven." A lie."They are also the genetic creations of my grandfather, also known by many as Cáel O'Shea. They are sterile, they are wickedly evil, and two weeks ago I didn't know they existed. I do have a real aunt in Maryland. She's my Father's sister and is not part of the menagerie. Oh yeah, my grandpa is currently a disembodied spirit, back from the Netherworld and looking for a body to take over, if he hasn't found one already," I added."He was born roughly five thousand years ago, was cursed by an ancient Sumerian Goddess such that he can never just die and stay dead. I have his memories running around my head, which, along with denying me a good night's sleep, allows me to speak an assortment of languages, use virtually every weapon built before 1970 and know that he is a vicious criminal mastermind the likes of which you've never imagined outside of fiction.How does that sound, Riki? Shall I get more bizarre? Trust me, I can," I regarded her evenly. She was speechless, but not out of awe. No, she was certain that I was completely unhinged."Everyone who believes Cáel, raise their hand," Odette demanded. Her hand went up. Odette and the Amazons agreeing was expected by the outsiders. Delilah and Virginia joining in was not."Captain Fairchild?" Colour Sgt. Chaz Tomorrow requested clarification."You've all seen those five O'Shea's that left the plane in Ireland. Barring some cosmetic changes, they were the exact same woman. You can either go with Sean Connery's Tak-ne creating a female clone army, or you can believe there is an otherworldly plastic surgeon altering a cadre of super-rich bitches to all look alike," Delilah, who was a captain of something, put out there."Who in the Hell is Tak-ne?" Riki mumbled."Duh," I poked the State Department lassie. "Connor MacLeod's Egyptian mentor in Highlander, the original movie and in the less than stellar sequel, Highlander: The Quickening"."You are mistaken. Connery was that Spanish guy," Riki poked me back."Actually, the relevant quote is: 'I am Juan Sánchez Villalobos Ramírez, Chief metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain. And I'm at your service'," Vincent regaled us with his movie trivia. "He later reveals that he was born Tak-ne in Egypt in the 9th century BCE. Also, his Spanish name makes no sense, he has one too many surnames.""Agent Loire, I am beginning to find intelligent men to be attractive," Charlotte said."Umm, thank you," Vincent responded warily."This might be a good point to get something clear," Chaz inquired. "Mr. Nyilas, whose side are you on? It appears to be rather complicated.""Okay, Chaz, call me Cáel. Calling me Mr. Nyilas makes me miss my dad. I can also be addressed as Cáel 'Wakko' Ishara, Head of House Ishara of the First Twenty Houses of the Amazon Host. Or, you can call me what the Great Khan does, Magyarorszag es Erdely Hercege. Finally, those who love me, or find me amusing, may call me Fehér mén."Selena's snort indicated she'd failed to hide her amusement at my presumptiveness, both titular and physically."Do you want to explain what's so amusing?" Riki looked over to the Black Hand assassin."Your job should be exceptionally easy now," Selena mocked me, "Prince of Hungry and Transylvania, or do you prefer 'White Stud'?""Laugh while you can, Monkey-Girl," I sneered. "The guy currently making a run at erasing seven hundred years of Asian history gave me that title. As for Fehér mén, that means 'White Stallion' and is symbolic of my ties to House Epona, not a phallic reference." Riki's look had gone from disgust, to anger (because she thought she was being played) and lastly, to shock."No," I interpreted her fear. "I am not here as some vanguard to unite the Magyar people to their cultural kinfolk in Central Asia. If you know your Central European history, you might recall that the Mongols devastated my homeland. For the next 450 years, the Turks were unwelcome visitors, conquerors and overlords. My princely status is a pat on the head for a job well done and nothing more.""What job did you do?" Riki prodded."I saved a man's life," I looked pained to admit. She didn't get it."It must have been a major VIPs life," Chaz suggested."You can say that," Pamela nodded. "End of discussion time too."At Ferenc Liszt International, we were diverted to a private hangar once more, courtesy of the Republic of Ireland's diplomatic umbrella. Three grey Ford Focuses and a white panel truck advertising a furniture repair store awaited us. Security issues were immediately obvious. They wanted to separate us (in the Fords) from most of our luggage (in the truck).The five guy welcoming party hid under the cloak of 'don't speak any language you claim to speak' and Selena was of zip help. So, I spoke to them in Hungarian. They glanced my way, but didn't respond. Serbian? Nope. Romanian? Nope."Bows and doves," I commanded.That translated rather logically as 'guns/bows' and 'phones/doves'. Out came our pistols. The only Black Hand to react fast enough was Selena and Pamela had her covered. The Amazons were aiming at the locals while Delilah and Chaz had their weapons out and scanning. Vincent and Virginia hadn't been fast enough, this time. They also didn't have guns pointed at them.The lead BH flunky began talking calmly in German, heavily Slavic accented German."What do you think you are doing?" he inquired of me, in German."Disarming you, ya Moron," I grumbled. Then added in Hittite; "Go", and in my Amazons went to very roughly search, disarm and de-phone our not so friendly friends."Alright, gather up your luggage," I called out to my group. "We are walking to town." That wasn't truly accurate. There was a metro associated with the airport, a kilometer away max. Our guides didn't speak English so they were rather surprised when the bags came out of the truck and were distributed to their owners. Riki Martin and Odette were in some trouble.Girls and 'only packing the necessities', Well, we had some diplomatic lumber to toss at the security services, Vincent had web-searched our location and the route we needed to take to the metro, and Delilah had purchased week-long public transport passes for the group. Only when we started marching out of the hangar did the BH comprehend the totality of their error.The five guys in the hangar were chattering away, in Hungarian, and Selena was peeved."You are upsetting my superiors by blatantly disrespecting their courtesy," she reminded me. "They have guaranteed your safety.""Less than a day has passed since the shootout in London, Selena," I countered."This is the Black Hand's backyard," Selena persisted, "not London.""So, you are only going to help us if we do stupid shit we wouldn't do, even on our own home ground, is that it?" I chuckled. "Sweet," then, to my people, "I guess we are on our own."The airport security guards didn't know what to make of our group of over-worked Sherpa, but the US State department and the RoI (Republic of Ireland) vouched for us, so they let us pass.We hadn't taken the cars and the truck because that would have been theft. The confiscated guns and phones had been disassembled and tossed into a large iron drum of used aviation lubricant. Odette began shopping around for hotel reservations (I was carrying most of her gear). She was the logical choice because she sounded the most human of the bunch.Selena called her people back, explained the fuck up and engaged in a mutual ass-chewing that spilled over a half-dozen languages and ended up with Dick-head, the local BH chieftain providing us with quarters that would turn a blind eye to our arsenal. With that address in mind, we made for the bowels of modern Budapest.Dutifully, Riki contacted the US Embassy to Hungary's CIA mission head and Chargé D' Affaires, a.i., updating them on our arrival and movements. At the last moment, I had Riki relay the wrong address, on a paranoid hunch. I was right to be paranoid except I was looking in the wrong direction.We had just disembarked at the Kőbánya-Kispest M3 station when we walked into the rolling ambush. A 'rolling ambush' is like a meeting engagement, the difference being that one side (ours) is on the move, not knowing it is being hunted while the other side (our attackers) was rushing to catch up with us, not knowing where along the path they would find us.As we preparing to transition from the station to the attached terminal, looking for the bus line that would connect us to the BH safe house in the Kőbánya (X) District, our attackers were dismounting their vehicles from across the street as well as to our left and right. They were dressed like cops. Had they been armed like cops,"Oh look," I snickered to Pamela, "I see a whole bunch of heavily armed people coming our way.""Good for you," Pamela muttered. "Your eyes are still working.""Do you think they are here to raise me up on their shields and proclaim me 'Prince'?" I joked."I think they are here to kill us," Pamela grinned."I prefer to think positively," I grinned back."I am positive they are here to kill us," Pamela laughed. It had to be our relaxed demeanor that confused them.Had we been the droids they were looking for, we wouldn't have been chatting in the open with our bags in our hands. That would have made us crazy, and they would have been right. We were crazy alright and there was a method to our madness. It was mid-afternoon, yet there were plenty of average Hungarians wandering about.Sure, they saw the 'special cops' closing in. They didn't see the upcoming shoot-out because that was plain nuts. A gun battle in a modern metropolis in broad daylight? London yesterday was an aberration, not the new normal. Our impromptu plan was to let the killers get as close as possible to limit the collateral damage.This wasn't classic Amazon training. It was a concession to allies who did care about civilians killed in the cross-fire. The oncoming hit squad was finally putting faces to targets when Odette broke the calm before the storm. All she did was squeak when Vincent pushed her behind a kiosk. Riki took Virginia shifting her to cover in silence.Delilah took off at a dead-run to the south-east. They were raising their shotguns and assault rifles. We were drawing our pistols. Normally this would have been an unequal match, except that in the time period where, in their eyes, we had gone from bystanders to targets, they'd also covered a good deal of ground, to the point that they were out in the open while my fighting band was in close proximity to all kinds of cover.It started out as eighteen to twelve. Pamela, Chaz and Selena quickly cut down those odd by five. Me? I didn't try to shoot and run at the same time, so I made it to cover and was stuck there by our opponents use of fully-automatic fire.My lack of martial prowess could be forgiven by the reality I was the one they were trying to off. My greatest contribution to this skirmish was tossing my SPAS-12 to Chaz so he could use something more than his standard military issue Glock-17. I had barely gotten Chaz's appreciative nod when two grenades went off in close proximity to me.At first, I heard and felt nothing. My eyes were having trouble focusing. When my limbs began to orient themselves, I had to fight down the instinct to move. I was lying down, which was far safer than staggering around in the middle of this hail of lead. The twin grenades turned out to be their second and very fatal mistake on this mission.The first had been their delay in identifying my group. The second, using the stun grenades, did put me, Pamela and Selena out of commission temporarily. But their mistake was having misplaced my six Amazons in this mess they had created. They did have thirteen shooters versus Chaz, Virginia and Vincent. They rushed our position using the classic advance while firing rote.Two meters from me, the six Amazons revealed themselves with five P-90's and one big-ass bow. Four escaped the kill zone only to find themselves flanked by Delilah. Her .480, combined with their confusion, finished off the survivors. That wasn't the end of it. We still had to effect our get-away.I was still getting my head on straight as the ladies decided to hotwire some of the deceased men's rides and get us the heck out of Dodge. Recovery brought with it the knowledge that Virginia and Chaz had been shot. Pamela, Selena and me, we had some scrapes and bruises. Everyone else checked out. Mona let us know that she could handle the wounded. They wouldn't be doing jumping jacks for a week or two, but a hospital was not required. On the downside, no one believed that eighteen killers dressed as cops randomly rolled up on our transit point by accident. The only people who knew about our change in travel plans had been the Black Hand. We'd lied to the US.We broke into an abandoned factory to stash the vehicles and make our next plan. Selena was coldly furious. Not only did she come to the same conclusion we had, the Black Hand had set us up to be murdered, we weren't letting her call in. Wiesława and Charlotte kept their guns pointed at her, so low was our level of trust.Chaz was pretty much of the opinion that Selena should be coerced to provide us with the names and locations of the Black Hand involved so that we could do our own 'fact finding tour'. Oddly, none of the Americans asked to be pulled out. Vincent and Riki wanted to let the US Embassy know what had happened, yet were willing to wait until we were secure somewhere first.Rachel was on board with Chaz's idea, with the addendum that they kill every Black Hand they could get their hands on before fleeing the city. They had tried to kill ME after all. I was touched. It was Pamela who put things in perspective.1) The attackers were not Black Hand, they were mercenaries and that pointed a bloody finger at the Condottieri.2) Selena wasn't a fanatic and her life had been in as much danger as anyone else's. She wasn't part of our ambush. Her buddies had tossed her under the bus.3) It would have been far easier to catch us in that convoy they'd tried to stick us with. Caught in pre-planned crossfires and without our heavier weapons, we would have all died.4) Having failed to deliver us to the pre-planned ambush site, the Condottieri had to rush to our metro stop because, the safe house they had prepared for us wouldn't have worked. We had the numbers to allow us take total charge of our security once we were in place. No, gauging our numbers, this traitor had sent the mercs into a straight-up fight they'd just lost.

Sejnur Memisi is a journalist & Roma activist from Germany. He is originally from Kosovo, and escaped 1999 with his family to Germany because of the Kosovo war. He studied Media Management and since April 2020 has produced Podcasts about Sinti & Roma. He began the podcast (Sinti Roma News, formerly RYMEcast) in the German language. 3 of his German speaking Podcast episodes were nominated for media prizes, CIVIS Media Prize & the German Podcast Prize. Since 2023 he is in the Commission Audio for the Civis Media prize, where he can use his vote to nominate other podcasts. In March 2024, he started a new English-language Podcast, “Amaro Voice” about European Roma.Watch Amaro voice on YouTube, and listen wherever you get podcasts. You can listen to part 1 of this crossover, when Sejnur interviews us, on Amaro Voice. Follow @amaro_voice on Instagram. The Romani crush this episode is everyone. Welcome to Romanistan Festival is March 28-30, 2025 in New Orleans!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic.You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Episode 175: Way Down Low, Playing The Bass. Leland Sklar Live Tribute January 29, 2025 Here we go with another Tales Vinyl Tells! It's our plunge into some of that great album rock especially from the 60s and 70s. The vinyl albums are classic, they're vintage, and today the upsurge in album sales is really wonderful to see and read about. A lot of artists today are putting out LPs and record pressing has become an art. Welcome along with me. These are the Tales Vinyl Tells. We're going to play a cut from a newer collection from David Gilmour and his daughter Romany. We're also going to salute Leland Sklar. He's still alive and this is a living tribute to him. He played bass on so many big albums of the 60s. And he hung around with some really outanding studio musicians like himself. And I'm gonna turn you onto a documentary if you haven't seen it yet. More on The Immediate Family here on tales Vinyl Tells. First up is Pete Townshend. If you want to hear a Tales Vinyl Tells when it streams live on RadioFreeNashville.org, we do that at 5 PM central time Wednesdays. The program can also be played and downloaded anytime at podbean.com, Apple podcasts, iHeart podcasts, player FM podcasts and many other podcast places. And of course you can count on hearing the Tales on studiomillswellness.com/tales-vinyl-tells anytime.

Nancy Black is the alter ego of the journalist and activist Gilda-Nancy Horvath, a Romni from Vienna, Austria. She writes poems in Romanes, English and German which are sometimes translated to music, mainly rap music. Her rap-poem "Trushula" (Crosses) states clearly that the danger of dark history repeating is always present - and that even people from marginalized groups are not safe from being seduced by the very simple answers that far-rights give, which are rooted in fear, hate and anger. Beyond this, she is creator of many projects and consulting governments and politicians. A few of Gilda's many Romani crushes are Charlie Chaplin, Alina Serban, Kali Michaela, Niko G, all the Romani journalists, Dalibor Tanic and his reporting on the Balkans, and everyone in Gilda's portrait series "Glaso," Cat Jugravo, and the Roma Armee with Sandra Selimović and Simonida Selimović. Works sampled in this episode are as follows:"Presidenurija," Love Revolution, Nancy Black"Trushula," Love Revolution, Nancy Black"Überschein," unreleased track from a live jam with Nancy Black and the Prizreni Brothers"Dear Ancestors" by Nancy Black, initially written for a project by Cat JugravoFollow Gilda Horvath @nancyblack101Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Welcome to season 5! This mini-episode starts with a tarot reading for the year ahead. There's personal growth and healing in 2025 with the Hermit and the Ace of Cups. Listeners are encouraged to embrace introspection, nurture emotional well-being, and prioritize love in their lives and communities. • Time for reflection and introspection inspired by the Hermit card • Healing journey through the lens of the Ace of Cups • Emphasizing the multifaceted nature of healing experience • Love as a guiding principle for personal growth • Gratitude as a practice in welcoming the new year • Inviting community participation for future episode ideas • Announcement of upcoming events and connection opportunitiesThank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

This episode explores the inclusion of the Romani language on Google Translate, featuring Rowena Marin's insights on the intersection of technology and culture. We discuss the journey from grassroots initiatives to digital recognition, the complexities of language preservation, and the opportunities technology can create for the Romani community.• The journey of Rowena Marin from Romania to Google• Discussion on the grassroots campaign for Romani language inclusion• Detailed process for adding the language to Google Translate• Concerns surrounding AI and authenticity in language translation• Evolution and representation of different Romani dialects in tech• Opportunities for promoting Romani literature through digital platformsResources: Roma Education Fund The Internet learns Romani Listen to our first interview with Rowena Marin about her book Who Am I in the World? Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. You can give our book a positive review too!Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Politikár je satirická diskusná relácia o politike a o tom, čo kvári a prekvapuje spoločnosť. Všetky situácie, osoby, ale aj ľudia v tomto podcaste sú vymyslené a nič sa nezakladá na pravde. Podobnosť so slovenskou realitou je čisto náhodná.Dobrý deň vážení diváci a diváčky, milí poslucháči a poslucháčky a ctené divácstvo a poslucháčstvo. Zajtra sú tu Vianoce a to znamená len jediné: Pripomenieme si najbizardnejšie darčeky, ktoré nám po celý rok nadeľovali parlament a vláda.Hodnotiť túto komédiu budú tí najpovolanejší - Marián Psár, ktorý výnimočne prišiel a Jakub Gulík, ktorý si zase výnimočne našiel čas. Odkaz pre Sama Trnku. Moderuje Natália Jabůrková, ktorá je pri tejto kombinácii komikov krotiteľkou divej zveri.V relácii sa dozviete: O ministerskom Monetovi na hrade O klamstvách Roberta Fica O tom, koho vyhodili dverami, ale vrátil sa oknom O politickom idzem - nejdzem Kde je východ a ešte viac východ O zápase v ktorom Andrej Danko vyhral O „trabloch v ráji" O inom „Clash of Stars" O nevzdelaných kriminálnikoch V čom je výplet tenisovej rakety lepší, ako Romana Tabáková O parlamente bez dozoru Prečo je hymna aj náse, aj pre vás

We spoke with Ylva Mara Radziszewski about Water Always Wanders, a multimedia theatre production of queer and trans Romani artists at the Mudlark Theatre in New Orleans, Louisiana December 6th & 7th from 6:30-9:00 pm cst. Our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling will be for sale along with Loly scarves, and other vendors. This performance will also be a fundraiser for our Welcome to Romanistan Festival in spring 2025, sponsored in part by Weiser Books, our publisher. We also interviewed Robin Badaire about the rest of season 1 of Agatha All Along, and discussed the whitewashing of Romani characters as well what remained of the Romani stereotypes, and what could have been if the characters had actually been written as Roma. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

What if spirits could communicate through a simple hair comb? And what role do children play in spiritual practices? Join us as we uncover these mysteries and more, during our vibrant journey on the Good Morning Romanistan book tour. From Portland to Portsmouth, we've been embraced by amazing communities and experienced transformative events like our ancestral tarot workshop with Chagall PAC. Listen in as we recount our delightful stop at Cheese Louise and the heartwarming welcome from the queer community at the Sapphic Salon in Newmarket, New Hampshire.Throughout our travels, we've also faced the challenges of planning and funding a national tour. Yet, support from fans donating to our GoFundMe allows us to reach more destinations. Our journey isn't just about reaching new cities; it's about forging meaningful connections.We share the except of a poem “The Cursed Legend of Baba Yaga's Ravenous Spirit” by Shari X Insanity @sharixinsanity and a ghost story from listener Nina Huertas Kaur. Then we share our own ghost stories! In our last segment, Romani representation in mainstream media remains an important topic to us, and we dive into the portrayal of Lilia Calderu in Agatha All Along with our return guest Robin Badaire.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Andra Zlătescu is a musician, performer, and illustrator, who performs as part of the band Willow Switch, Spindle Collective, and as a solo performer. Andra plays the singing saw (a carpentry saw played with a violin bow that evokes the haunting wail of the wind in the trees), banjo, guitar, and sings. Andra is passionate about creation that serves to act as a spell to open the doorways- to honour the land, their ancestors and traditions, to celebrate the bodies' connection with the cycles of the seasons and death//life//death; To invoke the daemons of the crossroads- crossroads of paths meeting, of ancestry, of the past and future as they simultaneously exist within the present moment to weave our stories through time and sing us into the ancestors we are in the process of becoming. Andra premiered at TIFF as one of the main subjects in the documentary COVEN, a film exploring the relationship between Witchcraft and feminism. Willow Switch just released their first album on Samhain and completed two music and pagan Festival tours across Ontario. You can find them on Spotify and Apple Music. Andra is currently in the process of recording a solo album at Half Moon Studio in Toronto. The Romani crush this episode is Mariska Veres, lead singer of Shocking Blue. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Join us for the Welcome to Romanistan Festival from December 3-8, 2024 in New Orleans! Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Angeliska Polacheck (they/she) is an Austin, Texas based writer, healer, and professional tarot reader. Devoted to helping seekers find their path, they utilize the tarot in a compassionate and trauma-informed combination of visionary mystic counseling and energy work. Angeliska has been working with the tarot for over 30 years now, and has been reading for clients professionally since 1999. Their dedication and genuine passion for creating joyful and intriguing connections has led to acclaim and recognition from the Chronicle's Best of Austin Awards as Austin's Best Tarot Reader/Psychic for the past ten years running.Their writing has been published in NILVX I(II): A Book of Magic, The Folk Horror Revival: Corpse Roads, Arcana: The Tarot Poetry Anthology, Coilhouse Magazine, Tank Magazine, and Astrology.com.You can read their personal writing at: www.angeliska.com and learn more about their tarot divination services and healing work at Sister Temperance Tarot: www.sistertemperance.comFollow at @angeliska and @sistertemperancetarotRomani crushes this episode are Jennileen Joseph @sastimosholistichealth, Katelan Foisy @katelanfoisyThank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more. Please support our book tour fundraiser if you can. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

April Wall is an author and international psychic medium with twenty years of experience helping clients sort through life's ups and downs. A proud Romany, she carries on the traditions started by the strong women in her family, especially her great-grandmother, great aunt, and granny, or as she refers to them, April's Angels. Find her online at namastemagical.com to book a reading and keep up to date through her social media accounts by following her on Instagram and TikTok at @namastemagical. All three of her books Reading Tarot, Reading Tea Leaves, and Deciphering Angel Numbers, can be found anywhere books are sold.Romani crushes this episode are Christine Ford of Romany Art, Lucy Doe Designs, Elijah Vardo, & Florian Tacorian.Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. You can get our book Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, online or wherever books are sold. Visit romanistanpodcast.com for events, educational resources, merch, and more.Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

What hidden wisdom lies within the centuries-old practice of Romani fortune telling? Join us as Paulina and Jez preview their debut book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling. In this book, they not only share the spiritual techniques and business insights of fortune telling but also unravel the cultural significance and personal stories steeped in Romani heritage. Picture yourself in a Romani fortune teller's shop, with the warmth of blessed candles and the aromatic waft of incense, as you learn about the history and respect due to this age-old practice. You can read the full 2 chapter preview here, or on our website.Our book tour has been announced on romanistanpodcast.com and our GoFundMe to make our book tour a reality. Come see us live, and if you can donate, you can get prizes like a shoutout on the podcast, a book plate, a tarot greeting card, a signed copy, & tarot readings with us! Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

In this episode of Behind the Genes, we explore the challenges diverse communities face in accessing genomic medicine. The discussion focuses on issues including language barriers, cultural differences, and socioeconomic disparities that hinder marginalised communities from accessing and benefitting from genomic medicine. Our guests delve into successful strategies for engaging these communities in healthcare research and decision-making, highlighting the importance of building trust with groups that have historically been underserved or mistreated. The episode also emphasises the need for culturally sensitive communication from healthcare professionals and how meaningful community engagement can foster collaboration and trust within genomic research. Our host, Naimah Callachand is joined by Aman Ali, a Community Ambassador at Genomics England and Community Engagement Manager at Our Future Health, Anna Smith, Child and Adolescent Integrative Psychotherapist at Rareminds, and Moestak Hussein who works for Bristol City Council in Public Health & Communities, working directly to build and imbed cohesion, inclusion and social justice approaches in her role.   "If we talk about co-production, true co-production is really creating a power balance where there's no hierarchy. It's an empowering model. It empowers both the researchers or the person that comes in, but also the communities that participate, and you all start on the same level, on the same outcomes and the same goals and aims that you want to achieve."   You can read the transcript below or download it here: https://www.genomicsengland.co.uk/assets/documents/Podcast-transcripts/Bridging-the-gap-between-diverse-communities.docx  Naimah: Welcome to Behind the Genes.  Aman: It's really important to engage community leaders who are really well embedded within the communities, who are attached to organisations or institutions which are well trusted in the community as well, so that we can get a wider perspective of how communities feel about genomic medicine and accessing services that we want people to engage with.  Naimah: My name is Naimah Callachand and I'm Head of Product Engagement and Growth at Genomics England. On today's episode, I'm going to be joined by Anna Smith, child and adolescent integrative psychotherapist for Rare Minds, Aman Ali, a community ambassador for Genomics England, and Moestak Hussein, community coordinator at Bristol City Council. Today, we'll be discussing the disparities in access to genomic medicine amongst diverse communities. If you enjoy today's episode, we'd love your support. Please like, share and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Aman: Hi, my name's Aman Ali, I am an ambassador at Genomics England, a person very passionate about health research and ensuring that diverse communities are involved in health research, and I work as a community engagement manager at Our Future Health.  Anna: My name's Anna Smith, I'm a psychotherapist. I work in private practice and also with Rare Minds, who are a company who provide therapy to people with rare and genetic conditions.  Moestak: Hi, my name is Moestak Hussein and I have a background in community development, and I'm passionate about tackling health inequalities, and building social justice and inclusive approaches to address health inequalities. I work at Bristol City Council in the public health team, and I've participated in the Bristol workshops around equity in research in genomics.  Naimah: So, let's jump in and first of all I want to talk about barriers to access for diverse communities. I want to talk about how there are language barriers, cultural differences and socioeconomic factors that impact access to genomic medicine for marginalised communities. Anna, I wonder if you maybe could talk to me a bit about this.  Anna: Yeah. So, I'm talking about the traveller community, and we refer to this community as a GRT community, which is Gypsy, Romany and Traveller, so it encompasses people in the UK, people living in Ireland as well. And some of the barriers to accessing healthcare are a lack of understanding of culture. There's been studies done where it says that people from GRT communities show up lower on all markers for poor healthcare and poor mental healthcare, and part of the reason for that is things like illiteracy. You know, you're dealing with people who can't read or write. They can't read appointment times. They don't have access to public transport. A lot of women don't drive in this community, and also women are not very well supported within the community by the people who can drive and who can get them places, because it's not seen as something that they need access to. Because the community is so closed, everything sort of takes place within the community.   In terms of genomic healthcare, access right from the start of life, if people are not accessing healthcare right from birth, they're not getting the genetic testing that's needed, so then a lot of these things don't even show up until the illness presents itself, and then accessing healthcare from there is really difficult. You know, it's something that – it doesn't happen a lot. Only 67 percent of people from the GRT community were able to get a doctor's appointment when they needed it, compared to nearly 90 percent from other communities, and that's through things like not having a fixed address. Lots of GPs don't offer temporary registration, which means that if you are travelling, you do not have access to a GP, which is your first port of call if you need any access to healthcare. So, many people from the GRT communities are using A&E services in order to get healthcare, which – you know, they are not set up for dealing with long-term life changing conditions. They're there to deal with what's right in front of them and then they move on. There's no sort of continuity of care.  Naimah: Thanks Anna, that's really highlighted a lot of barriers for the GRT community. And I wonder, Aman, if you want to come in now and maybe discuss some of the barriers that maybe the Muslim community might experience.  Aman: Yeah, I think anyone involved in medicine or anyone who's a doctor is really well respected in the Muslim community. That profession is something that every parent aspires for their children to get involved in. They at least want one of their children to be a doctor. Having said that, there's this willingness to engage with the space, but there's a lack of knowledge, which is a huge issue here. People don't know what the word genomics means or genes, or understand DNA. Some of this language is a huge barrier to understanding and then eventually accessing some of the services that could be available to people from Muslim communities. Because when we speak about Muslim communities, we're talking about a huge, diverse group of people from South Asia, from North Africa, from the Middle East, and they all have their nuances and different cultural experiences as well.  Just to kind of point out maybe one or two, most people in the UK have grown up in the UK, where access to healthcare is free, whereas this is quite a strange phenomenon for people who may have not been born in the UK and then access healthcare services in the UK. And the context being here is usually they pay for healthcare in other countries, and whenever any public or free healthcare is provided, it's usually seen as kind of not very good or suboptimum, or yeah, it's not going to be very helpful for us. So, when they see free healthcare in the UK, there's that kind of apprehension, “Actually, is this going to be worthwhile? I'm not paying for this, so it's not going to be very much good for me.” So, those are some of the cultural nuances that certain communities where healthcare is not for free in certain countries that poses a barrier.  Language in terms of speaking and reading is an issue. So, a lot of people, they may speak a language, but they don't know how to read a language. So, even when services are translated – I, for example, can speak Bangla, but I can't read or write Bangla, and not a word of Bangla at all. So for my parents, who can speak Bangla very well, their reading level is actually quite good, but I know that many within the community, they didn't get education back home, and therefore reading and writing is a challenge as well. And then you have the issue of dialects. There's so many dialects within so many different communities, so when a language is spoken or written in a particular way, if that dialect isn't your mother tongue or a dialect that you're familiar with, then that causes challenges to access as well.  Naimah: Moestak, how do cultural beliefs and values influence attitudes towards genomic medicine within each of these different cultural communities?  Moestak: I think Aman and Anna touched on it a lot, and it's about communities being able to coproduce that historically hasn't been there. The supremacy of certain communities to have a voice and be able to express how they would like to shape their healthcare, but also access to healthcare barriers have been part of having a barrier in access. And I think Aman touched on like even the term genomics, I don't think it exists in particularly my community. I come from the Somali community, and I've tried to look at historical kind of words and terms. I mean, our language only got developed in 1973, the written language, so you can imagine that there's a lot of gaps or there's other terminologies.  So, the cultural beliefs and values is also communities' recognition to be driving their own health needs and priorities is not valued within those sectors such as healthcare. I mean, we're still talking about holistic medicine. People go to their faith leaders in the first instance to have support around prayer. That's not necessarily recognised by mainstream health provision. And I think it's about how do we build on those strengths and how do we recognise that that is a really great part of communities. And it's also tradition and customs within childbirth, from birth, understanding what children and young people and families will need. I know there's customs and traditions for women to stay at home, for example, for 40 days, and those are the kind of traditions that could be built on. And I think it's about making sure that the child doesn't pick up bacteria or things like that.   So, there is an understanding and knowledge within communities of genomics. It's the awareness and the training around patient centred approaches are still missing, in my opinion. And I think that influences how people view genomic medicine. It goes back to the lack of trust and historic past abuses and cases, that communities has resulted in lower participation and a reluctancy to be part of genomic testing, but also that lack of understanding.  Naimah: Anna, did you have something you wanted to add in there?  Anna: What you were just saying about keeping it within the community, that's something that we see with the GRT community massively is everything is handled within the family, and I think that's not necessarily valued outside of that community. If you arrange an appointment with someone and the whole family turns up, it's like, “Woah, what's going on here? You know, how is this managed?” And it becomes a safeguarding issue, when actually that is how it's managed, and very often you need to get the whole family on board before you can start working with an individual. Because within the GRT communities, individuals do not exist outside of their families. Even what we're saying about language, a lot of the GRT community who live in England now speak English, but the words that they use for mental health are very different.   You talk about mental ill health, that translates as psychosis in the GRT community, whereas if you're talking about depression and anxiety, somebody might say that they've got bad nerves. So, if you come up and say, “We're dealing with mental health now,” people would say, “Well, I don't have psychosis, I don't have that, this is not an issue for me.” And it's like you're speaking different languages even though you're using the same words.  Naimah: From what all of you have said as well, it does sound like there are a lot of similarities in the barriers in each of the different cultural communities.  I wanted to move on to ask about what strategies have been effective at engaging these diverse communities in healthcare research and decision making processes.  Aman: There are a number of ways I've seen best practice take place in regards to kind of community engagement. The approaches have been one of two approaches. One, either inviting the community to come to your spaces, i.e. organising events or having opportunities where people can engage with your service. Or the alternative approach, which I think is actually more effective, is actually going to the spaces where communities are most familiar with. So, whether that's holding a focus group at a community centre, at a church or at a mosque, or engaging in coproduction with a community organisation, to come together, to come up with an idea of how to best engage communities. And I also feel like there's a difference between PPI, patient and public involvement, versus community engagement.   And those are the two major approaches that I've seen when it comes to community engagement, and I'm a big advocate of community engagement, because you're going into spaces which are authentic to the very communities that we are hoping to engage, but you're going into an unfamiliar environment as opposed to bringing that community into an unfamiliar environment, where they might be a bit guarded with what they want to share and how comfortable they feel. So, those are some reflections on good practices in community engagement.  And I think one of the key things that we need to do is understand who are the key community leaders within that community, ‘cos it's one thing being within that community, and being able to speak about that community are two different things altogether. So just to articulate what I mean by that, I live in Luton, but I've just moved to Luton two months ago, so if you ask me about what life is like in Luton, I'll be able to speak about my experience, but if I was to live here for 20, 30 years then I'd be in a better position to speak about how people in Luton live and what their experiences are like, and that's two different perspectives you're going to get. So, it's really important to engage community leaders who are really well embedded within the communities, who are attached to organisations or institutions which are well trusted in the community as well, so that we can get a wider perspective of how communities feel about genomic medicine and accessing services that we want people to engage with.    Naimah: Thanks Aman. I think you made a couple of really good points there, and I think you kind of have this overarching feeling of building trust, which is what Moestak mentioned in the previous question as well. I thought maybe now would be a good time to discuss your first responders project, Aman, if you could tell us a bit about that. It'd be good to hear the kind of developments from that community work.  Aman: Yeah, so one of the ideas that came about from engagement actually that we had with some community leaders within the Muslim community, primarily some imams, they heard about the work of Genomics England, they heard about the work of research in particular, and they were really keen to get involved even further, but they were honest in saying that, “I know very little about this space. And it's one thing for me not to know much, but then if I don't know anything then I'm not able to then advocate for this within the community. So, two things you need to help me with. One, help me understand this space, but also allow me to then be able to advocate for services or information that my community can benefit from.”  So, that's where the inception of this first responders idea came about. The idea being that community engagement happened with some imams from all across the country, where we trained them to understand a bit more about genomics, and genomic healthcare and medicine, but also to be able to navigate a number of scenarios that they may face in the community. For example, there's a mother who has been recommended by their GP to go see a genetic counsellor, but they're really worried about broaching that conversation with their husband or their family, because of the challenges that they may face. So, how would you support someone in the community when that scenario comes up? Or for example, someone like Genomics England or Our Future Health or another organisation has approached you about a research study, and they want to engage your community, how would you have that conversation with that particular organisation, advocate for those health programmes within your community?  So, we just presented a number of scenarios. But I think the main thing that we ended with was giving the imams in this particular incident the ability to signpost to services, be it helplines that are available for communities to access more information, or websites that people can access in order to understand more information about different issues to do with health conditions, or whether it be better understanding issues like cousin marriages or kind of accessing genetic testing.  Naimah: That sounds like you're empowering the leaders to advocate for healthcare and share this with their communities through this work. I wonder, Anna, is that something that you could do in the GRT community as well, like empower the leaders of the family to disseminate these healthcare messages, and how would we do that?  Anna: Yeah, I think so. I think a lot of it would need to be outreach, and there are people out there who can help bridge that gap. For example, there's a great team called Family Friends & Travellers, and if you get in contact with them and let them know which community you'd like to go into, they can help arrange, or they will come with you to go into that community. Because the GRT community, you know, is very mistrustful of anyone coming in, and rightly so. It was only in 2011 that they were included on the national census as an option to say you're from that community, so I think there's massive mistrust there of anyone coming into the community.  So, if you want to engage the leaders of the families or of the communities, you're going into a settled traveller site, there will usually be somebody who is in charge of that site, not officially, but maybe their family might be the biggest family or they might be the most important family. And there are people out there who will allow you to start to engage with that person, who can then disseminate the information. But it needs to be outreach care, and the information that you disseminate, it needs to be tailored to people who have left school at primary age, who don't have the skills to read or write, or to manage appointments or read prescriptions, or have access to that type of healthcare. That's where it really needs to be tailored.  And I think confidentiality as well needs to be tailored a lot, because gossip and reputation and shame is huge in the GRT community, and if you are seen to be engaging with someone outside of the community, that is something that can bring a lot of shame to you and your family, so it needs to be handled really, really carefully.  Naimah: Just to kind of go along with this theme of trust that you've all now mentioned, Moestak, I wonder if you could maybe comment on what strategies can healthcare organisations and researchers employ to build trust with these communities who have historically been underserved or mistreated?  Moestak: Yeah, I think I mentioned earlier about the hierarchy of power around superiority and also mistrust of medical professional generally, and I touched there on how safeguarding concerns are triggered on not understanding cultural norms and practices within communities, and misconstruing that with safeguarding. There is generally that mistrust is there. And I think what Aman touched on there is really the importance of asset based approaches, and really building on transparent and really embedding transparent and inclusive practices from the onset. I mean, if we talk about coproduction, true coproduction is really creating a power balance where there's no hierarchy. It's an empowering model. It empowers both the researchers or the person that comes in, but also the communities that participate, and you all start on the same level, on the same outcomes and the same goals and aims that you want to achieve.  And I think it's important to embed those kind of approaches, and it's Covid-19 – I mean, we took part in Bristol in King's Fund research around the community champions model. It's exactly that, about engagement, about community driving their own solutions, and being able to collectively collaborate, drive their health piece forward, but also increase the capacity of communities. We worked with clinicians who come from those communities, and it's no surprise that the uptake of covid-19 vaccine increased as a result of working with those trusted voices.   Quite often, those really effective programmes and engagement often are not funded adequately. They're not sustained. And what happens is that we constantly are having to rebuild and restart, and that really does affect trust as well with communities. And when something works, why not build on it? And even now with that Covid-19 learning from the community champion model, the resource is not there anymore. It's not valued anymore, sadly. That in itself is a risk, I think, in building the trust, but also the strength to continue that work and adapt in other ways around genomic medicine, and even increasing and diversifying the genomics data pool, helping communities understand and drive that. And that first responders project, communities being trained to capacity build and then being able to drive that within their communities, that's the only way that we're going to have effective strategies.  Aman: I think adding onto what's been mentioned, with regards to building trust, it's really important to understand the motivations of communities, and to understand what messaging is going to resonate with different communities, and it's going to be a different message for each community. You can't have the same approach for all communities. A recurrent theme that I've come across when engaging different communities is this difference between messaging which is individualistic and then messaging which is about the community and more the collective message, and how that resonates a lot more with certain communities that I've engaged with, particularly within Muslim communities. And that's something that I think is a bit untapped in regards to kind of any materials that are created, be it posters or videos or any content looking to reach out to communities.  When we did some focus groups with some communities in Watford, who are primarily from the Pakistani community but also other parts of Asia in that region, the biggest response or biggest positive response that we got was when we posed the question, “If you were to know that people who look like you, from wherever your parents are, family may be from, would you be motivated to take part in that research?” And the biggest yes came on the back of that question. And that speaks to the fact that, “If I know that my family or my community, not just in the UK but abroad can benefit, then that would really motivate me and build trust that actually you're not just here to benefit me as an individual, but you're here to benefit my community as a whole, and therefore, yes, I'm going to be more trusting of this programme and be more motivated to take part.”  Naimah: I just wanted to go briefly back, Moestak, you mentioned cultural norms, and I wanted to talk about the cultural norm in societies where maybe people may marry someone from the same ancestor, and what the societal fallout from these practices might be.  Moestak: The stigma and the stereotypes often for communities comes from those beliefs and messages that are often sometimes not even backed up with scientific evidence. It can be seen as Islamophobic sometimes of Muslim communities that practice that. But also I think what's important to understand is that concept around hereditary conditions and how that can determine one's health, and it's not really fully appreciated or desired. And so as a result, for example, a lot of people refuse to even have those early onset maternal testing for the foetus. My personal experience, I have three children, teenagers now, and I refused those tests as well, because my belief and my religious beliefs would kind of not align with being able to terminate a foetus if there were some genetic conditions. And so I think that is often not understood and made very clear to communities, and build on their beliefs and attitudes and values. And so those are the kind of cultural norms that are not fully understood.  But also the opposite side of that actually around being able to prevent a good life for somebody or a bad life for somebody, and being able to prevent genetic conditions is also part of the religion on the flipside, but again it's not creating that link. That cultural beliefs is not understood. I think also the community implications around the stigma. I mean, autism's a big issue in the Samali community, and I remember years ago when I was working in education, we had a big issue around even acknowledgement of diagnosis and referrals, and it's because of the stigma. Those perceptions do exist within communities that if someone has a genetic condition or ill health or a disease, it's almost like being a black sheep in the community. And so it's being able to build on those desires of the community wanting to be healthy and well, I think is not often understood.  Naimah: And do you think it's partly as well education of healthcare professionals to communicate in a really culturally sensitive way?  Moestak: Yes, exactly, that's exactly what it is. It's missed opportunities really that we can build on. In that particular example of autism within the community, I was able to do a really positive piece of work with the community, and building on their interest and their skills, but using my own lived experience and understanding and knowledge, and being able to inform that within education sector but also the health sector, and providing that training and upskilling. And there is unfortunately a lack of diversity within the workforce if you look at the NHS. The lower level kind of cleaning and porter staff are ethnic minorities. And so it is about using those clinicians, as I mentioned earlier, that are coming from those communities are the forefront.  We've recently had a really positive piece of work in Bristol around let's talk about MMR, and we had a cohort of unvaccinated community, a Somali community, young people between the age of 16 to 25, and we worked with a Somali clinician, who led on that piece of work, and it was absolutely amazing. The young people as a result trusted her information and took up – but again also another thing that's important is that a lot of data in the medical system is missing. I for one migrated here from the Netherlands, where I came there as a refugee at the age of three years old. My medical history is completely missing in both the UK records but also in the Netherlands, so I didn't know if I had MMR vaccine. So, it's a lot of gaps in information that people have, newly arrived communities that still need to constantly be updated and informed and education awareness raised with those communities.  Naimah: Anna, I wonder if you wanted to add anything onto that point.  Anna: It's really difficult with that mistrust and sort of how closed the GRT community is to getting that information in, and I think to getting that information understood as well and to make it seem like it's important. Because family is the most important thing, people are accepted the way that they are. You know, if we're talking about autism, people are accepted the way that they are, and it is a bit like, you know, “There's nothing wrong with my child, how dare you suggest that there is?” That testing isn't done because the access to healthcare is so difficult, because people can't register with GPs, because they can't access maternity care, they can't access postnatal care. Because they can't register with the GP, they're not on the system, and then the records don't exist. Still now there's birth records and death records that do not exist for these people within the communities, never mind medical history throughout their lives.  Naimah: I think it really highlights a lot of gaps, doesn't it? Aman, do you want to add anything to that question?  Anna: Your opening remarks is that it's a cultural norm in all societies, and we see even within the royal family in the UK, that it seems to be that any disparaging comments are targeted towards certain communities, and even then unfairly. I mean, often it's associated with Muslim communities, but I would say the majority of Muslim communities don't practice marrying someone from within the same ancestor. It's certain cultural communities who do practice this. Having said that, even that practice shouldn't be seen in a disparaging way, because it's how those communities live their lives, and so we should be respectful of that and not speak in any way disparaging towards that community. And I think we have responsibility – ‘cos obviously nationally the conversation then moves onto increased risks of genetic disorders, and so we should be very matter of fact about what the percentage increase is when it comes to the likelihood of genetic disorders within families who marry with the same ancestor.   Because what happens is, if we're not very clear with what the actual facts are with regards to the increased risk of genetic order then even within the community which practices marrying someone from the same ancestor, that figure can be inflated, and so this perpetuates fear and perpetuates the stigma even more. Whereas if we are just matter of fact, “This is the increased risk of genetic disorders,” and leave it there, then the communities can decide and they'll have a more informed position. I think the figures are an increase from two to six percent increase, but if you were to ask people within the community, “What's the increase of genetic disorders if you're marrying someone from the same ancestor?” they might think it's 40 percent or 50 percent or a really high figure. So, that's something that we need to work towards better understanding, which will lead to removal of that stigma as well.  Anna: Again, that's something that we see in the GRT community as well, there's been research done by a woman called Sally Anne Lynch into cousin marriage within the Irish travelling community, and when they tested people, they found more than 90 genetic conditions that are present within people's DNA within that community that just aren't tested at birth. And I think, you know, you're right, it's something that is not talked about, because outside of these communities it's seen as wrong and it's not seen as something that's normal. It's seen as abnormal. But within this community, it is very normal and it's very accepted. But then the testing isn't done because of the access to healthcare.  Naimah: I think it just seems like it does kind of boil down to education and educating healthcare professionals that it is kind of normal practices. Aman, did you want to add something else?  Aman: Yeah, Anna made a really good point about testing. I think there's something that is a gap in the service that we probably don't provide more widely is that, when it comes to people who practice marriage within the same ancestor in other countries, testing is very normal. So, I know there's many countries around the world where it's very standard practice and even a requirement in certain countries that you must be tested before you get married, and so maybe that's something that we can learn from in the UK.  Moestak: I think it's important to understand that some communities, decision making of consent is sometimes done by the head of the family, and I think that that is not fully understood as well, and often can be a barrier to participation. And I think that there's an element of empowerness that is needed, particularly around women that need that empowerment model around consent of decision making around their testing and genetic testing, and just medical consent.  Naimah: That's an excellent point as well, thanks Moestak.  So, I know we've touched on aspects of this already, but I wanted to finish on this question, how can meaningful community engagement foster trust and collaboration in genomic research and healthcare initiatives?  Aman: I think one of the things that I would really improve is just awareness around genomic healthcare and genomics in general. It's a learning curve that's going to happen within communities at different rates, and we need to be mindful of this because that rate will determine also health inequities that are experienced by those communities as well. So, we need to make sure that we are adequately approaching all communities to the best of our abilities. Having said that, target maybe more resourcing and educational opportunities for communities which have been underrepresented in health research and in genomic health research as well primarily, so we need to sort of prioritise certain communities in regards to our community outreach, because then we'll dispel any myths that people might have and work towards chipping away at the mistrust that certain communities may feel towards just healthcare in general, but more particularly about genomic healthcare, ‘cos genomic healthcare brings up some unique challenges and some unique perspectives within communities.  So, there's a number of fears about the future, but also misgivings about healthcare in the past as well that we need to acknowledge. So, by having community engagement initiatives, which are prioritised from the beginning and not just an afterthought, we can go a long way towards getting over some of the challenges of the past, but also not making new challenges for us in the future.   Anna: I think as a whole, the UK has got a long way to go with building trust with the GRT community. I think it's going to take some time. They still are one of the most marginalised communities. For example, in the area that I live, there was a GRT funeral going on a few weeks ago, and all the pub shut because they didn't want GRT communities in their establishments, and there is no other community or minority that that would happen with now. So, I think there is still quite a long way to go to gain the trust of the GRT community. And in terms of healthcare, I think we need to go right back to the start and learn about these communities, and understand their cultures and their practices, and how they work without that judgement. Living a nomadic lifestyle is still criminalised. There needs to be a decriminalisation around these communities before we can even start to begin to work out how to go there and allow them to access healthcare and knowledge and information around genetic conditions, and around health and mental health.   It's going to be a very long road from here, but I think what we can start doing is to start that destigmatisation. If you are a doctor and somebody turns up in your surgery identifying as someone from the GRT community, understanding the background they come from, and not having all those prejudices, you know, which is very difficult to do, to get rid of those thoughts that you already have about someone. I think we need to make a real effort to start, and I think there needs to be changes within the NHS in order for people to access healthcare better. I think the resources that are given and the information that goes out needs to be more specifically tailored to these communities if that's who you're trying to engage with, because there's so much that goes on in the community that's not known outside of the community, and it's not spoken about, and within different GRT communities as well. You know, there are different GRT communities all around the UK, and what goes on in them is not known to other GRT communities either.   So, it's about being specific with the information that you're getting out, with who you're actually targeting. And I think a bit like we were saying earlier, it's the women, you know. The women have childcare responsibilities almost all of the time, and they are the ones who bring up the children, but they're not necessarily the ones that make the decisions about the children or the child healthcare. You know, women are expected to do jobs in the morning. Women are not available before 11 o'clock in the morning. So, think about when you're making appointments for. Think about when you're going. I think it is going to be a long, long road before we get there, you know, with building trust and getting the information out there, but I think we can make a start.  Naimah: Yeah, it does seem like there is lots of ways we can start tackling it slowly. Moestak, I wonder if you had anything you wanted to add.  Moestak: As a public health specialist, you know, we've not been taught genomic medicine or genomic health at all in terms of how that can benefit and radically change the NHS and improve determinants of health, so that's a massive gap of knowledge within the healthcare sector and professionals. But I think in terms of addressing the historic mistrust, I think there needs to be an acknowledgement and a real openness around the historic, you know, abuse and unethical practices that have existed within health. There are other countries that are much more advanced in that and really embedding that within communities through pledges. That long-term kind of piece of work for me is missing. You know, it's that wider education piece that's missing that needs to be really embedded in the culture.  But I think also investing in the infrastructure in the community. Like far too often, if the long-term vision is not there, communities are reluctant to get involved and have trust within that, so I think that's an important part as well. And I think it's also about demonstrating the benefits of genomic medicine. I think that needs to be done in a community level way, through storytelling. I know that there's now a lot of development around cancer treatments around genomics, but I think it's about having those people who have those lived experiences from different communities to be able to share the benefits and demonstrate that through their way, and being appropriately reimbursed as well. I think that's really important.  I think generally, I think there's a long way we've got to go. I'll never forget when I went to Vancouver on a conference around health, and there was a lot of reconciliation there, where there was really acknowledgement, and the indigenous communities there that have a lot of health disparities were able to kind of overcome some of that and start building as a community and addressing tackling health inequalities because that trust was built and that acknowledgement from high up, from government level, all the way trickled down to local. I think also patient centred approaches around – like we mentioned, we talked about linking the cultural norms and the values and the beliefs that people have, and the skills and the assets that they have to be able to lead on these solutions themselves, that really needs to be embedded to build trust.   Aman touched on the perception around what could be done with genomic data. I don't know if Aman wants to elaborate a bit on that, but that's really important. It's a big barrier. It's how do we create transparent ways of storing data, but also use various ways of communication. It doesn't have to be traditional reports. It could be through podcasts. It could be like community messaging.   Naimah: Yeah, I think that's a really important point. Aman, did you want to come in on that?  Aman: Yeah, I think sharing the stories of the past in an appropriate setting, in an appropriate manner as well – ‘cos it's a bit of a double edged sword, ‘cos you don't want to scare people who are unfamiliar with these stories, but at the same time there's a moral responsibility for all of us involved in this space to speak about these issues, one from the perspective of acknowledging what's happened in the past, so then people feel like, “Okay, you're not trying to hide anything here,” but from the perspective of also that we need to make sure that we don't repeat some of the mistakes in the future, and that as people involved in genomic healthcare and involved in this space, that we're cognisant of these misgivings in the past, and we're cognisant of our responsibility to safeguard communities in the future.  Naimah: Okay, so we're going to wrap up there. Thank you so much to our guests, Anna Smith, Aman Ali and Moestak Hussein for joining me today as we discussed the barriers to access to genomic medicine for diverse communities, and the impact it has on these communities. If you'd like to hear more like this, please subscribe to Behind the Genes on your favourite podcast app. Thank you for listening. I've been your host and producer, Naimah Callachand, and this podcast was edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital.

We had such a beautiful interview with Ion Zanca, interwoven with music from his new album, ROMANI: The Untold Story. Ion Zanca is the founder of the Dallas String Quartet, a Billboard-charting Classical Crossover ensemble with over 700 million streams on streaming platforms. They have performed for multiple sitting U.S. Presidents, with superstars like Ed Sheeran, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Ashley McBryde and their last album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Chart. Their new album "ROMANI: The Untold Story" - composed by Ion Zanca, founder of the Dallas String Quartet - is a poignant musical tribute that honors the history and suffering of the Romani people during the Holocaust. In collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, the album's five songs explore this dark chapter while celebrating the resilience and rich musical heritage of Romani culture. 50% of album presales are donated to the Roma Foundation.Romani crushes this episode are Charlie Chaplin, Roby Lakatos, and Diego Cigala. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by Viktor PachasWith Music by Viktor Pachas, Ion Zanca, and Charlie ChaplinAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Hello and welcome to Romanistan! We're off schedule but doing our best! We have some current event updates and a short interview on the book we wrote, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available for preorder now. Current events:https://www.errc.org/news/hungarian-governments-new-decree-threatens-ukrainian-romani-refugeeshttps://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/femme-enceinte-tuee-dun-coup-de-fusil-pour-nous-elle-netait-pas-une-rom-elle-etait-angela-17-06-2024-EGGIZJSILBHV7FJSAIT4YAXFM4.php@sapkalipen@dikhlocollectiveCommunity & Connection Tarot https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/logan-dulski/community-and-connection-pocket-tarotWrite in with questions about the Romani language Google translate project, and questions for us about our book!Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah VardoMaking It in The Toy Industry with The Toy CoachHow do I bring my great toy ideas to life? How do I get my concepts in front of BIG...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

We interviewed allies Lorely French and Carina Kurta who are experts on artist, writer, activist, and Holocaust survivor, Ceija Stojka. In an effort to preserve and share her work, there will be an exhibit of Ceija Stojka's artworks in conjunction with the events that are going on for the Culture Capital of Europe 2024 in the Salzkammergut. The exhibition,  “Hope that was what strengthened us” opens July 5, 2024 in the Ebensee Museum. The show runs until September. Listen to our conversation about Ceija Stijka's work, influence, and amazing family. Exhibit details: https://www.salzkammergut-2024.at/en/veranstaltungen/hope-that-was-what-strengthened-us/Learn more about Ceija Stojka and efforts to share and preserve her work: https://www.ceijastojka.org/Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah VardoTREASON: Claus von Stauffenberg and the Plot to kill HitlerIn ten episodes, Treason tells the remarkable and true story of Claus von...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Welcome to our second pride month interview!Ruth Sullivan is a director of Traveller Pride, a UK based organisation that brings together Traveller people from the various UK communities to celebrate every aspect of our identities. Ruth is Queer and from a mixed Romany and Gorger family. She discovered her Romany ethnicity in her teens when her Grandad finally opened up about his life to his family. She has been working ever since to discover more about her ethnicity and culture, and to connect to people from her community.“[Traveller Pride is a] group made up of Travellers (used as inclusively as possible) who are LGBT+ (likewise) who want to provide a platform for our intersectional community. We act as a network that can provide guidance, support and information to make life easier for LGBT+ Travellers as well as providing essential services, meetup spaces and collaborating with​ other organisations to make them more welcoming to us.” https://www.lgbttravellerpride.com/Romani crushes are Dee Cooper, Jo Clement, Delaine Le Bas, & Fairuza Balk. Consider donating to Free Palestine Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Happy Pride! Happy Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month! We were delighted to start off the season by chatting to Nico! Nico is a queer, disabled Romani from the UK who has lived across multiple continents and is currently based on the southeast coast of England. They're passionate about human rights and equality, and have a lifelong interest in criminal and forensic psychology. They collect taxidermy and gothic art, and are hoping to move to Scotland and become a dog parent in the near future. Follow them at @snafflepuss on Instagram. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Thriller writer Louise Doughty on spycraft, trench coats and her Romany roots

We have a minisode honoring Romani Resistance Day, May 16th, and the resistance fighter Raymond Gurême. Resources: https://www.roma-sinti-holocaust-memorial-day.eu/history/raymond-gureme/https://eriac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RAYMOND-GUREME-new.pdfhttps://www.romarchive.eu/en/voices-of-the-victims/genocide-holocaust-porajmos-samudaripen/Roma Words, Roma Worlds hybrid book group through the New Providence Memorial Library with Linda RaedischWe refer you to our past episodes on this day, season 1 episode 5 Romani Resistance Day, and season 2 episode 7, Romani Resistance Day with Jud Nirenberg, author of the amazing book, Johann Trollmann and the Romani Resistance to the Nazis, which is available on Amazon or you can request it from your local bookstore and library. Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Preorder our book, Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, available from Weiser Books in October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

Known for their innovative approach to progressive music, Luiee Bloo (they/him) is a multi-instrumentalist, independent solo artist, producer, and audio engineer from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, CA. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical styles and influences, Luiee's sound is a captivating fusion of world rhythms, intricate melodies, and soulful emotions.He honed his skills as a guitarist and studied music theory. With a deep appreciation for both Romani and western contemporary music, Luiee's compositions blend elements of flamenco, rock/ metal, psychedelia, and electronica. As a solo artist, Luiee Bloo has embarked on an exciting new project, Wheel of Fortune. You can find his music anywhere.Follow Luiee on Instagram. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Keep an eye out for our upcoming book on Romani fortune telling published by Weiser Books available October 2024. Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor Pachas & a sample of Luiee Bloo's “Wheel of Fortune”And Artwork by Elijah Vardo

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Romaney O'Malley, Group CTO at bolttech, an InsurTech unicorn that is quite literally electrifying the InsurTech space now spearheading solutions in 35 markets across three continents. In today's episode, we explore a multitude of topics, including: The Journey to the Top: What were the critical turning points in Romaney's impressive career? Master Strategist: How does Romany approach challenging strategic decisions at bolttech? Industry Titans: What's the inner fabric of companies like Bolltech also traditional companies such as AIG, Swiss Re, and GE Insurance? KEY TAKEAWAYS I made a decision together with my husband in 2008 that we would move to Johannesburg for him to take an opportunity with a bank in South Africa. That was a big deal to move away from London & a great job with SwissRe, but this was a really unique opportunity that ended up being one of the best decisions we've made for both of our careers. It exposed me to very different markets across Africa which was invaluable to the rest of my career. Taking risks is important. One of the fascinating things about emerging markets is that they can leapfrog the steps that  have shaped mature industries in the past. The use of mobile technology & telcos in banking in many parts of Africa is far more advanced that we see in developed countries because they have skipped a number of the evolutional steps that some of the older economies have taken. Those markets & consumers are at the sharp end of innovation. You can't approach things as 1 decision. Your leadership team/board is never going to make 1 series of linear decision, the complexity comes with multiple decisions & how those interact with each other. You should approach these problems as multi-dimensional & you're always going to be balancing different things. Strategic decisions are about trade-offs & maximising the point at which you make sure you're delivering a number of different things to different stakeholders without getting out of balance. BEST MOMENTS ‘Moving to London from Sydney on secondment gave me the opportunity to see the scale & the size of the opportunity in the rest of the world.' ‘I always knew the future of insurance was technology-based.' ‘Play to your strengths but surround yourself with a team of people that are really good at the things that you're not so good at.' ‘The stronger we can build and ecosystem across the opportunity in InsurTech the more effective insurance industry we're going to have.' ABOUT THE GUEST Romaney O'Malley Group CFO at bolttech, an international insurtech company that is revolutionizing the way we think about insurance and technology. Her unique blend of leadership skills and financial acumen is drawn from a 25+ year-career at the apex of the insurance industry. Romaney's depth of experience is not limited to the insurance field alone; she has ventured into other sectors like reinsurance, finance, and consulting. When the numbers are crunched and the strategies laid down, Romaney finds her escape in the great outdoors. Whether planning her next exciting travel adventure or unwinding through the meditative art of yoga, she's a perpetual explorer—of landscapes, of limits, and of life. bolttech ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

Enjoy this interview with Deny Dobobrov and Janos Sztojka of World Roma Federation! WRF is hosting a flag raising ceremony in Chicago on April 8th for International Roma Day.  To honor and share their work, we talked to them about their organization's beginnings, upcoming events, and their vision for the future. Follow, support, & join World Roma Federation through their website at https://www.wrf-gov.org/ and on Twitter @ WRFederation, and Instagram @world_roma_fed_ and @deny_dobobrov. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much. Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic. Keep an eye out for our upcoming book on Romani fortune telling published by Weiser Books available October 2024.Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries. Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina StevensConceived of by Paulina StevensEdited by CherubWith Music by Viktor PachasAnd Artwork by Elijah Vardo

This week on the Black on Black Cinema podcast, the crew returns to discuss "Almost Christmas" the 2016 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by David E. Talbert. The story revolves around the Meyers family, who gather for their first Christmas since the mother's death. Walter, the patriarch, hopes his family can spend five days together under one roof, a challenging feat due to their individual struggles and conflicts. The family navigates personal dilemmas, sibling rivalries, and secrets, striving for unity and the spirit of the holiday.