Podcasts about Saxony

The Blue Flower is considered Fitzgerald's masterpiece, and for good reason. It's challenging--an entirely different approach to historical fiction, with subtle, nuanced, gorgeous prose. She makes late-1700s Saxony feel immediate and accessible and you FEEL so much for these people. Listen in to fully appreciate how she produces a book that readers go back to again and again, gaining so much more every single time.

Hear about travel to Saxony as the Amateur Traveler talks about a recent press trip to Leipzig, Dresden, Meissen, and more in this southeast corner of Germany. This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Recommended Saxony Itinerary Day 1: Arrive in Leipzig Start in Leipzig. Base yourself in the compact historic center, ideally near the Old Town Hall. Chris stayed at the Steigenberger Icon Grand Hotel, close to the market square and the old town. ... https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-saxony-germany/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosemary reports back on her visit to multiple Chinese renewable energy companies, Vineyard Wind activates a $69.50/MWh PPA with Massachusetts utilities, and Bronze Age jewelry halts a German wind project. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! [00:00:00] The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by Strike Tape protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit strike tape.com and now your hosts. Allen Hall 2025: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host, Allen Hall. I’m here with Yolanda Padron in Austin, Texas, who is back from the massive wedding event. Everybody’s super happy about that, and Rosemary Barnes had her own adventures. She just got back from China and Rosemary. You visited a a lot of different places inside of China. Saw some cool factories. What all happened?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, it was really cool. I went over for an influencer event. So if you are maybe, you know, in the middle of your career, not, not particularly attractive or anything you might have thought influencer was ruled out for you as a career. No one, no one needs engineering influencers in their [00:01:00] forties. It’s incorrect. It turns out that’s, that’s where, that’s where I, I found myself. It was pretty cool. I, I did get the red carpet rolled out for me. Many gifts. I had to buy a second bag to bring home the gifts, and when I say I had to buy a second bag, I had to mention. Oh, I have so many gifts, I’m gonna need another bag. And then there was a new bag presented to me about half an hour later. But, so yeah, what did I do? I got to, um, as I was over there for a Sun Grow event. Huge, huge event. They, um, it’s for, it’s for their staff a lot, but it’s also, they also bring over partners. They also bring over international experts to talk about topics that are relevant to them. Yeah. They gave everybody factory tours in, um, yeah, in, in shifts. Um, I got to see a module assembly factory, so where they take cells, which are like, I don’t know, the size of a small cereal box, um, and assemble them into a whole module. Then the warehouse, warehouse was [00:02:00] gigantic. It, um, was, yeah, 1.8 gigawatt hours worth of cells that couldn’t hold in that one building. They’re totally obsessed with fire safety there in everything related to batterie, like in the design of the product, but also in, in the warehouse. And they do, yeah, fire drills all the, all the time. Some of them quite big and impressive. Um, I saw inverter manufacturing facility that was really cool. Heaps of robots. Sw incredibly fast. Saw a test facility.  Allen Hall 2025: So was most of the manufacturing, robotics, or humans?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. So at the factory it was like anything that needed to be done really fast or with really good quality was done by robots. So they had, um, you know, pick and place machines putting in. Um, you know, components in the circuit board, like just insane, insane rate. I’m sure it’s quite, quite normal, but, um, just very fast. Everything lined up in a row. Most of their quality control is done by robots. Um, so it does well it’s done by ai, I should say. [00:03:00] Taking photos of, of things and then, um, AI’s interpreting that. Repairs, I think were done by humans. There were humans doing, um, like custom components as well. Like not every product is exactly the same. So the custom stuff was done by humans.  Allen H: So that’s the Sun Grove facility, right? You, but you went to a couple of different places within China?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I went to another, a factory, a solar panel, a factory, um, from Longie. That was really cool too. I got to see a bit more probably of the, um, interesting, interesting stuff there, like, uh, a bit more. Um, yeah, I don’t, I dunno, processes that aren’t, aren’t so obvious. Not just assembly, but um, you know, like printing on, um, bus bars and, you know, all of the different connections and yeah, it was a bit, a bit more to it in what I saw. Um, so that was, but it, it’s the same, you know, as humans are only involved when it’s a little bit out of the. Norm or, um, where they’re doing repairs, actual actually re [00:04:00]repairing. You know, the robots or the AI is identifying which components don’t meet the standard and then they’ll go somewhere where a human will come and, um, fix them.  Allen H: Being the engineer there. Did you notice where the robots are made? Was everything made in China that was inside the factory or were they bringing in outside? Technology.  Rosemary Barnes: I didn’t think to look for that, but I would assume that it was Chinese made, also  Allen H: all built in country  Rosemary Barnes: 20 years ago that wouldn’t have been the case, but I think that China has had a long, a long time to, to learn that. Again, it’s not like, it’s not, it’s not rocket science. These are, these are pick and place machines, you know, like I remember working on a project very early in my career, so. Literally 20 years ago, um, I was working with pick and place machines. It’s the same, it’s the same thing. Um, some of them are bigger ’cause they’re, you know, hauling whole, um, battery packs around. It’s just the, um, the way that it’s set up, but then also the scale that they can achieve. You just, you can’t make things that cheap if you don’t have the [00:05:00] scale to utilize everything. A hundred percent. Like I said, wind turbine towers is a really good example. ’cause anyone, any steel fabricating  Allen H: shop  Rosemary Barnes: could make a wind turbine tower. Right? They, they could, they could do that. You know, the Chinese, um, wind turbine tower factories have the exact right machine. They don’t have a welder that they also use for welding bits of bridges or whatever. Uh, they have the one that does the exact kind of world that they need, um, for the tower. They, you know, they do that precisely. Robotically, uh, exactly the same. And, you know, a, a tower section comes on, they weld it, it moves off to the next thing, and then a new one comes on. They’re not trying to move things around to then do another weld in the same machine. You know, like they’re, um, but the exact right. Super expensive machine for the job costs a whole bunch to set up a factory. And then you need to be making multiple towers every single day out of that factory to be able to recoup on your cost. And so that is [00:06:00] the. The, um, bar that is just incredibly hard slash impossible for, um, other countries to clear. Allen H: Can I ask you about that? Because I was watching a YouTube video about Tesla early on Tesla, where they wanted to bring in a lot of robotics to make vehicles and that they felt like that was the wrong thing to do. In fact, they, they, they kinda locked robots in and realized that this is not the right way to do it. We need to change the whole process. It was a big deal to kind of pull those. Specialized piece of equipment, robots out and to put something else in its place in that they learned, you know, the first time, instead of deciding on a process, putting it in place and then trying to turn it on, see if it works, was to sort of gradually do it. But don’t bolt anything down. Don’t lock it in place such that it doesn’t feel like it’s permanent. So you engineer can think about removing it if it’s not working. But it sounds like this is sort of the opposite approach of. A highly specialized [00:07:00] machine set in place permanently to produce. Infinite amounts of this particular product, does that then restrict future changes and what they can make or, I, I, how do they see that? Did, did you talk about that? Because I think that’s one of an interesting approaches.  Rosemary Barnes: I didn’t actually get as much chances I would’ve liked to speak to engineers. Um, I was talking mostly to salespeople and installers. Um, so they know a lot, but I couldn’t, um, like in the factory tours, I was asking questions. Um. That kind of question and, and they could answer all, all that. Um, but outside of that, and I couldn’t record in the factory obviously. Um, but I did, I did take notes, but what I would say is that they would have a separate facility where they would be working out the details of new products and new manufacturing processes and testing them out thoroughly before they went and, you know, um, installed everything correctly. But what I do hear is that, you know, especially with solar power. Maybe to [00:08:00] batteries to a lesser extent. You, you know, you like, you have these kind of waves of technology. Um, so you know, like everyone’s making whatever certain type of solar cell and then five years later, um, there’s a new more efficient configuration and everybody’s making that. And I know that there are a lot of factories that kind of get scrapped. Um, and the way that China’s set up their, like, you know, their economy around all this sort of thing is set up is that it’s not that, like every company doesn’t succeed. Right. They SGO was a big exception because they’ve been going since 1997, I think it was. It was started by a professor quid his job and hired a room across the, across the road from his old university and, you know, built his first inverter and, um, you know, ’cause he, he could see that. Uh, the grid was gonna have to change to incorporate all of the solar power that was coming, which to be honest, in 1997, that was like pretty, pretty farsighted. That was not obvious to me when I started working in solar in mid two thousands. And it was not obvious to me that this was a winner.  Allen H: Well, has sun grow evolved then quite a bit? ’cause if you’re [00:09:00] saying that they’ve minimized the cost to produce any of their products by the use of robotics, they have been through an evolutionary process. You didn’t see any of the previous generations of. Factories. You, you were just seeing the most modern factory that that’s actually producing parts today. So is that a, is that a, is that just a cost mindset that’s going on in China? Like, we’re just gonna produce the lowest cost thing as fast as we can, or is it a market penetration approach? What are, what were, were the engineers in management saying about that?  Rosemary Barnes: I think there’s a few different aspects to that, like within China. So Sun Grow is the big company with a long track record and they’re not making the cheapest product out of China. So I think that they are still trying to make the cheapest product, but they’re not thinking about it just in the purchase price. Right. They’re thinking more in terms of the long, long term. You know, they’ve been around for 30 years and probably expect to be around for another 30 years. They don’t wanna be having [00:10:00] recalls of their products and you know, like having to, um. Installers in particular are probably working with them because they know that they won’t have to go back and do rework and the support is good and all that sort of thing. So they’re spending so much money on testing and you know, just getting everything exactly right. But I don’t think that that’s the only way that China is doing it. There’s, you know, dozens, probably hundreds of companies. Um. Doing similar stuff between Yeah, like solar panels and associated stuff like inverters and, and batteries. So many companies and all of them won’t succeed. You know, sun Girls Facility in, I was in her and it’s huge, you know, it’s like a, a medium sized country town. Just their, um, their campus there, they’re not, they’re not scrapping that and moving to a new site, you know, they’re gonna be. Rejiggering and I would expect that, you know, like everything’s set up exactly the way it needs to be, but it’s not like gigantic machines.[00:11:00] It’s not like setting up a wind turbine blade factory where it’s hard if you designed it for 40 meter blades, you can’t suddenly start making 120 meter blades. Like it’s, they will be able to be sliding machines in and out as they need to. Um, so I, I, yeah, I guess that it’s some, some flexibility. But not at the cost of making the product correctly. Allen H: Did you see wind turbines while you were in China?  Rosemary Barnes: I, the only winter I saw, I actually, I saw, because I caught the train from Shanghai, I actually caught the fast train from Shanghai to, which is about, it depends which one you get between like an hour 40 or three hours if it stops everywhere. Um, and I did see a couple of wind turbines on the way there, out the window, just randomly like a wind turbine in the middle of a, a town. Um, so that was a bit, a bit interesting. But then in the plane, on the way back, the plane from Shanghai to Hong Kong, I, at the window I saw a cooling tower of some sort. So either like a, yeah, some kind of thermal [00:12:00] power plant. And then. Around all around, well, wind turbines, so onshore wind turbines. So I don’t know. Um, yeah, I, I don’t know the story behind that, but it’s also not a particularly windy area, right? Like most of the wind in China is, um, to the west where, uh, I wasn’t  Allen H: as wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it. That’s why the Uptime podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES Wind has the high quality content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit PS win.com today. So there are two stories out of the US at the minute that really paint a picture of the industry. It was just being pulled in opposite directions. The Department of Interior announced agreements to terminate two more. Offshore wind leases, uh, [00:13:00] Bluepoint wind and Golden State wind have agreed to walk away from their projects. Global Infrastructure Partners, which is part of BlackRock, will invest up to $765 million in a liquified natural gas facility instead of developing blue point wind. Ah. And Golden State Wind will recover approximately $120 million in lease fees after redirecting investment to oil and gas projects along the Gulf Coast, and both companies say they will not pursue further offshore wind development in the United States. Well, we’ll see how that plays out. Right? Meanwhile. In Massachusetts Vineyard Wind, which has been fighting with GE Renova recently has activated its long awaited power purchase agreement with three utilities. The contract set a fixed electricity price of drum roll please. [00:14:00] $69 and 50 cents per megawatt hour for the first year and a two and a half percent annual increase. Uh, state officials say the agreements will save rate payers $1.4 billion over 20 years. So $69 and 50 cents per megawatt hour is a really low PPA price for offshore wind. A lot of the New York projects that. Renegotiated we’re somewhere in the realm of 120 to $130 a megawatt hour, and there’s been a lot of discussion in Congress about the, the usefulness of offshore wind. It’s intermittent blahdi, blahdi, blah. Uh, but the, the big driver is what costs too much. In fact, it doesn’t cost too much. And because it’s consistent, particularly in the wintertime, uh, electricity prices in Massachusetts in the surrounding area are really high. ’cause of the demand and ’cause how cold it is that this offshore wind project, vineyard wind would be a huge rate saving. And [00:15:00] actually the math works out the math. Math everybody. Do you think this is, when we go back five years from now, look back at this. This vineyard wind project really makes sense for Massachusetts.  Yolanda Padron: I think it really makes sense for Massachusetts. I’m really interested to know what the asset managers are thinking on the vineyard wind side, um, and if they’re scared at all to take this on. I mean, it’s great and I’m sure they can absolutely deliver. Like generation I don’t think should be an issue. Um. I just don’t know. It’s, it sounds like they’re leaving a lot of money on the table.  Allen H: I would say so, yeah. But remember, the vineyard win was one of the early, uh, agreements made when things were, this is pre Ukraine war, pre Iran conflict on a lot of other, a lot of other things. It was pre, so I remember at the time when this was going on that. P. PA prices were higher than obviously a lot of other [00:16:00] things. Onshore solar, onshore wind, it would, offshore is always more expensive, but I don’t remember $69 popping up anywhere in any filing that I remember seeing. So even if they had said $69 five years ago, I think that would’ve still been like, wow, that’s pretty good for an offshore wind project. And now it looks fantastic for the state of Massachusetts  Yolanda Padron: because I know that there’s sometimes, and we’ve talked about this in the past, right? There are sometimes projects where, you know, you think you, you’ve got a really good price and you’re really excited about it, and then it goes into operation and then like a couple years down the road, prices increase quite a bit and it’s not the worst thing in the world. But you do just kind of think a little bit like, I wish I could. Renegotiate this or you know, just to get, to get our team a bit of a better deal or to get a bit more money in operations and everything.  Allen H: Does this play into Vineyard wind claiming $850 [00:17:00] million in dispute with GE Renova that at $69 PPA, there’s not a lot of profit at the end of this and need to get the money out of GE Renova right now, and maybe why GE Renova wants to get out of this because they realize. The conflict that is coming that they need to separate the, the themselves from this project. It’s, it’s very, as an asset manager, Yoland, as you have done this in the past, would you be concerned about the viability of the project going forward, or is all the upfront costs. Pretty much done in that operationally year to year. It’s, it’s not that big of a deal.  Yolanda Padron: As an asset manager taking this on, I’d probably have started preparation on this project a lot earlier than other of my projects like I do. I know that usually there’s, you know, we’ve talked about the different teams, right, throughout the stages of the project until it goes into operations, [00:18:00] but. And usually you don’t have a lot of time to prepare to, to make sure all of your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, um, by the time you take the project and operations from a commercial standpoint. But this project, I think would absolutely, like you, you would need to make sure that a lot of the, of the things that you’re, that might be issues for some of your projects like aren’t issues for this project. Just to make sure at least the first few years you can. You can avoid a lot of, a lot of turmoil that the pricing and the disputes and the technical issues are gonna cause you, because I feel like it’s just, there’s, there’s just so many things that just keep this side, just keeps on getting hit, you know? Allen H: Well, I, I guess the question is from my side, Yolanda, is obviously inflation, when this project started was pretty consistent, like one point half, 2%. It was very flat for a long time. And interest rates, if you remember when this project started, were very, very low. Almost [00:19:00] nonexistent, some interest rates. Now that’s hugely different. How does a contract get set up where a vineyard can’t raise prices? It would just seem to me like you would have to tie some of the price increase to whatever the inflation rate is for the country, maybe even locally, so that if there were a, a war in Ukraine or some conflict in the Middle East. That you, you would at least be able to, to generate some revenue out of this project because at some point it becomes untenable, right? You just can’t afford to operate it anymore. And,  Yolanda Padron: and I think, um, I, I haven’t, I obviously haven’t read the, the contracts themselves, but I know that there’s sometimes there, it’s pretty common for a PPA to have some sort of step up year by year. And it’s usually, it can be tied to, um, the CPI for. Like the, the change in CPI for the year to year. So you’re [00:20:00] absolutely like, right, like maybe, I mean, hopefully they’re, they’re not just tied to the fixed 69 bucks per megawatt hour. Um, but, but yeah, to, to your point like that, that price increase could, could really save them. Now that we’re, we’re talking the, the increase in, in inflation right now and foreseeable future,  Allen H: if you think about what electricity rates are up in the northeast. I think I was paying 30 cents a kilowatt hour, which is 300. Does that sound right? $300 a megawatt hour. Delivered at the house, something like that. Right? So  Yolanda Padron: prices in the northeast are crazy to me,  Allen H: right? They’re like double what they are in North Carolina. Yeah. Delamination and bottom line failures and blades are difficult problems to detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. C-I-C-N-D-T are specialists to detect these critical flaws [00:21:00]before they become expensive burdens. Their non-destructive test technology penetrates deep dip blade materials to find voids and cracks. Traditional inspections completely. Miss C-I-C-N-D-T Maps Every critical defect, delivers actionable reports and provides support to get your blades. Back in service, so visit cic ndt.com because catching blade problems early will save  Yolanda Padron: you millions. Allen H: Well, sometimes building a wind farm turns out more than expected construction workers at a 19 turbine wind project in lower Saxony Germany under Earth. What experts call the largest Bronze age Amber Horde ever found? The region, the very first scoop of an excavator brought up bronze and amber artifacts that stopped construction and brought archeologists back to the site. Uh, the hoard has been dated between [00:22:00] 1500 and 1300 DCE and is believed to have belonged to at least three. Status women possibly buried as a religious offering. Now as we push further and further across Germany with wind turbines and solar panels for, for that matter, uh, we’re coming across older sites, uh, older pieces of ground that haven’t been touched in a long time and we’re, we’re gonna find more and more, uh, historically significant things buried in the soil. What is the obligation? Of the constructor of this project and maybe across Europe. I, I would assume in the United States too, if we came across something that old and America’s just not that old to, to have anything of, of that kind of, um, maybe value or historically significant. What is the process here? Rosemary Barnes: I assume that they’ve gotta stop, stop work. Um, yeah, that’s my, my understanding and I don’t think, do you have [00:23:00] grand designs in America?  Allen H: I don’t know what that is. Yes.  Rosemary Barnes: So missing out by not having that chat. It’s a TV show about people who are building houses or doing, um, ambitious renovations, and it just, it follows, it follows them. You can learn a lot about project management or. The consequences if you decide that you don’t need to, project management isn’t a thing that you need to do. Um, anyway. I’m sure that in some of those ones I’ve seen they have had work stop because in their excavation they found a, um, yeah, some, some kind of relic, um, from the, from the past. So based on that very well-credentialed experience that I have, I can confidently say that they would be stopping stopping work on that site. I mean, it’s so bad, bad for the developer, I guess, but it’s cool, right? That they’re, you know, uncovering, uh, new archeology and we can learn more about, you know, people that lived thousands of years ago. Allen H: It, it does seem [00:24:00] like, obviously. Do push into places where humans have lived for thousands of years. We’re going to stumble across these things. Does that mean from a project standpoint, there’s, there’s some sort of financial consequence, like does the lower Saxony government contribute to the wind turbine fund to to pay the workers for a while? ’cause it seems like if they’re gonna do an archeological dig. That that’s gonna take months at a minimum, may, maybe not, but it usually, having watched these things go on it, it’s. It’s long.  Rosemary Barnes: But wouldn’t that be something that you’d have insurance for?  Allen H: Oh, maybe that’s it.  Rosemary Barnes: You know, it seems to me like an insurable, an insurable thing, like not so hard to, it would’ve affected plenty of other, like any project that involves excavation in Europe would come with a risk of, um, finding Yeah. An archeological find. And having work stopped, I would assume.  Allen H: Yolanda, how does that work in the United States do, is there some insurance policy towards finding [00:25:00] a. Ancient burial ground and what happens to your project?  Yolanda Padron: I don’t know. I, um, the most I’ve heard has been, it’s just talking to like the government and like the local government and making sure that you have all your permits in place and making sure, you know, you might need to, to have certain studies so you know, you might not have to get rid of the whole wind farm or remove the hole wind farm, but at least a section. Of it has to be displaced from what you originally had thought. I don’t know. I know it happens a lot in Mexico where you get a lot of changes to construction plans because you find historical artifacts or obviously not everybody does this, but like. Tales of construction workers who will like, find, they’re so jaded from finding historical artifacts that they just kind of like take and then dump them to the next plot over to not deal with it right now. Not that it’s anything ethical, uh, or done by everybody, [00:26:00] uh, but it’s, but, but it’s a common occurrence, a relatively common occurrence.  Allen H: You would think it where a lot of wind turbines are in the United States, which is mostly Texas and kind of that. Midwest, uh, wind corridor that they would’ve stumbled across something somewhere. But I did just a quick search. I really hadn’t found anything that there wasn’t like a Native American burial ground or something of that sort, which they previously knew. For the most part. It’s, so, it’s rare that, that you find something significant besides, well, maybe used some woolly mammoths tusks or something of that sort. Uh, in the Midwest, it’s, it’s, so, it’s an odd thing, but is there a. A finder’s fee? Like do does the wind company get to take some of the proceeds of, of this? Trove of jewelry.  Rosemary Barnes: I, I would be highly surprised.  Allen H: Well, how does that work then? Rosemary?  Rosemary Barnes: I’d be highly surprised if that’s the case in Europe. I bet it would happen like that in America. Allen H: Sounds like pirate bounty in a sense.  Rosemary Barnes: In, in Australia it wouldn’t be like that because [00:27:00]you, when you own land, you don’t actually. You, you own the right to do things from surface level and above, basically. I don’t know how excavation works. So you don’t generally have a a right to anything you find like that? I mean, you shouldn’t either. It’s not, it’s not yours. It’s a, it belongs to the, I don’t know, the people that, that were buried. When you then to the, the land, like, I guess. The government in some way. I mean, in Australia it’s, um, like we don’t have so many archeological fines that you would find from digging. I mean, it’s not that there’s none, but there’s not so many like that. But it is pretty common that, you know, there are special trees, um, you know, some old trees that predate, uh, white people arriving in Australia. And, um, you know, that have been used for, you know, like it might have a, a shield that’s been, um. Carved out of it. Or, uh, hunting. Hunting things, ceremonial things, baskets, canoes, canoe like things, stuff like that. They call ’em a scar [00:28:00] tree ’cause they would cut it out of a living, living tree. And you know, so when you see a tree with those scars and that’s got, um, cultural significance. There’s also, you know, just trees that were, um. That that was significant for cultural reasons and so you wouldn’t be able to cut down those trees if you were building any, doing any kind of development in Australia and a wind farm would be no different. I know that they are, there are guidelines for, if you do come across any kind of thing like that or you find any anything of cultural significance, then you have to report it and hopefully you don’t just move it onto the neighboring property. Allen H: I know one of the things about watching, um. Some crazy Canadian shows is that. Uh, you have to have a Treasure Hunter’s license in Canada. So if you’re involved in that process, like you can’t dig, you can’t shovel things, only certain people can shovel. ’cause if they were to find something of value, you. You’ll get taxed on it. So there’s just a lot of rules [00:29:00] about it. Even in Canada,  Rosemary Barnes: if I was an indigenous Australian and you know, some Europe person of European descent came and found some artifacts, uh, aboriginal. Artifacts. I would be pissed if they just took it and sold it. Like that’s just clearly inappropriate right. To, to do that. So you, I don’t think it should be a free for all. If you find artifacts of cultural significance and you just, it’s, you find its keepers that, that doesn’t sound right to me at all.  Allen H: Can we talk about King Charles II’s visit to the United States for a brief moment? Uh, he is a really good ambassador, just like, uh, the queen was forever. He’s, he does take it very seriously and the way that he interacted with the US delegation was remarkable at times in, in terms of knowing how to deal with somebody that there’s a war going on right now. So there’s a lot [00:30:00] happening in the United States that, uh, not only could it be. Uh, respecting both sides of the UK and the United States’ position in a, in a number of different areas, but at the same time being humorous, trying to build bridges. Uh, king Charles, uh, had the scotch whiskey tariffs removed just by negotiating with President Trump, and sometimes that’s what it takes. It’s a little bit of, uh. Being a good ambassador.  Allen H: Yeah. The very polished you would expect that. Right? But this is the first visit of. The king to the United States, I believe. ’cause he, he’s been obviously as a prince many, many, many times to the United States. [00:31:00]But this time as, as a, the representative of the country, the former representative or head of the country, which was unique. I think he did a really good job. And I wish he, they would’ve talked about offshore wind. Maybe he could’ve calmed down the administration on offshore wind.  Rosemary Barnes: I bet that’s one of the, the goals. I mean, that’s an industry that’s important to. So  Allen H: I wonder if that happened actually. ’cause that’s not gonna be reported in, in the news, but how the UK is going on its own way in terms of electrification and I guarantee offshore wind had to come up it. Although I have been not seen any article about it, I, I find it hard to believe that King Charles being the environmentalist that he is, and a proponent of offshore wind for a long time. Didn’t bring it up and try to mend some fences.  Rosemary Barnes: Maybe he’s playing the long game though. I mean, Trump is pretty, he’s transactional, but he also, you know, he has people that he really likes and you know, will act in their interests. So maybe it’s enough to just be [00:32:00] really liked by Trump, and then that’s the smartest way you can go about it. Allen H: Did you see the gift that King Charles presented to, uh, the US this past week? It was a be from, uh, world War II submarine, which was the British, I dunno what the British called their submarines, but it was, the name of it was Trump. So they had the bell from. The submarine when it had been commissioned and they, they gave that to the United States, or give to the president. It goes to the United States. The president doesn’t get to keep those things, but it was such a smart, it’s a great president. It’s such a smart gift, and somebody had to think about it and the king had to deliver it in a way that got rid of all the noise between the United States and the uk. Brought it back to, Hey, we have a lot in common [00:33:00] here. We shouldn’t be bickering as much as we are. And I thought that was a really smart, tactful, sensible way to try to men some fences. That was really good. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss this episode. And if you found value in today’s conversation, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show. For Rosie and Yolanda, I’m Allen Hall and we with. See you’re here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

German Populism and the Rise of the AfD Guest: Judy Dempsey Judy Dempsey details the rise of the AfD party in Saxony, fueled by nationalist fervor among young voters. Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces pressure to address high energy costs while maintaining complex transatlantic relations.1922 RHINELAND

SCHEDULE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 4-14-2026.1874 MONET1. US Economic Resilience Amid Global Conflict. Elizabeth Peek and John Batchelor discuss the surprisingly strong US economy despite Middle East instability. Consumer spending remains robust, wages are rising, and the Trump agenda of deregulation and tariffs is encouraging domestic investment.2. Russia and China's Strategic Calculations. Gregory Copley explains how Russia benefits from rising oil prices and expanded influence in Central Asia. Conversely, China fears regime collapse in Iran and seeks to diminish US global prestige during the conflict.3. The Risks of Puppet Government Models. John Batchelor and Gregory Copley critique the Trump administration's attempt to use Delcy Rodriguez as a model for Iran. They discuss how hardline leaders in Venezuela and Iran prioritize personal survival over national interests.4. King Charles III's Diplomatic Mission to Washington. Gregory Copley discusses King Charles III's upcoming visit to address Congress. The King aims to heal diplomatic rifts between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer, particularly regarding the Chagos Archipelago and Diego Garcia strategic nodes.5. Naval Challenges and Maritime Chokepoints. Grant Newsham asserts that the US Navy can successfully blockade the Strait of Hormuz and manage the Bab-el-Mandeb. He notes China and Russia are encouraging Iran to test American resolve through maritime provocations.6. The Resurgence and Failure of Industrial Policy. Veronique de Rugy criticizes the resurgence of industrial policy, noting past failures in Japan and China. She warns that World Bank recommendations for government-led industry protection often result in economic distortions and higher costs.7. Purges and Divisions within the Chinese Military. Piero Tozzi and Gordon Chang analyze Xi Jinping's recent military purges, including Zhang Youxia. These internal divisions and the removal of operational commanders may hinder China's ability to coordinate a successful invasion of Taiwan.8. Nuclear Deterrence and Battlefield Realities. Peter Huessy warns about the lack of nuclear education among modern policymakers. He discusses Russia's potential use of battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine to reverse military losses and Iran's acquisition of Russian missile technology.9. The California Gubernatorial Jungle Primary. Elizabeth Peek details the collapse of Eric Swalwell's campaign following misconduct allegations. The jungle primary system in California creates a risk for Democrats that two Republicans, like Steve Hilton, could face off in November.10. The Electoral Defeat of Viktor Orbán. Judy Dempsey explains how Peter Magyar defeated Viktor Orbán in Hungary by uniting a divided opposition. Hungarian voters rejected corruption and Russian interference, signaling a desire for rule of law and European integration.11. Populism and Energy Subsidies in Germany. Judy Dempsey observes the rise of the AfD party in Saxony, fueled by nationalist fervor among young voters. Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces pressure to address high energy costs and immigration while maintaining transatlantic relations.12. The Strategy of Economic Siege against Iran. Jonathan Schanzer describes the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as part of a wider economic war. This strategy aims to deplete regime revenue by hundreds of millions daily through heightened sanctions.13. Escalation and Unprecedented Diplomacy in Lebanon. Jonathan Schanzer discusses the IDF's efforts to establish a security zone in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. Simultaneously, unprecedented direct talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments are occurring at the US State Department.14. Dismantling Information Warfare in Hungary. Ivana Stradner celebrates Peter Magyar's victory over Viktor Orbán, emphasizing the need to dismantle the state-controlled media apparatus. She warns that Russia continues to use influence operations to support authoritarian leaders in Eastern Europe.15. Iran's Nuclear Ambitions and Fissile Material Extraction. Andrea Stricker outlines the challenge of extracting Iran's 60% enriched uranium from deeply buried sites like Fordo. She emphasizes that permanent peace requires the complete removal of fissile material and centrifuges to prevent breakout.16. Geopolitics of the Strait of Hormuz Blockade. Gregory Copley analyzes the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on global oil markets. He argues the US must ensure the Red Sea remains viable while managing pressure from Saudi Arabia.

The guys discuss one of the most famous Devil's Bridge in Germany…the Rakotzbrücke, located in Kromlau Park…near Gablenz, Saxony. Commissioned in 1860 by a knight, Friedrich Hermann Rötschke, this semi-circular stone bridge is designed to form a perfect circle with its reflection in the Rakotzsee lake below!!!https://thevalemagazine.com/2023/06/23/the-devils-bridge-germanys-sinister-architectural-marvel/https://search.brave.com/search?q=devils+bridge+germany&source=ios&summary=1&conversation=08f1e465226779941ec42acddd77fcea1212https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rakotzbrucke-devils-bridge

Shawn Howarth, President and CEO of Excellon Resources (TSXV:EXN) (OTC:EXNRF)(FRA:E4X2), joins me to outline all the development work going into the ramp up into production over the next few quarters at their flagship Mallay Silver Mine located in the Cerro de Pasco area of Peru. We then review the value proposition and optionality across their other 3 projects:  Tres Cerros, Kilgore, and Silver City.    Excellon acquired the Mallay Silver Mine last year as a modern, fully permitted past-producing underground mine with a 600 tpd processing facility; that was built and operated by Buenaventura from 2012 to 2018.  With US$115 million of historical investment and sunk costs, supported by an extensive drilling and operating database generated during Buenaventura's ownership, the Excellon team has many advantages here and a low capex investment to get back into commercial production.     In February 2026, Excellon released the updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate:   Mallay MRE Highlights:   Indicated Mineral Resources: 890,000 tonnes grading 195 g/t silver, 3.33% lead and 4.83% zinc. The Indicated mineral resource includes 5.57 Moz of silver, 65 Mlbs of lead and 95 Mlbs of zinc. Inferred Mineral Resources: 362,000 tonnes grading 149 g/t silver, 2.67% lead and 4.32% zinc. The Inferred mineral resource includes 1.74 Moz of silver, 21 Mlbs of lead and 34 mlbs of zinc. Mineral Resource (AgEq): 12.01 million ounces grading 420 g/t AgEq in the Indicated and 4.00 million ounces grading 344 g/t AgEq Inferred.   Shawn highlights the ongoing exploration program focused on the mineral resource expansion potential in the known Isguiz Zone inventory, as well as the Footwall Zone and Shafra Zone.   In 2025, Excellon secured an off-take agreements with Glencore for their lead and zinc concentrates, Shawn outlined that their internal studies project a run-rate of 600 tonnes per day of production, producing approximately 2-2.5 million silver equivalent ounces per year, and with a target All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$17 per AgEq ounce.     The Tres Cerros Project is a highly prospective gold-silver exploration project approximately five kilometers northwest of the Mallay Mine. The project's prime area of interest is a 2.5 kilometer by 500 meter corridor of gold-silver mineralization and coincident IP/resistivity anomalies, indicative of a bulk tonnage, high sulfidation epithermal system.  Numerous historical grab samples were taken across the 2.5 kilometer fault, which are being analyzed to determine further follow-up exploration work.   Kilgore, is an advanced gold project in Idaho with over 1 million ounces of gold delineated in all categories, and the Company is considering bringing in a JV partner to assist with moving this project forward in exploration and further derisking. Silver City, a high-grade epithermal silver district in Saxony, Germany, with a long history of almost 800 years of silver production.  Shawn has stated publicly that they are looking at various options, but are entertaining the idea of spinning out this asset into a new European-focused exploration vehicle.    Wrapping up we reviewed the industry experience the Excellon management team and board has in both moving projects into production as well as a pedigree of exploration success.  We discussed that the company is cashed up after their financing and off-take agreement, to conduct the key work and studies on tap over the next 6-9 months as the company moves toward a production decision.   If you have questions for Shawn regarding Excellon Resources, then please email those in to me at Shad@kereport.com.     Click here to follow the latest news from Excellon Resources     For more market commentary & interview summaries, subscribe to our Substacks:   The KE Report: https://kereport.substack.com/ Shad's resource market commentary: https://excelsiorprosperity.substack.com/     Investment disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Investing in equities and commodities involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Guests and hosts may own shares in companies mentioned.

So much of what is happening these days seems utterly nonsensical, from Trump’s war crime and profanity-laced Easter rant, to the whipsaw on Iran. So, is it simply Occam’s razor, or is there more going on here than we’re led to believe? Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it. — President Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom: A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People (1913) The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson — and I am not wholly excepting the Administration of W. W. The country is going through a repetition of Jackson’s fight with the Bank of the United States — only on a far bigger and broader basis. — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, letter to Col. Edward Mandell House (21 November 1933); as quoted in F.D.R.: His Personal Letters, 1928-1945, edited by Elliott Roosevelt (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1950), pg. 373 I would suggest nothing we’re seeing, including (especially) the seemingly nonsensical, is ‘accidental’ or coincidental. It is PSYOP/PSWAR, a potent toxic mixture of POSIWID and chaos theory designed and intended to rapidly produce maximum chaos resulting in a ‘Clash of Civilizations‘ and The End of History and the Last Man, to ultimately bring about a ‘Novus Ordo Seclorum’1234 a la Genesis 11 → Genesis 6 → culminating in Psalm 2 → Revelation 19. Links Videos / Clips [x] = Played Trump says Americans against war with Iran are ‘foolish’ [x] 2:00–5:15 [x] 8:33–9:12 ‘Apparently I'm an idiot': Three-time Trump voter in Pennsylvania sounds off on Iran war [x] 3:15–3:45 Lucifer Has a NASA Moon Mission named Artemis. Here’s What They’re Hiding. Headlines [x] = Mentioned / Discussed Trump: “A Whole Civilization with Die Tonight” If President Trump carries out his threat to kill the entire civilization of Iran, he will join the ranks of Cato the Elder, Genghis Khan, Cortez, and other villains in history who chose the policy of destroying an entire civilization. Needless to say, this is not what Washington, Madison, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin had in mind when they founded the US Constitutional Republic. Members of the US government—as well as We the People—should think about the reflections of multiple Roman authors who regarded the total annihilation of Carthage as an outrage and repudiation of Rome's republican values and virtues. In the Aeneid, Virgil frames the Punic Wars as a fateful conflict initiated by the Punic Queen Dido’s curse on Aeneas’s descendants. I interpret this as Virgil's way of condemning the “unspeakable” destruction of Carthage. The American people should be aware of the fact that if our US government does indeed annihilate the Iranian nation forever, it will certainly have a vast array of terrible consequences for us and for all of mankind. Among other disasters, it is likely that millions of Iranians will be forced to flee to other lands, including those of Europe. Many young men who see their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters suffer will be animated with a burning desire for revenge. I anticipate great horrors ahead for all of us. Trump's F-Bomb on Iran Joins America's Rollicking History of Presidential Profanity White House Easter egg roll Monday: How to watch live White House Easter Egg Roll honors America’s egg farmers, says President Trump | Fox News [x] Pentagon's new plans in Iran give Trump a way out of war crime accusations – POLITICO [x] Trump threatens to jail journalist who reported on crew's rescue in Iran if they don't reveal source – POLITICO [x] Iran Says US Airman Rescue May Have Been Cover to ‘Steal Enriched Uranium' Artemis ‘Launch’ April Fool’s Day / Easter – Amazing ‘Coincidence’ [x] [Published April Fool's Day! Same as Artemis II 'launch'] Did Van Allen Belts Stop the Moon Landings? Myth vs Fact – FreeAstroScience [x] Artemis II live updates: Nasa astronauts returning to Earth after seeing parts of Moon ‘no human has ever seen' | The Independent Artemis – Wikipedia “Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana…” & Asteroids | Fixed Stars Are the goddesses Ashteroth, Remphan, Isis, Ishtar, Belit, Anahita, Artemis, and Diana the same goddess with different names? – Quora Pan: The Complete Guide to the Greek God of Nature (2023) The Rest [x] = Mentioned / Discussed [x] Deutsche Bank – Wikipedia [x] Deutsche Bank [00:27, 17 May 2024 revision] – Wikipedia [x] Trump family faces high-stakes testimony in Manhattan fraud trial [x] At Trump Org fraud trial, ex-banker recalls ‘hunting' for Trump's business | Courthouse News Service [x] Finra Suspends Trump's Former Personal Banker – AdvisorHub [x] Rosemary Vrablic – Wikipedia [x] Jared Kushner – Wikipedia The thinly sourced theories about Trump's loans and Justice Kennedy's son (Jul 12, 2018) by Salvador Rizzo | The Washington Post [x] Why Trump Is Mentally Unfit to Be President: Pathology of Narcissism (Apr 5, 2017) by Alex Morris | Rolling Stone [x] Taibbi on the Madness of Donald Trump (Sep 19, 2017) by Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone [x] Donald Trump Is About to Be a Loser, His Lawyers Say (Mar 22, 2023) by Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley | Rolling Stone [x] Donald Trump, Trickster God (Mar 4, 2016) by Corey Pein | The Baffler [x] Kushner and Witkoff – by esc [x] IMEC: Trump's War With Iran Is About Global Trade. Period. [x] What The Iran Attack Is Really All About – Road Warrior Radio [x] Road Warrior Radio with Chris Hinkley, March 10, 2026 Hour 1 – Republic Broadcasting Network [x] Road Warrior Radio with Chris Hinkley, March 10, 2026 Hour 2 – Republic Broadcasting Network On This Day Events April 2026 Calendar of Public Holidays | Office Holidays Holidays and Observances in the United States in 2026 What day is it today? Important events every day ad-free | United States OTD On This Day – What Happened on April 7 Today in History: April 7, Rwandan genocide begins | AP News What Happened on April 7 – On This Day What Happened on April 7 | HISTORY April 7 – Wikipedia What Happened On April 7 In History? 07 | April | 2020 | Executed Today Holidays National Beer Day (United States) Historical Events 2022 – The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson – “Pizzagate” judge who was unable to define ‘woman' – to the Supreme Court, securing her place as the court's first Black female justice. 2021 – COVID-19 shenanigans: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States. 2020 – COVID-19 shenanigans: China ends its lockdown in Wuhan. 2020 – COVID-19 shenanigans: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigns for his handling of the COVID-19 ‘pandemic’ on USS Theodore Roosevelt and the dismissal of Brett Crozier. 1994 – A day after the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi died in a missile attack on their aircraft, the moderate Hutu prime minister of Rwanda, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, and her husband were killed by Rwandan soldiers; in the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates. 1990 – John Poindexter is convicted for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991 the convictions are reversed on appeal. 1984 – The Census Bureau reported that Los Angeles had overtaken Chicago as the nation's “second city” in terms of population. 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran. 1970 – John Wayne wins Best Actor Oscar: The legendary actor John Wayne wins his first—and only—acting Academy Award, for his star turn in the director Henry Hathaway's Western True Grit. Known for his tough, rugged, uniquely American screen persona, Wayne appeared in some 150 movies over the course of his long and storied career. 1969 – The internet is born: With the publication of RFC 1, The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awarded a contract to build a precursor of today’s world wide web to BBN Technologies. The date is widely considered as the internet’s symbolic birthday. 1968 – Riots continue in over 100 US cities following the Apr 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 1966 – The U.S. Navy recovered a hydrogen bomb that the U.S. Air Force had lost in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain following a B-52 crash. 1964 – IBM announces the System/360. 1963 – Tito is made president of Yugoslavia for life: A new Yugoslav constitution proclaims Tito the president for life of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Formerly known as Josip Broz, Tito was born to a large peasant family in Croatia in 1892. 1961 – JFK lobbies Congress to help save historic sites in Egypt: President John F. Kennedy sends a letter to Congress in which he recommends the U.S. participate in an international campaign to preserve ancient temples and historic monuments in the Nile Valley of Egypt. The campaign, initiated by UNESCO, was designed to save sites threatened by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. 1954 – Domino Theory: President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined one of the most famous Cold War phrases, held a news conference in which he outlined the concept of the “domino theory” as he spoke of the importance of containing the spread of communism in Indochina, saying, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.” 1953 – Sweden's Dag Hammarskjöld elected U.N. head: By a vote of 57 to 1, Dag Hammarskjöld is elected secretary-general of the United Nations. The son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, a former prime minister of Sweden, Dag joined Sweden's foreign ministry in 1947, and in 1951 formally entered the cabinet as deputy foreign minister. 1950 – President Truman receives NSC-68 report, calling for “containing” Soviet expansion: President Harry S. Truman receives National Security Council Paper Number 68 (NSC-68). The report was a group effort, created with input from the Defense Department, the State Department, the CIA, and other interested agencies; NSC-68 formed the basis for America's Cold War policy for the next two decades. 1949 – Tony-winning musical South Pacific opens on Broadway: The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opens at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The romantic musical about World War II, which touches on controversial racial themes, goes on to run for almost five years, becoming one of the most popular musicals of the 1950s. 1948 – World Health Organization established: The WHO, a privately funded United Nations agency front organization, ostensibly concerned with fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, building up national health services, and improving health education in its 194 member states. 1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by United States Navy aircraft during Operation Ten-Go, in Japan's first major counteroffensive in the struggle for Okinawa. Weighing 72,800 tons and outfitted with nine 18.1-inch guns, the battleship Yamato was Japan's only hope of destroying the Allied fleet off the coast of Okinawa. 1943 – The National Football League makes helmets mandatory. 1943 – Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches. 1940 – Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington becomes the first Black American to be honored with a postage stamp. It will take nearly four decades for a Black woman to receive a similar honor: Harriet Tubman in 1978. 1939 – Benito Mussolini invades Albania, declares an Italian protectorate over Albania and forces King Zog I into exile. 1933 – National Beer Day: Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.) 1927 – First long-distance television transmission: an image of Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover is sent from Washington, D.C. to NYC by AT&T 1922 – Teapot Dome Scandal: Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed a secret deal to lease U.S. Navy petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to his friends, oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny, in exchange for cash gifts; Fall would eventually be sentenced to prison on bribery and conspiracy charges in what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh concludes: Two days of heavy fighting conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell are victorious after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7. 1832 – The Man Who Sold His Wife: Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife. He wasn’t. Nagging wives needed to be careful in 19th Century England, for, as Hardy recounted in The Mayor of Casterbridge, her husband might put her up for sale. That's just what happened on this day to Mary Thompson, according to a local newspaper report. 1829 – Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint cult, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe. 1827 – First friction match sold: English chemist John Walker produced and sold the first operable matches. They were soon banned in France and Germany because burning fragments would sometimes fall to the floor and start fires. 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna 1805 – Lewis and Clark depart Fort Mandan: After a long winter, the Lewis and Clark expedition departs its camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West. The Corps of Discovery had begun its voyage the previous spring, and it arrived at the large Mandan and Minnetaree villages along the upper Missouri River (north of present-day Bismarck, North Dakota) in late October. 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and the Spanish Empire. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812. 1788 – American Pioneers to the Northwest Territory arrive at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, establishing Marietta, Ohio, as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory, and opening the westward expansion of the new country. 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward. 1739 – Dick Turpin is executed in England for horse stealing 1724 – Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion premiered: St. John’s Passion premieres on Good Friday at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (now Germany). The sacred oratorio is the oldest extant Passion by the German composer. The highly popular work is a dramatization of the final days of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of John. 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu. 529 – First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis or the Justinian Code (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. 30 – Scholars estimate for the crucifixion of Jesus by Roman troops at the behest of Jewish leadership (Caiaphas the high priest, chief priests, scribes, elders) on Golgotha outside Jerusalem [or April 3] Births 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand/Australian actor, singer, producer 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor and director noted for acrobatic stunt work in hits like “The Young Master” and the “Rush Hour” series. 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, screenwriter 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author (died 2023) 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (died 2014) 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian/American sitar player, composer (died 2012) 1915 – Billie Holiday, American Jazz singer-songwriter, actress whose soulful intensity earned her the nickname “Lady Day.” Signature hits like “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child.” (died 1959) 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (died 1972) 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1969) 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, journalist, conservationist, activist best known for her advocacy for the preservation of Florida’s Everglades region. (died 1998) 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, ardent eugenicist, Seventh-day Adventist cult member, founded the Kellogg Company (died 1951) 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher, communist (died 1837) 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (died 1850) Deaths 1947 – Henry Ford, American businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (born 1863) 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (born 1873) 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus (born 1810) 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (born 1743) 1733 – Samuel Partridge, very stupid and unconcern'd From the New England Weekly Journal, July 23, 1733 — a three-month-old news item (part of a roundup of dated minor dispatches) that had to cross the Atlantic from the mother country. Ipswich, April 7. Last Saturday Samuel Partridge was executed here, for robbing Mr. Barwell of Brockley in this City, of 31l, 10s., a Horse, and other Things, in Company with another Person not yet taken. He said he was born at Debden in Suffolk, that he was about 22 years of Age, and was brought up in Husbandry; he appeared to be very illiterate, for he could neither read nor write, and was entirely ignorant of the first Principles of Christianity. He denied the Fact for which he suffered, and said he was perswaded to own the Robbery by a Soldier that was in Halsted Bridewell with him, he telling him, that if he confessed the Fact he would come off very well; and that he advised him to say, that he had made use of a Bolt instead of a Pistol, and that he had hid it in a certain Place, where it was found according to his Direction. At the Place of Execution he seemed very stupid and unconcern'd; only, as directed, he called on God for Mercy when he was turned off. Elon Musk Tweets ‘Novus Ordo Seclorum' After Donald Trump Wins Reelection. MAGA Is The Pied Piper – winepressnews.com ↩ Novus Ordo Seclorum – History of Motto on Great Seal’s Unfinished Pyramid ↩ Novus ordo seclorum – Wikipedia ↩ Annuit cœptis – Wikipedia ↩

This week we look at Fake Iran news; Jury Trials in the UK; Upskirting in Melbourne; Country of the Week - Russia;  Feedback; The importance of oil; Death of Gary Habermas; Banning music and childrens art in English schools; a new Green religious education curriculum in Saxony; Banning potatoes; Bible sales in the UK growing; the Free Church Youth Conference; the Final Word - Judges 10 - with music from  the Valaam Monastic Choir; Metallica; The Wiggles;  Tchaikovsky; Eurythmics; Jimi Hendrix; The Kinks; Elton John. …

What if a losing streak rewrote European power forever? The Seven Years' War didn't end with a single decisive battle; it ended with a reshaped continent. This video dives into the final acts: Frederick the Great's brutal setbacks in the mid-war years, the seismic shift sparked by Peter III's accession in Russia, and how Prussia's stubborn resilience and shifting alliances carried the war to a historically transformative conclusion. We'll trace key campaigns in Saxony and across the European theaters, examine how Russia's stance flipped fortunes, and explore the dramatic diplomatic aftermath that sealed new borders and futures. You'll see how Britain's naval supremacy and Russia's continental power redefined who dictated terms on the map, and how the Paris and Hubertusburg treaties reset balance of power for decades to come. Juxtaposed with portraits, maps, and battlefield sketches, the narrative highlights leadership decisions, logistics, and the long shadow this conflict cast on European diplomacy, military doctrine, and national prestige. If you're curious about how a global war seeded the rise of Prussia as a European heavyweight and set the stage for future coalitions, this deep-dive is for you. Like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more history that connects the dots between past clashes and today's geopolitics.   Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"

Theologian Bo Karen Lee joins Ryan McAnnally-Linz to explore how the multiple layers of trauma—pandemic grief, racialized violence, intergenerational wounding, vicarious suffering—can be met by the resources of Ignatian spirituality and contemplative prayer. Writing and teaching at the intersection of Christian formation and social justice, Lee brings both scholarly precision and uncommon personal candor to one of the most urgent conversations in theology today. "Trauma tends to isolate and alienate us from our siblings, our human siblings. But ironically, this witnessing of one another's pain is the source of healing. So it has the very opposite effect of what is needed for it to be healed." In this conversation, Lee reflects on the spiritual journey from what one author calls "alarmed aloneness" toward becoming beloved—seen, held, and gazed upon with love. Together they discuss the overlapping layers of collective, personal, racialized, and intergenerational trauma shaping contemporary life; attachment theory and its parallels with spiritual formation; the Ignatian tradition of imaginative, contemplative prayer; the still face experiment and the theology of the loving gaze; and why the church has something singular to offer the trauma crisis of our time. Episode Highlights "We are quite sure we're alone in the world and no one really sees us, no one truly cares and no one can be trusted. You're alone, overwhelmed, and helpless." "Trauma tends to isolate and alienate us from our siblings, our human siblings. But ironically, this witnessing of one another's pain is the source of healing. So it has the very opposite effect of what is needed for it to be healed." "I need to be held, but it's this illusory figure that holds me, because I have shut myself off to the very things that could help me, because no one is to be trusted." "I've seen too much hope, and too much beauty, and too much healing walking through the spiritual exercises that I can no longer despair that trauma has the final word." "Gazing upon the God who gazes upon me with love. That is contemplative prayer." About Bo Karen Lee Bo Karen Lee is Associate Professor of Spiritual Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she teaches contemplative theology, Ignatian spirituality, and the relationship between prayer and social justice. A leading voice in the integration of trauma studies and Christian formation, she brings the Ignatian tradition into conversation with psychology, attachment theory, and the lived experience of racialized communities. Her work draws on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola to offer resources for healing that are both theologically grounded and pastorally immediate. She directs retreatants in the nineteenth annotation of the Spiritual Exercises and works regularly with spiritual directors trained in the Ignatian tradition. Helpful Links and Resources Bessel van der Kolk, Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society https://www.amazon.com/Traumatic-Stress-Overwhelming-Experience-Society/dp/1572300485 Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother's Hands https://www.resmaa.com/resources Kathy Weingarten, Common Shock: Witnessing Violence Every Day https://www.kathyweingarten.com David Fleming SJ, Draw Me Into Your Friendship https://www.amazon.com/Draw-Me-Into-Your-Friendship/dp/0912422904 Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/ Edward Tronick, Still Face Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0 Find a Spiritual Director https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/making-good-decisions/find-a-spiritual-director/ Show Notes Trauma defined: "terror triggered by an inescapably stressful event that overwhelms existing coping mechanisms" — Bessel van der Kolk Layers of trauma: collective pandemic grief, personal wounding, racialized violence, intergenerational encoding, vicarious/secondary trauma Global pandemic as collective trauma — threat of death, forced isolation, planetary-scale overwhelm Racialized trauma and AAPI hate incidents — one in five AAPI individuals reported a hate incident in the U.S. in a 15-month window (as of late 2021) My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem — racialized trauma encoded in bodies and communities https://www.resmaa.com/resources Cumulative microaggressions — daily small injuries can produce PTSD-level effects over time; growing body of clinical literature Secondary/vicarious trauma — hearing others' suffering reactivates unresolved wounds in caregivers and companions "Double jeopardy" — Kathy Weingarten's term for caregivers whose own past traumas are reactivated while supporting others Five professions at highest risk: clergy, health workers, teachers, police, journalists — context for the Great Resignation "Alarmed aloneness" — the net effect of trauma: certainty that no one sees you, no one cares, no one can be trusted "Trauma tends to isolate and alienate us from our siblings, our human siblings. But ironically, this witnessing of one another's pain is the source of healing." The orphan image: a girl in a Middle Eastern orphanage draws a chalk mother around her fetal body — illusory comfort as portrait of traumatic isolation Intergenerational trauma — encoded in DNA; personal testimony about learning her own mother was nearly killed as an infant, its echo across generations Kintsugi as healing metaphor — the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold; grief before repair, not a race to be fixed Robert Stolorow's concept: finding a "relational home" for traumatic suffering — the necessity of being witnessed Ignatius of Loyola — 16th-century Spanish soldier wounded by cannonball; encountered the living Christ through Ludolph of Saxony's Vita Christi during convalescence The Spiritual Exercises: a four-week manual for imaginative prayer — beloved and broken, walking with Christ through ministry, suffering, resurrection https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/ Ignatian contemplative prayer defined: "gazing upon the God who gazes upon me with love" — kataphatic, embodied, not requiring stillness or silence Still Face Experiment (Edward Tronick) — infant distress when a loving mother goes blank; evidence that the gaze of love is neurologically and psychologically foundational https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0 Attachment theory and spiritual formation — earned secure attachment: what unhealthy early bonding cannot provide, sustained relationship with God can "I've seen too much hope, and too much beauty, and too much healing walking through the spiritual exercises that I can no longer despair that trauma has the final word." Personal testimony: AAPI hate crimes, night terrors, contemplative prayer with a spiritual director; a vision of Mary, the wailing women, and the crucified Christ "Bo, they killed me too" — Christ's words in a contemplative vision; solidarity as the beginning of bearable grief Sartre's "hell is other people" reframed — parasitic dependence on others' approval vs. the freedom of knowing how God gazes upon you Resources for beginning: David Fleming's Draw Me Into Your Friendship; finding a spiritual director trained in Ignatian spirituality; Jesuit retreat centers #TraumaHealing #IgnatianSpirituality #ContemplativePrayer #ChristianFormation #SpiritualTheology #MentalHealthAndFaith #RacializedTrauma #AttachmentTheory #ForTheLifeOfTheWorld #YaleDivinity Production Notes This podcast featured Bo Karen Lee Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa Hosted by Evan Rosa Production Assistance by Annie Trowbridge and Luke Stringer A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/about Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Artificial intelligence or the pandemics were two recentcrises framed as almost magical non-human actors. They both reshaped the boundaries of human agency. By now,the language explaining them is often one of rupture and unprecedented transformation. AI or COVID-19 were described as opaque, autonomous and difficult to control. Both were imagined as operating beyond ordinaryaccountability, while still exerting real effects on collective life. In that sense, the anxiety does not result only from the fear of machines or unknown germs. It concerns the displacement of agency and the fragility of human beings tasked with governing forces they did not design and do not fully understand. Humans are unsettled when power seems to migrate beyond the human subject.Yet the fear of the non-human as a destabilising force isnot new. What we would like to pinpoint in our series it that societies, when confronted with such moments of rupture, authorize forms of exclusion and violence based on (ir)rationalism. Our focus throughout this series will fallon the vampire and witchcraft epidemics. European societies once confronted witches, revenants and vampires as threats to moral and political order. These figures emerged at moments of epidemic disease, religious fracture andinstitutional weakness. They offered an explanation for crisis. This new dossier revisits those episodes of collectiveanxiety. Whilst the differences between AI, pandemics and zombies, witches and undead are substantial, these moments reveal the fragile boundary between the rational state and collective hysteria. The imagery resulted can be a finebarometer of the how states respond when agency seems to escape human control or what mechanisms of blame, purification and boundary-drawing are activated.In our first podcast of this series, we discuss with Prof. John Blair, around his latest book Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World, published by Princeton University Press. John Blair reconstructs a world in which the dead were not metaphor but menace. His bookfollows the concept of restless bodies which stirred various social anxieties and created symbolic meanings.Drawing on both archeological sources and written sources,Prof. John Blair traces how reports of revenants and vampires spread across medieval England and later in Saxony, Bohemia and Transylvania. A particular revealing case is masticatione mortuorum (mastication of the dead), which meant the corpses that eat themselves. The book does not treat theseepisodes as a form of superstition. Instead, John Blair sees them as anthropological facts which are embedded in localconflicts and in turn reveal fragile systems of authority.Whilst one of the core tenets of Enlightenment was tofight superstition and Maria Theresa issued a ban on corpse-killing, John Blair underlines that the shifts were much more gradual. Reason did not replace fear.Blair shows that accusations of the undead surfaced where institutions were weak and explanations scarce. The exhumed body became a site of negotiation between fear and governance, even during the Enlightenment. What appearsirrational from a distance emerges, under scrutiny, as a structured response to crisis.

1/28/26 - When St. Dominic died in 1221, the future of the newly founded Dominican Order was far from secure—but the man elected to succeed him, Blessed Jordan of Saxony, would prove decisive in shaping its destiny. We'll examine how Jordan, a brilliant Paris-trained theologian and gifted preacher, preserved Dominic's original vision while leading the Order through unprecedented growth, expanding Dominican houses across France, Italy, Germany, and beyond. Renowned for his warmth, clarity, and personal holiness, Jordan drew countless vocations—including future saints—by uniting doctrinal precision with genuine pastoral charity, especially among university students. Through his letters, preaching missions, and careful formation of friars, he defended religious discipline against laxity, resisted worldly pressures, and ensured that truth, study, and preaching remained at the heart of Dominican life. His leadership demonstrates that lasting renewal in the Church comes not from novelty or compromise, but from fidelity to tradition, courage in leadership, and holiness lived publicly and persuasively.

In this engaging podcast from the Pacific War Channel, hosts Craig and Gaurav, joined by guest Simon, dive into the European theater of the Seven Years War (1756-1763). They explore the diplomatic revolution that reshaped alliances: Prussia aligns with Britain against Austria, France, Russia, and Sweden. Frederick the Great's aggressive invasion of Saxony sparks the conflict, driven by his seizure of Silesia and fears of encirclement. The discussion covers the evolution of 18th-century warfare, from pike-and-musket formations to disciplined line infantry, flintlock muskets, and improved artillery, emphasizing mobility over sieges. Key battles are analyzed: Lobositz (1756), a tactical draw highlighting Austrian artillery; Prague (1757), a costly Prussian victory leading to a siege; Kolin (1757), a disastrous defeat for Frederick, shattering his aura of invincibility; Rossbach (1757), a brilliant rout of French-Imperial forces restoring Prussian morale; and Leuthen (1757), Frederick's masterpiece of maneuver, defeating a larger Austrian army through oblique order and flanking. The hosts highlight Frederick's resilience amid suicidal despair, his innovative tactics, and the war's attrition. Russian invasions of East Prussia and French advances on Hanover add pressure, but Prussian discipline prevails. The episode underscores the war's global scale, with morale swings and strategic blunders shaping outcomes, setting up colonial theaters in future parts.

The Road to the Seven Years' War traces the intricate web of European rivalries in the mid-18th century, setting the stage for a global conflict often called the first "world war." It begins with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which ended the War of the Austrian Succession but left simmering tensions, particularly over Silesia, seized by Prussia from Austria. Key players include Prussia under the ambitious Frederick William I and his son Frederick the Great, who transformed Prussia into a military powerhouse through rigorous reforms, emphasizing discipline and innovation. The narrative explores the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, where traditional alliances flipped: Austria allied with France and Russia to crush Prussia, while Britain backed Prussia to counter French colonial ambitions. France and Britain's colonial clashes in North America (e.g., the French and Indian War) and India escalated the conflict globally. Russia's Empress Elizabeth and Austria's Maria Theresa sought revenge against Frederick, viewing him as a threat. The discussion highlights Frederick's strategic genius, including his preemptive invasion of Saxony, which ignited the war. Economically, mercantilism fueled imperial rivalries, while Enlightenment ideas influenced military tactics. The war's prelude underscores how personal ambitions, territorial disputes, and shifting alliances created a powder keg, leading to devastating battles across Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. Ultimately, it reshaped global power, weakening France and elevating Britain and Prussia. Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"

EU STRUGGLES WITH RUSSIAN ASSETS AND AID Colleague Judy Dempsey. Judy Dempsey discusses the EU's difficulty in utilizing frozen Russian assets and the "defeat" for Chancellor Merz regarding the funding mechanism for Ukraine. NUMBER 1 1890 SAXONY

Ferdinand wanted to make cars for the people, but the Porsche brand we know is an empire of performance. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients, so here’s one of those. [ASAP Commercial Doors Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast. It’s the podcast where we talk about empires that were built, businesses, business empires. You know what we… If you’ve listened before, you know… Stephen Semple: Something like that. I get it. Businesses that have done pretty well over the years. Dave Young: They started small. Stephen Semple: They started small. Dave Young: They started small and then they got big. They got so big to the point that you could call them an empire. Stephen Semple: That’s it. That’s the idea. Dave Young: It’s a pretty simple premise. Stephen Semple: That’s it. Dave Young: So as we counted down, Steve told me the topic today and it’s Porsche. Stephen Semple: Yes, sir. Dave Young: Porsche. I’m assuming this is the car. Stephen Semple: The car, yes, the car. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: The car. Dave Young: And I’m trying to… I know some Porsche jokes, but I probably shouldn’t tell those on this show. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever actually been in a Porsche. Stephen Semple: Oh, well then you’ve got to come up and see me, Dave. Dave Young: You own one. I know you own one. Stephen Semple: Well, I have one. Bernier’s got two. I don’t know how many Steve has. Dave Young: I see how it is. I see how it is. Maybe I will tell my Porsche joke. So you guys that own them, do you call it Porscha? Because some of us just say Porsche. Stephen Semple: Well, if you actually take a look back, that’s the proper German pronunciation as Porsche. Dave Young: Porsche, okay. Stephen Semple: And it’s supposed to not be… It’s not Italian Porsche, right? So it’s Porsche. Dave Young: Porsche, Porsche. Okay, I’ll accept that. I’ll accept that. I’m guessing we’re- Stephen Semple: Well, look, you got to always call a dealership to double check. They’ll tell you. Dave Young: Now, if I had to guess where we’re headed to start this off sometime around the 40s, maybe earlier. Stephen Semple: A little earlier than that, actually. It was founded by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931 in Stuttgart, Germany. You’re not far off. But the interesting thing is where the growth really happened, even though that’s when it was founded, when things really started to happen, was actually post-World War II. Dave Young: That makes sense. Stephen Semple: You’re correct on that. Dave Young: So, it started in 31 and by the time you hit the late 30s and 40s, you’re part of the war machine. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So it was founded in 1931, Stuttgart, Germany by Ferdinand. And when we take a look at the history of the business for a very long time, they were a part of the VW group, although they were recently spun off into their own separate business. And there’s a lot of shared history between VW and Porsche. A lot of people make fun of the fact that it’s basically a VW. There’s so much connection. Now here’s the other thing is, there’s a lot of connection in Nazi Germany here as well. And I mean- Dave Young: That’s what I was intimating but trying not to say, but yes, there was definitely. Stephen Semple: And not one of these ones of, “Oh, I’m a business and I got sucked up into the machine.” I mean, very early on. Very early on. Ferdinand was a member of the SS following the war, both he and his son were charged. Dave Young: No kidding. Stephen Semple: He served two years in jail. His son six months. So we’re not talking loose connections here. He was a buddy of Adolf. Let’s just put it out there. And if you remember, going back to episode 21, VW was founded by Nazi Germany. So episode 21 about The Beetle, and Ferdinand was the guy who designed the Beetle. Dave Young: Right, right. I remember you saying that, Ferdinand Porsche. Stephen Semple: And look, Porsche has not always had the success it has today. It’s become pretty big. They do 40 billion EU in sales. They have 40,000 employees. They make 300,000 cars. There was a time that they’re making cars in the hundreds and thousands. It wasn’t that long ago. But let’s go back to Germany to the early 1900s. And if we think about Germany at that time, pre-World War II, pre-World War I, there was lots of history of engineering and science in Germany. More Nobel Prizes in Science was awarded to Germany than anywhere else in the world at that time. Dave Young: Right. Stephen Semple: Germany was a real leader in science and engineering. And the first commercial automobile was made in Germany by Mercedes-Benz. So it’s 1906 and Daimler recruits Ferdinand because Ferdinand had been the winner of the Pottingham [inaudible 00:06:05] Prize, which is the automotive engineer of the year, which is given to new chief engineers and basically allows the person to have this designated doctor engineer honoris causa, Ferdinand Porsche. And he would go around calling himself all of that. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: And this is an honorary doctorate because he never actually finished college, but he had real engineering chops, Ferdinand. So he moves to Stuttgart, which at the time is a center of car making in Germany, including all the suppliers. And he works for Benz for 20 years. Okay. Now, it’s Germany in the 1930s and 2% of the population own a car in Germany as compared to the United States, which is 30%. Dave Young: In that time? Stephen Semple: In that time. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Ferdinand comes up with this idea of we should make an inexpensive car. We shouldn’t be making car for the wealthy. We should make an inexpensive car. The board rejects the idea. Ferdinand leaves in 1929. And in 1931… Kicks around for a few years, and then 1931 starts a consulting firm. Now, this dude knew how to name things. You’re ready for the name of the company? Dave Young: Of the consulting firm? Stephen Semple: Of the consulting firm. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: I have to read this to get it right. The Doctor Engineer Honoris Causa Ferdinand Porsche Construction and Consulting and Design Services for Motor Vehicles. Dave Young: Now, if I know anything about German, that was all one word that you just said, right? Stephen Semple: Well- Dave Young: No spaces in between any of those words. Stephen Semple: Translated, you’ll see it as Dr. in H period, C period, F period, Porsche, capital G, small M, small B, capital H. Dave Young: It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Stephen Semple: Now, here’s the crazy thing. Up until 2009, that remained the official name of the company. You actually can find, if you see Porsche’s older than that, that if you look for that, it’ll be stamped somewhere in the car that that’s the manufacturer. Dave Young: They changed it finally because it was just too expensive to- Stephen Semple: It cost too much- Dave Young: Put that many letters in a dye cast. Stephen Semple: Exactly, exactly. Dave Young: Holy cow. Stephen Semple: So it’s 1934 and they land a contract with Germany to design a small affordable car for the people called the Volkswagen. Dave Young: Volkswagen. Stephen Semple: Beetle. Right, there you go. Now, here’s the thing that’s weird. Post World War II, the allies are in trying to rebuild Germany and no one owns VW. VW was owned by the state. So now it’s in the hands of the British and the British and the allies want to create a strong economy in West Germany because it’s now the Cold War. So the big defense to defending against East Germany and the expansion of communism is to really get the economy going in Germany. And so the British government, as we know from episode 21 about the Beetle, approached Porsche who designed it and said, “Help us get this car built.” And this is where it gets just a little bit weird because the son goes in one direction. Ferdinand’s doing his own thing. They both got arrested for war crimes. Son gets out first because he did six months. And his son’s name’s Ferry and his dad is in jail for two years. So between this time where dad’s still in jail and son’s out, here’s one of the things they did towards the end of the war. We don’t know exactly how many, but it was probably about 20 of their best engineers and they moved them out into the farmland of Austria and basically had them working in a barn because they didn’t want to get them arrested or killed, quite frankly. So Ferry gets out and he goes to this barn in Austria and he’s looking around and he goes, “What the heck are we going to do to make some money? Let’s start fixing up cars.” Now, not a huge business fixing up cars. It’s post-war and there weren’t a lot of cars in Germany anyway, but they had to do something. Then the dad gets out of jail and he ends up doing this work with Volkswagen. Now, here’s what’s interesting. And this is where the really tight ties between Porsche and Volkswagen start. The deal that the German government gives Ferdinand, the deal that the allies give Ferdinand is this. Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories to Sell Ad] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off and trust me you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: The deal that the allies give Ferdinand is this. We want your help designing and distributing this car. We will give you a royalty for every VW Beetle sold worldwide. Dave Young: Wow, that’s pretty generous. Stephen Semple: Well, no one knew it was going to be such a huge success and basically go for 50 years that car was being built. Dave Young: Right, right. Stephen Semple: So for a long time, the biggest source of revenue for Porsche was royalties on VW Beetle sales. Dave Young: Wow, okay. So it really- Stephen Semple: Isn’t that crazy? Dave Young: It really wouldn’t exist if that deal hadn’t been made. Stephen Semple: May not have, may not have. Now, meanwhile, Ferry, who has design chops of his own and loves cars, started tinkering around with vehicles. And what he started to do was put big engines in small cars. There was all these Beetle parts lying around. He would build a car, this little car, and he’d put a big engine in it. And if you go back in the time, if you go back and take a look in the late 30s, early 40s, and you take a look at Ferraris and things like that, you take a look at the race cars at the time, they were two-thirds engines. They’re these massive engines. So he went the opposite direction. He said, “Well, let’s take a little car and put a big engine in it.” And he’s driving around and he goes, “This is fun.” Because he’s basing it on parts lying around, which is the VW stuff. It’s an engine in the back. This becomes the Porsche 356, which is basically Porsche’s first car. So they start making this car and they wanted to make it somewhat affordable. So the price was $3,750, which would be $42,000 today. And they also wanted to have it as being a daily driver because again, everybody else making performance cars were not daily drivers, had a trunk, bunch of things, daily driver. And this is an important part of Porsche’s DNA. We’re going to come back to this a little bit later, this idea of it being a daily driver. So coming out of World War II, sports cars, industry’s happening and everybody’s got one. MG and Jag in the UK, there’s Ferrari in Italy, you get the idea. Now, one thing I forgot to mention that’s interesting and still today, the government state of Lower Saxony, which is basically would be the state, they still own 20% of Volkswagen. Dave Young: Really? Okay. Stephen Semple: I forgot to mention that. Dave Young: Who are they now? Stephen Semple: Well, Volkswagen’s still around. Volkswagen’s still- Dave Young: No, who is the Saxony? Stephen Semple: Well, it’d be like saying the state of Texas. It’s a state. Dave Young: Okay, it’s just a part of Germany. Stephen Semple: Part of Germany and that government still owns 20% of the company. Dave Young: What a world. Stephen Semple: Now there’s all this stimulus going on in Germany to try to get the economy going. One of the things that they did, there was a really interesting tax rate. There was an interesting tax structure. There was a very high marginal tax rate. Now, ordinary people were taxed at 15%, but the marginal tax rate could go as high as 95%. And the reason why they wanted to do this was create this incentive for reinvestment. So there’s all this… As they’re making money, there’s this heavy reinvestment. And in the early 50s, racing is really exploding. Automobile racing is really exploding, but the lines between professional and amateur is blurry. If you remember, James Dean and Steve McQueen and other actors, Paul Newman, were all racing. Dave Young: Right. Stephen Semple: They’re all racing vehicles. And Jaguar and Porsche were trying to do the same thing in terms of creating this daily driver that you could race. Now in the end, Porsche won, and I think part of it is because quite frankly, they just built a better vehicle. There was a time where the joke with Jaguars was you had to own two because one would always be in the shop and one… And going back to the early DNA, Ferry Porsche was quoted as saying, “We have the only car that can go from an East African safari to race in the Le Mans to take out to theater and then drive on the streets in New York.” Dave Young: Wow, okay. Stephen Semple: And look, today, Porsche still heavily advertises that. They will advertise a Porsche driving through the snow with ski racks on it. And not their SUVs, the 911. This is very much part of it. And if you think about it, this parallels what Rolex did in the early days. You remember from episode 184 with Rolex. Rolex, the Submariner, the Explorer. Dave Young: Target by niche. Stephen Semple: Target by niche and make it tough and something that you could use and wear day to day. So it’s 1954 and Porsche’s selling 588 cars and about 40% of them is in the US. So really what’s making things hum with them is all those Beetle sales. And it’s the ’60s, the Ford Mustang comes out, the Jag E type comes out, the Austin-Healey comes out, and Porsche decides they need a new vehicle. And they were going to do a sedan, a four door sedan. But what they realized was they didn’t really want to compete with Mercedes and BMW. So they looked around at the other German car manufacturers and they said, “You know what? That’s probably not the place to go.” They had designed it up and that project failed. They had also been working on a six cylinder Boxter engine. So Boxter engine, the cylinders are opposed, so they’re like boxing. And the whole idea is that lowers the center of gravity of the weight of the engine. And they had a project that they were working on that that didn’t go ahead. So they stepped back and they went, “Maybe what we should do is just reduce the size of the sedan and put that engine in it.” That’s what they did. And that became the Porsche 901. Except there’s a problem. Peugeot had the copyright for zero in the middle of a bunch of numbers in France. They couldn’t call it the 901 because of that copyright. Dave Young: So they called it- Stephen Semple: So they called it the 911. And that’s now the iconic Porsche car. 1966, they sell 13,000 of these cars. Now, here’s the thing that I think is very interesting. And Porsche, as far as I could figure out, is the only car manufacturer that does this. First of all, they’ve maintained the 911 forever, but even on top of that, Porsche really understands design language. We can all recognize a Porsche. Dave Young: Right. Stephen Semple: We can recognize one from 2020. We can recognize one from 1999. We can recognize one from 1970. Even though they’ve upgraded the technology, they’ve changed the design of the car. They’ve now come out with the Cayman and the Macan and the Cayenne. They’re all recognizable as that vehicle. They’ve done a great job of doing that. I think that was a lost opportunity, frankly, when Tesla came out because they had a clean design slate. Tesla could have done that. But I think that’s really interesting how they’ve managed to maintain, even though they’ll modernize it. In our minds, we still will see one and go, “That’s a Porsche.” Dave Young: Sure. And the great car brands are able to do that. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: Audi is always going to be an Audi. Volvo is always going to look like a Volvo. And in the Portals class at Wizard Academy, one of the videos that I use to demonstrate that, there’s a language. If you combine specific shapes and specific lines, that all adds up to that brand of car. And so I’ve got an old video that I got when I was in the Motor Press Guild from Audi. It was just a video that was made for journalists with an Audi designer explaining all the lines on the car when they came out with the Q7 and how it still maintained the Audi design language. It was fascinating. Stephen Semple: It is. Dave Young: So Porsche could tell you that and the cool thing is those designers can tell you that. It’s hard for you and I to go, “Well, I can look at it and say, “That’s a Porsche.” But to be able to put it into words that describe it to someone else, is a gift. Stephen Semple: What’s really interesting, my nephew, Jeffrey, he loves Audi’s. That’s what he has. And he’ll even make the comment, he doesn’t like the Porsche’s because you feel like you’re in a bubble. Audis are very square. If you look at the back of an Audi and you look at the rear end of a Porsche, it has hips. But again, he’s even, “They’re great cars, but I like the squareness of the Audi.” So that’s interesting. Dave Young: Audi Audi has a fairly, not perpendicular, but an upright grill more so than a … And that’s part of their design language. Stephen Semple: So the whole DNA of Porsche came from this whole idea of a small car. Dave Young: Big engine. Stephen Semple: Big engine, daily driver, that was the whole idea is, it’s supposed to be a car that you can drive every day. That’s the core, core, core, core principle. That’s why they always have decent sized trunks. I remember when Gary bought his Boxter, one of the things he loved about it is you can actually put two sets of golf clubs in that car. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Right? Now, here’s what’s fun. There was a time where when they were really wanting to get things going, they did some great print advertisements. So they had ads like bug killer. Another one was calling it transportation is like calling sex reproduction. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Now, two of my favorites, one was not perfect. It would list 20 or 30 races that Porsche won. And if you actually read it, there was two that it didn’t. Dave Young: That they didn’t, “We didn’t win all the races.” Stephen Semple: So not perfect. Dave Young: That could have been driver error. Stephen Semple: That could have been. But Dave, you were going to make some jokes. Porsche’s able to laugh at itself. It actually had an ad that said, “Small penis? Have I got a car for you? If you’re going to overcompensate, then by all means, overcompensate.” Dave Young: I love it, I love it. Well, and that’s always the thing, the jokes are not about the car. Stephen Semple: But they actually ran that ad and I believe it ran in Car and Driver Magazine. I cannot imagine getting that ad approved. Dave Young: That’s amazing. Stephen Semple: And look, their own drivers are like, “Yeah, whatever.” Dave Young: Sure, compensating all I want. Absolutely. I love that story. Well, thank you, Stephen. I love the story of Porsche. Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: And get out there and enjoy it or just buy me one and send it here. Thank you. Stephen Semple: All right, thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big fat, juicy five-star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute Empire Building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

Each Disney Princess movie is set in a different time and part of the world. For many they are a first glimpse of history and cultures outside of our own. But have you ever wondered what life was really like for your favorite Disney Princess? Let's take a look at each of Disney's 16 animated Princesses, including the latest addition, Asha, to determine where and when they are most likely set. Then I'll match each iconic princess to a real-life royal woman from the same time and place. So we can get a sense of what life without witches, curses and singing animal sidekicks was really like. In some cases there are interesting similarities; Eugénie de Montijo really did go from rags to riches like Cinderella, Catherine of Valois was a sleeping beauty like Aurora and Mihrimah Sultan was a respected leader like Jasmine. So put on your ballgown and tiara, or strap on your armor and let's compare Disney Princesses to real history! Part 1: Snow White - Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria Cinderella - Eugénie de Montijo, Empress of the French Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) - Catherine of Valois, Queen of England Ariel (The Little Mermaid) - Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark Belle (Beauty and the Beast) - Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France Jasmine (Aladdin) - Mihrimah Sultan, Ottoman Princess Pocahontas - The historic Pocahontas Mulan - Xiao, Empress of the Sui dynasty Part 2: Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) - Ariana Austin Makonnen, Princess of Ethiopia Rapunzel (Tangled) - Louise of Prussia, Princess of the Netherlands Merida (Brave) - Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England Elsa & Anna (Frozen) - Princess Eugénie of Sweden & Norway Moana - Nafanua, Ali'i of Samoa Raya and the Last Dragon - Trưng Sisters of Vietnam Asha (Wish) - Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Princess of the Emirate of Granada Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History! Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091781568503 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyteatimelindsayholiday/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyteatime Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes! Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell Music: Dream Of The Ancestor by Asher Fulero #HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday Please contact ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas in Germany carries a depth and detail that shaped many of the world's most familiar holiday customs. From Advent wreaths glowing on winter evenings to the aroma of spiced markets and the gentle presence of Christkind, German Christmas traditions reflect centuries of Christian devotion, regional identity, and storytelling. Many of the images that Americans and other nations now consider "classic Christmas" took root in German homes long before crossing the Atlantic through immigrant families. For genealogists, these customs are especially revealing. The German-speaking world is not a single cultural block; it is a set of regions with their own rituals, dialects, and gift-bringers. Whether an ancestor came from Bavaria, the Rhineland, Saxony, or one of the historic kingdoms or principalities, their Christmas practices offer clues to where they lived, what they believed, and how they observed the Nativity. Germany's Christmas traditions did not emerge suddenly. They formed through centuries of Christian worship, household customs, artistic craft, and local practice. In this article, we explore these traditions with attention to the Nativity story, the gift-givers who visit German homes, the importance of Advent, and the genealogical hints preserved in these cultural details... Podcast Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/christmas-traditions-in-germany/ Ancestral Findings Podcast: https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast This Week's Free Genealogy Lookups: https://ancestralfindings.com/lookups Genealogy Giveaway: https://ancestralfindings.com/giveaway Genealogy eBooks: https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Follow Along: https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings https://www.instagram.com/ancestralfindings https://www.youtube.com/ancestralfindings Support Ancestral Findings: https://ancestralfindings.com/support https://ancestralfindings.com/paypal  #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

Each Disney Princess movie is set in a different time and part of the world. For many they are a first glimpse of history and cultures outside of our own. But have you ever wondered what life was really like for your favorite Disney Princess? Let's take a look at each of Disney's 16 animated Princesses, including the latest addition, Asha, to determine where and when they are most likely set. Then I'll match each iconic princess to a real-life royal woman from the same time and place. So we can get a sense of what life without witches, curses and singing animal sidekicks was really like. In some cases there are interesting similarities; Eugénie de Montijo really did go from rags to riches like Cinderella, Catherine of Valois was a sleeping beauty like Aurora and Mihrimah Sultan was a respected leader like Jasmine. So put on your ballgown and tiara, or strap on your armor and let's compare Disney Princesses to real history! Part 1: Snow White - Maria Anna of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria Cinderella - Eugénie de Montijo, Empress of the French Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) - Catherine of Valois, Queen of England Ariel (The Little Mermaid) - Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark Belle (Beauty and the Beast) - Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France Jasmine (Aladdin) - Mihrimah Sultan, Ottoman Princess Pocahontas - The historic Pocahontas Mulan - Xiao, Empress of the Sui dynasty Part 2: Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) - Ariana Austin Makonnen, Princess of Ethiopia Rapunzel (Tangled) - Louise of Prussia, Princess of the Netherlands Merida (Brave) - Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England Elsa & Anna (Frozen) - Princess Eugénie of Sweden & Norway Moana - Nafanua, Ali'i of Samoa Raya and the Last Dragon - Trưng Sisters of Vietnam Asha (Wish) - Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Princess of the Emirate of Granada Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History! Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091781568503 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyteatimelindsayholiday/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyteatime Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes! Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell Music: Dream Of The Ancestor by Asher Fulero #HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday Please contact ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode we spotlight the calm and beautiful Saxony duck and we're joined by Marc and Katy Metzer as they announce the newest duck breed to be offered by the Metzer Farms. We share our recipe for Easy Black Forest Brownies and find some retail therapy waterfowl-themed Christmas ornaments.Grubbly Farms - click here for our affiliate link.https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-100963304-15546963Pre and Probiotic and Vitamin and Electrolyte Powders!Bright and Early Coffee - use code CWTCL15 for 15% off of any bagged coffee. K Cups always ship free!https://brightandearlycoffee.com/Chicken Challengers - https://www.chickenchallengers.com/Omlet Coops- Use Our Affiliate Link and COFFEE10 code for 10% off!https://tidd.ly/3Uwt8BfBreed Spotlight is sponsored by Murray McMurray Hatcheryhttps://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/Metzer Farms Waterfowlhttps://www.metzerfarms.com/Metzer Farms - Golden Cascade Ducks - https://www.metzerfarms.com/golden-cascade-ducks.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqje7vFlpZFhYv8JI52OOex8G1RmjWLf0poCBAo81me7yTzqAsnEaton Pet and Pasture - Use code COFFEE for a discount on first-time purchases.Nestera UShttps://nestera.us/cwtclUse our affiliate link above for 5% off your purchaseEasy Black Forest Brownies - https://coffeewiththechickenladies.com/farm-fresh-egg-recipes/easy-black-forest-brownies/CWTCL Websitehttps://coffeewiththechickenladies.com/CWTCL Etsy Shophttps://www.etsy.com/shop/CoffeeWChickenLadiesAs Amazon Influencers, we may receive a small commission from the sale of some items at no additional cost to consumers.CWTCL Amazon Recommendationshttps://www.amazon.com/shop/coffeewiththechickenladiesSupport the show

In this episode, we trace how small movements, bold revivals, and ordinary believers shaped the explosive growth of Protestant Christianity from Europe to America—and created the denominational family tree we're part of today.--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Episode SummaryIn today's final episode of our Church History series, we trace how Protestantism crossed the Atlantic, sparked massive revival movements, and gave rise to the denominational landscape we see today. From the Moravians and the First Great Awakening to Pentecostalism and the modern church, this episode connects the dots and shows how the global church family took shape.1. The Moravians: The Spark Behind Modern MissionsWhere we left off last time.• Descendants of John Hus (the Hussites / Unity of the Brethren)• Refugees who fled to Count Zinzendorf's estate in Saxony (3–600 people total)Why they mattered:• Experienced a powerful renewal on Aug 13, 1727• Launched a 24/7 prayer chain that lasted 100 years• Sent more missionaries than all Protestants combined by 1760• Known for radical sacrifice—including missionaries willing to sell themselves into slavery• Mission field spread across the West Indies, Africa, Asia, and North AmericaThe John Wesley connection:• Wesley encountered Moravians during a terrifying storm at sea in 1736• Their fearless faith pushed him toward his own conversion• This eventually shaped the Methodist movement—the largest U.S. denomination by the 1850s2. The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)A transatlantic revival that birthed the modern evangelical identity—people committed not only to studying Scripture but sharing the gospel.The Big ThreeJohn Wesley – The Organizer• Anglican priest, Oxford “Holy Club” leader• Had his conversion at Aldersgate (“heart strangely warmed”)• Formed Methodist societies and class meetings• Emphasized holiness, discipline, and new birth• By his death: 72k British & 57k American MethodistsGeorge Whitefield – The Preacher• Electrifying communicator; could preach to 20k–30k without amplification• Crossed the Atlantic seven times, preaching across all 13 colonies• Popularized the phrase “born again”• First international Christian “celebrity”• Outdoor, mass evangelism pioneerJonathan Edwards – The Thinker• Pastor, theologian, philosophical genius• Sparked revival in Northampton (1734–35)• Wrote Religious Affections, the defining book of revival theology• Fired for restricting communion to true believers• Later became president of what is now Princeton• Legacy...

In this episode, we trace how small movements, bold revivals, and ordinary believers shaped the explosive growth of Protestant Christianity from Europe to America—and created the denominational family tree we're part of today.--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Episode SummaryIn today's final episode of our Church History series, we trace how Protestantism crossed the Atlantic, sparked massive revival movements, and gave rise to the denominational landscape we see today. From the Moravians and the First Great Awakening to Pentecostalism and the modern church, this episode connects the dots and shows how the global church family took shape.1. The Moravians: The Spark Behind Modern MissionsWhere we left off last time.• Descendants of John Hus (the Hussites / Unity of the Brethren)• Refugees who fled to Count Zinzendorf's estate in Saxony (3–600 people total)Why they mattered:• Experienced a powerful renewal on Aug 13, 1727• Launched a 24/7 prayer chain that lasted 100 years• Sent more missionaries than all Protestants combined by 1760• Known for radical sacrifice—including missionaries willing to sell themselves into slavery• Mission field spread across the West Indies, Africa, Asia, and North AmericaThe John Wesley connection:• Wesley encountered Moravians during a terrifying storm at sea in 1736• Their fearless faith pushed him toward his own conversion• This eventually shaped the Methodist movement—the largest U.S. denomination by the 1850s2. The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)A transatlantic revival that birthed the modern evangelical identity—people committed not only to studying Scripture but sharing the gospel.The Big ThreeJohn Wesley – The Organizer• Anglican priest, Oxford “Holy Club” leader• Had his conversion at Aldersgate (“heart strangely warmed”)• Formed Methodist societies and class meetings• Emphasized holiness, discipline, and new birth• By his death: 72k British & 57k American MethodistsGeorge Whitefield – The Preacher• Electrifying communicator; could preach to 20k–30k without amplification• Crossed the Atlantic seven times, preaching across all 13 colonies• Popularized the phrase “born again”• First international Christian “celebrity”• Outdoor, mass evangelism pioneerJonathan Edwards – The Thinker• Pastor, theologian, philosophical genius• Sparked revival in Northampton (1734–35)• Wrote Religious Affections, the defining book of revival theology• Fired for restricting communion to true believers• Later became president of what is now Princeton• Legacy...

Who is this King of Glory?In the 17th and 18th centuries, the sport of fox throwing was a big attraction. Augustus II the Strong, the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, was a champion fox thrower. He threw foxes to show off his strength, not his humanitarianism!David on the other hand, fought a lion and a bear because he was not just a shepherd, but a good shepherd.The King of Glory is our Good Shepherd.Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!We will look at the facets of a diamond, who He is as our Shepherd.Psalm 80:1"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."John 10:11Our So What?The content of our conversation flows from who He faithfully reveals Himself to be, our Good Shepherd. What praise and confidence we have in our conversation with Him!Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen1 Timothy 1:17Brethren, let's pray for one another. "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more." Robert Murray M'Cheynee Donation link:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G9JGGR5W97D64Alternatively, visit www.freerangepreacheronprayer.com and use the Donations tab.Assistant Editor: Seven Jefferson Gossard.www.freerangepreacheronprayer.comfreerangeprayer@gmail.comFacebook - Free Range Preacher MinistriesInstagram: freerangeministriesAll our Scripture quotes are drawn from the NASB 1977 edition.For access to the voice-over services of Richard Durrington, please visit RichardDurrington.com or email him at Durringtonr@gmail.comOur podcast art was designed by @sammmmmmmmm23 on InstagramSeason 007Episode 160

You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. The Convention of Plesswitz ends and war begins again August 11.  The focus is on driving Napoleon out of Germany and then the action turns to Scandinavia, to include Danish Holstein, with most of the focus on Norway.Napoleon's desperate attempts to defend Saxony end at the biggest battle in European history to that time.Allied war aims are becoming public, but there seems a disconnect between stated objectives and the reality of how things work out on the ground in Scandinavia, particularly for Norway.  Could there be hypocrisy?  No, never.  Power politics dominating our ideals?  Norway's war of Independence and the 17th of May, with the new constitution signed at Eidsvoll gets a look in the later half of the episode.  Before that we look at Bernadotte, Karl Johan or Charles John, the new crown prince and how Alexander actually wants HIM as the new king of France.  Bernadotte made various efforts to put himself forward and build a following in France, this is just a fascinating what if. 

rWotD Episode 3077: Der Kongreß tanzt Welcome to random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia's vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Monday, 6 October 2025, is Der Kongreß tanzt.Der Kongress tanzt (English: The Congress Dances) is a German musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, the glove seller, Willy Fritsch as Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his doppelgänger, Uralsky, Otto Wallburg as Bibikoff, his Adjutant, Conrad Veidt as Prince Metternich, Carl-Heinz Schroth as his Secretary, Pepi, Lil Dagover as the Countess and Alfred Abel as the King of Saxony.Der Kongress tanzt is a particularly well achieved move in Ufa's attempt to challenge US supremacy in the European film arena, taking advantage of the introduction of sound. As such, the studio released the movie in three different language versions (MLV): in German, in French as Le congrès s'amuse, and English as Congress Dances. Lilian Harvey played in all three versions, as she spoke all languages; Henri Garat replaced Willy Fritsch for the French and English versions.Ufa spared no efforts: the cast reads like a who's who of German film, from the top billers of the day to heavy-weight comedians - even the supporting cast is made out of stars. The sets were lavish and top talent made up the entire technical cast.Despite the ambition and the auspicious beginning, Ufa's challenge to US supremacy never materialized, both due to the strength of the Hollywood majors and to the constraints Germany's creative film and performers would suffer from 1933 onwards."This truffle of cinema unfolds its flavours like a heavenly feast for the anonymous millions it is dedicated to." Lichtbild-Bühne.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:22 UTC on Monday, 6 October 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Der Kongreß tanzt on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Ayanda.

Prost! Fall is in the air, Oktoberfest is right around the corner, and certified Friend of the Pod® Stephen Kounas (President of Glashütte Original, North America) is back to drop even more knowledge – this time, he's schooling us on the sleepy Saxony town of Glashütte, as well as the brand's new dial manufactory which is now up and running. Catch yourself up from Stephen's last appearance on episode 39, and we'll see you out there. As always, you can reach the boys for questions and comments at podcast@topperjewelers.com. Thanks for your support, and thanks for listening! ⁠⁠Topper's Fall Event Calendar⁠⁠Follow the boys on Instagram: • Rob: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@robcaplan_topper⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Russ: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@russcaplan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Zach: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@zachxryj⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Stephen: ⁠⁠@stephen_kounas⁠Mentions, wrist checks, and other notes from this week's episode: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Russ: neo-vintage ⁠⁠Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Panorama Date⁠- Rob: neo-vintage Glashütte Original Diver- Zach: ⁠Chopard LUC GMT One Black⁠- Stephen: ⁠Glashütte Original Seventies 'X' Chronograph⁠- ⁠Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Aventurine 180th Anniversary Edition⁠- Glashütte Original PanoMatic Calendar Skeleton- a ship's ⁠physical marine chronometer clock⁠, which inspired the modern Glashütte Original Senator collection- ⁠a visit to Glashütte Original's new dial manufactory⁠ (Troy Barmore, Hodinkee)Oh, and by the way: • Russ: ⁠Endurance (2024) National Geographic Documentary⁠• Rob: ⁠⁠⁠Watch ⁠One Battle After Another⁠ (2025)• Zach: ⁠⁠"The French Laundry of Sausages" at Gestalt Haus, Fairfax CA⁠⁠• Stephen: Loafers of Spanish leather (⁠Meermin⁠ or ⁠TLB Mallorca⁠) 

Berlin: Welfare vs Security. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/welfare-state-not-sustainable-says-154228672.html 1890 SAXONY

When two brothers, Ernst and Albrecht of Saxony divided up their enormous inheritance that comprised Thuringia, Meissen and the electorate of Sachsen-Wittenberg, they not only undermined their power base as the de facto #2 amongst the imperial principalities and planted the seed for a conflict that would play a key role in the Reformation but they also laid the foundations for the modern Länder of Thuringia and Saxony. And this division was not driven by the usual family feud but came after 20 years of largely harmonious government and a shared childhood trauma. Why they took, or had to take this fateful step, is what we will discuss today.The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.As always:Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.comIf you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans PodcastFacebook: @HOTGPod Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcastBluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.socialInstagram: history_of_the_germansTwitter: @germanshistoryTo make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season. So far I have:The OttoniansSalian Emperors and Investiture ControversyFredrick Barbarossa and Early HohenstaufenFrederick II Stupor MundiSaxony and Eastward ExpansionThe Hanseatic LeagueThe Teutonic KnightsThe Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356The Reformation before the Reformation

After adding the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg and the Counties of Hainault, Holland, Zeeland, and Namur to his domains, Philip the Good set his sights on the Duchy of Luxembourg. But the Duke of Burgundy wasn't the only with designs on the Duchy.Time Period Covered: 1436-1443Notable People: Philip the Good, Elizabeth of Gorlitz, Ladislaus the Posthumous, William III of Saxony, Rupert of Virneburg, Ernst of Gliechen, Frederick III, Jacob von Sierck, John of Nevers, Cornille of Burgundy, Anthony of BurgundyNotable Events/Developments: Burgundian Acquisition of Luxembourg

#BERLIN: SAXONY AND GROWTH. JUDY DEMPSEY, SENIOR SCHOLAR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE IN BERLIN. 1890 SAXONY

Preview: Colleague Judy Dempsey in Berlin observes that Germany needs a new plan on trade and competitiveness. More later. 1890 SAXONY

After defeating Denmark and Poland, Karl XII only needed to crush the Russians in order to declare victory in the Great Northern War. So as soon as he was done with his side quest in Saxony, he marched on Moscow to face the Final Boss, Peter the Great.

#EU: GALVANIZED. JUDY DEMPSEY, SENIOR SCHOLAR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE IN BERLIN. 1890 SAXONY

In Saxony, our correspondent hears why young voters are increasingly supporting the AfD. The party is polling consistently in second place ahead of a snap election next SundayLONG: Kate Adie presents stories from Germany, the US, Afghanistan, Spain and Morocco.Germany goes to the polls on 23rd February, with the conservative CDU party showing a strong lead. But the far right AfD is consistently polling in second place. The biggest rise in support for the party has been among young voters, and Jessica Parker has spoken to some of them in Saxony to hear why.Mahjooba Nowrouzi returns to Afghanistan, for the first time in nearly 30 years, having fled the oppressive Taliban regime as a young student. She describes how despite initial first impressions, not much had changed with the Taliban back in control once more.This week, Jordan's King Abdullah visited Washington, where he made clear to President Trump that he and other regional leaders were unanimous in rejecting plans to take over Gaza and transfer Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt. Tom Bateman followed the encounter between King Abdullah and the President.In Southern Spain, the olive yield has risen substantially after several years of punishing drought. But apart from the challenges of climate change and on-going desertification in Spain, farmers have another worry – crime. Last year in Andalucía over 500 tonnes of olives were stolen. It's a headache for local law enforcement, as Linda Pressly found out on a visit to the olive groves there.Morocco has long been the film location of choice for many a Hollywood director, with its array of studios and versatile backdrops. But now, as John Kampfner discovered on a recent visit, a combination of tight budgets and technology, suggest that the good times might be running out in the ‘Hollywood of Africa.'Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Bridget Harney Production coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill

#BERLIN: CDU entertain a coalition with AFD. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. 1890 SAXONY

#BERLIN. Many in the CDU supports Ukraine. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

#BERLIN: The government falls. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. 1890 SAXONY

PREVIEW: GERMANY: Carnegie Europe Scholar Judy Dempsey reports from Berlin on the CDU leader's stark economic proposals for Germany. More tonight. 2890 Saxony

#BERLIN: The coalition collapses. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

#BERLIN:  Not ready for Trump. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

"Preview: EU: TRUMP: Colleague Judy Dempsey of Carnegie, in Berlin, describes a European Union that is not prepared to challenge a new Trump administration and must look to the US for leadership. More tonight." 1890 Magdeburg, Saxony

#EU: Struggling Volkswagen /struggling German. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

#: Georgia frozen, Moldova fragile. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Editor-in-Chief: Strategic Europe, in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

PREVIEW: GERMANY/VOLKSWAGEN: Colleague Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Endowment in Berlin explains that the closing of VW plants and laying off of thousands is a political blow to zsaxony, to the country and to Olaf Scholz. More tonight. 1890 Saxony 

#BERLIN: Scholz's Germany falls behind China. Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,Strategic Europe, in Berlin. 1890 Saxony

PREVIEW: MIGRATION: Conversation with colleague Judy Dempsey of the Carnegie Endowment in Berlin regarding the helter-skelter adjustments that the 27 EU states are making with regard to uncontrolled migration from the Global South and the Middle East over the last decade that now undermines the credibility of the states. More later. 1890 Dresden, Saxony, Germany 

PREVIEW: GERMANY: BRANDENBURG: SCHOLZ: AFD Conversation with colleague Judy Dempsey in Berlin for the Carnegie Endowment regarding the surprising rise of the anti-EU, anti-NATO (and anti-war) AfD and BSW (Sahra Wagenknecht) - and the connection between the populist disruption and the troubled economy. More tonight. 1890 Saxony

#StateThinking:Dissent deepens in Europe.   @MaryKissel Former Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State. Executive VP Stephens Inc. 1890 Saxony

This episode covers three examples of historically important roads. One is quite ancient, one is an important part of the development of the U.S., and the third is a more modern road that's been lauded for its design. Research: “The Ancient Ridgeway.” Friends of the Ridgeway. https://ridgewayfriends.org.uk/the-trail/the-ancient-ridgeway/· Atkins, Harry. “The Best Historic Sites in Oxfordshire.” History Hit. May 24, 2022. https://www historyhit.com/guides/the-best-historic-sites-in-oxfordshire/· “Avebury.” English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury/ Benetti, Alessandro. “The bridge-type autogrill, infrastructure and icon of the Italian highways.” Domus. July 27, 2020. https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2020/07/27/infrastructures-and-icons-the-bridge-type-autogrill-by-angelo-bianchetti-and-mario-pavesi.html Benetti, Alessandro. “Italy's ‘Sun Motorway,' the story of an exceptional infrastructure.” Domus. Aug. 5, 2023. https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/gallery/2021/07/16/the-sun-motorway-is-65-years-old-a-short-story-of-an-extraordinary-infrastructure.html Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "macadam". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2014, https://www.britannica.com/technology/macadam-road-construction Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Saxony". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jun. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Saxony-historical-region-duchy-and-kingdom-Europe Calvano, Angela & Canducci, Andrea & Rufini, Andrea. (2023). Urban regeneration of public housing settlements, in Rome: the case study of San Basilio district. Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability. 8. 10.1051/rees/2023012 Cleaver, Emily. “Against All Odds, England's Massive Chalk Horse Has Survived 3,000 Years.” Smithsonian. July 6, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/3000-year-old-uffington-horse-looms-over-english-countryside-180963968/ Ellis, Sian. “Just follow the Ridgeway, Britain's oldest highway.” British Heritage. April 30, 2024. https://britishheritage.com/travel/the-ridgeway-britains-oldest-highway Haughton, Brian. “The White Horse of Uffington.” March 30, 2011. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/229/the-white-horse-of-uffington/ Johnson, Ben. “Ancient Standing Stones.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Ancient-Standing-Stones/ “Lane Width.” U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/geometric/pubs/mitigationstrategies/chapter3/3_lanewidth.cfm Lenarduzzi, Thea. “The Motorway That Built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece is the focus of an unlikely pilgrimage.” Independent UK. Jan. 30, 2016. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-world-s-first-motorway-piero-puricelli-s-masterpiece-is-the-focus-of-an-unlikely-pilgrimage-a6840816.html Longfellow, Rickie. “The National Road.” U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. https://highways.dot.gov/highway-history/general-highway-history/back-time/national-road Mclaughlan, Scott, PhD. “What were the enclosure acts?” The Collector. Nov. 12, 2023. https://www.thecollector.com/what-were-the-enclosure-acts/ McNamara, Robert. "The National Road, America's First Major Highway." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/the-national-road-177405 “The National Road.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/national-road.htm “National Road Heritage Corridor.” https://nationalroadpa.org/ "The Nation's First Mega-Project: A Legislative History of the Cumberland Road" United States Department of transportation. 2021. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/68561 Nifosi, Giuseppe. “Michelucci's Highway Church.” Art Unveiled.  https://www.artesvelata.it/chiesa-autostrada-michelucci/ “RESEARCH AND SOURCES FOR WAYLAND'S SMITHY.” English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/waylands-smithy/history/research-and-sources/ “The Ridgeway.” National Trails. https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/the-ridgeway/ “The Ridgeway Information.” National Trails. https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/the-ridgeway/trail-information/ Stenton, F. M. “The Road System of Medieval England.” The Economic History Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1936, pp. 1–21. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2590730 “WAYLAND'S SMITHY.” English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/waylands-smithy/ “Wayland's Smithy chambered long barrow, including an early barrow and Rion Age and Roman boundary ditches.” Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1008409?section=official-list-entry Whittle, Alasdair & Brothwell, Don & Cullen, Rachel & Gardner, Neville & Kerney, M.. (2014). Wayland's Smithy, Oxfordshire: Excavations at the Neolithic Tomb in 1962–63 by R. J. C. Atkinson and S. Piggott. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 57. 61-101. 10.1017/S0079497X00004515. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.