Podcast appearances and mentions of Sierra Leone

Send us Fan MailWhat if the best use of artificial intelligence isn't replacing people—but helping them do more meaningful work?Fixify co-founder and CEO Matt Peters joins Joey Pinz to explore how AI, automation, and human care can work together to transform IT support. Drawing on his experience at Check Point, Mandiant, FireEye, and Expel, Matt explains why technology only becomes valuable when it solves a real customer problem.Matt also shares lessons from growing up in Thailand, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone. Those experiences taught him that solutions created from a distance often collapse when they meet reality. Whether designing software, leading a company, or running an MSP, leaders must understand what is actually happening on the ground.The conversation explores Fixify's human-in-the-loop approach, the questions MSPs should ask before investing in AI, and why automation should elevate talented technicians instead of eliminating them. Matt also discusses coaching youth softball, overcoming imposter syndrome, protecting family priorities, and focusing on effort when results remain uncertain.

Where do poetry and democracy intersect?In part two of our conversation with Dayton poet laureate, educator, activist, culture keeper, and Kettering Foundation Democracy and the Arts resident artist Sierra Leone, we follow the threads of memory and imagination from a gallery of story quilts in Hamilton, Ohio, to the Legacy Sites of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.Along the way, Sierra reads American Libation III: Weaving an Amendment for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, her response to Carolyn Crump's quilt Lovely One. She takes us inside The Belonging Project, where the stories of more than 100 Dayton residents are being harvested and turned into theater. And she shares a new poem born of a week with fellow Democracy Defenders led by Kimberlé Crenshaw in partnership with, a poem about how ideas persist and how thorns of memory grow from the womb of subjugation.If you've ever wondered what poetry has to do with the work of self-government, or how a life of civic leadership actually begins, this one's for you.In this episode we explore:Poetry asks. Democracy asks too. A poem doesn't go looking for answers. It leaves something behind for others to grapple with, and each generation has to decide what democracy will be.The petals that fall to the ground. Every society chooses which stories rise to the surface. Poets pick up the parts that fall and put some wind under them.Belonging becomes theater. Verbatim stories from returning citizens, bankers, fathers, teachers, and teens become a stage for the hard conversations communities need to have.Notable MentionsPeopleSierra Leone: Dayton's first Poet Laureate, playwright, educator, and Kettering Foundation artist-in-residence.Willis "Bing" Davis: Dayton artist and educator, founder of EbonNia Gallery, honored in Sierra's American Libation: Homage to an Elder (part one).Ketanji Brown Jackson: Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 2022, the first Black woman to serve on the Court.Carolyn Crump: Houston-based quilt and multimedia artist whose quilt Ketanji Brown Jackson: Lovely One inspired Sierra's poem.Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi: Quilt artist, historian, curator, NEA National Heritage Fellow, and founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network.John Coltrane: Jazz saxophonist and composer. Sierra's poem closes on "a love supreme."Angela Siner: University of Toledo faculty member in Africana Studies and Sierra's mentor, who told her, "Choose your approach."Joni Doherty: Senior Program Officer for Democracy and the Arts at the Kettering Foundation. She invited Sierra to accompany her to Montgomery as a guest of the Foundation.Bryan Stevenson: Public-interest lawyer, author of Just Mercy, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.Kimberlé Crenshaw: Legal scholar who was instrumental in developing the concepts of critical race theory and "intersectionality" and co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum.Augusto Boal: Brazilian theater artist and activist, creator of the Theatre of the Oppressed.Paul Laurence Dunbar: Dayton-born poet and novelist, one of the first Black American writers to gain national renown.Lucille Clifton: National Book Award–winning poet known for spare, luminous poems of family and resilience.Terrance Hayes: National Book Award–winning poet and MacArthur Fellow, author of Watch Your Language.Jericho Brown: Pulitzer Prize–winning poet (The Tradition) and co-editor of How We Do It.Nikki Giovanni: Poet, essayist, and leading voice of the Black Arts Movement (1943–2024).Sonia Sanchez: Poet, activist, Black Arts Movement pioneer, and Philadelphia's first poet laureate.Maya Angelou: Poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.Robert Hayden: Poet and the first African American Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.Gwendolyn Brooks: The first Black poet to win the Pulitzer Prize and a lifelong chronicler of Chicago's Bronzeville.Organizations & InstitutionsCenter for the Study of Art and Community: Producer of Art is Change, building art-and-community partnerships since 1992.Charles F. Kettering Foundation: Democracy and the Arts: Foundation program exploring how the arts strengthen democratic life, and partner on the Art in Action series.Fitton Center for Creative Arts: Community arts center in Hamilton, Ohio, which organized the Soul of Black Folks: 250 Years of Creativity, Innovation and Leadership exhibition. The Fitton partnered with the Kettering Foundation to develop the Voices of Black Folks program.Women of Color Quilters Network: International network of Black quilt artists founded by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi.The Human Race Theatre Company: Dayton professional theater and one of the partners on The Belonging Project.AmeriCorps Seniors: National service program for volunteers 55 and older, among the groups heard in The Belonging Project listening sessions.University of Dayton: Imagining Community Symposium: October 2026 symposium on civic hope and belonging, where The Belonging Project will be presented.Equal Justice Initiative: Montgomery-based human rights organization founded by Bryan Stevenson.African American Policy Forum: Think tank co-founded and led by Kimberlé Crenshaw. They host the annual Democracy Defenders Summit, which in 2026 involved a partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative.U.S. Sentencing Commission: Federal agency that sets sentencing guidelines. Justice Jackson served as its vice chair.University of Toledo: Where Sierra studied and met her mentor, Angela...

What does it mean to grow up Black and Mormon in an overwhelmingly white church?In Part One of our conversation with Mariama Nadworna, she shares her story of growing up in Sierra Leone before moving to the UK as a child. When her mother began investigating Mormonism, Mariama's family eventually went “all in” on the church, embracing its teachings and community as they adjusted to life in a new country.Mariama describes how her Mormon upbringing shaped the way she understood race, worthiness, obedience, and her own identity. She also discusses growing up Black in predominantly white Mormon spaces, learning to navigate the world “from the outside in,” and feeling pressure to be exceptional in order to prove herself. We explore the church's historical teachings about race, including the “Curse of Cain,” interracial marriage, and the priesthood ban, as well as the ways these teachings affected her understanding of her own worth.Mariama also reflects on her mission, dating, education, and the ways her African heritage and spirituality shaped her relationship with Mormonism. This episode ultimately begs the question: What happens when the community you seek belonging in will not accept you for who you truly are?___________________Show NotesYouTubeAt Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

What does it mean to grow up Black and Mormon in an overwhelmingly white church?In Part One of our conversation with Mariama Nadworna, she shares her story of growing up in Sierra Leone before moving to the UK as a child. When her mother began investigating Mormonism, Mariama's family eventually went “all in” on the church, embracing its teachings and community as they adjusted to life in a new country.Mariama describes how her Mormon upbringing shaped the way she understood race, worthiness, obedience, and her own identity. She also discusses growing up Black in predominantly white Mormon spaces, learning to navigate the world “from the outside in,” and feeling pressure to be exceptional in order to prove herself. We explore the church's historical teachings about race, including the “Curse of Cain,” interracial marriage, and the priesthood ban, as well as the ways these teachings affected her understanding of her own worth.Mariama also reflects on her mission, dating, education, and the ways her African heritage and spirituality shaped her relationship with Mormonism. This episode ultimately begs the question: What happens when the community you seek belonging in will not accept you for who you truly are?___________________Show NotesYouTubeAt Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

Met gepaste trots kunnen we deze aflevering zeggen: Chris is erbij! Niemand minder dan achterkamertjeskoning Chris Aalberts schuift aan in onze studio.Met hem bespreken we Prinsjesdag, de Algemene Politieke Beschouwingen en het begrotingsgepuzzel waarmee de coalitie een meerderheid probeert te verzekeren. Ondertussen lijkt Rob Jetten vooral druk met TikTok en Instagram. Chris was bij het D66-congres, waar de partij haar zestigste verjaardag vierde en Jetten zijn spierballen liet zien. Maar kijken we naar een partijcongres of een marketingevent?Verder zijn een paar VVD-prominenten een podcast begonnen, moet Nieuwegein het voortaan zonder raadslid Max Verstappen doen — de naamgenoot, niet de coureur — en valt er na de Volendamse kermis genoeg te beleven achter het spreekgestoelte. We gaan wandelen met Mona, bespreken de brandende powerbank van Camiel Eurlings aan boord van een KLM-vlucht en duiken in de problemen van David van Weel met de Algemene Rekenkamer en Sierra Leone.Tot slot: een Milanees vliegveld vernoemd naar de favoriete politicus van deze podcast, JA21-boosheid over iftars en kerstvieringen bij de politie, en Poetin die online zijn stem uitbrengt.Gast: Chris AalbertsHosts: Paul Peeters & Stijn de Vreede▬▬▬▬▬▬ HOOFDSTUKKEN ▬▬▬▬▬▬00:00:00 Intro en te gast: Chris Aalberts00:02:01 Chris: Max Verstappen verlaat de gemeenteraad00:03:55 Stijn: Shanna Schilder op karakter00:06:09 Stijn zegt zijn VVD-lidmaatschap op00:09:08 BBB en het Plakkaat van Verlatinghe00:11:38 VVD-podcasts: BroMans en Oegstgeest00:18:06 Prinsjesdag, APB en het begrotingsgedoe00:24:22 Klavers kwark en wandelen met Mona00:29:21 Jetten: beeldvorming en een begrotingsakkoord00:37:48 D66-congres: zestig jaar partij en marketing00:47:34 Robtimisme, successen en New York00:53:59 D66 op TikTok: de roze tas00:55:13 Protesten en de onderbroken speech01:00:58 Jetten: “vol op hun bek slaan”01:05:54 Typhoon en het feest van de doorbraken01:10:20 David van Weel: Rekenkamer en Bolle Jos01:19:04 Camiel Eurlings en de brandende powerbank01:29:57 Berlusconi Airport01:31:19 JA21, iftars en kerst bij de politie01:36:29 Poetin stemt online01:39:14 De game, tips van Chris en afscheid▬▬▬▬▬▬ LUISTER OOK OP ▬▬▬▬▬▬Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podimo: zoek "Politieke Popcorncast"#PolitiekePopcorncast #Politiek #Podcast #ChrisAalbertsSupport the showSteun ons en doneer een bak popcorn (zoet/zout):Volg ons op Twitter 

In the third and final episode of our 2026 summer series, Farmerama speaks to two farmers currently working on ADOPT-funded projects: Emma Loder-Symons of Nonington Farms in Kent on the two-year Mill-It project to grow millet for human consumption, addressing harvesting without glyphosate and highlighting millet's drought resilience and low-cost potential; and Bryony Graham, a fourth-generation arable farmer on the Essex/Hertfordshire border, on short rotation coppice willow for biomass and an ADOPT-funded trial to make clean, peat-free compost at commercial scale, alongside wider benefits for carbon capture and habitat. Find out more about all the ADOPT funded projects here: https://farmpep.net/adopt/live-projects We also head to Sierra Leone to hear from Mabutu Samai and farm manager Lahai Makie about Farming on Crutches, training amputees in agroecology and bokashi production while seeking funding to expand. Find out how to support their work here: https://farmingoncrutches.org/donate Geetie Singh-Watson and Philippa Hughes share details of their brand new Level 3 regenerative hospitality course, launching this month as a partnership between The Bull Inn in Totnes, Farmacy and the Apricot Centre. Find out more here: https://farmacylondon.com/pages/education And finally the ORFC Farm Practice Advisor Andy Dibben previews the diverse, practical programme of the 2027 Oxford Real Farming Conference. Tickets are on sale now: https://orfc.org.uk/event/oxford-real-farming-conference-2027/ ***** If you would like to support Farmerama to keep on sharing the stories of the regenerative farming community, there are lots of different ways you can help: Sign up for our monthly newsletter here. facebook.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?…5e20dde279 Become a community supporter on Patreon here. www.patreon.com/farmerama Show the world how much you love Farmerama by wearing one of our Farmerama caps – available here. farmerama-radio-ltd.square.site/ If you are a business who is aligned with our vision for crafting a positive ecological future rooted in the people on the land and seas, you can become a commercial supporter of the show. Read more about our mission and what we do here. drive.google.com/file/d/1yupfV514…view?usp=sharing

In this episode, Deb Swann and Roger Alcock take us behind the scenes of humanitarian medicine, sharing their experiences of working in two very different global health emergencies: the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake response and the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak.On 6 February 2023, a series of devastating earthquakes struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria. More than 59,000 people were killed, including over 53,500 in Türkiye and around 5,900 in Syria. The humanitarian medical response involved emergency trauma care, field hospitals, medical evacuations and international Emergency Medical Teams. Within the first year, 38 national and international Emergency Medical Teams from more than 25 countries carried out almost 100,000 medical consultations in Türkiye. The episode also looks back at the West African Ebola crisis of 2014–2016: The largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976. Beginning in Guinea and spreading to Liberia and Sierra Leone, the outbreak ultimately infected more than 28,600 people and caused 11,325 deaths. WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in August 2014. Deb and Roger discuss what it is like to work in these extraordinary circumstances, the challenges of providing healthcare when normal systems have been overwhelmed, and the human experiences that stay with medical teams long after they return home.In this episode:Humanitarian medicine in the aftermath of the 6 February 2023 earthquakeThe international medical response in TürkiyeWorking during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak The realities of working on the humanitarian frontlineThe personal experiences and human stories behind the statisticsWhat these crises can teach us about emergency medical responseNEAS Specialist Capabilities Conference 2026The North East Ambulance Service Specialist Capabilities Conference 2026 takes place on 3 November 2026 at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, NewcastleGateshead.Under the theme “Collaborate, Innovate, Excel,” the conference brings together professionals working across specialist emergency care, with sessions covering Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR), critical care and HART.The keynote speaker is Adam Desmond, the 7/7 Kings Cross paramedic, who will deliver a no-holds-barred talk on human factors and bandwidth saturation during major incidents.Other speakers include Lee Thompson, who will discuss regional critical care, alongside specialists from EPRR and HART. Dräger supports the conference and focuses on collaboration, innovation, excellence, resilience and the communities we serve.The closing date to register your interest is 11 October 2026.

Mercy Ships volunteers went to a concert in Sierra Leone expecting music and fun.

What actually shapes you into who you are today? Is it where you grow up? The choices you make? The people you meet? Or the moments that seem insignificant at the time—but quietly change the direction of your life?For Clifford Brown, the path was anything but predictable. In this conversation, Michael sits down with Clifford Brown, a former Beverly Hills attorney who walked away from a successful legal career in 1987, giving up two-thirds of his income to join the U.S. Agency for International Development. What followed was nearly three decades working across Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia—including leadership roles in Guinea and Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, and Colombia.But the story begins much earlier.Growing up along Washington State's Columbia River, Clifford worked farms, canneries, tugboats, and railroads before joining an oceanographic research vessel that took him to Tahiti and Latin America. That journey planted an idea that would eventually change the course of his life: the world was bigger than the one he knew.A Thomas Watson Fellowship took him back to Latin America. Learning Spanish, as Clifford describes it, was “like growing another soul.” And years later, when an unexpected opportunity appeared, he followed that curiosity into a completely different life.Michael and Clifford explore the choices, encounters, risks, and unexpected turns that shaped that journey—and what happens when you stop trying to design your life and start paying attention to where it is leading you.At the heart of the conversation are three ideas:PRESENCE • CURIOSITY • STORYThe three pillars of The Herst Method™—and a reminder that sometimes the most important chapters of our lives begin long before we realize we're writing them.Because the life that shapes us isn't always the life we planned. Sometimes, it begins with a road we didn't expect to take.Find us on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcastWant to be a guest on One More Thing Before You Go? Send Michael Herst a message on PodMatch, here: PODMATCH Proud member of the Podmatch Network of Top Rated- PodcastsThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Sierra Leone Believes Poetry Is Essential Civic InfrastructureIn this episode we meet Sierra Leone—a poet, educator, activist, and cultural organizer who reminds us that a poem is far more than words on a page. It can become a gathering place, a healing practice, and a way for a community to remember who it is.In this conversation, we explore three central ideas:Presence is a creative discipline. Art begins with showing up, listening deeply, and making space for what has not yet found words.Poetry can become civic infrastructure. A poem can live in a school, gallery, theatre, public square, or gathering of neighbors—not only on the printed page.Belonging is something we make together. Through performance, mentorship, and shared cultural memory, unfamiliar people and art forms can become part of the same nourishing gumbo.Listen for Sierra's journey from “healing producer” to “creative catalyst” to “culture keeper”—and for her conviction that the artist's responsibility is not simply to speak, but to build spaces in which a community can hear and learn from itself.Notable MentionsPeopleSierra Leone — Dayton poet, producer, educator, activist, and interdisciplinary artist; the Kettering Foundation's inaugural artist-in-residence and Dayton's first living poet laureate.[JD1]Sonia Sanchez — Poet, educator, and Black Arts Movement figure whose advice about making time to write opens the conversation.Gwendolyn Brooks — Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago poet, mentor, and civic literary leader.Amiri Baraka — Poet, playwright, activist, and central theorist of the Black Arts Movement.Haki R. Madhubuti — Poet, educator, Black Arts Movement architect, and founder of Third World Press.Robert Frost — Canonical American poet invoked while discussing narrow public ideas about poetry.Terrance Hayes — Poet cited by Sierra in explaining that a writer makes space for a poem instead of deciding it beforehand.Paul Laurence Dunbar — Dayton-born poet whose life and work remain central to the city's cultural identity. He was posthumously recognized as Dayton's first poet laureate.Willis “Bing” Davis — Dayton artist, educator, activist, and curator honored in Sierra's poem.Kweku Larry Crowe — Dayton oral historian, visual artist, and community activist.Mama Nozipo Glenn — South African-born human-rights advocate and longtime Dayton community elder.Edwin C. Moses — Dayton-born Olympic hurdler and namesake of a prominent city boulevard.James H. McGee — Civil-rights attorney who became Dayton's first Black mayor, and namesake of a prominent city boulevard.Faheem Curtis-Khidr — Historian and professor whose public scholarship addresses equity and Black history in Dayton.Martin Luther King Jr. — Civil-rights leader whose 1964 Dayton address inspired the Visual Voices project.Colin Kaepernick — Athlete and activist invoked in Sierra's poem as a contemporary image of kneeling in protest.Joni Doherty — Charles F. Kettering Foundation senior program officer for Democracy and the Arts.Organizations and venuesCenter for the Study of Art and Community — Producer of ART IS CHANGE and a research and storytelling organization focused on arts-based community development.The Charles F. Kettering Foundation — The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, operating foundation with a mission to advance inclusive democracies worldwide by fostering citizen engagement, promotinggovernment accountability, and countering authoritarianism.Democracy and the Arts — The Kettering Foundation's focus area for integrating thepower of the arts into democratic life locally, nationally, and globally.Home of Urban Creative Arts — Dayton organization co-founded by Sierra to advance education, performance, healing, and community change.Third World Press Foundation — Chicago-based African-centered publisher founded by Haki R. Madhubuti.Dayton Early College Academy High — The school known as DECA High, where Sierra leads student-designed arts and Black History Month work.University of Dayton Theatre, Dance and Performance Technology — University program that helps DECA students prepare original work for the stage.Roger Glass Center for the Arts — University of Dayton arts center where a DECA production was presented.Levitt Pavilion Dayton — An outdoor nonprofit music venue described as Dayton's “downtown living room.” The Levitt seeks to build community and social interaction among people of all ages and backgrounds through offering free concerts.Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center — Performing-arts complex that housed Signature performances in its Mathile Theatre.The Loft Theatre — Downtown Dayton theatre and longtime home of Sierra's Signature series.EbonNia Gallery and Black Palette Art Gallery — West Dayton galleries that hosted Visual Voices and its poetry programming.Projects, events, and movementsBlack Arts Movement — The artistic and political movement Sierra identifies as a foundation of her practice.Black Writers Retreat — Third World Press gathering devoted to craft, audience, and cultural responsibility.DECA High Black History Month Production — Annual student-led program combining Black history with original poetry, theatre, movement, and visual art.Signature Levitt Music and Arts Camp — Free intensive camp in which Dayton teenagers create and mount a public performance in one week.Visual...

Research on how to collect more tax in developing countries has focused on how information, especially administrative data, can help. But in Uganda for example, buyers and sellers report different amounts for the same VAT transaction in 79% of cases. The invoices exist ... but nobody in the tax administration is comparing them.In this week's VoxDev Talk Anders Jensen (Harvard Kennedy School) and Jonathan Weigel (UC Berkeley) argue that information needs an administration that is able to use it. They have examined the research evidence on how tax authorities are organised, who they hire, where they send their staff, and how much freedom those officials get. To maximise revenues they find that many of Max Weber's century-old rules for how to run a bureaucracy still apply, but others often need to bend a little. The research behind this episode:Jensen, Anders, and Jonathan L. Weigel. 2026. "No Taxation without Administration: Bringing the State Back into the Public Finance of Developing Countries." Journal of Economic Literature 64 (1): 246-280. The working paper version is available as NBER Working Paper 34729.To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, Jonathan Weigel, and Anders Jensen. 2026. "No Taxation without Administration." VoxDev Talks (podcast).About the guestsAnders Jensen is Associate Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and research co-director of the State programme at the International Growth Centre. His research spans the rise of modern tax systems, informality and consumption taxes, and how governments with limited capacity can improve tax administration and enforcement. He works with governments in Ghana, Zambia, Liberia and Brazil.Jonathan Weigel is Assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research spans state capacity, taxation, corruption, and the links between religion and institutions. His fieldwork is based mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he runs the research organisation ODEKA.Research cited in this episodeNo taxation without information. Dina Pomeranz's study of Chile's value-added tax showed how the paper trail between firms helps to enforce the tax; each firm has a reason to demand an invoice from its supplier, and the tax authority can use those invoices to detect evasion. Pomeranz, Dina. 2015. "No Taxation without Information: Deterrence and Self-Enforcement in the Value Added Tax." American Economic Review 105 (8): 2539-2569.Third-party reporting in Denmark. Henrik Kleven and co-authors ran a randomised tax audit experiment in Denmark. Evasion was close to zero on income that employers and banks report to the tax authority, and substantial on income that taxpayers report themselves. Kleven, Henrik Jacobsen, Martin B. Knudsen, Claus Thustrup Kreiner, Soren Pedersen, and Emmanuel Saez. 2011. "Unwilling or Unable to Cheat? Evidence from a Tax Audit Experiment in Denmark." Econometrica 79 (3): 651-692.Missing transactions in Uganda. The 79% figure comes from VAT reports in Uganda, where sellers and buyers declare different amounts for the same transactions. The gap suggests that the tax authority does not systematically cross-check the reports, or that firms act as if it does not. Almunia, Miguel, Jonas Hjort, Justine Knebelmann, and Lin Tian. 2024. "Strategic or Confused Firms? Evidence from 'Missing' Transactions in Uganda." Review of Economics and Statistics 106 (1): 256-265.The US tax gap. Even a high-capacity administration struggles without third-party data. For tax years 2014 to 2016, the Internal Revenue Service estimated that 55% of income subject to little or no information reporting, such as sole proprietor income, was misreported, compared with 1% of wages and salaries. Internal Revenue Service. 2022. Tax Gap Estimates for Tax Years 2014-2016. Publication 5364. Washington, DC: IRS."In developing countries, tax administration is tax policy." The paper's epigraph comes from Milka Casanegra de Jantscher, who co-edited an IMF volume on tax administration with Richard Bird. The line sums up an older policy consensus that building the tax authority matters more than setting the right rates. Bird, Richard M., and Milka Casanegra de Jantscher, eds. 1992. Improving Tax Administration in Developing Countries. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.Weber's ideal bureaucracy. Max Weber described a "rational" bureaucracy with a single chain of command, specialised departments, recruitment by examination, promotion by seniority and decisions governed by rules rather than discretion. Jensen and Weigel use his categories to organise the evidence, and show how developing countries adapt them to local conditions. Weber, Max. 1978 (first published 1921). Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press.The sinews of power. The phrase comes from John Brewer's history of the British state, which credits a professional, specialised Excise Office with raising the revenue that paid for Britain's 18th-century wars. Brewer, John. 1990. The Sinews of Power: War, Money, and the English State, 1688-1783. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Medium taxpayer offices in Indonesia. Indonesia created dedicated offices for medium-sized corporate taxpayers, which sharply cut the number of taxpayers per auditor. Revenue from the firms in these offices rose by 64% in the short term and by 128% after six years. Basri, M. Chatib, Mayara Felix, Rema Hanna, and Benjamin A. Olken. 2021. "Tax Administration vs. Tax Rates: Evidence from Corporate Taxation in Indonesia." American Economic Review 111 (12): 3827-3871.Transfer mispricing and the arm's length principle. Multinationals can shift profits by setting the prices of transactions between their own subsidiaries. Tax authorities test these prices against the arm's length principle, which asks what unrelated firms would have charged each other. Staff in large taxpayer offices must learn to apply it; staff who deal with small firms never need to.The Pendleton Act. The US Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 introduced competitive examinations for federal jobs, to limit patronage appointments. Abhay Aneja and Guo Xu find that the reform improved public sector performance. Aneja, Abhay, and Guo Xu. 2024. "Strengthening State Capacity: Civil Service Reform and Public Sector Performance during the Gilded Age." American Economic Review 114 (8): 2352-2387.City chiefs as tax collectors. In Kananga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, neighbourhoods were randomly assigned to property tax collection by state agents or by local city chiefs. Chiefs raised revenue by more than 40%, mainly because they knew which households were more willing to pay. Balan, Pablo, Augustin Bergeron, Gabriel Tourek, and Jonathan L. Weigel. 2022. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo." American Economic Review 112 (3): 762-797.Assigning tax collectors. The same tax campaign randomly assigned collectors to teams and to neighbourhoods. Simulations suggest that pairing the best collectors together, and sending them to the neighbourhoods with the highest revenue potential, would raise compliance by 37% compared with random assignment. Weigel, Jonathan, Pedro Bessone, Augustin Bergeron, Gabriel Tourek, and John Kabeya Kabeya. 2025. "Supermodular Bureaucrats: Experimental Evidence from the DRC." American Economic Review.Discretion, technology and bribes. In Ghana, property tax collectors equipped with tablets and digital maps spent less time finding properties and more time deciding whom to revisit; collections rose by 103% relative to the control group. In Tajikistan, electronic filing removed face-to-face contact with inspectors, and firms at high risk of evasion paid more tax, probably because they could no longer bribe the inspector. Dzansi, James, Anders Jensen, David Lagakos, and Henry Telli. 2023. "Technology and Tax Capacity: Evidence from Local Governments in Ghana." NBER Working Paper 29923. Okunogbe, Oyebola, and Victor Pouliquen. 2022. "Technology, Taxation, and Corruption: Evidence from the Introduction of Electronic Tax Filing." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 14 (1): 341-372.Public goods and tax compliance. Several studies test whether a government can persuade citizens to pay more tax by providing public goods first. In Acayucan, a small city in Mexico, randomised street paving raised property tax compliance. Programmes in Mexico City, Pakistan and Freetown, Sierra Leone, found small or mixed effects. Fernandez, Manuel, Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, and Climent Quintana-Domeque. 2025. "Local Public Goods and Property Tax Compliance: Evidence from Residential Street Pavement." Working paper. Khan, Adnan Q., Asim I. Khwaja, Benjamin A. Olken, and Mahvish Shaukat. 2023. "Strengthening the Social Compact: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan." Working paper.The demand-driven social contract. Douglass North and Barry Weingast argued that 17th-century English taxpayers agreed to pay more tax in exchange for a greater say in government. In Kananga, citizens in neighbourhoods assigned to door-to-door property tax collection became more likely to attend town hall meetings and to evaluate government performance. North, Douglass C., and Barry R. Weingast. 1989. "Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England." Journal of Economic History 49 (4): 803-832. Weigel, Jonathan L. 2020. "The Participation Dividend of Taxation: How Citizens in Congo Engage More with the State When It Tries to Tax Them." Quarterly Journal of Economics 135 (4): 1849-1903.Procedural justice. Citizens are more likely to accept a state's right to tax when its officials apply the law in a fair, predictable and equal way, rather than arbitrarily or on the basis of personal connections. Margaret Levi and co-authors treat procedural justice as one of the main sources of legitimacy. Levi, Margaret, Audrey Sacks, and Tom Tyler. 2009. "Conceptualizing Legitimacy, Measuring Legitimating Beliefs." American Behavioral Scientist 53 (3): 354-375.China's administrative model. Wei Cui, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, describes a Chinese tax system that relies less on taxpayer declarations and more on large numbers of decentralised officials who manage individual taxpayers. China has as many local tax offices as post offices, and collects about 20% of GDP in tax. Cui, Wei. 2022. The Administrative Foundations of the Chinese Fiscal State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.More VoxDev Talks episodesProfit shifting: A global challenge hitting developing countries the hardest. Ludvig Wier explains the transfer mispricing problem that large taxpayer offices must tackle, and the tools low-capacity governments can use to detect it.Why civil service reform fails (and what actually works). Martin Williams studied 131 civil service reforms in six African countries. Of these, 34 tried to link pay to performance; none delivered.Related reading on VoxDevCan low-capacity governments work with local leaders to increase tax revenues? Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a VoxDev article by Pablo Balan, Augustin Bergeron, Gabriel Tourek and Jonathan Weigel on the Kananga chiefs experiment.Improving state effectiveness through bureaucrat assignment: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a VoxDev article on how a tax authority can raise revenue by changing who works with whom, and where.Taxation and Economic Development, a VoxDevLit that reviews the research on why low- and middle-income countries collect less tax, and what they can do about it.

All Roads Lead 65 Max Radio with Pamela L Henderson Girl Empowerment, Sierra Leone Diplomacy, and Resilience at the United Nations with Judy Kuriansky Host Pamela L. Henderson talks with UN advisor and clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky about girl empowerment, Sierra Leone's Hands Off Our Girls campaign, resilience after trauma, and using music and diplomacy to build peace. A Warm Welcome And Introduction Pamela L. Henderson opens the broadcast on BBS Radio, describing All Roads Lead 65 Max Radio as a platform she built since 2011 around social growth and leadership for young people. She invites listeners to her Tuesday broadcasts and points them to journeyofasapphire.com and allroadslead65max.org. Henderson then introduces her guest, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, calling her an internationally known clinical psychologist, author, humanitarian, media personality, musician, and philanthropist who serves as an advisor to the Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone at the United Nations. Henderson notes that Kuriansky once climbed Mount Kilimanjaro all the way to the summit, framing her as an example of endurance and determination. Kuriansky thanks Henderson for the invitation and says the show's focus on girl empowerment speaks directly to her own work, calling empowerment the word most critical to self-esteem, to fulfilling dreams, and, expanded outward, to peace in the world. A Journey Into Sierra Leone Kuriansky explains that at the United Nations she advocates for mental health and for Sustainable Development Goal five, the empowerment and rights of women and girls agreed to by 193 countries, and that she works closely with the first lady of Sierra Leone. Asked by Henderson to trace that journey, Kuriansky recalls a Peace Corps friend inviting her to Sierra Leone during the AIDS era, where she did radio outreach with young people for the organization Search for Common Ground. A Sierra Leonean friend was later named ambassador to the United States, and Kuriansky became his policy advisor, learning about poverty and energy issues alongside psychology. She returned during the Ebola outbreak that struck Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. She describes the first lady, once forced into early marriage herself, winning a UN resolution establishing an international day against child, early, and forced marriage, and a Sierra Leonean law allowing up to fifteen years in prison for perpetrators of sexual violence, giving legal teeth to access to justice. Resilience Lessons And Girl Empowerment Programs Henderson praises Kuriansky's emphasis on resilience, a value central to her own foundation, and Kuriansky illustrates the concept with an exercise she uses with children after disasters: bounce a ball and watch it return, then strike it harder and watch it bounce higher, proof that people can come back from crisis even stronger. Henderson asks about the first lady's Hands Off Our Girls campaign, and Kuriansky explains it targets violence against girls that drives them out of school, and includes distributing sanitary pads so girls can keep attending and building self-esteem. Henderson describes her own program, which serves girls from fourteen into adulthood, many transitioning out of foster care, domestic violence, trafficking, truancy, or family breakdown. Through her company, 65 Max Corporation, its production arm, a clothing line, and her foundation, she teaches customer service skills that build integrity, confidence, and accountability, and graduates can earn certification and apply for jobs within her organization, turning training directly into employment. Surviving Trauma, Saving A Grandson Henderson shares the story behind her foundation: in 2009 her daughter, then twenty-one and raising two children alone, survived a harsh domestic violence relationship that led to her children being removed from her home. Barred from stepping in to help directly, Henderson fought for her grandchildren while facing vandalism to her car and home, tampered bank accounts, and what she describes as a year of gang stalking and bullying, living on little more than water and bread. She says a conversation with God set her on the path that became All Roads Lead 65 Max Foundation. Henderson recounts winning guardianship of her grandson in 2017 after finding him with failing eyesight, poor dental health, and a nerve twitch from prior neglect; she dismissed the doctors treating him with medication and instead gave him love, guidance, and direction, and he is now eighteen, thriving, and doing well in school. Kuriansky calls it a story of survival and thriving, and connects it to her own volunteer support work at Ground Zero after September 11th. Music, Diplomacy, And Global Honors Kuriansky describes one of her proudest programs, The Girls' Empowerment Camp in Lesotho, where she used affirmations, dance, and storytelling to help girls address the dangers of AIDS and build self-worth. She credits her songwriting partner, musician Russell Daisey, a former student who asked her to write psychologically sound lyrics after September 11th; together they wrote Towers of Light, Hands Off Our Girls, One in Faith, Hope Is Alive, and Stand Up for Peace. As a founding member of Women for Diplomacy International, Kuriansky recently traveled to Budapest to read peace poetry with the group's co-founder, a former Hungarian ambassador to the UN. She lists honors including the Grand Commander of the Order of the Rokel from Sierra Leone's president, a Presidential award for volunteer service from President Biden, and induction into the eMentalHealth International Hall of Fame, framing recognition as rooted in a principle from Japanese psychology: appreciating what people do, however small, rather than waiting for grand achievement. Pioneering Advice Radio And What's Next Henderson turns to Kuriansky's decades as a pioneer of call-in radio advice, which began in 1980 after she evaluated sex therapy research for Masters and Johnson and wrote about pleasure for Cosmopolitan magazine, eventually hosting nightly advice shows and a Z100 program featuring celebrity guests. Asked why empowerment matters now, Kuriansky points to wars, personal fears, and anxiety over artificial intelligence, insisting that human connection cannot be replaced by machines, a concern Henderson shares even as her own foundation uses AI alongside live customer-service support. Kuriansky outlines what is next: working with Sierra Leone's first lady at the UN General Assembly, finishing a book, and performing songs including Towers of Light and Stand Up for Peace at a Times Square concert with Russell Daisey. She directs listeners to her website, drjudy.com, and to Black Tie Magazine for her writing. Henderson thanks her guest warmly, and closes the broadcast with a quote about loving fully, living gently, and gracefully letting go of what was never meant to stay.

Nick Parker left the UK Army in May 2013 after 40 years' service. His senior operational military experience includes Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. He led the military reaction to the venue security crisis at the London 2012 Olympics. His final appointment was Commander in Chief UK Land Forces. Since leaving he has reviewed the senior structure of the UK Police, participated in the Citizens Commission on Islam, Participation & Public Life and has mentored senior business executives. He advised the Ukraine Minister of Defence from 2016 to 2019. He was the Chair of the Prince of Wales' #iwill Campaign and was a Director of the Invictus Games 2014. He is a Geopolitical Advisor to Academy Securities and a Director of Tenacious Holdings Ltd. He was the Chair of REACT Disaster Response for 10 years and now Chairs the Armed Services Trauma Rehabilitation Outcome (Advance) Study Charity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Armut, Krieg, Ebola, Naturkatastrophen: Viele Menschen in Sierra Leone leiden an Traumata. Doch lange Zeit gab es für sie kaum eine psychotherapeutische Hilfe. Nun wird eine neue Generation von Psychiaterinnen und Therapeuten ausgebildet. Von David Ehl, Max Haumann und Yana Adu www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Weltzeit

Today, Justin welcomes back Tim Spicer. Tim served for 20 years in the British Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and saw active service in Northern Ireland, The Falklands Campaign, The Gulf War, and the Balkans, as well as serving in the Far East, Cyprus, and Germany. This is Tim's third appearance on the podcast. Today, he's back to discuss the story of Brian Franks, one of the original officers of the Special Air Service who served behind enemy lines during World War II and who continued to support British covert operations long after the war ended Check out Tim's first appearance on ep 200: From Biffy to Bond: The Real Spy Who Inspired “From Russia, with Love” and his latest sharing the stories of his own career on ep 206: Behind the Lines from Belfast to Sierra Leone. Connect with Tim: timspicerauthor.com IG: @timspicerauthor Check out the book, An Axe and Four Balloons, here. https://amzn.eu/d/03uFZnJn Connect with Spycraft 101: Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here. spycraft101.com IG: @spycraft101 Shop: shop.spycraft101.com Substack: spycraft101.substack.com Patreon: Spycraft 101 Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here. Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here. Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here. Kruschiki The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off! https://kruschiki.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kate Adie introduces stories from Yemen, South Korea, Sierra Leone, France, and Ireland. Yemen's Houthis recently claimed a major advance along the western Red Sea coast, capturing two strategic port cities from the Saudi-backed pro government forces. The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, reflects on how the Iran-backed Houthis have transformed themselves from tribal militia to formidable force.North Korea's soldiers fought alongside Russian troops at the end of 2024, as they tried to repel a surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory - and it's thought they could soon make a return to the frontline. Quentin Sommerville examines what Pyongyang has gained from its burgeoning alliance with Moscow.Freetown in Sierra Leone is said to be one of the not-so-secret hideouts of one of Europe's most-wanted drug criminals, Jos Leijdekkers. The Dutch national was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Rotterdam court back in 2024. Ed Butler travelled to Freetown to find out how he's managed to evade justice. In Northern France seaside towns are trying hard to rebrand themselves and shake off their gritty image, shaped by a history of coal mining – and the more recent migrant crisis. Sally Howard went to find out more about the towns' aspirations to build a new Belle Epoque. And on Ireland's West Coast, President Trump's golf resort has been a boon for many of local businesses. The US President received a relatively warm welcome on his recent visit but the trip wasn't entirely free of controversy - especially after Mr Trump shared his views on the future of Ireland, reports Chris Page.Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

What does it take to build a jewelry business that lasts for generations while creating the freedom to explore the world and make a difference along the way? In this episode of the Pearls of Wisdom Jewelry Podcast, Guy Pineda and Elesa Dillon welcome back Doug Meadows of David Douglas Diamonds in Marietta, Georgia, for an inspiring conversation about family, business, succession, entrepreneurship, and giving back. Doug returns to the podcast nearly three years after his first appearance, sharing how business at David Douglas Diamonds has continued to thrive and how his family's remarkable jewelry legacy is approaching 100 years. His grandfather started in Detroit in 1926 as a diamond setter and manufacturer before adapting the business through changing economic times. Today, Doug is not only focused on growing his jewelry business but also on creating opportunities for others. His travels throughout Africa have led to meaningful projects, including mentoring entrepreneurs in Uganda, supporting women in Zambia who create jewelry from recycled copper, and visiting the diamond fields of Kono, Sierra Leone, with Rapaport. Doug explains why he believes sustainable opportunity, education, and employment can have a greater impact than simply providing financial assistance. Doug also opens up about one of the biggest challenges facing longtime jewelry store owners: succession planning. With his son Joseph gradually taking over the business and his daughter finding her niche managing inventory, Doug shares practical advice on delegation, documenting processes, developing employees, and using technology and AI to build systems that allow owners to step away from the day-to-day operation. The conversation also touches on GemVision, BIG (Buyer's Intelligence Group), IJO, virtual assistants, and Doug's own "Century of Luxury and Legacy" podcast. This episode is packed with wisdom about building a lasting business, empowering people, embracing change, and creating a meaningful legacy. Tune in, get inspired, and discover how success in jewelry can go far beyond the sale, it can create freedom, opportunity, and positive impact. Check out the full episode and enjoy another inspiring Pearl of Wisdom! Brought to you by: Southern Jewelry News: https://southernjewelrynews.com/  Jewelry Store Marketers: https://jewelrystoremarketers.com/  Learn more about the Pearls of Wisdom Jewelry Podcast https://southernjewelrynews.com/podcast  Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform: • Apple Podcast = https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my.-.. • Amazon Music/Audible = https://www.audible.com/pd/Pearls-of.-.. • iHeartRadio = https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-pe... • Spotify = https://open.spotify.com/show/6IU1OHw... • Google Podcast = https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...

This week, we report on the Gates Foundation's 2026 Goalkeepers Report, which includes a $1 billion pledge to make AI more inclusive. The funding aims to expand access across health, education, agriculture, and digital equity to directly benefit the global south. We unpack how AI can help lower-income nations tackle critical challenges while ensuring local communities remain central to the process. From the highly anticipated leadership races for the top jobs at the United Nations and World Health Organization, to a critical high-level meeting on pandemic preparedness, we discuss the major themes ahead of UNGA 81, as well as highlight the sessions we are most excited for at Devex Impact House. To dig into these topics, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Anna Gawel and Catherine Cheney for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. In the segment of the podcast funded by GSK/ViiV Healthcare, Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren speaks with GSK's Chief Global Health Officer, Dr. Harmony Garges. They explore how community-led models, local health worker support, and strategic partnerships are addressing last-mile delivery challenges — from integrating malaria vaccines into primary healthcare in Liberia and Sierra Leone to expanding access to HIV care globally — ensuring much-needed health innovations reach remote and underserved communities. Request to attend Devex Impact House @ UNGA here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-81.html

Billy Graham said one of the next great movements of God would be by believers in the marketplace. The men in this episode have spent twenty years proving he was right. Bryan Dawson sits down with the team behind The Lions Den, a Birmingham event best described as a Christian "Shark Tank." Companies from Africa, Asia, South America and right here at home present their business case to a panel of successful Christian businessmen who grill them on profit, social impact, creation care, and the one most organizations skip: the spiritual bottom line. This is the "trade, not aid" argument in practice. A bakery in a South African township that opened doors no missionary could open. A cheese factory and dairy in Moldova that grew from three employees to thirty and kept fathers from leaving the country to find work. A fried chicken chain, a bank and an IT company in Sierra Leone, the eighth poorest country on earth. A factory owner in China who says his ministry runs from eight to five. "There are ten to twenty times more business owners than there are pastors. What's going to change America and the world is business owners stewarding their companies in a way that has impact." TOPICS TACKLED: Why the sacred and secular divide has convinced Christian businessmen they are second-class citizens The quadruple bottom line: profit, social, spiritual, and creation care "Trade, not aid," and why starting businesses beats shipping rice Sierra Leone, Moldova, South Africa, China: what happens when a job replaces a handout How to measure spiritual impact in a business without turning it into a sales pitch Why pursuing the spiritual bottom line tends to produce the social one, and not the reverse The Lions Den format, who should attend, and what happens at the Professional Summit   THE LIONS DEN, OCTOBER 14-16, BIRMINGHAM: Tickets and details: https://www.thelionsden.us/tickets Event listing: https://businessasmission.com/resources/the-lions-den/  X / Twitter: https://x.com/bhmtld Promo Video: https://vimeo.com/1225717422?fl=pl&fe=sh Venue: The Harbert Center, 2019 4th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203. Schedule: Wednesday, October 14: Professional Summit supper, 6:00 PM.  Thursday, October 15:  Professional Summit, approximately 8:00 to 4:00, with a luncheon featuring Peter Greer of HOPE International.  Main Lions Den event, 4:00 to 6:00.  Friday, October 16: accredited investor session, 8:00 to 12:00.   1819 NEWS Website: https://1819news.com  Support the mission: https://1819news.com/give  Bryan Dawson on X: https://x.com/Bryan1819News   #BusinessAsMission #TheLionsDen #FaithDrivenInvestor #KingdomBusiness #Birmingham #Alabama #ChristianBusiness #TradeNotAid #Entrepreneurship #1819News

Billy Graham said one of the next great movements of God would be by believers in the marketplace. The men in this episode have spent twenty years proving he was right. Bryan Dawson sits down with the team behind The Lions Den, a Birmingham event best described as a Christian "Shark Tank." Companies from Africa, Asia, South America and right here at home present their business case to a panel of successful Christian businessmen who grill them on profit, social impact, creation care, and the one most organizations skip: the spiritual bottom line. This is the "trade, not aid" argument in practice. A bakery in a South African township that opened doors no missionary could open. A cheese factory and dairy in Moldova that grew from three employees to thirty and kept fathers from leaving the country to find work. A fried chicken chain, a bank and an IT company in Sierra Leone, the eighth poorest country on earth. A factory owner in China who says his ministry runs from eight to five. "There are ten to twenty times more business owners than there are pastors. What's going to change America and the world is business owners stewarding their companies in a way that has impact." TOPICS TACKLED: Why the sacred and secular divide has convinced Christian businessmen they are second-class citizens The quadruple bottom line: profit, social, spiritual, and creation care "Trade, not aid," and why starting businesses beats shipping rice Sierra Leone, Moldova, South Africa, China: what happens when a job replaces a handout How to measure spiritual impact in a business without turning it into a sales pitch Why pursuing the spiritual bottom line tends to produce the social one, and not the reverse The Lions Den format, who should attend, and what happens at the Professional Summit   THE LIONS DEN, OCTOBER 14-16, BIRMINGHAM: Tickets and details: https://www.thelionsden.us/tickets Event listing: https://businessasmission.com/resources/the-lions-den/  X / Twitter: https://x.com/bhmtld Promo Video: https://vimeo.com/1225717422?fl=pl&fe=sh Venue: The Harbert Center, 2019 4th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203. Schedule: Wednesday, October 14: Professional Summit supper, 6:00 PM.  Thursday, October 15:  Professional Summit, approximately 8:00 to 4:00, with a luncheon featuring Peter Greer of HOPE International.  Main Lions Den event, 4:00 to 6:00.  Friday, October 16: accredited investor session, 8:00 to 12:00.   1819 NEWS Website: https://1819news.com  Support the mission: https://1819news.com/give  Bryan Dawson on X: https://x.com/Bryan1819News   #BusinessAsMission #TheLionsDen #FaithDrivenInvestor #KingdomBusiness #Birmingham #Alabama #ChristianBusiness #TradeNotAid #Entrepreneurship #1819News

Queer activists occupy a 40-foot tall tree to block Trumps Border Wall in south Arizona - This Way Out's Lauren Schmitt reports. In Newswrap Germany's far-right AfD scores its biggest state-election showing since the Nazis — as rainbow-flagged protesters take to the streets! Ninety percent of LGBTQ+ groups worldwide report losing funding since 2025 — putting many at risk of closing their doors! Sierra Leone's queer crackdown sends two activists fleeing after police raid a gay party and issue warrants for their arrest! The Trump administration targets “gender ideology” in a controversial new study — critics call the un-peer-reviewed report pseudoscience! And Sacramento's Lavender Heights fights back — LGBTQ+ residents launch a community patrol after a string of anti-queer attacks! Featured speakers: A protester named Nikita, creator of Lavender Heights Community Patrol Zachary Basler, Lauren Schmitt, Kate Scott, Santa Cruz county Sheriff David Hathaway, “Hawk”, “Rain”. Credits: Associate Producer and Host Lucia Chappelle, Producer/ Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Lauren Schmitt, NewsWrap reporters Sarah Montague, Nathalie Muñoz music: Cast album Redwood, music from the Arizona protest.

What does it look like to have a faith that holds when life feels exhausting?In this episode of Pod Have Mercy, John and Matt sit down with Bishop Tom Berlin and Rev. Rachel Billups for a wide-ranging conversation about resilience, discipleship, courage, innovation, and what gives them hope for the future of the church.Bishop Berlin and Rachel discuss their work around Christian resilience and why resilience is about more than simply pushing through difficult seasons. They explore the habits and communities that help us remain grounded in faith, hope, love, courage, and joy when life does not cooperate.The conversation also turns to Bishop Berlin's book, "Jesus Is Lord," and what that familiar Christian confession actually demands of us. What happens when politics, culture, ambition, or certainty begin competing with Jesus for the center of our lives? What would it mean for Christians to genuinely allow everything else to orbit around Christ?Rachel shares about the work of Hub4Innovation, the importance of curiosity and experimentation in ministry, and why leaders need the courage to dream, dare, disrupt, and sometimes fail as they imagine new ways of serving their communities.Bishop Berlin also reflects on more than two decades of ministry relationships in Sierra Leone, including the Child Reintegration Centre and Mercy Hospital, and the life-changing impact global partnerships can have on both the communities being served and those who choose to serve.John, Matt, Rachel, and Tom also talk candidly about clergy exhaustion, the state of The United Methodist Church, Christian nationalism, rebuilding trust, finding hope in ordinary people, and why tangible expressions of love may be one of the church's most important witnesses.Finally, Rachel and Tom become the first guests to take a seat in a new Pod Have Mercy segment: The Mercy Seat.LEARN MORE ABOUT BISHOP TOM BERLINBishop Tom Berlin:https://www.bishoptomberlin.comCouncil of Bishops Profile:https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/4174935Shop Bishop Tom Berlin's books on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004M71V5U?ccs_id=09172b4a-93d5-4297-a356-67ecd2fb1cf8LEARN MORE ABOUT RACHEL BILLUPSRachel Billups:https://www.rachelbillups.comShop Rachel Billups' books on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07MFVQYWW?ccs_id=ab7e652e-b6c5-4f20-a5ff-04b66cc0f925Hub4Innovation:https://www.hub4innovation.orgBOOKS DISCUSSED"Be Strong in the Lord: The Resilient Way of Christ" by Tom Berlin and Rachel Billups"Jesus Is Lord" by Tom Berlin"Dream, Dare, Disrupt: How Experiments, Risk, & Embracing Failure Can Build Life-Giving Ministry" by Matt Rawle and Rachel BillupsExplore Tom and Rachel's Amazon author pages above to find these books and more.

We tend to hear about European and North American missionaries, often overlooking how much missionary work was carried out by native peoples themselves. In this episode, we'll explore how two people born into slavery in North America went on to bring the gospel to Jamaica and Sierra Leone. Join Grace, Sean, and Priscilla as they discuss these two missionaries with Dr. Vincent Carretta, Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at the University of Maryland and author of Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the 18th Century.    Show Notes: Articles about George Lielle and David George: https://placefortruth.org/george-liele-first-baptist-missionary-in-jamaica/ https://placefortruth.org/david-george-from-anxious-runaway-to-zealous-pastor/ Equiano https://placefortruth.org/olaudah-equiano-waking-up-christians-to-the-evils-of-slavery/ Phillis Wheatley https://alliancenet.org/episode/phillis-wheatley/ Unchained Voices https://www.amazon.com/dp/0813190762?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Send us Fan MailAward-winning photographer and video journalist Jo Kearney joins Angela Nicholson on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast to talk about a career that has taken her across the world in search of stories.Jo began as a print journalist before moving into video journalism at a time when smaller digital cameras were transforming the industry. An early trip to southern Sudan led to stories that made the top news bulletin for Associated Press for three days running and helped launch a career covering major events across Asia, the Middle East and beyond.Alongside her news work, Jo developed a passion for stills photography, particularly travel photography centred on people and their stories. She explains why she likes to arrive with a rough plan but also leave room for the unexpected, how journalism shapes the way she looks for pictures and why some of her strongest projects have emerged simply through being curious about a place.Jo also shares the story behind the image that made her the overall winner of the 2026 World Food Photography Awards. Photographed in a Soviet era sanatorium in Tajikistan, it was not originally conceived as a food photograph at all.The conversation also touches on some of Jo's most challenging assignments, including the Asian tsunami and the rescue of child soldiers in Sierra Leone, as well as the changing world of news photography and video.Jo and Angela discuss the value of photography competitions, researching trips without over-planning them and why personal projects need somewhere to go rather than remaining unseen on a computer.It's a fascinating conversation about travel photography, photojournalism, curiosity and finding stories in unexpected places.Connect with JoWebsiteInstagramFacebookSupport the show

In this episode, we speak with Corinna Hawkes, Director of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division. Corinna explains what it means to transform agrifood systems through a systems approach and why change requires looking beyond individual problems and solutions to the relationships, incentives, and power dynamics that shape our agrifood systems. She draws on examples from Brazil, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and New York City to show how evidence, governance, collaboration, and long-term thinking can help turn tradeoffs into wider benefits.   Hosted by Katrin Park Produced by Eduardo De La Chica  00:43  What does transforming agrifood systems mean?  03:07  What is a "systems" approach?  03:59  Systems approach v. coordination  07:14  Marketing unhealthy foods to children  10:00  Compromises and aligning incentives  12:13  Navigating powerful interests  15:12  Short election cycles and long-term commitments  21:23  Monitoring transformation  24:32  Systems approach in Sierra Leone  27:05  Co-creating solutions in Tanzania  28:14  Public procurement in New York City  29:33  Corinna's journey  Transcript: https://www.fao.org/media/docs/aboutfaolibraries/transcripts/transcript_corinna-hawkes_260831.pdf 

Bernard McCaul has spent almost twenty years inside GOAL, the Irish humanitarian agency founded nearly fifty years ago when sports journalist John O'Shea came home from Kolkata and decided to act. Bernard has been on the ground for the Asian tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the West Africa Ebola outbreak, and he is now part of the team growing GOAL's presence in the US. That vantage point — twenty years at the sharp end of the world's worst crises — makes this a conversation about how humanitarian aid actually works, not how people assume it works.In this conversation, we get into:Sierra Leone, 2014: what it takes to head for the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak while others are leaving — and how the Community-Led Action approach born there became a national tool that turned Sierra Leone into a leader in outbreak response.The AI chatbots GOAL built with Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health during the recent mpox outbreak — sharing official information with at-risk communities and feeding live data back to responders — now being deployed to the Ebola response in Central Africa.Why crises happen when local systems collapse, and why aid delivered without understanding those systems can do more harm than good.What people get wrong about aid — including how the outbreak of war, not aid failure, set Sudan back thirty years.Bernard's case for hope: near-universal internet access is coming, and early warning systems protecting every person on the planet are genuinely achievable.If you're part of the Irish diaspora and want to see what fifty years of Irish humanitarian leadership looks like on the ground — and where it goes next — this one is worth your time.About Bernard McCaulBernard McCaul is GOAL USA's Executive Director and has been with GOAL for almost twenty years, much of that leading the organisation's work in Latin America, with senior roles spanning programme leadership across GOAL's global operations. He has been part of GOAL's responses to the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2014–15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He is now with GOAL USA, supporting the organisation's growth in North America. About GOALGOAL is an organization of humanitarian crisis experts founded in Ireland almost fifty years ago by sports journalist John O'Shea. It responds to the world's most significant humanitarian crises — both sudden-onset emergencies and protracted crises — and has worked across almost sixty countries, with a mission to save lives, reduce suffering, and build resilience, and a vision of a world beyond humanitarian crisis. GOAL runs an Innovation Lab and Innovation Fund backing solutions like AI-driven disease surveillance, and GOAL USA is a registered charity partner of the New York and Chicago Marathons. Supporters can also take part in the GOAL Mile in Ireland, join immersive site visits to programmes on the ground, or donate at goalus.org and goalglobal.org.Want to get in contact with the Digital Irish team? Email us at podcast@digitalirish.com

In this episode of the ZenRUN Podcast, I chat with the wonderful Kat Cacavas. Kat is a dietitian, health promotion officer, yoga teacher, marathon runner, charity founder, traveller and someone who has spent much of her life helping other people live healthier lives. She grew up in Melbourne in a family where movement was simply part of everyday life. Running, dancing, swimming, surf lifesaving, athletics… if there was a sport going, chances are Kat gave it a go. Although she loved running from a young age, dancing was her first love for many years. It wasn't until her early twenties that running started taking centre stage, eventually leading her to marathons all over the world. Including one of the most extraordinary first marathons I've ever heard. Kat's debut marathon wasn't in Melbourne, Sydney or the Gold Coast. It was in Sierra Leone. That race became the beginning of something much bigger than simply running 42.2 kilometres. Over the past decade, Kat has built an incredible connection with Sierra Leone through running, eventually founding the Make Ways Foundation, which now supports young people through movement, education and opportunity. What started with taking donated running shoes in her suitcase has grown into a registered charity, three shipping containers of sporting equipment, a community sports store and employment for local people. It's one of those stories that reminds you just how powerful running can be. We also chat about Kat's career as a dietitian and health promotion officer, why food doesn't have to be complicated, how clever supermarket marketing influences our choices, and why chasing the latest fad diet rarely solves the real problem. Kat also shares something deeply personal. For the past three years she and her husband have been navigating IVF. She talks honestly about how fertility treatment has repeatedly interrupted her running, the emotional impact of constantly rebuilding fitness, and how she's learned to rediscover the joy of simply running again whenever she gets the chance. It's a beautiful conversation about resilience, identity and remembering that running can look different in different seasons of life. Along the way we also chat about: Growing up in Melbourne and discovering a love of running and dancing. Running half marathons through Paris and Nice while travelling. Completing her first marathon in the heat and humidity of Sierra Leone. Why running holidays are one of the best ways to explore a new place. Building strength after repeated ankle injuries… including one caused by stepping on a mango! Why runners shouldn't underestimate yoga, breathing and mobility. How running has given Kat friendship, adventure, purpose and community. The original Athens Marathon and why it's firmly on Kat's bucket list. Kat's running tips Running doesn't have to look the same in every season of life. Build your identity around more than just running. Running while travelling is one of the best ways to experience a new place. Don't ignore your body when something doesn't feel right. Yoga can improve strength, mobility, breathing and body awareness for runners. Sometimes the greatest running memories come from the people you meet, not the finish line. Links mentioned in this episode Make Ways Foundation: https://makewaysfoundation.org/ Make Ways Foundation documentary trailer: https://vimeo.com/1179061019/6127657463?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci Kat's online yoga for runners: https://createdconnections.com.au/ Kat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katcacavas/ Kat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakeWaysFoundation/ Kat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-cacavas/

In 1775, half a million enslaved people had to pick a side in a war between two groups of white men who both claimed to want freedom. In this live episode of Our Ancestors Were Messy, friend of the show, Nichole Hill takes B.A. Parker and Gene Demby through the choices one man made – from a South Carolina plantation, to the British lines, to Nova Scotia, to Sierra Leone. It's a choose-your-own-adventure through history where there are no great options.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Sierra Leone's Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, says Africa needs to tell its own stories and play a greater role in shaping emerging technologies. In an exclusive interview with China Africa Talk, Bah shares what Africa can learn from China's experience in building its own narrative, why he sees AI as a promising area for cooperation, and how China and Africa can deepen their partnership in media, technology and beyond.

Today on the show: The genocidal slaughter in illegally occupied Palestine continues. WE'LL feature our weekly segment PinkNotes/our collaboration with CodePink. This week we are joined by special guest retired United States Army colonel, former U.S. diplomat, peace activist, and author, Anne Wright. She served 29 years in the Army and Army Reserves, focusing on special operations and civil affairs, and spent 16 years in the U.S. State Department with postings in conflict zones including Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. And we'll feature  our weekly  news report from the Electronic Intifada with Nora Barrows Friedman. An award winning front-line investigative news magazine focusing on human, civil and workers rights, issues of war and peace, Global Warming, racism and poverty, and other issues. Hosted by Dennis J. Bernstein. The post The Genocidal Slaughter in Illegally Occupied Palestine Continues appeared first on KPFA.

VLOG Aug 19 Unsealing beat, exhibit games: https://matthewrussellleeicp.substack.com/p/extra-doj-stealth-bid-to-close-courtroom EDNY Sealed v Sealed, now run-around: https://innercitypress.com/edny1accesskuntzsealedicase081426.html NDCA win on German docs; Chi Cubs / Wrigley Field reversal. FDIC cover-up; UN Mission of Sierra Leone nuisance https://innercitypress.com/sdny31ungatesierraleonemsicp081826.html

In this session, attendees will be equipped to navigate the discernment process of identifying the best-fit sending agency for them.

Arthur Pede Hollist is an award-winning Sierra Leonean writer and Professor of English at the University of Tampa. He teaches courses in African literature and creative writing. His publications include So the Path Does Not Die, which was named the 2014 African Literature Association Creative Book of the Year; “Foreign Aid,” which was shortlisted for the 2013 Caine Prize and published in A Memory This Size and Other Stories; and “The Tale of the Three Water Carriers,” which was longlisted for the 2015 Short Story Day competition and anthologized in Water: New Short Fiction From Africa. His research interests and scholarly publications encompass African trauma fiction, Afrodiasporic literatures, and Sierra Leonean literature. He was a 2017 Fulbright scholar and received the Louise Loy Hunter Award in 2014-2015.This episode features an interview with Professor Hollist, focusing on his writing inspirations, teaching philosophy, and perspectives on the future of the Sierra Leonean literary scene, informed by his extensive experience as both a writer and professor.

A poem about a map opens North and South, the first collection of the great twentieth century poet Elizabeth Bishop, and since, maps have been associated with her poetic vision—at once telescoping and binocular—and with the polarities and preoccupations of her work. The map's privileged, sweeping, bird's eye view of the earth is also hand-held, man-made, intimate. Depending on its level of minuteness or obsession, it can contain the tiniest details as well as, let's say, the whole enchilada. And though it purports to be scientific and objective, it is representational and therefore subjective, particular, imaginative, and personal. For several episodes, Wes & Erin will be reading a selection of some of Bishop's most anthologized poems, starting with “The Moose” as expressions of, among other things, her map-like imagination. Upcoming Episodes: Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey”; more Elizabeth Bishop poetry: “First Death in Nova Scotia,” “One Art.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website Transcript 0:11 Erin: A poem about a map opens north and south, the first collection of the great 20th century poet Elizabeth Bishop. And since maps have been associated with her poetic vision, at once telescoping and binocular, and with the polarities and preoccupations of her work. The map's privileged, sweeping, bird's eye view of the earth is also handheld, man made intimate. Depending on its level of minuteness or obsession, it can contain the tiniest details as well as, let's say, the whole enchilada. And though it purports to be scientific and objective, it is representational and therefore subjective, particular, imaginative and personal. Over the next few episodes, we'll be reading a selection of some of Bishop's most anthologized poems, starting with the moose as expressions of, among other things, her map, like imagination. This is Erin O'Luanaigh. And this is Wes Alwan, and you're listening to Subtext. Wes, have you ever seen a moose in the wild? 1:12 Wes: I have not, but I have seen Instagram videos of them and people getting too close, and I've heard that they actually are quite dangerous. 1:23 Erin: Oh, perfectly harmless. 1:24 Wes: As cute as they look. So not safe as houses. Which is a very surprising line, unless you think that houses maybe aren't as safe as they seem or ought to be. But that's something we'll talk about later. How about you? 1:38 Erin: I have not. And I actually, it's become a running joke among certain friends of mine that I haven't seen a moose because I long to see a moose in the wild. This is my dearest wish. 1:52 Wes: Is that the first time anyone said that in history? I long to see. 1:56 Erin: I don't know. 1:57 Wes: It's a good first line for a poem, actually. Why do you long. Long to see a moose in the wild? 2:03 Erin: Really? Maybe because of the poem. I don't know. I just really want to, but I. Maybe this will become significant without getting too personal or maybe with getting too personal. With apologies to the listeners. Ten years ago now, when my grandfather passed that summer, my grandmother wanted to go up to Maine and revisit certain places that she had been with him. And we ended up going to Acadia. And I was so excited to see. Am just. I got it into my head that I had to go to Acadia and see a moose. And I even bought a sweatshirt. I'm not wearing it right now. I looked down to see if I was wearing it. It's the same size and shape as this one. This is a Yankees, 1996 World Series sweatshirt. 2:42 Wes: It's not a Rocky and Bullwinkle sweatshirt, is it? 2:45 Erin: No, no, no. It's an acadia and it has a. It has a mousse on it. And so I bought it the first day that I was there and I was like, this is my sweatshirt and it has a moose on it. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna see a moose. And I did not see a moose. And then I. I bought a moose sweatshirt in, I think Grand Teton, and I was like, I'm gonna see a moose. And I did not see a moose. And then I lived obviously many years in Utah, and things would happen. Everybody knew I wanted to see a moose. And I would go to these trails where you could see moose. And I would like be going up a trail and someone would be coming down saying, there are moose up there. We just saw a moose. You just saw baby moose. I'd get all upsided and I would. I would run up and it was gone and people would taunt me. 3:32 Wes: So you don't want to see like a magic white heart or something like that? 3:38 Erin: No, no, I just want to see him. Even the garden variety moose? No, no. Just a humble moose will hide itself from me when. When it knows that I am after it. 3:49 Wes: Because they are a goofy, right? Are they majestic? Are they goofy looking? Are they both? 3:55 Erin: I think they're both. And I think that kind of qual quality is really well captured in the poem. No, I mean that quality of if not being then looking safe as houses or being a gargantuan size, and yet having. I know this is a female moose, which I believe is called a cow, as opposed to a bull. Right. But the bulls, even their horns have that hand like quality to them. You know, it looks kind of like an outstretched hand. 4:22 Wes: Interesting. 4:24 Erin: Yeah. They're not majestic. 4:25 Wes: Yeah, I think that's important to the poem. It's not some obviously majestic creature, although it is large and there is majesty in it in the poem, but it's not the typical majesty that you can just get from, oh, look at this beautiful animal. 4:41 Erin: Yeah. And this is kind of why I brought up my grandfather. There was some connection for me as I think there is something quite personal going on with the moose at the end, other than the shared experience of everybody in the bus, all of that. Like there's something bigger than us, more than us, and yet familiar in a way. And it's magical in a sense, because to see it is kind of a rare thing. Yet it also comes out of the landscape that she's that she's grown up in and that she's part of. I think there's a. Yeah. A lot of interesting dualities going on. 5:17 Wes: Okay. So maybe you can read the whole thing and then you could give a little bit. Or we could give a little bit of the biographical background because this is a bus trip she actually took. Right. 5:26 Erin: Yeah. 5:27 Wes: The significance of Nova Scotia, which is where she's departing from in the poem and all of that stuff. But. Yeah. Do you want to start by reading? 5:35 Erin: Sure. The moose from narrow provinces of fish and bread and tea, home of the long tides, where the bay leaves the sea twice a day and takes the herrings long rides where if the river enters or retreats in a wall of brown foam depends on if it meets the bay. Coming in the bay, not at home, where silted red sometimes the sun sets facing a red sea and others veins the flats. Lavender rich mud and burning rivulets. On red gravelly roads, down rows of sugar maples, past clapboard farmhouses and neat clapboard churches, bleached ridged as clam shells, past twin silver birches through late afternoon a bus journeys west, the windshield flashing pink, pink glancing off of metal, brushing the dented flank of blue beat up enamel, down hollows, uprises and waits patient, while a lone traveler gives kisses and embraces to seven relatives and the collie supervises goodbye to the elms, to the farm, to the dog. The bus starts. The light grows richer. The fog shifting, salty, thin, comes closing in. Its cold round crystals form and slide and settle in the white hen's feathers in gray glazed cabbages on the cabbage roses and lupins like apostles. The sweet peas cling to their wet white string on the whitewashed fences. Bumblebees creep inside the foxgloves and evening commences. One stop at Bass river, then the economies, lower middle, upper five islands. Five houses where a woman shakes a tablecloth out after supper. A pale flickering gone the Tantramar marshes and the smell of salt hay. An iron bridge trembles and a loose plank rattles but doesn't give way. On the left a red light swims through the dark. A ship's port lantern. Two rubber boots show illuminated, solemn. A dog gives one bark. A woman climbs in with two market bags. Brisk, freckled, elderly. A grand night. Yes, sir. All the way to Boston. She regards us amicably. Moonlight as we enter the New Brunswick woods. Hairy, scratchy, splintery moonlight and mist caught in them like lamb's wool. On bushes in a pasture the passengers lie back, snores some long sighs. A dreamy divagation begins in the night, a gentle auditory slow hallucination in the creakings and noises, an old conversation not concerning us but recognizable somewhere back in the bus, grandparents, voices uninterruptedly talking in eternity, names being mentioned. Things cleared up finally. What he said, what she said, who got pensioned. Deaths, deaths and sicknesses. The year he remarried, the year something happened, she died in childbirth. That was the son lost when the schooner foundered. He took to drink. Yes, she went to the bad when Amos began to pray, even in the store and finally the family had to put him away. Yes, that peculiar affirmative. Yes, a sharp indrawn breath, half grown, half acceptance. That means life's like that, we know it. Also death talking the way they talked in the old featherbed, peacefully on and on, dim lamplight in the hall, down in the kitchen, the dog tucked in her shawl. Now it's all right now, even to fall asleep, just as on all those nights. Suddenly the bus driver stops with a jolt, turns off his lights. A moose has come out of the impenetrable wood and stands there, looms rather in the middle of the road. It approaches, it sniffs at the bus's hot hood, towering antlerless, high as a church, homely as a house or safe as houses, a man's voice assures us, perfectly harmless. Some of the passengers exclaim in whispers, childishly, softly, sure are big creatures. It's awful plain. Look, it's a she. Taking her time. She looks the bus over, grand, otherworldly. Why. Why do we feel. We all feel the sweet sensation of joy? Curious creatures, says our quiet driver, rolling his Rs. Look at that, would you? Then he shifts gears for a moment longer by craning backward. The moose can be seen on the moonlit McAdam. Then there's a dim smell of moose, an acrid smell of gasoline. 11:05 Wes: Thank you. Very nice. It's really great to hear it spoken out loud. Spoken is the wrong word. It's the word read, performed. Do you want to say anything about the form of the poem before I ask you about some of the autobiographical background? 11:22 Erin: Yeah. Short lines, six line stanzas, 20, I believe. 28 stanzas in all. Irregularly rhymed, should we say? Kind of like a lot of bishop, you know, we get A, B, C. Then sometimes not rhymed where you might expect. So the rhymes peek their heads out and then. And then recede. Chatty a little bit in places, lots of repetitions of words. But that. That's something we could talk about More. But, yeah, kind of. Kind of mysterious form. One of the best things I've ever heard or read, I guess, about Bishop was by Michael Hoffman, who wrote quite a bit about her. And he said that it seems as though every time Bishop is writing, whether in form or in a kind of nonce form that she's creating, that she seems to be just inventing every form, like from scratch. You know, there's no blueprint. She doesn't have a familiar style in which she writes or particular kind of verse form that she seems to gravitate to. And when she writes, you know, a sistina or a villanelle or a sonnet or something like that, it seems like she's almost inventing the form as she goes along. And in this instance, there's a real. I keep wanting to say homemade after Crusoe in England. But, yeah, I think that's maybe what he was trying to get at, that homemade quality, that sort of bespoke kind of quality. And in the places where the rhyme goes in and out, I think that's really exemplified. 12:53 Wes: Well, it better be bespoke. She took forever to write it. 12:55 Erin: Yeah, that's right. She started this in, I think, 1946. 13:01 Wes: And then she finished it when this 13:04 Erin: was published in Geography 3. So she finished it in the 70s. 13:07 Wes: Okay. 13:08 Erin: Geography 3 came out in 1977. And this must have been published before then, individually, perhaps in the New Yorker, I think. Oh, geography three is 76. I would say maybe 72 is the date that comes to mind. Don't quote me on that. 13:24 Wes: Do we know why it took her so long? Obviously, she put it down for a couple days here and there. 13:29 Erin: It was the July 15th issue, 1972. So close to the day that we're recording. Why did it take her so long? She just worked on things forever and ever and ever. You see it, if you read. I highly recommend to listeners that they Get Words in Air. A very, very thick book of all the letters between Bishop and her friend Robert Lowell. You see her bringing up things or even mentioning in a description that she's writing to Lowell in a letter, a line that will later show up in a poem. Yeah. Low rate of productivity is great to. 14:08 Wes: You know, I can relate to that. 14:11 Erin: I take it as my model, honestly. Like, you know, live. Live Large and die with a slim Collected is kind of a. 14:19 Wes: Kind of a great Monroe Doctrine. But call it. What's another name? Bishpro. 14:28 Erin: That's right. 14:29 Wes: Is it right that she was forced to complete it because she agreed to read it this is something for deadlines. Right. At Harvard's Phi Beta Kappa ceremony. 14:38 Erin: I didn't know that. I know she read it at that ceremony, but I didn't know that that's what. The impetus for completing it. But that doesn't surprise me. 14:45 Wes: Yeah. So deadlines help every once in a while. 14:47 Erin: Absolutely, absolutely. 14:49 Wes: And then biographically. Right. This is based on a trip that she actually took, and she. She'd been to visit relatives in Nova Scotia and then came back on this bus trip. And the. There really was a moose. There really was a collie. Seven relatives for the rest of it. Yeah, yeah. Seven else. 15:11 Erin: Yeah, yeah. The specificity and all of it's. You know, there is a kind of like a photo realism, not just in the style, but in the. You know, we could sort of be certain that these things happened the way that she is recording them somehow, and yet she's spinning it into something more than just reportage. 15:30 Wes: So she was raised partly by her grandparents in Great Village, Nova Scotia. Right. Her. Her father had died in infancy and her mother was institutionalized. 15:41 Erin: That's right, yeah. 15:41 Wes: She aged at. When she was 5. 15:43 Erin: That's right. 15:44 Wes: So it's important just because. Yeah. The bus is leaving Nova Scotia, but go. Go ahead. 15:48 Erin: Yeah, it is important. She was born in 1911 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and she's buried there. I've seen her grave up there. It has a line or two lines from the bite on her tombstone. All the untidy activity continues. Awful but cheerful. Yeah. So she was born in 1911. Her father died, I think, of Bright's disease when she was 8 months old. And then her mother was institutionalized when she was 5, and she never saw her again. She didn't die until the 30s, I think, while Bishop was at Vassar. 16:23 Wes: Do we know what she was institutionalized for? Mental illness in general? 16:28 Erin: Yes. I don't know exactly what. In a short story of Bishop's, she describes as her. A scream coming from her mother. And whatever was wrong was exacerbated by her husband's death. And so then Elizabeth was left to be raised by her grandparents in Nova Scotia who were quite poor. And I guess she was kind of running around barefoot on the farm and stuff like that. And her father's family were very wealthy, and so when they came up to visit Elizabeth, they were, I guess, horrified by the fact that she was just like, you know, running around, hanging out with farm animals. And they took her to. Back with him to Worcester, and she was very unhappy there. Very ill child. She had asthma and eczema. And really, like, I think almost died of both at one time or other, very unhappy. And then eventually she moved to an aunt's house in, I want to say, in Revere, Massachusetts, and she was a little happier there. And then she went to Vassar, and I've been to the Vassar campus to see various buildings associated with Bishop and also to see. They did a really fabulous exhibition of her postcards at the Vassar Library a couple of years ago, which I really loved, seeing her hand and her little. In jokes and asides and really amazing to see. Anyway, at Vassar, the librarian there set up a meeting between Bishop and Marianne Moore, who became a mentor to her. They were very close. And then also over the course of her life, she was very close with and had an important friendship with Lowell. Hence the enormous book of letters. I have it here. It's so heavy I could barely pick it up. But this is a great book. It's kind of like an epistolary novel. Yeah. And she was. I think it's important to say, too, that she was a lesbian who had a very long relationship with a Brazilian architect named Lota de Mecedo Soares, who was her partner in Brazil for 15 years. She lived down there, known for travel. A lot of her collections, whether it's Geography three, which is the most obvious one, or north and south, have. There are a lot of Brazilian pumps. There are a lot of geographical poems. The first poem in her first collection, north and south, was the Map, which is often read as a kind of ars poetica. She's known for these types of, you know, sweeping landscapes that the moose begins with, and an interest in landscape and in this kind of bird's eye view. But then also you get these telescoping details, like a cinematic close up interspersed. Much is made of that in Bishop, of that kind of vision of hers, and specifically of, I don't know, the idea that she creates these. These beautiful miniatures, which is true, but maybe sometimes can be a little. I mean, she's revered, as she should be, and she's one of the most popular poets and she also has a great ear and she has so many other great things going on. So I don't want to exclusively focus on that kind of visual element, though it's there and it's very rich. 19:43 Wes: So from narrow provinces of fish and bread and tea. That's a very good opener. Why are they narrow provinces? And what is the. What are the fish and bread and tea doing? Fish and bread sounds vaguely like it could be a biblical reference, but maybe it's not. But you add tea. Right. There's something mundane here and perhaps restricted, provincial. And that's what she's going to be departing from. I mean, well, begins with the tides, but. 20:12 Erin: Yeah, right. Yeah, that's right. Narrow in a few kinds of ways. Because there's a strange. Because of the Bay of Fundy, there's almost that like U shaped corridor of land around it. So Nova Scotia is kind of narrow. And then up into. Then there's the narrow isthmus. I don't know, I don't know if I'm using that word correctly. Up into New Brunswick. Yeah, so there's something maybe a little, I don't want to say spiritually narrow, maybe somewhat limited or like practical. Practical and, you know, just the necessities and a place we learn that that is. That maybe has to be stalwart in response to the vagaries of the water around it. The Bay of Fundy, I was reading online, the tide, over the course of just one tide, can rise and fall 50ft because the bay is like a giant funnel. When it goes out, it just leaves this vast, open, muddy plain basically behind it. 21:16 Wes: She portrays this very beautifully. We get the image of the tide retreating and then the flats that are being illuminated by the setting sun as burning rivulets. And then there's almost a transition into the bus ride when she says on red gravelly roads, eventually the subject of that is going to be the bus. Although in the beginning, before we get to the bus, it looks like the rivulets have almost become roads. So you almost get the sense like the tides come in and it's going to go further inward, it's going to go all the way to Boston, but it's going to become the inhabitants of the bus who are much like the herrings. Right. In the first stanza. The herrings on the tides take herrings on long rides. So it's almost as if as the tide comes in, she is caught in the tide and brought along with it towards her destination. 22:08 Erin: That's right, yeah. And the bay itself, the water itself is also like a traveler, you know, you might go to visit it and find it's not at home, it's gone out for on a trip or something. So there's also that connection as well. Whereas the roads are part of this more solid and dependable and the water being fickle and not always depended on to be there. 22:31 Wes: Well, I was going to say there's something very poignant about the way she describes the tides and whether they're in or out. And I can't put my finger on it exactly. It's almost. It's this idea of. Right. Where if the river enters or retreats in a wall of brown foam depends on if it meets the bay. Coming in the bay, not at home. If the tide is in or coming in the river clashes with it in a wall of brown foam. Is that the idea now? And what's the image there? Is it always a wall of brown foam? Well, either way, I just. Something about this idea of. It depends on whether the bay is at home or something like that. It's a poignant image. 23:12 Erin: It is. It's that sense of just. Of disappointment or just missing someone, like a missed opportunity. Seems kind of surprisingly emotionally resonant, considering that she's talking about a tide. 23:25 Wes: And we. You know, it introduces the idea of home and. Which I think will be significant. And later on we'll talk about whether the moose is safe as houses and the reflections of the elderly and all that stuff. But. 23:40 Erin: And boundaries, too, right. You have very slippery boundary between the bay and the. And the sea, between the rivers and the bay that feeds them. And I think that boundary very much plays into the idea of home. And you could say that the bus seems to be a part of that too. Right. Like the bus becomes the home. So there's a little bit of the slippery idea of this transposition of home life into the bus, or the people on the bus all becoming the. We like a family within it. The way that it can literally cross national boundaries. It's going to Boston across the border. 24:18 Wes: Yeah. And then they'll be observing provincial life, I guess, from within the bus. And. And, you know, a woman shaking out an apron, for instance, or home life. But, yeah, I had the same thought to you. The bus. The interior of the bus becomes its own kind of mobile home, I guess. I guess the wall brown foam part. There's that push and pull, or it's a matter of who's doing the pushing. Right. In one case, the brown foam. The wall of brown foam is caused as. As the river pushes on the retreating tide. And the other case, it's the tide pushing back against the river as it comes in. But in either case, there's a clash there. 24:58 Erin: Then there are places, though, where there's blurring of boundaries. Like one of my favorite lines in the whole poem, the idea of the churches as ridged as clamshells. She always takes that. This is much remarked upon among scholars of Bishop. Where you get the thing that's. That's really big, suddenly reduced in size to the handheld, but coming out of the same idiom. You know, both the clamshell and this clapboard church are in a way equally native to Nova Scotia. The brilliance of connecting those two things and fishing being an industry in the area, you know, sort of springing out of the fishing industry. 25:42 Wes: Yeah. And shells are what's left as the tide retreats. Right. As it's as if the houses are just the natural residue of a retreating tide. 25:52 Erin: That's great. 25:52 Wes: From the beginning of the poem, there's a sense of momentum, and almost like you, at least in my case, I felt like I'm on a camera moving over the landscape, and it starts with the tide, and then it moves to the burning rivulets. Right. So now we're hovering over. I don't know what you would call it, a. A tidal plane. Anyway, she calls it the flats. Right. So all the silt, and we're moving along there, and then suddenly we're on a gravelly road. So the sun takes over from the sea. The redness of the sun. And then the bus takes over from the sun. But that's the momentum of the poem is from sea to sun to bus. 26:37 Erin: Yeah. The bus flashes pink. We get lots of pairs of the same word, creating a kind of chime with each other. So we get the windshield flashing pink. Pink glancing off of metal. And we wonder, I suppose, because part of the reason why the roads are red is because of the clay content. Right. Of the road itself. So we get that combination of, like, something red in the road or in the composition of the soil and rock of the area. 27:07 Wes: Laterite, I think, which I only know because of Graham Green, who I've been reading. Oh, and what heart of the matter. He's talking about laterite houses, like. So from the red clay, you can make, you know, homes from as well, and common in Sierra Leone. So he used the word like a hundred times before he finally looked it up. All right. There must be something that's going to not know what he's talking about. I'm like, oh, okay, now I get it. Yeah. 27:41 Erin: So that's the mineral, the. 27:44 Wes: It's reddish. Yeah. Reddish clay type of soil, topsoil or something like that. I should know more about this because I used to write about this, too, when I was writing about transportation and engineering. 27:56 Erin: Right. 27:57 Wes: It's important what kind of soil you're building on. But anyway, I remember nothing about that. But, yeah. So it could be the right word. Who knows? But. But, yeah. So you're getting at the. Yeah. The way the redness of the sun is interacting with the. 28:12 Erin: Yes, it's coming. 28:13 Wes: The redness of the soil. 28:14 Erin: Yeah. And that kind of redness coming from below and above to glint off of the bus. The windshield is flashing pink from the sun and the metal is flashing pink from the road. They're both brushing the dented flank of the blue beat up enamel from one direction or the other, it seems. Yeah. Sort of tunnel of red in which the. In which the bus is traveling. 28:41 Wes: Such a vivid image that she gives us. It made me think, you know, sometimes it's almost better than film. It's more vibrant or more. Don't know how to say it, but I was thinking about this because in some of the philosophy podcasts we do, there are philosophers who deny that we have imagery in our head. Exactly. Or we can never. Which seems true. Right. We can't imagine anything with the vividness that we would have if we actually saw it. But it makes me think when I read a poem like this, but also. And also reading some of the novels I've been reading. Well, there's a special kind of vividness to figurative language that perception can't capture. In some ways it's more. More vivid, definitely. 29:26 Erin: I think the sonic quality of the word, the repeated. Right. It's on the one hand a repeated image, but then it also creates that kind of just the soundscape, makes them feel somehow more synesthetic to say, but somehow more picturable or more tangible or more. I don't know, the pink glancing off metal, the dented flank beat up enamel. You know, there's just. It's like. I think that's contributing to it, to the vividness of the image. And yeah, you talked about momentum, too. I mean, this entire. This whole first sentence is six stanzas long. It ends with. And Akali supervises. So there's also that kind of. Yeah. Locomotive propulsion of the camera work, so to speak, Zooming in and then following the road into the bus. And then the bus arrives to sort of catch again, quite cinematically the scene that's actually happening or the place where the eye, if there is an eye in the poem, actually is the lone traveler embracing these relatives with the collie watching on. So there's a sense in which the I eye of the poem doesn't actually catch up with the speaker until stanza six and the end of this first sentence until we get goodbye to the elms, to the farm, to the dogs. So there's kind of lamination at that moment of the I eye and the capital I. 30:49 Wes: We seem to be gradually getting more of a point of view. Right. It's very omniscient in the beginning, hovering over the landscape. And I think gradually we're going to be getting a her point of view in the bus and then a we. But also just to note, this is one. I think this is the first of three pauses. Right. There's gonna. It's gonna pause here, the bus. The momentum is gonna stop as the bus lets on the lone traveler, which I presume is her. Right. Her saying goodbye. And then there'll be a pause when the amicable freckled woman gets on. She's there because we need everything to be in threes. And then we. Then we're gonna pause for the moose in the very end. I didn't miss anything. Right. There's not other places where we stop? 31:32 Erin: No. I mean, there are, of course, stanzas that end some more definitively than others and stopped with a period. There's a stop at Bass River. Right. So there is a little bit of that kind of start. Stop syntactically. But I think you're right that those are the stops where there's content. 31:49 Wes: Content goes. 31:50 Erin: Yes. And where there's a very particular. Yeah, the content of the bus, except for the moose obviously doesn't get on the bus. But there's a stop that's motivated, let's say, rather than just being described as various stops along the way where we don't know who got on and who got off or whatever. Certainly there's also a movement toward that more personal experience of the speaker. But then there are also things that the speaker couldn't possibly know or you know, because once she's said goodbye to everyone and gets on the bus, then we also get the sort of nature show close ups. The crystals of fog, the lupins like apostles, the sweet peasants clinging. One of my favorite parts, clinging to their wet white string on the whitewashed fences. Again, we get two uses of white right next to each other. Bumblebees creeping in the foxgloves. All things you really can't see from certainly from a moving bus. 32:43 Wes: Yeah, the point of view gets focused very, very gradually, maybe through the whole palm. Maybe it's not fully focused until the very end, but. Yeah. So you're pointing out something important which is at the sort of omniscient point of view is still here in these very. What do you call it when you take a close up with your phone? Macro, ironically. Yeah. These very close up pictures of flora and fauna and very Beautiful. 33:12 Erin: Yeah. They compound and then they get more and more loaded and mysterious. And just when we're about to maybe go over the edge, we get recalled back a little bit. That's at least how I'm reading, for instance, stanza 12, about the ship's port lantern and the boot and the bark of the dog. And then suddenly a woman climbs on the bus. And so we're sort of stopped from going off into some sort of train of thought that you could follow there down a rabbit hole. But I love that stanza on red light swimming through the dark. It reminds me of the last stanza of disillusionment, of 10 o'. Clock. Do you know the old sailor, drunk and asleep in his boots, catches tigers in red weather? I think that's how it goes, the Stevens bomb, because we get the boots and the red light in the ship, so they're probably. No. No real connection there. 34:07 Wes: So all of these little intricate descriptions that she's giving, right. It begins with the light growing richer, which I take it mean, means we're approaching dusk and evening, or we're in dusk and it's evening is approaching and a kind of mini winter, Right. Something. It's a diurnal cycle, but there's a bit of a parallel to something seasonal. Right. So we get crystals forming and the images like sweet peas clinging and the bumblebees inside foxgloves. As evening commences, it's almost like. I don't know if this is true, but it's almost as if we're getting the response of the animals and flora and fauna to the commencement of evening. That's our first indication of it. So I was surprised to see, okay, it's still light out enough for us to see a woman shaking a tablecloth out after supper. And that is beautifully described as a pale flickering. Right. Almost as if that's something like the light reflecting off the enamel bus, or not pink anymore, but just a flickering of pale light and then gone, I suppose. Does that mean that we're now without light? Is that sort of the way nighttime is ushered in by the end of the next stanza? And it's in the next stanza that we see a red light in the dark. Now we have a ship in the dark. So it's almost as if. Yeah, the shaking of the tablecloth is like a magician. Abracadabra. Now it's nighttime, Right? 35:39 Erin: Yeah. I love that. Yeah. You're making me realize how many connections there are to Keats in this poem. Right. There's something Keatsian about it, very. To Autumn, you get the sweet peas clinging on the fence. You get that image of fecundity things on top of other things. You know, the mossed cottage trees and the late flowers for the bees. And then the shaking out of the tablecloth is like the hair lifted by the winnowing wind. Right. Because there's. There's wind, there are flowers and bees. And then there's also, of course, redness and that image of, you know, like the evening. Autumn. Evening redness. And maybe this is. Yeah. Rows of sugar maples. Those could be red as well. If we're in an autumnal landscape, can't be too late because everything is, you know, it's got to be like August, maybe because we have this. Or. No, I guess maybe not. Gray glazed cabbages. I don't know enough about cabbages to know at what point in their development. 36:40 Wes: Yeah. Whatever season it is. I just think that the evening is almost like a mini winter. It gets colder and we see the. 36:46 Erin: Definitely. 36:47 Wes: We see the effects of it. But, yeah, maybe autumn is probably the logical season for. 36:53 Erin: Right. Yeah. And that point. Or that point in the transition from summer to autumn where, I mean, even on a summer night in Nova Scotia, the evening temperature is quite autumnal regardless. And so when the woman climbs on with the market bags, we get. 37:09 Wes: Shall we take a. Shall we? 37:12 Erin: Oh, yes. 37:13 Wes: Let's let the freckled amicable woman on in part two. 37:17 Erin: She'll have to wait. 37:18 Wes: Let's not let her on the bus yet. 37:20 Erin: You have to wait for everyone else to get off before you can get on. It's one of the cardinal rules of public transportation. Okay, we will continue in part two. Thank you. 37:29 Wes: Thank you.

It’s ISIS Brides all over again: today, Paul Garvey joins us with the tale of a 50-year old child sex offender from Sierra Leone who says his bridging visa is making him so stressed he is a further risk to the community. Read more about this story at theaustralian.com.au and see the video by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Taxpayers foot nine-month hotel bill for high-risk immigration detainee Abuse survivor deemed ‘credible’ by judge now faces deportation to Nauru Government blunder reveals secret Nauru deal details lawyers ‘will not forget’ This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Tiffany Dimmack. Our team includes Lia Tsamoglou, Joshua Burton and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Fitzpatrick is one of the most decorated All Blacks of all time. A World Cup winner, one of the game's great captains, and the man who led the last New Zealand side to tour South Africa and win a series there.With the All Blacks back in South Africa for the first full tour in 30 years, there's no better time to hear it from the man who did it.We sat down with Fitzy for a wide-ranging yarn: the Sacred Heart teacher who gave him three messages he still lives by, the lineout throw he trained nine months to fix, the captaincy he never wanted - and the advice that made him a leader, "be comfortable in your own skin." Plus Jonah Lomu the shy giant, the 1996 series win in South Africa, and 20 years living in London.Then he opens up on the part of his life most New Zealanders have never seen: chairing the Laureus Sport for Good academy, and travelling the world watching sport pull kids out of impossible situations - from India to Sierra Leone to a midnight basketball court in London. A different side of one of our most familiar sporting figures.Between Two Beers is proudly brought to you by One New Zealand. We believe that One NZ connects New Zealand, while Between Two Beers connects New Zealanders. And together, we are NZ's most trusted connection platform.Steve and Seamus are proud to be dressed by Barkers Clothing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do I make my sea anemones fight each other? Do I have a personality? Will I be reincarnated as an alien? How should I support my author friend? How do I fight imposter syndrome? How can I help Sierra Leone? Which Premier League team should I support? Can I still enjoy reading with a newborn baby? …Hank and John Green have answers!This episode was recorded July 22nd!If you're in need of dubious advice, email us at hankandjohn@gmail.comJoin us for monthly livestreams at patreon.com/dearhankandjohnProduced for Hank and John Green by ComplexlySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1989, Jean Napier-Hattingh hung mid-water off a reef 20km out from the Mozambique coast with a 1 metre speargun and shot a dogtooth tuna the same size as she was. It dragged her until her mask and snorkel came off. They had to cut it into four pieces to weigh it on a 20kg scale. It was 52 kilos — a men's world record she had no idea she'd broken, and a women's international bluewater record that still stands today. Jean spent a year in hospital as a seven-year-old being told she might not walk again, decided she'd live the most adventurous life on Earth, and has spent forty years backing that up: a 138kg marlin landed solo on a 1.2m gun with a rusty spear, a 26kg barracuda world record in Sierra Leone she also didn't know about, and a wrist full of silver bangles that accidentally invented the flasher. She talks about being laughed off boats in a sport that had no place for women, why patience beats strength on big fish, and how she hunts each game fish species differently. For anyone who thinks you need a big gun and big lungs to shoot big fish, and for every woman wondering whether there's room for her out there. KEY TOPICS COVERED: The 52kg dogtooth tuna world record shot on a 1 metre gun Landing a 138kg marlin solo with 90 metres of borrowed float line Being the only woman in South African spearfishing in the late 1980s How silver bangles worn outside her wetsuit worked as the first flashers Why weak arms made her a better hunter — patience, close shots, slow retrieves Species-specific game fish tactics for Spanish mackerel, kingfish and wahoo Two close great white encounters and why Shark Shields only come out in Australia Writing Against the Tide during lockdown and the records she never claimed Conservation in South Africa and Mozambique — abalone syndicates, poaching and trawlers Still diving at nearly 70, and what it takes to keep going CONNECT WITH JEAN: Instagram: @spearfisherlady Book: Against the Tide — on Amazon in paperback and e-book, plus all major online bookstores Full show notes: noobspearo.com/jean NOOB SPEARO: Spearfishing Courses and Retreats: spearfishingcourses.com.au Instagram: @noobspearo Website: noobspearo.com Newsletter: noob-spearo.kit.com/floater PARTNER DEALS: Adreno Spearfishing: spearfishing.com.au — use code NOOBSPEARO to save $20 on orders over $200 Neptonics: neptonics.com — use code NOOB10 to save 10% storewide Old Man Blue: oldmanblue.com.au — use code NOOBSPEARO for a free vinyl filleting apron on orders over $300 Aqualyte Hydration: aqualyte.com.au — use code NOOBSPEARO to save 10% Dog & Gun Coffee: dogandguncoffee.com — use code NOOB10 to save 10% HohnkeOutdoors: hohnkeoutdoors.com — use code NOOBSPEARO to save 20%

Send us Fan MailDorit Kemsley vs. PK Kemsley, Erika Jayne's legal maze, and inside the Jeffrey Epstein-tied Portland Place party mansion — this Real Housewives of Beverly Hills tea show has it ALL, so let's get into it: I'm breaking down the Dorit Kemsley foreclosure battle piece by piece, including the August 11 auction date, PK Kemsley's $500,000 offer and the ONE condition Dorit refuses to sign, the suspended Adlon Road LLC problem nobody's reporting, why staying in that Encino house may be Dorit's smartest chess move yet, and the California custody twist that could blow up in PK's face in front of a judge. Then I set the record straight on Erika Jayne Girardi: We revisit the mystery buyer Ronald Richards keeps hinting about who made a $25 MILLION judgment quietly became $2 million, the Christopher Psaila case that flipped upside down after nine federal counts vanished, why Jay Edelson's "lethal" racketeering case is frozen but allegedly going to be reactivated soon, the Keith Griffin detail buried in Ronald's filing, and my bifurcation theory on why Erika Jayne is STILL legally married to Tom Girardi after six years. Then Reality Diamond Freddie joins me with something wild: he has actually BEEN inside 32 Portland Place, the London mansion tied to the Jeffrey Epstein revelations — he describes exactly how you get in, what it costs, what happens on each floor, what allegedly goes on upstairs, "Fast Eddie" Edward Davenport's shocking Sierra Leone embassy scheme, the billionaire West Ham owner David Sullivan who bought the sister property, the Epstein art email from a late Bravo star, and a kidney transplant mystery with two theories that will make your skin crawl. Plus Lisa Vanderpump's nephew Sam Vanderpump's health battle and Made in Chelsea storyline, my honest theory on Perez Hilton's public breakdown — the sepsis connection nobody in the media is discussing — and whether that same hidden aftermath explains Vicki Gunvalson on Real Housewives of Orange County Season 20. And this is only PART ONE — the full show on my Patreon has exclusive Real Housewives of Salt Lake City leak tea including the fan account that mysteriously vanished, Meredith Marks firing rumors decoded, Real Housewives of London Season 2 drama with Amanda Cronin and Panthea Parker, and the Stephanie Shojaee Cannes robbery deep dive where Freddie and I piece together the Caroline Stanbury connection in real time — it shocked us both. Get dirty with me!

Testimony of God's Goodness / Fervent Prayer - Brother Stephen Mustard A missionary shares his personal testimony of salvation and five years of service in Africa, detailing the transition from Sierra Leone to Zimbabwe due to health challenges. He emphasizes that while financial support is vital, prayer remains the most critical yet underutilized resource for advancing the gospel. Using the example of Epaphras, he urges believers to become fervent laborers who intercede for missionaries and pastors so they can effectively fulfill their calling. The message highlights that prayer provides essential spiritual foundation and comfort, illustrated by a story of local nurses supporting a grieving mother. Ultimately, the sermon calls the church to recognize prayer as a powerful, accessible way to contribute fruitfully to God's work in the world.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed at least 14 people - including six policemen - in the Swat Valley, north of the capital Islamabad. Also: President Trump says new negotiations will begin on Monday with Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Two helicopters collided in Greece while trying to douse the wildfires raging across the mainland and some of the islands. One crew made an emergency landing and survived, but the other crew were killed. We have a special report from Sierra Leone about one of Europe's most wanted drug dealers. Security officials in Russia say an explosion that killed three people at a restaurant in Moscow was an act of terrorism. Seventy-two people drowned when tens of thousands of migrants surged into the Spanish territory of Ceuta from Morocco last Thursday. The American pop star and actress, Ariana Grande is withdrawing from public appearances and won't appear in an upcoming musical production in London. Scientists say they've found evidence that Ice Age people were more likely to kill female woolly mammoths than male ones. And New Zealander Sophie Woods sets a new record for the Via Alpina, which is one of the world's toughest athletic challenges.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: Rescue workers evacuate an injured victim following the suicide bombing in Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

Garveyite Brother Senghor Baye will report from Washington, D.C, while Chief Foday joins us live from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Together, they will lead a dynamic discussion—Black August & Garveyism: Honoring the Soledad Brothers & Marcus Garvey—shedding light on the legacies that continue to empower our community. After this powerful opening, Black political expert James Taylor will take the mic. Dr. Taylor will break down the National Urban League's State of Black America report and what the upcoming midterm elections mean for our future. This is your chance to gain invaluable insight and be part of a movement dedicated to progressSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second of two episodes, Ed Butler tracks the whereabouts and connections of one of Europe's most wanted drug criminals. Despite denials from the President's family, law enforcement agencies say Jos Leijdekkers is enjoying privileged status in Sierra Leone. The country's Justice Minister responds.

Ed Butler investigates how one of Europe's most wanted drug smugglers, Jos Leijdekkers, ended up in Sierra Leone while evading justice. He also explores reports linking Leijdekkers to the family of Sierra Leone's president, including claims that he has married the president's daughter.for more programmes like this search Business Daily wherever you get your BBC PodcastsPresenter/producer: Ed Butler

For the final two parts of CONTRA VIII, Dimitri and Khalid shift their focus to the origins of the Russian Mafiya in the 1980s and 1990s, as depicted in Robert I. Friedman's 2000 book “Red Mafiya: How The Russian Mob Has Invaded America”. Topics include: Friedman getting threatened by the “brainy don” Semion Mogilevich after his Village Voice exposé, Vyacheslav Ivankov, Monya Elson, the cattle prod wielding gangster Evsei Agron, and the long strange career of deeply sus Rabbi Ronald Greenwald… Jacob Bogatin (and his “Crime Nerd” brother David), ex-IDF cocaine dealer to the stars Boris Goldberg and his gf Tonya Biggs (Bob Guccione's daughter), Russian crimelord Marat Balagula and the Long Island gasoline bootlegging boom of the 1980s, Russian mob cutouts buying Getty Oil, NY Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo getting bootleg oil cash for their campaigns, ultra-sus double (triple?) agent Shabtai Kalmanovich and the Sierra Leone blood diamond trade, Efim Laskin smuggling weapons to the Red Brigades in Italy (GLADIO ALERT), and more. Original air date: 11/11/2024 For access to weekly premium SJ episodes, upcoming installments of DEMON FORCES, and the Grotto of Truth Discord, subscribe at https://patreon.com/subliminaljihad.

In the first of two episodes, Ed Butler investigates how one of Europe's most wanted drug smugglers, Jos Leijdekkers, ended up in Sierra Leone while evading justice. He also explores reports linking Leijdekkers to the family of Sierra Leone's president, including claims that he has married the president's daughter.Presenter/producer: Ed Butler You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

“We all need to be speaking up about it. Not just the survivors. And we put so much burden on the people who've actually suffered the most, the most vulnerable among us.”Naga Munchetty speaks to Amy Wallace, co-author of Virginia Giuffre's memoir Nobody's Girl. Giuffre accused the then Prince Andrew, and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, of sexual abuse. The former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, told Newsnight in 2019 that he did not remember meeting Giuffre, and he has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Virginia Giuffre's father has also denied all allegations of abuse.The memoir, published six months after Giuffre took her own life, describes her encounters with Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Amy Wallace says she expected to be a ghostwriter in the shadows, but after Giuffre's death, she decided to step forward and speak up for her.If this programme has affected you there are people who can give you support. If you're in the UK search for the BBC's Actionline or befrienders.org Thank you to the team at BBC Radio 5 Live with Naga Munchetty for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with writer Maggie O'Farrell, Sierra Leone's first lady Fatima Bio and head of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Naga Munchetty Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose(Image: Amy Wallace. Credit: Patricia Shields)

Artisanal mining accounts for around 20% of global gold production and generates an estimated $30 billion a year for some of the world's poorest communities. But the trade is also linked to criminal networks and environmental damage. Ed Butler explores the forces behind the global gold rush and who is bearing the cost. Presenter/producer: Ed Butler You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk(Picture: Gold miner Kelly Mbayo in Sierra Leone. Credit: Ed Butler/BBC News)

Sierra Leone's government has dropped its charges, including treason, against ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma, who was arrested in connection with an attempted coup nearly three years ago. The charges had been dropped on health grounds, Information Minister Chernor Bah told the BBC. The 72-year-old former president has always denied involvement in the November 2023 attempted coup when gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons, freeing almost 2,000 inmates. We hear what this move means for the country's politics. And how female sports commentators are excelling in a male dominated field while using local languages to bring the World Cup closer to African audiences. Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Blessing Aderogba Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga Technical Producer: David Nzau Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) Join Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA Operations Officer, as he dives into today's top stories shaping America and the world. In this daily briefing of The Wright Report, Bryan opens with a growing political and medical mystery around Senator Mitch McConnell, followed by a disturbing update on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner facing a new rape allegation that is finally splitting his Democrat support. From there, Bryan covers a quiet but aggressive surge in deportations under the Trump Administration, new pardons for diesel mechanics caught up in Clean Air Act prosecutions, and an immigration fraud case involving a California teacher who married for political reasons. He also breaks down the FBI's deep dive into Fulton County election records, Toyota's decision to bring truck production back to Texas, and the backlash over Hollywood's casting choices in its new Odyssey remake. Plus, China flexes a new submarine-launched missile test in the Pacific, African fishermen cry out against Chinese trawlers destroying their livelihoods, a possible new US and Israeli drone base takes shape in Somaliland, and fresh research links blood sugar levels to brain aging and disease. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32   Keywords: Mitch McConnell health, Graham Platner rape allegation, Maine Senate race, Susan Collins, Trump deportations, ICE, DHS Markwayne Mullin, diesel mechanic pardons, Clean Air Act, Laura Pinho immigration fraud, Fulton County Georgia FBI investigation, 2020 election, Toyota Tacoma Texas, reindustrialization, tariffs, The Odyssey movie backlash, Hollywood DEI, Xi Jinping missile test, Pacific nuclear triad, Australia Pacific security, China fishing fleet Africa, Sierra Leone fishermen, Somaliland drone base, US Israel military base, Red Sea Houthis, Ilhan Omar, blood sugar brain aging, keto diet brain health