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Will Lou goes live to break down the Toronto Raptors' 106-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on New Year's Eve. He details the Raptors' issues in crunch time, the struggles of the bench unit against zone coverages, and wishes everyone a happy 2026.Three stars: Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ BarrettGerald Henderson award: Peyton Watson#nba #raptors #nuggets Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.showCheck out our merch! Visit hellowelcome.show and click on the merch link.Original Music by DIVISION 88.Reach out to sales@thenationnetwork.com to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Oxford biologist believes that after humans inevitably go extinct, octopuses may rise to become the next great civilization builders — and they've already started constructing underwater cities.READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/octopus-takeoverWeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #Octopus, #AnimalIntelligence, #Science, #Evolution, #MarineBiology, #OceanCreatures, #SmartAnimals, #HumanExtinction, #Documentary

Plan your year in sync with astrology at MindfulNewYear.comIn this episode of the Quietmind Astrology Podcast, we explore the unique energy of the final week of December 2025 - that awkward in-between time where one year ends and the next begins. With a powerful Stellium in Sagittarius (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars), the cosmos is inviting us to explore, learn, and expand our horizons before the practical energy of Capricorn sets in mid-January.We also dive into the upcoming Full Moon in Ardra Nakshatra on January 3rd, a time ripe for emotional catharsis, "stormy" transformative energy, and intellectual breakthroughs. Learn why New Year's resolutions often fail, how to use the "GPS Method" for spiritual manifestation, and how to navigate information overload in the modern age.Key Takeaways & Timestamps00:00 – The "In-Between" Week & The 2026 FrequencyWe start by acknowledging the awkward limbo between Christmas and New Year's, a time often marked by confusion on where to focus. However, energetically, we are already shifting from the 2025 frequency of endings and completion into the 2026 frequency of possibility, expansion, and new creation (a 1 year in vedic numerology). 01:08 – Sagittarius Stellium: A Time for ExplorationA major Stellium is occurring in Sagittarius involving Mercury, Venus, the Sun, and Mars. This alignment emphasizes exploration, learning, and growth, making it an excellent week for working with mentors, studying philosophy, or traveling to new places, even if just exploring a new part of your local town. 02:04 – Reviewing the Year with MercuryWith Mercury (the intellect) in Sagittarius, now is the ideal time to review the past year: what went well, what didn't, and what lessons were learned. Depending on your rising sign, this energy highlights different areas of life, such as relationships (7th House) or creativity and children (5th House). 04:34 – Why New Year's Resolutions FailResolutions often fade by February because we set them during the fun, expansive energy of Sagittarius, but fail to maintain them when the sun moves into the practical, work-oriented energy of Capricorn in mid-January. To make goals stick, we must be prepared to transition from "dreaming big" to "doing the work." 06:54 – The GPS Method for ManifestationRather than viewing goals as a linear struggle, think of them like a GPS: identify Point A (current reality) and Point B (desired outcome). Spiritually, the shortest distance isn't a line but a single point; by embodying the frequency of your goal now (happiness, excitement), you attract that reality faster and with less resistance. 13:51 – Full Moon in Ardra (January 3rd)We transition into the New Year with a Full Moon in Ardra Nakshatra (Gemini). Ruled by Rudra, the storm god, this energy brings emotional storms and tears that cleanse and purify, much like rain after a drought. Expect opportunities for deep emotional catharsis, truth-telling, and intellectual breakthroughs. 16:12 – Managing Nervous Energy & Information OverloadThe combination of Gemini and Mercury can lead to nervous system agitation and information overload - a common challenge in the AI age. If you feel triggered or overwhelmed, prioritize nervous system regulation (yoga, meditation) and focus only on information relevant to your current life stage or Dasha (e.g., service during a Saturn period). Free Weekly Horoscopes & Exclusive offers: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freehoroscopesFree Vedic Birth Chart & Training:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freebirthchartInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/quietmindastrologyDecode Your Birth Chart: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/1011:1 Reading: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/readingMentorship: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/mentorshipQuietmind Yoga: https://www.quietmind.yoga

[Slide 1] 2025 in Review 1.) [Slide 2] The challenges of 2025 a. Sickness i. Many sicknesses throughout the year are even still floating around. ii. Bouts of hand foot and mouth, the flu, fevers, sore throats, ear infections, and even some pesky allergies. iii. You need to be made of sterner stuff to live in MI I suppose. b. Physical issues i. Cancer battles are ongoing for some. ii. We had a couple broken bones iii. Weakness for some of our aging members iv. Back issues v. Sinus pressure vi. Tooth infections vii. Poison Ivy viii. Surgeries ix. Procedures x. And many doctor visits. c. Tragic Accidents i. We know of folks who have been involved in tragic accidents where people were injured. ii. Sometimes these accidents have changed people's lives forever. iii. Sometimes these accidents have stretched the limits of what it means to forgive and to love one another. d. Wars and Rumors of Wars i. The Russia Ukraine conflict continues ii. And the middle east of course. e. House hunting i. Many have moved to new locations and even new states and have been searching for somewhere to call their own. ii. Some have found homes for themselves – others are still looking diligently. f. Long trials i. Several have heard the word cancer uttered in their diagnosis this year. ii. Many have come through radiation or chemo or both. iii. Some among us took in family members who need constant care. iv. Kathy LaForest and her ongoing battle with cancer. v. Eric Beuaman's ongoing battle with congestive heart failure. vi. Joe and Sandy Henig moving into an assisted living facility and to be closer to family. vii. Jean Evans, with pancreatic cancer back and being put on hospice. viii. The Wingate family in general has endured quite a lot. With aging sisters and saying goodbye to nephews. g. Deaths of family and friends. i. Pat Dunsmore – Tania's father, after a long battle with COPD, went home to be with the Lord. ii. Rick Ellis – Pat and Lyle's Nephew, after yet another cancer battle, also passed on in peace. iii. Terri – Jean Evans' late husband Carl's daughter – promoted to glory after a short battle with cancer. iv. John MacArthur – a highly respected preacher and teacher of the Word passed away this year. h. Some Elders' jobs i. Both CJ and Jerry have experienced work instability this year. ii. CJ is still looking for a job. Jerry had to say goodbye to some work relationships because he was changing jobs. i. Spiritual battles i. We have had some fairly large spiritual issues arise in the church this year. ii. We have had several disputes between neighbors and spouses. iii. We have seen the deceitfulness of sin draw away one of our members. iv. We have also seen others leave in dereliction of their membership covenant obligations. 2.) [Slide 3] The blessings of 2025 a. Weather i. Much closer to normal weather this year. ii. We didn't have 1 single hurricane make landfall in the US. Which is somewhat astounding. iii. Although we didn't have a white Christmas this year we have already had a couple snow storms and even had the snow stick around for quite a while. b. Numerical blessings i. Baby Jaspir Bogen ii. Baby Everett Wegner iii. Baby Leah McCue iv. Baby Loretta McCue is coming in a few short weeks. c. My Fellow American i. Chris Steary passed his test to become a US citizen this year. ii. Congrats to him. d. Audio Visual Upgrades i. We were able to upgrade our computer, projector, and soundboard for our worship services. ii. This was already in the works, and providentially the Lord saw to it that it became abundantly obvious that it was necessary after we experienced some significant technical difficulties during the service. iii. We even had to go old school with an overhead projector one week. e. Missionary blessings i. We had Eric and Cherie Daum with us at the beginning of this year for a couple months. 1. They have since gone back to Asia Pacific, purchased land, built a house, and have moved in. 2. They are still learning the local language and getting ready for a language check very soon. 3. Of course, Bernie and Sue are going back to help for an entire month. ii. We had the Lundquist's join us this year for two weeks including our Lord's Supper catered meal. iii. We also were able to help send Lucy to Senegal - which we heard about this morning. What an amazing ministry. iv. Jordan and Emily experienced heartache this year when Emilly was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After two surgeries it appears they have gotten all of the cancer out. They will test again in a few months. The blessing here is that we have had the opportunity to provide a home for them to live in as they struggle through this time. Praise the Lord. f. Spiritual Blessings i. 4 new professions of faith this year 1. Carrigan Golab 2. Sabreana Porter 3. Waylon McLeod 4. Amanda Jansen ii. 4 baptisms this year iii. 3 New Members were added iv. We began a new Jr. Church format this year, breaking into 3 groups instead of just two. Overall, the teachers have done an amazing job and it seems as though the kids are learning a good deal. v. We began a study bible distribution project last year with a goal of insuring that every father in the church had a LSB John MacArthur study bible. We are happy to announce that only 4 of those bibles remain and most of you are benefitting from one of them. vi. As a church we have also had the opportunity to be a blessing to other organizations. 1. Classical Conversations has entered its 7th year in using our church for its campus. 2. Michigan Karate for Christ began using our building at the beginning of this year to train its students in Kenpo Karate 3. The 4h Club Rustic Ramblers began using our building this year for its meetings as well. 4. We also had two non-member weddings. 5. These have all given us opportunities to be a light to our community. g. We as a church have received the blessing of teaching – LOTS of teaching praise the Lord! i. Basics class continued this year 1. First with the financial peace university, moderated by the Stearys. 2. Then with the Basics for the Christian life study led by both Nick Galante and myself. ii. Thursday Night Prayer Group 1. We meet at 6pm via the TEAMS app. 2. Most nights we pray over our congregation and our many needs and then discuss the sermon from the previous Sunday. iii. Youth Community. 1. We have been plodding along with Youth Community this year. 2. The families who attend find great benefit to the concentrated doses of spiritual truths our children are memorizing in the Baptist Catechism and comradery around other parents struggling to teach key doctrinal truths to their kids. iv. Foundations 1. We actually made quite a good deal of progress this past year in foundations. 2. We took what was originally a 4 year goal to study the entire bible and have crammed that into a 10 year (and counting) chronological study of the scriptures. 3. We have made it to King Josiah. 4. Still this year we have finished Isaiah, began Jeremiah, almost completed 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles and will finish up Nahum in the next few weeks. v. Preaching 1. We finally finished the book of Acts this year. 2. It only took us 2 and a half years and 100 sermons – but we made it. 3. We began our study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, of which we've made it to almost chapter 3. 4. I also preached a Puritan sermon for Thanksgiving from Thomas Manton. vi. BSF 1. Although not affiliated with our church directly, Bible Study Fellowship has a long history of being a great way for people to gather and study the bible together. 2. Many of our church members are either leading or participating in BSF this year in their study of Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, and Esther. vii. There were several more bible studies and gatherings – most of which are a couple or few people who gather regularly to study the scriptures. h. Church finances held i. Even though we had a slight decrease in giving – we still met budget by spending less than we brought in. ii. This is in addition to doing some minor repairs to the parking lot and replacing much of our audio-visual equipment. i. Elders have been challenged this year i. I put this in the blessing category because it is indeed a blessing to see the Lord work through the plurality of qualified leaders He has given you for this church. ii. We have wrestled with questions this year, that we did not expect. iii. We have been baffled, confused, grieved, overjoyed, and frustrated. iv. We have wept together, tears of grief and tears of joy. v. We have laughed together. vi. We have even begun laying plans for developing future Elders. vii. Although no one ever said being an Elder would be easy – this year it was abundantly clear. viii. Pray for your Elders. I would guess that about 75% of our job is held in confidence and is never presented in any way to any of you. ix. Give your Elders the benefit of the doubt too. Should they say or do something that seems egregious… it probably has another explanation. If someone comes to you suggesting that the Elders are doing something crazy – perhaps you should either dismiss what they said or call an Elder up and get it straight from them. x. This year especially – let me remind you – we have labored for your souls. xi. Even if it seems like we don't get much done… know that you only see about 25% of what is happening around here. xii. Remember… we could always go slower.

“We are ruled by psychopaths.” CJ did not coin that phrase, but he repeats it often, and he means it both literally & emphatically. This may sound crazy to many, but that perception is often based on a very mistaken understanding of what the term ‘psychopath’ really means. Join CJ on a deep dive into the true nature of psychopaths, how to spot them, how they operate, & why it’s a very reasonable hypothesis to suspect that psychopaths are very disproportionately represented among corporate oligarchs, politicians, & government officials. Reminder: Now through the end of 2025, you can save 25% off an annual membership to CJ’s Patreon, or 25% off the first month of a monthly membership, with the offer code 1225 ! Like this episode? You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L Throw CJ a $ tip via Venmo here: https://www.venmo.com/u/dangerousmedia Or throw CJ a BTC tip here: bc1qfrz9erz7dqazh9rhz3j7nv696nl52ux8unw79z Other ways to support the show (including CJ’s PO Box address) CJ’s Picks (Amazon Affiliate links to books referenced in this episode) Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert Hare Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work by Paul Babiak & Robert Hare

Happy New Year from Old Time Radio of the 1930s! Featuring: The History of New Year's Day Jack Benny Mary Livingston Don Wilson Georgie Jessel Norma Talmadge Edward Arnold Dennis Day Phil Harris Eddie “Rochester” Anderson Click Here For Old Time Radio New Year Eve!!

A bird known as Titanis walleri made its home in Florida just a few million years ago. Titanis, as its name suggests, was titanic indeed — a flightless predator, 5 feet tall, with a massive hooked bill. Titanis and other birds related to it belong to a group some paleontologists call the "terror birds." They were dominant land predators in South America for tens of millions of years. Paleontologists still aren't clear about why Titanis and its kin went extinct. But whatever factors ended the era of the terror birds also made it a lot less risky to go out and fill your bird feeder.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Before insomnia entered Abbie's life, sleep was effortless. She'd never had to think about it. She fell asleep quickly, stayed asleep, and moved through her days without giving sleep much attention at all. It was simply there — reliable and unremarkable. That changed in the fall of 2021 after a short illness. One sleepless night turned into another, and before long, sleep became the center of everything. What started as confusion quickly grew into anxiety and pressure. Each night felt like a test. Each morning felt heavier. As the nights passed, fear took over — fear of being awake, fear of not functioning, fear that something was permanently wrong. Like many people facing insomnia, Abbie did what made sense. She tried to fix it. She went to bed earlier and earlier. She canceled plans. She followed strict routines. She tried supplements. She searched for answers. And each attempt came with hope — followed by disappointment when sleep didn't show up. Over time, life began to shrink around sleep, and the struggle only intensified. Days became just as difficult as nights. Her mind stayed locked on one question: Am I going to sleep tonight? Anxiety filled the hours. Dread set in as evening approached. Even when she was exhausted, her heart raced and her thoughts refused to slow down. What began to shift things wasn't a new fix — it was a change in how she responded. Abbie started noticing that withdrawing from life wasn't helping. Staying in bed wasn't restoring her energy. And fighting her thoughts wasn't bringing relief. Slowly, she began doing something different: showing up to her life even when sleep felt uncertain. She experimented with staying up later instead of trying to force sleep. She returned to the gym. She made plans. She studied. She lived — without waiting for sleep to cooperate. And over time, something important changed. Sleep became less of a battleground. Her thoughts lost their grip. And trust — in herself and in her body — started to rebuild. In this conversation, Abbie shares what it was like to move through insomnia, how her relationship with sleep changed, and why easing the struggle — not fixing sleep — made all the difference. Click here for a full transcript of this episode. Transcript Martin: Welcome to the Insomnia Coach Podcast. My name is Martin Reed. I believe that by changing how we respond to insomnia and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that come with it, we can move away from struggling with insomnia and toward living the life we want to live. Martin: The content of this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. The statements and opinions expressed by guests are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by Insomnia Coach LLC. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied. Martin: Okay. Abbie, thank you so much for taking the time out for your day to come onto the podcast. Abbie: Yeah, thanks for having me. Great to be here. Martin: Let’s start right at the very beginning. When did your issues with sleep first begin and what do you feel caused those issues with sleep? Abbie: Yeah. It was fall 2021, so like almost four years ago, which is crazy because it feels so vivid in my memories. Abbie: But I had gotten sick, I think it was like the cold or a flu or something, just like a normal sick, and I wasn’t able to sleep which was really jarring for me at the time because prior to this sort of period of insomnia, I had been a really great sleeper. Like I, had my whole life I had basically like. Abbie: I never really thought much about sleep. I fell asleep immediately. I stayed asleep. Yeah I had gotten sick, I wasn’t able to sleep. And then I remember the next night I was like, okay, tonight’s the night like, I have to sleep. So I was already, like putting that pressure on sleep it has to be tonight. Abbie: And so that kind of started, I would say like the feedback loop of okay, I am stressed about sleep. The more I stress about sleep, the less I’m gonna sleep. Yeah, I think I was also dealing with just like a period of more heightened anxiety in my life at the time too. I was applying to graduate school and taking, the admissions tests for that and so maybe it was just like, kinda like the perfect storm. Abbie: I was like, okay, if I’m gonna get better, I need to sleep. I think it was also like, this was the first time in my life I had experienced a sleepless night. And so it was just like, that was really uncomfortable, like laying there awake all night. The longer you’re awake, the more stressed you’re getting, your heart’s kind of beating fast. Abbie: Like the whole thing was just uncomfortable and new for me. So I was like I don’t want that to happen again. I better sleep tonight. Abbie: I feel like each night I wasn’t sleeping, I was just getting more and more anxious about sleeping. I think I was like a week in at that point and I had probably slept two hours each night and I was like, what is going on? Abbie: Am I ever gonna sleep again? And yeah, I mean it was, I would fall asleep around four or 5:00 AM and then be back up again at 6:00 AM for work. And yeah it was just super uncomfortable and yeah, anyone who’s. Insomnia knows how stressful it is. Abbie: It was like, every hour that passes, I’m like, okay, I gotta get up in what, in three hours, two hours, one hour. And then, just this intense desire to stay in bed in the mornings. I think to see if you’re tired and you haven’t slept, and you’re like, all I wanna do is stay in bed. Abbie: I do think, like looking back, I think having my work routine and schedule was like really hard at the time, but really beneficial in some ways because I couldn’t just sit in bed and all day and try to go back to bed and I had to get up and get out and go to work. And that was also ended up being, I think, a good distraction. Abbie: At least for like the eight hours a day I was working. I wasn’t thinking about sleep. I think that was positive. Martin: What about that day, those days when you didn’t have any work obligations? Were things different then? Abbie: Yeah, I would definitely I think early on I would definitely, stay in bed all morning, like trying to quote unquote rest or see if maybe I could eventually fall asleep. Abbie: And just like really dreading the day because I had slept it all and I was like, Ugh, another day I’m gonna be really tired all day. It’s gonna be so bad. Like kind of those typical anxious, catastrophic thoughts of I just, I don’t wanna do the day. Like I didn’t get any sleep. So if there was, if I didn’t have work and nothing was like forcing me outta bed, I think it was, it would’ve been hard. Martin: So at this point. Things are really difficult as you’ve just described. And when we face difficulties in life or problems in life, we look to solve them. Martin: So what was your next step? What other things were you trying to do to get your sleep back on track and get yourself back to where you used to be? Abbie: Yeah, I think I was trying everything. One of the things I started doing early on was like, canceling all my plans and I would get off work and, as soon as I was done with work like the dread and the anxiety about sleeping that night would kick in. Abbie: And so I would be like, okay, I gotta go home. I gotta make dinner and I gotta get in bed. So I was like, my bedtime was becoming earlier and earlier even though I just, I wasn’t tired. And I think I was also pretty much trying every sleep supplement out there that there is like about a month in, I think I’d seen my doctor and she had prescribed me I think it was like Ambien or something, and I never ended up taking it, but I did try every over the counter supplement, magnesium, melatonin, all the things. Abbie: And I would get like really excited like, okay, this is gonna be the thing, like this is gonna work for me. And then every time it didn’t, it was like a letdown of okay, it was like more evidence in my mind that, my sleep is broken and there’s nothing out there that’s gonna fix it. Martin: I think a lot of people are gonna identify with that. Martin: And all the things you shared are completely logical to try, right? If we want more sleep to happen it’s almost ground into us that we go to bed earlier, that it’s important to go to bed early get more sleep, give sleep that opportunity to show up. And there can be, it can be, it’s almost like we can become really enthusiastic or we can just try so hard that it backfires on us to the point where we do less with our lives and sleep then grows in importance. Martin: It becomes more of a focus. So it’s almost like we’re up in the stakes. It becomes even more important for us to perform sleep and then when it doesn’t happen as we want it to. You did a great job of just describing what that’s like yourself. We can just, it feels, it can feel like a personal failure and it can reinforce perhaps this belief that there is something uniquely wrong, that maybe our sleep system is somehow broken. Martin: But the truth of the matter is, it’s. Perhaps it’s all the ongoing efforts and the trying, which now exists when it never existed before, when we slept fine, that might be the true source of the problem. Abbie: Yeah, definitely. And I think yeah, along the lines of just like trying everything to control sleep, I was like doing all the sleep hygiene, things like that were recommended. Abbie: Like I was no screens before bed. Like I just, I had this whole routine of I got a no caffeine, no alcohol, blah, blah, blah. That was just like adding more and more things when, like you just said in the past I had no sleep routine. Like I was, I would pass out on the couch watching TV and go to bed. Abbie: So yeah, I think that’s exactly right. Martin: Often as we’re engaged in this pursuit of sleep, we end up removing things from our lives that, either give us meaning or are enjoyable. And that could be something like we, we might give up coffee altogether, for example, even though that’s something we really enjoy. Martin: We remove that from our lives. We remove TV from our lives. We remove going out with friends late at night from our lives. And so our sleep generally stays the same because sleep doesn’t really care about any of that stuff. But at the same time, our situation has gotten worse because we’re taking all of that stuff away in order to serve sleep. Martin: And it just makes us, it can make us just feel trapped in this just endless spiral of more difficulty and a less joy from life. More withdrawal and more struggle. Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. I definitely think that was my experience. The more I. I stopped my usual routine. The worse, I think the worse that it got, for sure. Abbie: Which is counterintuitive at the time I was like, I can’t be out until 10 o’clock, like I gotta be in bed. And that ended up being one of the things that I, that down the road really helped me was actually staying out late and doing things late at night and doing all these things despite not being able to sleep. Martin: I’m curious, you mentioned earlier that you went to the doctor and they gave you a prescription for the Ambien, but you didn’t end up taking end. Curious to know why that was? Abbie: Yeah. I was really nervous about taking it, but I think what I was really nervous about is that I, that it would work and that I wouldn’t rely on it to sleep and. Abbie: That was like my worst nightmare. It was like, okay, I can suffer and try to sleep and all these things, and if I took this medication and it worked is that gonna be the rest of my life? Am I never gonna be able to sleep again without this medication? So I definitely was like, I think I was really tempted and really close to probably taking it after a month of not sleeping, but I was like yeah, I just wa I didn’t wanna rip the bandaid off, I guess you could say and go down this like spiral of that I felt like I, I couldn’t get back from. Martin: And I think that’s a good illustration of how any effort or anything that we do to try and make sleep happen can so easily backfire. Because if we try something and it feels like it works. We can feel that reinforces this belief or this idea that we need something to generate sleep, that we’re incapable of generating it by ourselves. Martin: And on the other hand, if we try something and it doesn’t work, then we reinforce this belief that we need. We still need to keep looking, that we can’t generate sleep by ourselves, that we failed at that thing or that we failed at sleep. So we’ve got this potential that regardless of the outcome, every time we try, we might be reinforcing this idea or this belief that there’s something wrong with our sleep system, that there’s something wrong with our situation, that something is broken when that’s never the case, as we’ll explore a little bit later in our conversation. Abbie: Yeah, definitely. I think the reliance, like you said on these external things was really big for me early on and that didn’t end up being the solution. Martin: You also made a good point too, that if we do feel like we’re reliant on something, there might be a point in the future where we don’t wanna be reliant on that thing anymore. Martin: So if we haven’t addressed what the real root cause of this issue might be then we are gonna be having to revisit that at some point in the future. So it never really goes away. It’s always gonna be with us. Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. It definitely felt like a short term solution and I was like, I gotta try, I gotta try something else. Martin: People that aren’t too familiar with insomnia will usually only think of insomnia as like a nighttime problem, but when we’ve been struggling with it or we’ve got that experience of struggling with it, we know that it really is a 24 hour problem, right? It affects our nights and it affects our days. Martin: Maybe it affects our days even more than it affects our nights. I’m curious to hear from you. How was this affecting your days? Not only in terms of like you touched upon your, those kind of withdrawal from the activities and doing things that are important to you, but the way your mind was responding. What was that experience like for you? Abbie: Yeah, I would say it was like really intense anxiety. Pretty much from the moment I got outta bed of just these thoughts of am I gonna sleep tonight? And like I had said going to work was a good distraction, but of course I was like exhausted at work and I was like, I don’t know how many more days and nights of this like I can do. Abbie: And you’re just spiraling. Is this permanent? Is this forever? And I think I also developed a lot of health anxiety around it, like I had all these concerns is this gonna have long-term sort of negative consequences on my health? I think, rightfully there’s so much out there about the number one thing you could do for your health and your longevity is sleep. Abbie: And you Google sleep and there’s 15 articles about the negative consequences of not sleeping. And not to say that the science isn’t true. I just think that was like really unhelpful for me at the time of okay, not only is the consequence, like I’m tired and anxious and I, I physically feel bad, but there’s, if this keeps going this is gonna be bad for my health in the long term. Abbie: So I don’t know. All these thoughts were like spiraling all day long. And then as soon as it. I got dark out, like as soon as the sun started to go down I would get this like intense feeling of dread. And yeah. So it was definitely, like you said, an all day thing, not just like a nighttime thing. Abbie: I think at night it was definitely more I’m sitting in bed and my heart is racing and my thoughts are racing and the more you’re trying to sleep, the more your heart is racing. And so it’s like a lot of physical symptoms. And then during the day it was just like a lot of my mind is consumed with, am I gonna sleep tonight? Martin: The messaging around sleep out there is very focused on sleep is very important and I would agree with that. Sleep is very important, just like breathing is very important and we’re still waiting for a study to come out that shows that insomnia causes any health problem or increases risk of mortality. But boy, when you read some of that stuff that’s online, it really does sound like a life or death situation. And when you are already putting so much importance on sleep, it can just make things so much more difficult. Martin: Because it, again, it ups the stakes, right? And you’re gonna put more pressure on yourself to perform sleep. So yeah, I just wanted to emphasize that yes, sleep is important, but the body can generate it by itself just like it generates breathing by itself. And I think a lot of people here listening to this will really identify with how you described what your mind was doing at the time, it was problem solving for you. It was trying to fix this problem. It was brainstorming, and as it was doing that, it was generating lots of difficult feelings, difficult thoughts. It was generating anxiety to ensure that you were giving it attention. Martin: And there’s also that fatigue, right? That sense of exhaustion. And it can just be when you combine that with your mind is just being focused on sleep and generating all these predictions or these stories it can be really hard to focus and to concentrate on doing stuff that matters. Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. Abbie: That, that was definitely my experience. I think, the anxiety is like enough to deal with and then you’re exhausted, and so that’s only feeding it. And you, I just remember feeling okay, if I don’t like. Die from lack of sleep I’m gonna lose my mind. Yeah, it was just a big spiral. Martin: How did you respond to what your mind was doing at the time? Abbie: At the time I had family and friends and a partner who were really supportive and I could confide in and that was great. But I also think unless you’ve experienced insomnia, I still just felt like very alone, in the experience. Abbie: And finding Insomnia Coach was like huge in realizing that I wasn’t alone and that these aren’t unique thoughts and experiences in, in a good way. So yeah, I was trying to cope I think, as best as I could. I was distracting myself. Trying to distract myself at work and yeah, as soon as I realized that the withdrawing from day-to-day activities was making it worse I think that was a really good kind of switch for me in okay, if I can’t sleep, I can’t control the sleep, but I can control my response and I can control what I’m doing. Abbie: So instead of going to bed at 8:00 PM like I’m gonna go and go to the gym. And I, with no expectation that the gym was gonna make me tired, just like I like to go to the gym and I’m gonna, if I’m up anyway, like I’m gonna study for the GRE and do my grad school application. Abbie: So I think, yeah, as soon as I had that mindset shift from withdrawing to. Going back to my normal routine. If anything it, it was a good distraction. Martin: It sounds like you noticed this conflict between some of the thoughts or the stories that your mind was your problem solving brain was telling you as it was trying to fix this problem for you, like you need to withdraw, you can’t do those things. Martin: You need to do less. You need to say, no, you need to go home. All of these things. And compared to your experience, your experience was telling you well, actually withdrawing isn’t making things any better. It’s not making me feel less fatigued or more rested. It’s certainly not making my life any better. Martin: And once you notice that conflict, maybe there was this kinda light bulb moment there that I can hear all these thoughts. I can listen to all these thoughts and stories. I don’t necessarily need to fight them. I just need to respond in a way that’s of my choosing. I get to decide how to respond to these thoughts. Martin: I don’t have to battle with them, struggle with them. I don’t have to let them control me ultimately. I still have the power here. Abbie: Yeah. I do think that was like the first sort of light bulb going off of okay, all of my thoughts and beliefs about anything but about sleep are not necessarily reality. Abbie: I don’t have to believe that, I have this thought, I’m never gonna sleep again. That doesn’t make it true. Or you have this thought like, I need to go home and cancel all my plans and otherwise we’re gonna be exhausted. I was exhausted anyway yeah I do think the realization that I didn’t have to, I guess believe my. Abbie: My thoughts was also like a really big switch for me. Martin: What did it feel like to realize that what your brain might be telling you or what your brain might be saying might not actually be true? Abbie: Yeah, honestly, it felt like a big relief. I and I also think I realize the worse I feel and the more negative the thoughts, the less true my thinking is and the less serious I need to take my thinking. Abbie: So yeah, I think this big relief of there’s a whole reality that exists out in the world and I can always come back to that and whatever my thoughts, my brain are telling me, it doesn’t always match up with what the reality is. And so as soon as I gave myself like, permission to not believe my thoughts, and I still practice this today. Abbie: Like it’s not easy, but you have an anxious thought or something and you’re like, okay, or here’s the alternative and this isn’t true. So yeah, as soon as I gave myself that permission to, to not one take my thinking so seriously and to two not trust it, especially like when I’m feeling down or bad I think yeah, that, that was a huge sort of flip for me and in my kind of journey with insomnia, but also just like my overall mental health journey. Martin: I think it might be human nature to resist what’s difficult or uncomfortable. So for many of us. We will resist anxiety, for example, or try really hard to fight it when it shows up or avoid it from showing up in the first place. As you develop this insight or this light bulb moment that maybe the thoughts aren’t always true, did that change how you were able to respond to them? Abbie: I think the big thing was just like not taking it so seriously like not taking every thought so seriously. And that in turn helped me take some of the pressure off of sleep because if, if I am, my brain is telling me that, if I don’t sleep tonight there’s gonna be all these consequences and blah, blah, blah, then, but if I don’t have to believe that, then it’s not so much pressure that I sleep tonight or the next night or whenever. Abbie: I do think like getting some distance from my own thoughts was also good. Like I, you’re just, I was so in my own head and every thought that came up, I had to follow that train of thought and act on it. When I realized that I didn’t I think I had a lot more freedom to, to actually do the things that felt Right. Martin: So when you found Insomnia Coach, at this point, you’d already been trying lots of different things. What made you think there might be something here rather than it just being yet another one of these things that you’ll probably try and not get much from? What made it feel different? Abbie: Yeah, I think the main thing was there, this sort of like notion that there’s actually nothing to do, I think a lot of other content, like I had mentioned was like, do this, and this before better or don’t do this and this. And when I found Insomnia Coach, I just really, it was the first time I had seen the messaging like, the more we try, the less sleep will come. Abbie: And so I think when I first found it, I was like, it’s like when some, when you’re stressed and someone tells you to calm down, you’re like, yeah, okay. Stop trying. Sure. That I think at the time seemed like pretty much impossible. But yeah, I think the, there was a lot of content in the emails that you sent that was like one, like I mentioned, making me feel like I’m not alone in this and this isn’t unique to me. Abbie: And two. Maybe I can just let go a little bit, like maybe I can stop trying so hard. And there were some other like specific sort of techniques and things that, that you had mentioned that ended up being really helpful for me, which I am happy to talk about. But yeah, I think it was just the permission to stop trying so hard. Martin: If we are able to remember a time when sleep wasn’t an issue or a concern, what were we doing to make sleep happen so well back then? And maybe our own experience can reveal the most valuable insight, which is that sleep was effortless. It required no effort, there were no rules, there were no rituals. It just happened by itself, and that’s really where we want to get back to. Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. I think that sort of idea you’re mentioning about some of the most valuable information being like my own experience. I think that came up again and again it later in my journey with insomnia. Like when I would have like bumps along the road, I would go back to okay, I’ve had insomnia before. Abbie: I pretty much didn’t sleep for like months on end. And I survived, and I. I went to work and I functioned and all these things like that is evidence for me in my mind that I can do it again. And I think what made this like first like intense bout so hard was that I, this was the first time it had happened. Abbie: Like I didn’t have evidence that I could go back to my baseline, but as soon as I had that, like first night of like normal sleep, I think that was really powerful for me to be like, okay here’s your own experience and evidence that it’s possible to sleep. Again. Martin: It really is a learning experience, I think. Martin: And there’s that classic phrase that we don’t know what we don’t know but if we can approach things with some kindness that we aren’t these all encompassing, all seeing individual geniuses, that there are gonna be things that we don’t know. And we can be kind to it to ourselves about that and be curious and be willing to learn or experiment. Martin: There is so much value there because I think that really is what gives us the opportunity to make change happen. Abbie: Yeah, I definitely wish I had been easier on myself when things were at their peak. I think I, yeah, just like the self-talk and like the things you’re telling yourself why can’t I do this? Abbie: My sleep must be broken. It’s all just negative reinforcement instead of positive sort of affirmations for yourself. I think that can be really hard in the moment. But yeah, looking back, I, I think that would’ve been really useful. Martin: It’s amazing how hard we can be on ourselves when things, when we’re experiencing difficulty and struggle, because I like to believe that there’s good in all of us, and I think that most of us, if we were sitting down with a loved one and they were describing exactly what we were going through themselves, we would talk to them in a completely different way to how we talk to ourselves when we are experiencing that exact same thing. Abbie: Yeah. That is so true. I think that’s something I, I’m still working on, like in every situation what would I tell my loved one, or my friend or my family like I would, if the roles were reversed and a friend had come to me with this insomnia problem, like I would’ve been really like concerned and worried for them. Abbie: But of course I wouldn’t have been like. And I would be like, you’re gonna sleep again. Of course you’re gonna sleep again. And I couldn’t tell myself that at the time. Martin: And if nothing else, again, if we pull on our own experience, we can ask ourselves, how does talking to myself in this way? Or how does acting toward myself in this way help? Martin: Is it improving the situation? Is it making me feel better? Is it helping me emerge from the struggle? Or is it making things more difficult? And I’m a big, I’m a huge proponent of us using our own experience as our best guide, because every person is the expert on themselves. I’m not the expert of anyone other than myself. Martin: But what I can do is encourage people to look within themselves and reflect on their own experience. When it comes to so many struggles in life maybe all of them, the answers that we need are already within us. It’s just a case of. Looking for them. And sometimes we need some kind of external influence or source to tease them out, but all the answers are already within us. Abbie: Yeah. Yeah, that’s a great point. Martin: Let’s get into the changes that you made, that you found most helpful. What ones would you like to share with us? Abbie: Yeah, the most like tangible thing I did was give myself this sort of like wake window in which I couldn’t go to bed. I think I started with three or 4:00 AM or something, and I was like, I’m not even gonna attempt to sleep. Abbie: I have to stay up until 3:00 AM and then I can get in bed and whatever happens, but like until 3:00 AM I am watching tv, I’m doing something, whatever. And I think this like definitely tricked my brain from I have to sleep, I have to sleep, I have to sleep to, I can’t sleep until this time. Abbie: I think that was like really powerful for me. And, it wasn’t like a cure all, like all of a sudden I was sleeping, but it took probably a month when I was like slowly pushing back this sleep sort of window earlier and eventually I would, it would be like 2:00 AM and I would be like passing out to sleep on the couch. Abbie: And I was like, okay, we’ll push it back to 1:00 AM and midnight. And that was really helpful for me. And something that I used, even once my sleep improved, if I had, a bad night or a bad week, I’d be like, okay we’re going back to this like wake window and tonight I’m up until three and we’ll see what happens. Abbie: So yeah it was totally just a mental thing of telling yourself you need to sleep versus telling yourself you have to stay awake. Which is such a simple thing when you, when I look back, but that was like really transformative. Yeah. And the other thing, like I talked about, I think was just like really returning to my routine. Abbie: So like I, I would hang out with friends after work. I would go to the gym, take, my roommate at the time was like a night shift nurse, so she was up anyway, so I’d be like, let’s go do something. And, I’d be out, it’d be like midnight and I’d be like, okay. That was all time in which I was distracted and not thinking about sleep. Abbie: And then I come home and I found sleek to just be a lot easier as soon as I, yeah, sleep to be a lot easier. When I wasn’t laying in bed at 8:00 PM every night waiting for it to happen. Martin: I think what you’ve shared is a great example of there’s no unique way of doing this that is gonna work or be appropriate for everyone. Martin: It’s about finding what’s helpful for you with the intent, as long as the intention is workable, as long as you’re not trying to control what can’t be controlled. So for you, your intent was to move away from trying to make sleep happen. And as a way of helping you reach that goal, you decided I’m gonna make myself stay awake till 3:00 AM instead of trying to fall asleep, I’m gonna try to stay awake. Martin: And that could be such a powerful mindset shift, right? Because then when we’re trying to stay awake. What might happen differently? What was your experience? How did things change when you went from trying to sleep to trying to stay awake? Abbie: Yeah, I just felt like the, I had a new goal, like my brain had a new problem to solve, and the problem was like, we gotta stay up till 3:00 AM and I gotta find stuff to do until 3:00 AM. Abbie: So that was helpful. And just yeah, taking the pressure off from and getting outta my own thoughts of okay, it’s another hour and I’m outta sleep. It’s another hour and I’m not asleep. And into just a more calm and peaceful state of mind. And then of course once that happens, like I would just, I would fall asleep. Abbie: And even on those nights, like when I. I was trying to make to 3:00 AM and I would like doze off at two or something. I would, the next day I would be like, okay, like what did I do? Like how did I do it? And every night it was like I didn’t do anything, like my body just fell asleep and there was enough sleep drive to, to put me to sleep. Abbie: And then, yeah, as soon as I had, like even I, like I mentioned I was really sleeping like very little. So even when I had three or four hours of sleep a night, that was again, more evidence in my mind that my sleep is not broken and it is possible. So it was that positive feedback cycle, whereas before it had been this negative feedback cycle. Martin: When you weren’t trying to make sleep happen, you were now all of a sudden trying to stay awake. That urge to sleep just became stronger because you’re no longer putting that pressure on or putting the effort in. And that came too with the bonus of, it’s a powerful reminder that your sleep system is still there, it’s still intact, it’s not broken. Martin: You are feeling that sense of sleepiness and a sense of sleepiness isn’t always required for sleep to happen, but it can be a nice reassuring reminder when you feel that sleepiness and the difficulty staying awake. And even if someone is listening to this and they don’t really wanna stay awake until 3:00 AM again, that’s not a requirement. Martin: A lot of people just look to stay awake later than they have been. If they feel like they go into bed earlier and it’s not really doing much for them, then how about we just move it a little bit later? Martin: It’s just a tool that’s there for you to practice if and when you as the expert on yourself, feel is gonna be useful. Abbie: Yeah, definitely. We’re trying to get away from here’s the one thing that’s gonna fix everything and that’s not the case. But I do think anything that can flipped the script in your brain from sleep whether it’s distraction or whether it’s staying up later or whatever, I think can be really useful. Martin: Yeah. And sometimes staying up later can be more appealing than going to bed earlier. If we find that when we go to bed earlier is a lot of tossing and turning and struggling and battling, it can be somewhat of a relief to give ourselves permission to stay out of bed and not go to bed until later. Martin: Whereas on the other hand, someone else listening to this might find that time in bed quite pleasant. In which case, why not go to bed at the time you’ve been going? It really does, again, come down to the individual, but there is that potential opportunity, bonus opportunity there of being able to do something else earlier in the night rather than struggling. Martin: The other helpful change that you’ve said that you made was reengaging in life and doing stuff for example, going to the gym which maybe you were doing less of in response to the difficulties with sleep. And I think maybe a lot of people listening to this can recognize that. Yeah I would love to do all these things that matter to me. Martin: But it just feels so difficult to do that. It maybe, it even feels impossible to do that. I’m curious to know if you had those kind of thoughts, and if so, how did you stay committed or how were you willing to experiment with this idea of still doing some of this stuff, re-engaging in this stuff that matters? Abbie: Yeah, I, I think early on, like fighting the urge to just go home and do nothing was so hard. Like the last thing it did, it felt impossible to think I’m gonna go do something with friends after work, or I’m gonna go to the gym or whatever. And I did kind of shy away from everything for a long time because it was so hard. But I think even like that first time that I made plans after work or went to the gym and realized like, okay, nothing bad happened I’m still just as tired as I was before. It wasn’t, I think also at this point, like my body was in such like fight or flight mode that like nothing, like I just was exhausted and nothing was making it better or worse honestly. Abbie: And so when I realized okay, I can either. Go home and toss and turn in bed all night and feel horrible. Or I can go to the movies after work and then come home and feel horrible. I’m gonna pick the thing that at least gives me a little bit of joy for the time that I’m doing it. And yeah not to say doing any of that, like somehow cured my sleep or anything. Abbie: But I started slowly to like care a little bit less and less that I wasn’t sleeping because it, one of the things I had been telling myself is okay, why is it so bad that I can’t sleep? It’s so bad because I’m not gonna be able to live my life. Abbie: I’m not gonna be able to go to work. I’m gonna get fired. All these things. And when you realize that, okay, these things are not conditional on sleep, like I can still do these things. Despite whether or not I sleep, I think there was a lot of freedom in that. Martin: What did progress for you look like? How did you measure progress? Abbie: I definitely think early on it was still all about sleep and the quality of my sleep. And every night was like either a success or a failure. Like I either slept or I didn’t, and things were very black and white. And I think slowly over time I was able to realize, okay, maybe there’s a little bit less anxiety and a little bit less dread before bedtime because I’m excited to go out with my roommate or to go to yoga or whatever. Abbie: Like eventually I got to the point where success, I think I, I always was gonna like care about sleep, but I definitely got to the point where success was a lot more like. What is my mental state about sleep? Am I wrapped up in this like anxious bald spiral or am I thinking and doing other things with my day? Abbie: So yeah, I think measuring progress definitely changed. Does as time went on. And I do think measuring progress in did I sleep or did I not sleep is, was not useful for me personally. Martin: It makes sense why we would want to measure progress based on how we’re sleeping from night to night because that’s the main problem that we are looking to solve. Martin: And yet it can set us up for struggle ’cause our own experience probably tells us that sleep is out of our control. So I think it can be useful to dig a little bit deeper and ask ourselves. What makes sleep important to me? Why do I want to get rid of insomnia? Martin: And on the surface it can sound obvious, but if you do a little bit of digging, we can often find that it reveals bigger insights that are often more related to, we see this as an obstacle to us living the kind of life we want to live. We don’t have freedom over our lives or power over our lives anymore, and we want that back. Martin: And so when you uncover something along those lines, if that’s something that you do uncover. It can help you redirect your attention towards action. And maybe then your markers of progress become more related to action. And that can be so helpful because action is within your control. So if insomnia is an obstacle to you doing things that matter, or if you’ve started to do some things that matter, maybe then that’s the true progress. Martin: ’cause it’s actually moving you closer to where you want to be, rather than trying to eliminate something which you might not be able to direct your control. Abbie: Definitely true for me that one of the worries with insomnia was like, like I said I’m not gonna be able to go to work, I’m not gonna be able to be successful in a career or maintain my relationships, giving myself evidence that’s not true in the form of well, I’m gonna do these things anyway, was so powerful. Martin: It’s connected to that power and influence all these thoughts and these feelings that show up alongside insomnia have over your life. So you are able to reflect on the fact that they were almost certainly still showing up maybe less over time as you’re less tangled up in them. Martin: But I’m sure they would still show up because they’re natural, normal human feelings and thoughts, but they’re not consuming all of your energy and all of your attention. They’re more like water off of a duck’s back rather than some, rather than this huge pair of stadium speakers right in front of your face just blaring heavy metal music. Martin: They’re just starting to lose some of that power and influence. Abbie: Yeah, definitely. And it’s so interesting to reflect now when I have a period of sleeplessness or something like. Just how now it’s like an annoyance. I’m like that was annoying. I might be tired today. When before it was like, the world is ending, so I think the seriousness at which I view not sleeping has, is definitely definitely lessened, which is good Martin: When it shows up it’s more like a mosquito rather than a huge black bear frothing at the mouth. Abbie: Yeah. Martin: As you were making these changes, was it just a case that things just got progressively better? Martin: Or did you find there were periods when things went well and then there were like these road bumps or setbacks? Was there any kind of patterns you were noticing, or was it all over the place? What did that look like for you? What did that journey look like for you? Abbie: Yeah, definitely was not linear. Abbie: I think about maybe after about six months, I felt like I was sleeping okay, maybe six hours a night in my own bed. But I think sleeping elsewhere or having my partner stay over, traveling, all that stuff was like still really hard for me. And like on one pattern I noticed was like on Sunday nights I really had trouble sleeping because I was like, again, putting pressure, like this is my last night before I have an entire work week to get through. If I don’t sleep tonight, I’m gonna be tired all week. And then by the time like Thursday came, I think sleep was like a lot easier ’cause it just was like, okay, I’m at the end of the week. I’m tired. Abbie: But yeah, I would say it was probably about like a year until I felt like I could really sleep elsewhere, like travel or stay at my parents’ house or anything, and sleep. Abbie: There were definitely bumps along the road and about a year in I ended up going to grad school and that was just like a big change in my life and a period of kind of stress and some of the sleep issues came back and I just went right back to the things that I had worked last time. Abbie: Like I went back to my wake windows and I think it was just so much easier when it did come back because instead of thinking like I, I mean there were some thoughts of oh no, like it’s happening again. But more so there were thoughts of I did this before, I can do it again. And I have better tools now. Abbie: So I think looking back, it was like each bump along the road made things better in a way. ’cause it was like, again, more evidence that these things are gonna ebb and flow, but I’m always gonna return to baseline. Martin: You can’t have those bumps in the road unless you’re moving forward on your journey. Martin: And that’s something we can easily lose sight of. We focus on what hasn’t gone right or we focus on the setback but that wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t within that context of some kind of progress. Abbie: Yeah, I definitely had a lot more gratitude, like going from sleeping one or two hours a night, like every next hour that I was able to sleep. Abbie: Like I was just grateful for. And even now if I consistently will get eight hours of sleep and every once in a while I’ll be like, I need to remember to be thankful for that because there was a period in which like four hours of sleep was like the ultimate goal. So yeah, definitely a good exercise in practicing gratitude too. Martin: I think when the difficult nights show up or when the nights when we get less sleep than usual or what we were hoping for, it’s a reminder that as human beings there are gonna be nights when we have less sleep than we want. Just there will be thoughts that show up and some of those thoughts will feel good, some won’t, some will be helpful, some won’t. Martin: And it really is just a case, like you said, of the ongoing practice. You’ve got that experience at that point of what has helped you. It’s just a case of going back to them or refocusing on them. Because every time you practice, you also get better at them. You gain more skill In all these things that we talked about, you develop more resiliency, you become better at it. Martin: But that doesn’t mean you can reach this ultimate peak of enlightenment when none of this stuff affects you and never shows up ever again. Life doesn’t work that way. There’s like this magnet force trying to draw us back into a struggle. But it’s a case of you’ve got that awareness now of when that’s happening, you know an alternative way to respond. Martin: And you can focus on those action based responses to continue moving forward. As you reflect on the journey that you’ve been on, how has it changed your life? What have you learned from this whole experience? Abbie: When it was happening I remember, like I said, just having these really negative thoughts of this is gonna change my life for the worst. Abbie: I’m gonna have long-term, health or otherwise consequences from this. And not only has that not been the case but also I feel like it, it really has had a positive impact in that. I just feel like a lot more equipped to handle. The ebbs and the flows. There was a point in my life where, you know, thinking about having kids and traveling and all these things that were gonna disrupt my sleep, like really stressed me out. Abbie: And those things are a little bit quieter now that I have this like trust that, that I can handle these things. And I think that extends not just to like insomnia, but other areas in my life like these thought patterns and this mentality like can be applied to any sort of like area of anxiety or just any sort of thoughts that I’m having. Abbie: Yeah, I’ve definitely found it just like mentality shift to be useful in other areas of my life as well. Martin: You’re not the first person to say that, and I completely agree with you. A lot of this stuff that we talk about can really powerfully impact our lives in a positive way. It’s not just a way to respond to insomnia. Martin: The experience can be a real growth opportunity, which sounds crazy when you’re still in the struggle with it, but once you’re able to reflect back on it, what you learn from the experience can be a huge asset. Abbie: Yeah, definitely. I think it, like you said, at the time I would’ve just like totally rolled my eyes that this is gonna be a positive thing in the long run. Okay, sure. But yeah it really has been. Given me a lot of coping skills I think that I can take into the future and into other areas of my life. Martin: Abbie, I’m really grateful for the time you’ve taken out your day to come on. If someone with chronic insomnia is listening they feel as though they’ve tried everything. They’re beyond help. They’ll never be able to stop struggling with insomnia. What would you say to them? Abbie: I think first I would say you are not alone. And in the nicest way possible, like your anxiety and your insomnia is not special. I remember feeling like that’s great that all these people have found these solutions, but somehow my insomnia is worse and mine is different. Abbie: And these things like peace and returning to this baseline is not possible for me. And the funny thing is that’s what we’re all thinking. That our insomnia, our anxiety is somehow different and special. And yeah, just to say that, me overcoming this also isn’t special. Abbie: That is possible for everybody. And yeah the path might not be linear, but I think it’s possible for everybody and we can’t control sleep, like we’ve been saying. But you can control how you respond and I think that’s the best way forward. Martin: Thanks again for taking the time to come onto the podcast and to share your journey, your experience, all the insights you’ve picked up on the way. Abbie: Yeah. Thanks so much. It was great to talk. Martin: Thanks for listening to the Insomnia Coach Podcast. If you're ready to get your life back from insomnia, I would love to help. You can learn more about the sleep coaching programs I offer at Insomnia Coach — and, if you have any questions, you can email me. Martin: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Insomnia Coach Podcast. I'm Martin Reed, and as always, I'd like to leave you with this important reminder — you are not alone and you can sleep. I want you to be the next insomnia success story I share! If you're ready to stop struggling with sleep and get your life back from insomnia, you can start my insomnia coaching course at insomniacoach.com. Please share this episode!

Mistletoe and Wine became the UK's Christmas Number One on 18th December, 1988; the first of three singles Cliff Richard would take to the top of the festive charts. What makes its triumph so curious is that the song began life as a sardonic showtune written in 1976 for a small musical based on The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. Originally, it underscored a scene in which the impoverished heroine is literally kicked into the snow by the heartless middle classes. Its journey to yuletide staple began with Twiggy's 1987 performance in an ITV adaptation of the musical. By then the number had morphed into a lively pub singalong, catching the ear of Terry Britten, long-time Cliff collaborator, who passed the tune along.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Leslie Stewart, one of the songwriters, disliked Cliff's canonical version; explain why British ears appreciate the song with simultaneous earnestness and irony; and reveal what links this festive classic to the iconic theme tune for ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'... Further Reading: • ‘I Wrote That: Cliff Richard's ‘Mistletoe and Wine'' (PRS, 2024):  https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/mistletoe-and-wine-cliff-richard-leslie-stewart-keith-strachan-christmas-i-wrote-that • ‘Mistletoe and Wine's political beginnings' (BBC News, 2013): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25333691 • ‘Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine' (Official Video, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZCEBibnRM8 #Music #Christmas #Christian #80s #Theatre Love the show? Support us!  Join 

Women who rule as heads of state are badasses, and Elizabeth Norton joins Alex Churchill and Matt Bone to convince you to buy her book, Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy, and introduce you to some of the most incredible women to have ever ruled. She has 15 minutes to do it.Patreon members get extra time: 15 more minutes, in which you get to see behind the scenes and find out how the book was written. You can subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/15MinuteBookClubBuy the book (UK) https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/15MinuteBookClubBuy the book (US) https://bookshop.org/shop/15MinuteBookClubPatreon members get extra time: 15 more minutes in which you get to see behind the scenes and find out how the book was written. You can subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/15MinuteBookClubWatch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/@15MinuteBook_ClubBuy the book (UK) https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/15MinuteBookClubBuy the book (US) https://bookshop.org/shop/15MinuteBookClub Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

History doesn't usually begin with two sisters on war elephants — but this one does. In 40 AD, the Trưng Sisters ignited a violent break from Han Dynasty rule, led armies commanded by women, seized more than sixty citadels, and ruled Vietnam as queens for three hard-fought years. In today's episode Ben is joined by Dr. Pat Larish to chart the rise, rule, and last stand of the women who turned occupation into identity — and became the blueprint for two thousand years of Vietnamese resistance.

-Warner Bros. Discovery's board has formally rejected the $108 billion takeover bid from Paramount Skydance. WBD said it remains committed to its $82.7 billion deal with Netflix, which would close some time next year, pending regulatory approval. -Amazon is in discussions with OpenAI to invest $10 billion in the company while supplying more of its AI chips and cloud computing services, according to The Financial Times. The deal would push OpenAI's valuation over $500 billion but is likely to raise more questions about the company's circular investment agreements involving chips and data centers. -Back in 2022, the California DMV accused the automaker of using deceptive language to advertise those products and making it seem like its vehicles are capable of level 5 autonomous driving. Tesla has since added the word “Supervised” to the name of its Full Self-Driving assistance technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Holiday Spirit from 1937, 1938, and 1939as served up by Old Time Radio! Christmas Time is here again. A time when us older folks reconnect with the child we once were. Moments from past Christmases relived, smiles and tears remembered. Longing and gratitude and the laughter of those we've lost. At least that's what happens … Continue reading When Radio Ruled #151 – A 1930s Christmas

In this short podcast episode, Bryan takes us on a history journey back to when ammonia ruled the world. In the mid-1800s, before R-12, many inventors and scientists experimented with vapor-compression refrigeration systems to make ice. They used a variety of refrigerants in their patents, including ether, ethyl ether, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methyl chloride, and ammonia. Each one had tradeoffs, but ammonia was the favorite because it was inexpensive, very good at moving heat, and useful because its odor made leaks obvious (although it was toxic and irritated the lungs and mucus membranes). Toxic refrigerants, particularly sulfur dioxide and methyl chloride, were common refrigerants but had plenty of negative press due to the many deaths they caused. In response to the public's reservations about toxic refrigerants, Thomas Midgley from General Motors (who developed leaded gasoline) teamed up with Charles Kettering and DuPont to find a refrigerant that was non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-corrosive. In 1930, they announced dichlorodifluoromethane, also known as R-12 (a CFC) and trademarked as Freon. This refrigerant was non-toxic, non-flammable, and had no odor, and it effectively replaced the methyl chloride, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia. However, many decades later, scientists discovered that chlorine-bearing compounds were destroying the ozone layer. To combat the environmental damage, many nations signed the Montreal Protocol in the 1980s, which would effectively phase out R-12, R-11, and other CFC refrigerants. Over time, the regulations have tightened on HCFCs and high-GWP HFCs, leading us to where we are now with lower-GWP A2L HFCs and HFO blends. As with the old refrigerants, each refrigerant had a tradeoff. Meanwhile, this whole time, ammonia never became truly obsolete and quietly remained the lifeblood of industrial refrigeration, and it also had no global warming potential OR ozone-depletion potential. Ammonia systems run with relatively little charge, especially when paired with CO2, and ammonia is still a powerhouse today because of its chemical formula (NH3), good compression ratio, and excellent latent heat of vaporization. Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool. Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.

Post-Gazette Steelers insiders Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo report on coach Mike Tomlin's weekly news conference that included numerous injury updates ahead of an NFL Week 16 matchup with the Detroit Lions. Could T.J. Watt return from his partially collapsed lung sooner than expected? Are Isaac Seumalo and Derrick Harmon good bets to bounce back as well? And what's the latest on James Pierre after he was replaced by Asante Samuel Jr. on Monday night against the Dolphins? Our duo tackles those questions, then looks ahead to the Lions game; takes stock of the AFC North race with the Ravens; and ponders what comes next for Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and the passing game after a successful night against the Dolphins. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Which national team is the best there ever was? After Stefan Lövgren joined us to talk about the Bengan Boys, our hosting squad Martin Vilstrup, Víctor Tomàs and Bengt Kunkel grabbed Kentin Mahé to talk about their successors. The French national team "Les Experts", led by Nikola Karabatic, won everything there is to win in the handball world. World Championships, European Championships, they even defended Olympic Gold. But what was so special about them? Find out in the podcast!

On this bonus episode, we round up the latest Arsenal news. We start with an update on the injury suffered by Ben White during the 2-1 win over Wolves in the Premier League and we react to Sam Dean's report on the reaction to what was a disappointing performance inside the dressing room. Sign up to support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/thechroniclesofagooner?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Ruled by an autocratic Emperor, Jesus lived in an area occupied by the mighty Roman Empire. How was this system of one-man rule established, and how did it flourished and operate at the time of Jesus’ birth, during his adult life, and the subsequent early Christian movement? Ee40. Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard book available at https://amzn.to/3RU7oyp Other books by Professor Mary Beard available at https://amzn.to/3LUQThQ Dan Snow's History Hit podcast available at https://amzn.to/48HlmtH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: Dan Snow's History Hit podcast (Episode 1290 - Roman Emperors with Mary Beard). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The idea of status — how we see ourselves and how others see us — has always shaped human behaviour, from the playground to the boardroom. But in today's hyperconnected world, where likes, followers, and digital validation reign supreme, status feels more complex and more powerful than ever. Author and journalist Will Storr delves deep into this very phenomenon in his thought-provoking book, The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It. Drawing on psychology, anthropology, and storytelling, Storr explores how the pursuit of status drives everything from our daily choices to the rise and fall of societies. It's a compelling read that asks uncomfortable questions: Are we really in control of our ambitions, or are we all just playing the same invisible game? Join the Full e-Booked team as we unpack the book's key ideas, stories, and insights to discover whether The Status Game offers a guide to understanding human behaviour — or simply reveals how easily we can be driven by it. Full e-Booked Team! @full_e_booked

JP Finlay and Mitch Tischler join you to discuss the Jayden Daniels situation after the Commanders ruled him out for Sunday game against the Giants. The guys start off discussing how we got here, what it means for the future and the big question, should he play the rest of the season. After a thorough JD5 discussion the discussion turns to how warm Dan Quinn's seat isSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

JD5 was once again hurt during the Minnesota game and is out for Sunday Something is not adding up with another JD5 injury It is drama each week with this Commanders team

Today's episode of BMitch & Finlay features the guys reacting to Jayden Daniels being ruled out for yet another week.

Great Scott, Slackers!Travel back to 1985, the absolute sweet spot of Gen X goodness. Holy cow, 1985 was pretty freaking good when it comes to TV, movies, and music!Television: Who ruled Thursday nights? Which new shows instantly became appointment viewing, and which now-iconic series launched that year?Box Office: The highest-grossing films of 1985 delivered time-traveling DeLoreans, Saturday detention, and one very Italian stallion with not one, but two huge hits. Billboard Hot 100: From synth-pop anthems to power ballads and surprising one-hit wonders, these are songs that I can clearly remember blasting from my transistor radio while mowing the lawn.Looking back it was a pretty glorious year. Anyone else have their first "official" date in 1985? I know I did!

Chris Russell opens the show with Dan Quinn's announcement that Jayden Daniels will sit out against the Giants after re-aggravating his elbow injury, setting off another round of questions about Washington's decision-making. The Rooster dives into how the organization has mishandled Daniels' injuries and several other situations this season, before highlighting the odd wrinkle that Daniels is still practicing despite being ruled out. We close the hour with some fun at A-MAC's expense as the Giants fire their defensive line coach for an airplane-seat tantrum.

The greatest battle of our age is spiritual. Long before Silicon Valley and algorithms, Jesus warned us that our way of seeing determines our way of being. But today, our "lamp is our screen," and the algorithms behind it are engineered to disciple us, shaping our reactions, emotions, and identity.In this profound conversation, Russ Ewell and Zach Leighton (Reliant Media Group) dive deep into the spiritual crisis of the digital age. They discuss the difference between conforming to the world's patterns and being transformed by the renewing of our minds.Zachary Leighton → Reliant Creative: https://reliantcreative.org/Zach Leighton, founder of Reliant Media Group, empowers churches and nonprofits with story-driven, digital media strategies that deepen connection and build community. With expertise in brand development he helps ministries share their unique stories in a way that resonates and drives lasting impact.Scriptures:Luke 11:34-36 VoiceRomans 12:2 NIVHebrews 11:1 NLTRomans 5:3-4 NIVRevelation 12:11 NIV► SUBSCRIBE: https://youtube.com/deepspirituality/?sub_confirmation=1Chapters:00:00 Coming up01:29 Algorithm of faith introduction06:13 What is Reliant Creative?08:01 Why churches are slow to change13:13 Why we run to social media19:28 [Ad] Deep Spirituality Newsletter20:51 What do churches have to invest in to tell their story30:01 What story does the average Christian need to tell?39:14 [Ad] Deep Spirituality Newsletter40:22 Why does the story speak to our soul?54:03 Reliant Creative + Outro

Kelly Cates is joined by England batter Dawid Malan to react to the news that England bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out for the rest of the Ashes series - before former England bowlers Isa Guha and Steven Finn and Durham head coach Ryan Campbell join Mark Chapman to discuss England's defeat in the 2nd Ashes Test in Brisbane.

What's REALLY Happening in the Luigi Mangione Case New Evidence Revealed  Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Police Off the Cuff, Real Crime Stories! Retired NYPD Sergeant Bill Cannon dives into the latest updates on the Luigi Mangione case, offering a sharp legal analysis of recent court hearings and the evidence under review. This compelling true crime story highlights the complexities of law as a judge determines what information will be admitted under the federal rules of evidence, crucial for the ongoing law and crime proceedings. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this sermon, we see the peace of Christ that rules our hearts as believers. We also see the riches of the indwelling Word for us in Christ. May we be encouraged to see the peace given to us and to treasure the Word of God as a precious gift of His grace!

Curated clips of live broadcasts from popular radio shows of the day. October 23 – October 29, 1939 A tapestry of History through the eyes of people as they lived it, reported by radio. In today's SoundScape: Gildersleeve throws a Halloween Party! The Question of the Week! The Great Frederick Knocks Off Important Dough! Carol … Continue reading When Radio Ruled #150 – SoundScape 1939 part 22

Nematodes are found in every environment on Earth and can survive in some seriously extreme conditions.They will come back to life after being frozen for 40 thousand years! WHAT THE DUCK?!There's so much more to these creatures than a chocolate square for an itchy rear end…Sign up here for the nematode appreciation society.Featuring:Dr Mike Hodda, senior principal research scientist, National Research Collections Australia, CSIROBethany Perry, PhD student at the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity, University of Canberra and CSIROProduction:Ann Jones, Presenter / ProducerRebecca McLaren, ProducerHamish Camilleri, Sound EngineerThis episode of What the Duck?! was recorded and produced on the land of the Ngunnawal, Wadawarrung and Taungurung people.Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.

BREAKING NEWS on JAKIB Sports: Jalen Carter has been RULED OUT for Monday Night Football after undergoing a procedure on both of his shoulders, and the Eagles' defensive rotation just took a massive hit heading into a primetime showdown. Zander Krause & John McMullen react to what this means for the trenches, how Sean Desai adjusts, and where the Eagles go from here.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/birds-365/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The High Court has ruled that holiday rental company Bachcare's cancellation terms were unfair. John Small, Commerce Commission chair, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Carl and Mike are joined by Dave Archer as they discuss the Falcons continued struggles on special teams and why calls for change with that unit are warranted.

Our story picks up with Joash (the hidden royal) being brought forth at the age of seven and hailed as the king of Judah followed by the death of Athaliah. Peace reigns in Judah as we see over 100 years of four fairly "good" kings reigning in Judah from 835-731 B.C. These kings started well but didn't always finish well: Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah and Jotham. King Joash     ⁃    Takes the kingship at age 7     ⁃    Jehoiada, the High Priest, is Joash's mentor, advisor and instructor     ⁃    Spiritual reformation was taking place across Judah as Joash starts out so well with Jehoiada as his advisor -  until Jehoiada's death     ⁃    Joash then gets new advisors (2 Chronicles 24:17-18) and they led him astray, worshiping idols and God's anger came.     ⁃    Zechariah is the High Priest after Jehoiada. Zechariah was Jehoiada's son. He tells Joash and his new advisors of their sin against God, so they plot to kill him. 2 Chronicles 24:20. Zechariah is stoned to death.     ⁃    Hazael is victorious in bottles over Judah     ⁃    Then Joash's assignation follows Amaziah      ⁃    Amaziah is Joash's son - Amaziah starts well but doesn't finish well, following the pattern of his father.     ⁃    Mercenaries come from Israel     ⁃    Amaziah is given victory as he acts on the words of God through a prophet.  2 Chronicles 25:9      ⁃    But then Amaziah brings idols back from that victory. 2 Chronicles 25:15. Again a prophet comes to Amaziah to warn him, but this time Amaziah doesn't listen.      ⁃    He is then defeated by Jehoash, king of Israel and he too is assassinated. King Uzziah (also known as Azariah)     ⁃    Uzziah is Amaziah's son. 2 Chronicles 26:4-5 tells that he had godly counsel and as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.     ⁃    He was an extremely capable king     ⁃    Ruled for 52 years     ⁃    In Israel, Jeroboam II was ruling. Uzziah and Jeroboam II expanded both nations to the original size of the kingdom at the time of David and Solomon.     ⁃    New prophets arise during the reign of Jeroboam II and Uzziah: Jonah, Amos, Hosea and Isaiah     ⁃    Their kingdoms experienced the glory days of David and Solomon     ⁃    But then Uzziah does not finish well. His pride went to his head and he usurped the role of the priests in burning the incense and immediately gets leprosy.  2 Chronicles 26:16-17 King Jotham     ⁃    Uziah's son, Jotham becomes king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 27:2. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but the people, however, continued their corrupt practices.     ⁃    Battle with the Ammonites - Godly king who is victorious over the Ammonites. 2 Chronicles 27:6     ⁃    Prosperity & Spiritual decline begins. The renewal did not spread throughout all the people.      ⁃    We see the growing power of their enemy in Assyria Next week our story continues with the rise of the power of the Assyrians. Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

The Full Moon in Gemini is a super-busy, lively Full Moon that can prompt a bit of courage, but also may be an important turning point for some of you as it squares the North and South Nodes. Ruled by a direct Mercury in Scorpio, it also can be supportive for making long-term plans and new ventures. What's it mean for your rising sign? Enjoy the video!2026 Year-Ahead Readings:https://www.dogstaroracle.com/2026Instagram and Tiktok:https://www.instagram.com/dogstaroracle/https://www.tiktok.com/@dogstaroracleEmail Me:akriech@dogstaroracle.comYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@dogstaroracleTimestamps00:39 2026 Year-Ahead Special02:20 Full Moon in Gemini 14:02 Aries16:40 Taurus18:55 Gemini21:53 Cancer25:55 Leo28:20 Virgo31:42 Libra35:05 Scorpio 38:16 Sagittarius43:05 Capricorn46:09 Aquarius 49:52 Pisces 

The mighty Megalodon dominated warm oceans for millions of years—but why was Antarctica its no-go zone? Explore ancient seas, frozen mysteries, and the surprising reason this giant predator never claimed the icy south. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a time travel mishap, the Cryptid Kids find themselves in the pirate city of Scumhive, only each of them arrive at a different time! Plus, they all seem to think Cthunkle is their ruler… Lessons include: We should use our power to help others; slowing down can help you avoid mistakes. This story is part of a Guilds & Goblins campaign, where What If World characters (and guests) play an original tabletop RPG for kids and families. Real-life dice rolls, usually with a 20-sided die, help us tell the story, along with your questions. Listen to episodes 327-328, 330-331, 341-342, 344-345, 354-355, & 365-367, Cryptid Kids #1 to #13, to start from the beginning!  Subscribe, Support the show, and get our new Yoto Cards! Want more kids podcasts for the whole family? Grown-ups, subscribe to Starglow+ here. Learn more about Starglow Media here. Follow Starglow on Instagram and YouTube Share questions with a grownup's help via email: hello@whatifworldpodcast.com or voicemail: 205-605-WHAT (9428) Eric and Karen O'Keeffe make What If World. Our producer is Miss Lynn. Character art by Ana Stretcu, episode art by Lynn Hickernell, podcast art by Jason O'Keefe, and theme song by Craig Martinson.

On this episode of Cults, Culture & Coercion, I sat down with one of my most trusted colleagues and best friends, Jon Atack—author, artist, poet, musician, and the recognized world expert on Scientology. Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World: Nazi Occultists, Sex Magick, Space Aliens, and the Second Coming, begins with a chilling thought experiment: what if Scientology actually took power? To be clear: Jon does not believe that Scientology — which is facing serious challenges in maintaining current members and recruiting new ones — could ever gain enough popularity to control any government, let alone all the world's governments. Still, with its extreme beliefs and ruthless disregard for human rights, Scientology could serve as a stand-in for any authoritarian movement. And there are many active Scientology offshoots. As I argue in my book The Cult of Trump, authoritarianism exists worldwide, and harmful groups influence politics through lobbyists, cash, and manufactured populism. Maybe a Scientology group won't take over, but the idea that a destructive movement could dominate a nation, or even the world, isn't far-fetched. In this book, Jon connects the dots with Nazi occultism and Hubbard, destroys eugenics, Nazi Aryan race theory, and so much more. With Nazism on the rise worldwide, this is a really important book—easy to read yet fastidious in its research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of True Crime News The Sidebar Podcast: Matt Tympanick joins host Joshua Ritter to break down the biggest cases making headlines across the nation. They discuss police naming D4vd an official suspect in the death of missing teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez, “Slender Man” assailant Morgan Geyser's arrest after she allegedly cut off her ankle monitor and fled, and authorities ruling Anna Kepner's cruise ship death a homicide as investigators eye the victim's teenage stepbrother as a suspect.  Tweet your questions for future episodes to Joshua Ritter using the hashtag #TCNSidebar To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Kepner's death aboard a cruise ship has been ruled a homicide due to asphyxiation from a 'bar hold.' Her 16-year-old stepbrother is considered a suspect. Plus, updates in the search for Melodee Buzzard. #CourtTV - What do YOU think?Binge all episodes of #ClosingArguments here: https://www.courttv.com/trials/closing-arguments-with-vinnie-politan/Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/DGJNQwTgqpEWatch 24/7 Court TV LIVE Stream Today https://www.courttv.com/Join the Investigation Newsletter https://www.courttv.com/email/Court TV Podcast https://www.courttv.com/podcast/Join the Court TV Community to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo5E9pEhK_9kWG7-5HHcyRg/joinFOLLOW THE CASE:Facebook https://www.facebook.com/courttvTwitter/X https://twitter.com/CourtTVInstagram https://www.instagram.com/courttvnetwork/TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@courttvliveYouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/COURTTVWATCH +140 FREE TRIALS IN THE COURT TV ARCHIVEhttps://www.courttv.com/trials/HOW TO FIND COURT TVhttps://www.courttv.com/where-to-watch/This episode of Closing Arguments Podcast was hosted by Vinnie Politan, produced by Kerry O'Connor and Robynn Love, and edited by Autumn Sewell. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Top Detective Reveals 5 Critical Clues in the Anna Kepner Murder Case The secrets of what might have happened on that cruise ship didn't come out in a criminal court, but in a family courtroom in Brevard County. Anna's stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, was in the middle of a custody dispute with her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, over their children. It was in these court filings that a bombshell dropped. Both Shauntel and Thomas Hudson acknowledged in separate documents that their 16-year-old son, identified only as "T.H.," was a suspect in the FBI's investigation into Anna's death. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he revisits a moment in time 35 years ago in Shanghai and a journey to one of China's most sacred Buddhist temples in the hills above the Yangtze-river port of Ningbo.

(0:00) Joe Burrow ruled out against Pats(6:26) Do Bengals have a chance against Pats? (24:11) Patriots playoff path (36:19) Patriots schedule See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did Sunday's Giants game lose ay excitement it had left?

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, an in-depth investigatory show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (11/21/25). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v6zviru","div":"rumble_v6zviru"}); Video Source Links (In Chronological Order): IMA: The Growing Control Grid & The Prophets Of Technocracy Illinois launches digital IDs that can be used at airports, businesses | FOX 32 Chicago Senators Kelly and Curtis Introduce "Algorithm Accountability Act" to James Corbett Interview - The Social Media Regulation Psyop White House Working on Executive Order to Foil State AI Regulations — The Information Politicians and Tech CEOs Are Calling for Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Can The Public Trust Them? (21) Sawyer Merritt on X: "NEWS: Jeff Bezos has created a new AI startup where he will be Co-CEO. It's called Project Prometheus and has received $6.2B in funding, some from Bezos himself. The startup is going to build AI products for engineering and manufacturing in fields like computers, aerospace and https://t.co/nQEQEGx7xm" / X (21) David Icke on X: "Liar. Beyond belief liar. It's about total human control and he KNOWS IT. Cult operative 1000%." / X (21) Elon Musk on X: "https://t.co/fuMMpDolr9" / X (20) The Last American Vagabond on X: "@SenseReceptor No, that does not have the source info. Here is the original post with all the source material: https://t.co/NaR4QAUvtV" / X New Tab Charlie Robinson Interview - What The Hell Is Happening? (11/20/25) (21) Grok / X Trump Reopens Epstein Investigation To Shut Down Epstein Vote & The FBI "Waived Security Screenings" (21) Justin Amash on X: "They will never stop coming up with ways to prevent the release of the Epstein files." / X (21) CALL TO ACTIVISM on X: "

Episode 717: Neal and Toby discuss Mark Zuckerberg's big win against the government as a federal judge says Meta does not hold monopoly power in today's social media landscape. A big loss for the FTC. Then, Home Depot reports a weak Q3 which is seen as a bad sign for the economy. And, Panera Bread, the once No. 1 fast-casual chain in the US, has steadily declined in the last few years and announces a turnaround plan to bring it back to its glory days. Meanwhile, “Baby Shark Dance,” the extremely popular and catchy tune on YouTube hasn't quite made the profit that is proportional to its revenue. Finally, much of the internet was out yesterday…what the heck happened? Learn more at usbank.com/splitcard  Get your MBD live show tickets here! https://www.tinyurl.com/MBD-HOLIDAY  Subscribe to Morning Brew Daily for more of the news you need to start your day. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app. Listen to Morning Brew Daily Here:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.swap.fm/l/mbd-note⁠⁠⁠  Watch Morning Brew Daily Here:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@MorningBrewDailyShow⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The award-winning author who used her strict Mennonite upbringing to tell its unspoken stories.Miriam Toews is one of Canada's most acclaimed novelists, but her journey began far from the literary world. Raised in the conservative Mennonite town of Steinbach, Manitoba, she grew up surrounded by deep faith, strict expectations, and a culture where silence often covered over difficult truths. The town didn't even have a train station to keep it separate from the 'worldy' practices of contemporary society. At home, her devout father Mel's lifelong battle with mental illness and her mother Elvira's rebellious streak created a world of tenderness and tension — one Miriam would later transform into funny and powerful fiction.Miriam reflects on how she became a writer: the restless imagination that sparked during childhood, her early escape from the confines of her community, and the personal losses that shaped novels such as A Complicated Kindness, All My Puny Sorrows, and Women Talking. With success also came the cost of telling stories about identity, family, mental health and faith — stories her community never dare speak aloud.This programme contains references to suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.orgPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Laura Thomas and Edgar Maddicott Editor: Munazza Khan Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys — spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else's life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice