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Part two of Ashe's conversation with Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Steven L. Kwast picks up where Space Revolution Ep. 22 left off, and this time they go further out. Literally. From China's 30-year plan to dominate the space economy to SpaceX's Earth-to-Earth rocket that can get you from LA to Singapore in under 20 minutes, this episode is equal parts geopolitical reality check and genuine wonder. Kwast explains why China is building battleships while America builds better buoys, what a livable space habitat actually looks like, and why Elon Musk's "future of human consciousness" comment still bothers Ashe. The answer, as always, is not a technology problem. It is a moral one.
Fluent Fiction - Dutch: Delayed Connections: How a Chance Meeting Sparked New Beginnings Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/nl/episode/2026-06-16-07-38-19-nl Story Transcript:Nl: De ochtendzon scheen helder door de glazen koepel van Schiphol.En: The morning sun shone brightly through the glass dome of Schiphol.Nl: Het geluid van rollende rolkoffers en aankondigingen vulden de terminals.En: The sound of rolling suitcases and announcements filled the terminals.Nl: Sven stond bij gate 17.En: Sven stood at gate 17.Nl: Zijn dag bestond uit routinechecks.En: His day consisted of routine checks.Nl: Hij hield van zijn werk, maar iets in hem wilde meer.En: He loved his job, but something in him wanted more.Nl: Voor hem leek elke dag op de vorige.En: To him, every day seemed like the one before.Nl: Hij droomde van verandering, een nieuw avontuur.En: He dreamed of change, a new adventure.Nl: Marijke stapte net van een vlucht uit Singapore.En: Marijke had just stepped off a flight from Singapore.Nl: Ze was moe, maar tevreden.En: She was tired but satisfied.Nl: Vliegen was haar passie, maar de constante beweging begon zwaar te wegen.En: Flying was her passion, but the constant movement was beginning to weigh heavily.Nl: Ze verlangde naar rust, naar een plek die ze thuis kon noemen.En: She longed for peace, for a place she could call home.Nl: Haar gedachten dwaalden steeds vaker af naar een leven minder vol reizen.En: Her thoughts increasingly wandered to a life less filled with travel.Nl: Een onverwachte vertraging bracht de twee samen.En: An unexpected delay brought the two together.Nl: Marijke staarde naar de monitor bij de gate.En: Marijke stared at the monitor by the gate.Nl: Ze zuchtte.En: She sighed.Nl: "Niet weer een vertraging," mompelde ze.En: "Not another delay," she mumbled.Nl: Sven hoorde haar en glimlachte.En: Sven heard her and smiled.Nl: "Dat gebeurt hier vaker dan je denkt," zei hij bemoedigend.En: "That happens here more often than you'd think," he said encouragingly.Nl: Ze raakten in gesprek.En: They struck up a conversation.Nl: Sven vertelde over zijn plannen om misschien verder te kijken.En: Sven talked about his plans to maybe look further afield.Nl: Misschien kon hij het drukke leven op Schiphol inruilen voor een nieuw avontuur in een andere stad.En: Perhaps he could trade the busy life at Schiphol for a new adventure in another city.Nl: "Maar het is moeilijk om zekerheid los te laten," bekende hij.En: "But it's hard to let go of certainty," he admitted.Nl: Marijke knikte begrijpend.En: Marijke nodded understandingly.Nl: "Ik twijfel ook," gaf ze toe.En: "I have my doubts too," she confessed.Nl: "De wereld rondreizen is geweldig, maar soms wil ik gewoon even stilstaan."En: "Traveling the world is wonderful, but sometimes I just want to stand still for a moment."Nl: Terwijl de tijd verstreek, ontdekten ze dat ze meer gemeen hadden dan ze dachten.En: As time passed, they discovered they had more in common than they thought.Nl: Ze deelden verhalen, dromen en angsten.En: They shared stories, dreams, and fears.Nl: De vertraging gaf hen tijd om na te denken, te reflecteren.En: The delay gave them time to think, to reflect.Nl: Het was een onverwachte kans om hun keuzes te overwegen.En: It was an unexpected chance to consider their choices.Nl: Toen de vlucht eindelijk klaar was om te vertrekken, hadden beiden een besluit genomen.En: When the flight was finally ready to depart, both had made a decision.Nl: Sven besloot zijn moed te verzamelen en voor die nieuwe baan te gaan in een andere stad.En: Sven decided to gather his courage and go for that new job in another city.Nl: Marijke daarentegen besloot een pauze te nemen, een sabbatical te overwegen en misschien een nieuw project in Amsterdam te starten.En: Marijke, on the other hand, decided to take a break, to consider a sabbatical, and perhaps start a new project in Amsterdam.Nl: Bij het afscheid glimlachten ze naar elkaar.En: As they said goodbye, they smiled at each other.Nl: "Wie weet, misschien kruisen onze wegen weer," zei Sven.En: "Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again," said Sven.Nl: Marijke knikte.En: Marijke nodded.Nl: "De wereld is kleiner dan je denkt," antwoordde ze.En: "The world is smaller than you think," she replied.Nl: Sven liep weg met een nieuw gevoel van avontuur.En: Sven walked away with a new sense of adventure.Nl: Marijke stapte richting de luchthavenuitgang met een vreedzaam hart.En: Marijke headed towards the airport exit with a peaceful heart.Nl: Beiden wisten dat verandering niet het einde betekende, maar een nieuw begin.En: Both knew that change didn't mean the end, but a new beginning.Nl: Het was tijd voor een nieuw hoofdstuk.En: It was time for a new chapter. Vocabulary Words:dome: koepelannouncements: aankondigingenroutine: routineconsisted: bestondadventure: avontuursatisfied: tevredenconstant: constantemovement: bewegingweigh heavily: zwaar te wegenlonged: verlangdewandered: dwaaldenunexpected: onverwachtedelay: vertragingencouragingly: bemoedigendcertainity: zekerheidunderstandingly: begrijpendstand still: stilstaanreflect: reflecterenconsider: overwegencourage: moedsabbatical: sabbaticalpaths: wegensense: gevoelpeaceful: vreedzaamchapter: hoofdstukadmitted: bekendecross: kruisentrader: inruilendoubts: twijfelchance: kans
Lili Hellriegel is head of enterprise solutions at Cherry Servers, a Lithuania-based bare metal cloud provider that pitches itself as a sovereign, Web3-friendly alternative to the US hyperscalers. Before joining Cherry, Lili was head of infrastructure at staking firm Blockdaemon, where she built out data center partnerships, network architecture and the server specs behind validation workloads — work that left her unusually fluent in what crypto teams actually need from their infrastructure. Why you should listen The pitch for European infrastructure has rarely been louder, and Lili makes the case with the confidence of someone who has lived on both sides of it. Every major hyperscaler — AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, even Oracle — is a US company, and for a growing cohort of Web3 teams that is no longer a neutral fact. Cherry Servers sits under European jurisdiction, runs its own facility in Lithuania, and operates data centers across Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Chicago, Singapore and a newly opened site in Tokyo. Some of Cherry's customers come for hard compliance reasons; others, Lili says, come for ideological ones, wanting the chains they help secure to live beyond the reach of any single government. The conversation lands at a moment when data sovereignty and distrust of concentrated American cloud power have moved from fringe concern to boardroom agenda. The sharper argument is about economics, and here Lili thinks the industry is approaching an inflection point. She describes a shift from "cloud-first" to "workload-first" thinking: instead of defaulting to a hyperscaler and accepting whatever T-shirt-sized instance you're sold, teams running archival nodes, validators or other niche workloads are discovering they pay more and perform worse than they would on dedicated hardware tuned to the job. Cherry's answer is granular customization — choose your disks, your storage, your RAM, and pay only for what the workload demands — backed by account managers who architect the build rather than just sell a box, with human support that answers in well under a minute. For staking-heavy customers, the model is almost self-funding: a large share pay in crypto, drawing on staking rewards to cover their infrastructure across some thirty different chains. Her forecast for the next eighteen to twenty-four months is the part worth sitting with. Lili argues the era of free cloud credits is ending — she doubts AWS will keep handing startups six-figure credit grants for signing up to an accelerator — and that founders, newly disciplined about runway, will increasingly treat optimized bare metal as a way to extend it. In the closing hot-take round she plants her flag as a multi-chain "Solana maxi," names Bitcoin as the enduring store of value while backing the smaller chains' upside, and offers a builder's creed: the market ultimately rewards people who make useful things on-chain, not those treating tokens purely as speculation — which, she adds, is also why she thinks people should run nodes with smaller providers. The desert-island sci-fi pick, naturally, is Star Wars. https://www.cherryservers.com/
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: in 1950 the Treasury commissioned 2,080-pound Liberty Bell replicas for each state as part of a savings bond drive—cast in France with matching markings and a fake crack—touring on flatbed Ford trucks before being given to states; bell hunter Tom has tracked down 40 via tomlovesthelibertybells.com, while the Washington, DC bell has been missing since the early '80s. Scientists developed a hemp-based plastic alternative that can stretch up to 1,600% and withstand boiling water. Albany, NY is trying to protect its 28-foot, four-ton RCA “Nipper” dog statue atop a long-unused warehouse by adding it to historic landmarks. In Singapore, a teen was charged after licking and returning a vending-machine straw, prompting upgrades to individually packaged straws. In Saskatchewan, tow truck driver Clint rescued a moose frozen in lake ice and it recovered overnight.5 Good News Stories is a daily podcast with five positive, uplifting news stories to brighten your day. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media networkJohn also hosts Daily Comedy NewsUnlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! For Apple users, hit the banner which says Uninterrupted Listening on your Apple podcasts app. Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories' with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com
An Amazon seller from Singapore reveals how data-backed product research, AI workflows, Cerebro keywords, and a wild 50 auto campaign PPC strategy helped scale Amazon products to seven figures. ► Watch The Podcasts On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Helium10SeriousSellersPodcast?sub_confirmation=1 ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft What does it take to walk away from a stable career, bet on Amazon FBA, and build a multiple seven-figure business in the Amazon US marketplace from Singapore? In this episode, Bradley Sutton sits down with Clarence Cheang of TheFBABros to unpack the mindset, strategy, and data-driven systems that have driven his Amazon journey. Clarence shares how he went from a civil engineer working on Singapore's infrastructure projects to a full-time entrepreneur after setting a clear goal: to make his side hustle outperform his day job income for 6 straight months. Clarence breaks down the product research process that helped him discover one of his breakthrough products: a Japanese egg pan that went on to generate over $1 million in lifetime sales. Instead of blindly chasing trends, he uses a highly analytical process built around 23 data points, competitor keyword weaknesses, and Helium 10 Cerebro research. His approach focuses on finding products where competitors may be making strong revenue but are weak in PPC, keyword ranking, or listing optimization. The conversation also dives into how AI is changing the way sellers research, launch, and scale. Clarence explains how AI can reduce product validation from one or two hours down to just minutes, while still requiring human judgment to verify opportunities. He also shares ideas around AI agents, Helium 10 data, bundling opportunities, and using massive short-form video output to drive external traffic from TikTok to Amazon. One of the biggest “wait, what?” moments comes when Clarence reveals his 50 auto campaign launch strategy. Instead of relying on one auto campaign, he separates match types, identifies what works, and duplicates winning campaigns across different bid levels to let Amazon find converting placements at scale. His message is clear: Amazon is still full of opportunity for sellers who are willing to use data, move fast, test aggressively, and serve customers better than the competition. For any seller wondering if it is too late to start or scale, Clarence's story is a reminder that your next breakthrough may not come from luck — it may come from discipline, research, and the courage to take action before you feel fully ready. In episode 752 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Clarence discuss: 00:00 - Introduction 05:15 - Government Engineer To Amazon FBA 08:39 - Turning A Side Hustle Full-Time 10:21 - The Breakthrough Egg Pan 11:30 - Shopping Method For Product Research 14:09 - Finding Weak Competitor Keywords 15:58 - Why Amazon Is Easier Today 17:48 - Using AI For Product Research 21:12 - TikTok, AI, And External Traffic 23:46 - Why Cerebro Is Essential 33:01 - Day One PPC Launch Strategy 34:15 - The 50 Auto Campaign Strategy
DAYS like NIGHTS: Web: https://www.dayslikenights.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dayslikenights Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dayslikenights Subscribe to the podcast RSS: feed: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:1525250/sounds.rss . 01. Jonas Saalbach - No Small Talk (Fiction Remix) [HMWL] 02. Didier Sinclair, Baron (FR) - Lovely Flight [Kitsune] 03. Deer Jade - Acid Groove Theory [I Am You] 04. Brigade Crew, Clér Letiv - On Your Mind [Belonging] 05. Eelke Kleijn - Space Disco [Toolroom] 06. AFFKT, Musumeci - Rewind (Musumeci Remix) [Sincopat] 07. Helsloot - Fledermaus [GU] 08. Budakid - Dream Atlas [Flores] 09. ID 10. Eelke Kleijn - Beg You feat. Leo Wood (DC Club Mix) [DAYS like NIGHTS] 11. Acrobat - We Danced [SoundFocus] 12. Fejká - Azur (Einmusik Remix) [Coexist] 13. Estiva - TCL [Colorize] This show is syndicated & distributed exclusively by Syndicast. If you are a radio station interested in airing the show or would like to distribute your podcast / radio show please register here: https://syndicast.co.uk/distribution/registration
Happy Mindful Monday! In this week's episode, our host Allie Brooke sits down with Andrea McKenna Brankin. Andrea is a veteran journalist with over 30 years of global media experience, an author, and a dedicated mental health advocate. Based in Singapore, she is the author of Bipolar Phoenix, a powerful book detailing her personal journey with mental health and ultimate recovery. Andrea is also a certified yoga teacher, fitness coach, and rugby coach who volunteers extensively to empower women and teen girls. She joins the show today to discuss resilience, rewriting your narrative, and rising from the ashes. In this episode they discuss; From, Fact-Reporting to Radical Vulnerability: The profound psychological shift required to transition from the strict objectivity of a 30-year journalism career to sharing deeply subjective, personal truths in a memoir. The Anatomy of the Phoenix Rise: The core message of hope, transformation, and finding the beauty in rebirth after navigating a severe mental health diagnosis. Moving Beyond Conventional Treatment: Recognizing the limitations of mainstream therapy alone, and exploring the unique or unconventional modalities that truly unlock lasting recovery. The Catalyst for Hope: Actionable, grounding advice for anyone stuck in the early, overwhelming stages of a mental health battle to help them ignite their own healing journey. Embodied Recovery: The powerful role that movement, yoga, and physical fitness play in regulating the nervous system and deepening cognitive mental health healing. Redefining Self-Care for the Constant Giver: Reimagining self-preservation and boundary-setting for the high-achieving woman who is busy showing up for her career, family, and community at the expense of her own cup. How to Connect w| Andrea Website The Growth METHOD. FREE Membership◦ Join Here! 1:1 GROWTH MINDSET COACHING PROGRAMS!◦ Application Form What are the coaching sessions like?• Tailored weekly discussion questions and activities to spark introspection and self-discovery.• Guided reflections to help you delve deeper into your thoughts and feelings.• Thoughtfully facilitated sessions to provide maximum support, accountability, and growth.• Please apply for a FREE discovery call with me!• Allie's Socials• Instagram:@thegrowthmindsetgal• TikTok: @growthmindsetgal• Email: thegrowthmindsetgal@gmail.comLinks from the episode• Growth Mindset Gang Instagram Broadcast Channel• Growth Mindset Gang Newsletter • Growth Mindset Gal Website• Better Help Link: Save 10%SubstackDonate to GLOWIGloci 10% off Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode of Manufacturing Unscripted, host Peter Parsons sits down with Juha Pitkänen, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Solar Foods, to talk about a protein literally made out of thin air. Juha explains how Solar Foods uses CO2, hydrogen, and renewable electricity to grow a microorganism that becomes Solein, a yellow protein powder already approved in Singapore and the US. A fascinating look at food production without agriculture, the regulatory road ahead, and where this technology could go next. Sponsored by Promess Inc., the leading provider of fully electric servo presses for manufacturing. Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/1SnyF_Bev_Y @ Juha-Pekka Pitkänen @Solar Foods @peter parsons @promess
Known to millions as Mrs. Moneypenny from her 16 year Financial Times column, Heather has been an investment banker, executive search entrepreneur, Edinburgh Fringe performer, off Broadway actress, PhD holder, chartered accountant and now Provost of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, overseeing 5,500 students and 600 staff. She qualified as a chartered accountant three weeks before her 60th birthday. She borrowed £1.8 million personally to buy a business, then gifted it to her staff. She co-founded the 30% Club when women held just 12% of FTSE board seats. It is now 45%. This conversation covers all of it. Why she rejects guilt and regret as wasted emotions. What structural barriers actually stop women from getting ahead and how to dismantle them. Why Dubai's greatest advantage is not the skyline but the connectivity and free movement of capital and labour that Europe has quietly forgotten. And what she really thinks about the value of a university degree. Heather also shares the story behind the Taylor Bennett Foundation, built to help Black and minority ethnic graduates break into professional services, funded from her own dividends, and the moment she knew it was working. Timestamps: 0:00 Four failed engagements, a baby to feel anchored, and the unvarnished truth about having children 5:30 The queen of reinvention: why preparation meets opportunity and how Heather built her career in layers 7:11 Her one regret: not qualifying as an accountant sooner and why she finally did it at 59 11:19 Dubai versus Singapore versus Hong Kong: what makes this city different from every other global hub 15:46 Living through the missile attacks, what inflation and food security really look like from the inside, and who has barely noticed 21:18 Structural barriers, the 30% Club, and why three women in a room of ten changes everything 27:01 Borrowing £1.8 million, building Taylor Bennett, and then giving it all away 33:49 Mrs. Moneypenny: 16 years, 800 columns, and the barometer story that almost ended her career 39:25 The Taylor Bennett Foundation and why she measures success by impact not money 43:44 Selling out Edinburgh Fringe and performing off Broadway: the chapter nobody expected 52:22 Heriot-Watt Dubai: why they only teach subjects that lead to jobs and what universities are actually for 59:06 Entrepreneurship, incubators and why she finds young people today far more ambitious than her generation 1:01:24 Why she hates the word networking and what building social capital actually means 1:04:09 Quickfire: the best way into investment banking, what every future leader needs, and what Dubai understands that Europe has forgotten Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/
Are Singaporeans too rigid to be funny? How to take ourselves less seriously to overcome stress. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a head start in your personal finance, career and life with The Straits Times. In this episode, theatrical clown and actor Shanice Stanislaus shares with host See Kai Wen about how thinking and acting like a clown can help navigate high-pressure environments. The “Clown Mentality” includes having the audacity to dream and try, never afraid of failing and finding ways to add whimsy into your life. We all have a little clown in our pockets. Shanice also speaks about her journey as one of the only few professional clowns in Singapore, her award-winning clown shows, and how she helps Singaporeans find their “funny” in her workshops. Highlights (click/tap above): 0:00 What is clowning? 02:58 Are Singaporeans too uptight to be funny? 07:11 Why we need to learn how to fail 10:51 Comedy is truth and pain wrapped nicely 15:33 Using humour to break the ice in work situations 21:55 How to find your inner clown and humour 25:47 Adopting a “Clown Mentality” 27:51 Shanice’s experience performing as a clown overseas Follow See Kai Wen on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/qfwqQ Host: See Kai Wen (seekw@sph.com.sg) Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producers: Elizabeth Law and Joanna Seow Follow Headstart On Record Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3 Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9 Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Get business/career tips in ST's Headstart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- Do note: All analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast are for your general information only. You should not rely on them in making any decision. Please consult a fully qualified financial adviser or professional expert for independent advice and verification. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SPH Media shall not be liable for any loss arising from the use of or reliance on any analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast. SPH Media accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever that may result or arise from the products, services or information of any third parties. --- #headstartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hosted by Michelle Martin, this episode brings together Willie Keng of Dividend Titan (https://www.dividendtitan.com) and Paul Chew of Phillip Securities for a high-stakes debate on some of the market's biggest investment questions. Has Singtel transformed itself from a steady telco into a compelling AI and digital infrastructure play, or has the market already priced in the good news? Is DBS still Singapore's crown jewel, or are investors paying too much for quality after a decade of stellar returns? The bulls and bears clash over whether Singapore REITs are finally back, whether the STI's best years still lie ahead, and whether investors should stick with the Magnificent Seven or start looking elsewhere.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode looks at why playfulness may be an overlooked ingredient in workplace wellness, and what the office of the future could look like. Meet the Singaporean whose official Snoopy furniture is popping up at Changi Airport, libraries in Singapore, Gavin Woo, Founder of Office Planner. He shares how workplace expectations have shifted from efficiency and cost control to connection and purpose.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Market news for June 15, 2026: A preliminary agreement to end the war between US and Iran reduced geopolitical fears, resulting in an easing of oil prices and a rally in Asian markets. Major central banks, including the US and Japan are set to announce their policy decisions this week. Synopsis: Market Focus Daily is a closing bell roundup by The Business Times that looks at the day’s market movements and news from Singapore and the region. Written by: Nicole Teo (nicolet@sph.com.sg) Produced and edited by: Chai Pei Chieh & Claressa Monteiro Produced by: BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media Produced with AI text-to-speech capabilities --- Follow Market Focus Daily and rate us on: Channel: bt.sg/btmktfocus Amazon: bt.sg/mfam Apple Podcasts: bt.sg/mfap Spotify: bt.sg/mfsp YouTube Music: bt.sg/mfyt Website: bt.sg/mktfocus Feedback to: btpodcasts@sph.com.sg Do note: This podcast is meant to provide general information only. SPH Media accepts no liability for loss arising from any reliance on the podcast or use of third party’s products and services. Please consult professional advisors for independent advice. Discover more BT podcast series: BT Money Hacks at: bt.sg/btmoneyhacks BT Correspondents at: bt.sg/btcobt BT Podcasts at: bt.sg/podcasts BT Lens On: bt.sg/btlensonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Singapore imports more than 90% of its food, and the country's ambitious 30 by 30 food goal has now been revised. Was the target unrealistic from the start, or are we asking the wrong questions about food security? Let’s Talk, Singapore invites William Haandrikman, Managing Director Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford and Crystal Low, CEO of Boon Teck to unpack the realities of Singapore's food ecosystem, from seafood farms and kelongs to hotels, supply chains and the future of dining. Benjamin “Mr Miyagi” Lee, Playwright, Comedy Writer & Associate Director at APRW joins Let's Talk, Singapore as a special guest co-host. Join Neil Humphreys & Audrey Siek - LIVE every Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 7.20am for Talk of the Town!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A viral flower exhibition has sparked a much bigger conversation. From concert tickets and collectibles to limited-edition merchandise, it seems like almost everything can end up on the resale market these days. Have Singaporeans become too quick to buy things just to flip them for profit? Is scalping simply smart business or is it making it harder for genuine fans to enjoy the things they love? Benjamin “Mr Miyagi” Lee, Playwright, Comedy Writer & Associate Director at APRW joins Let's Talk, Singapore as a special guest co-host. Join Neil Humphreys & Audrey Siek — LIVE every Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 8am for Singapore Unfiltered.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
MONEY FM 89.3 - Prime Time with Howie Lim, Bernard Lim & Finance Presenter JP Ong
Essential work is everywhere, but most of us barely notice it until something goes wrong. The people cleaning hospitals, maintaining buildings, preparing meals, managing facilities and keeping workplaces running are part of the invisible backbone of society. But as Singapore moves towards becoming a super-aged nation, these industries are facing a growing challenge. Younger workers are increasingly drawn to careers in tech, finance and the digital economy, while essential services struggle with perceptions around prestige, progression and purpose. So how do you build a workforce where four generations can work side by side? And can industries often seen as ‘behind-the-scenes’ become attractive again to younger Singaporeans? On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Jaspreet Kaur, Director, Brand, CSR & Innovation, Sodexo Malaysia & Singapore, to find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently announced that Singapore will undertake the IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Phase 1 mission and continue building its nuclear decision-making capabilities. With Singapore set to undergo the IAEA review of its nuclear readiness from 2027, the conversation around nuclear energy is entering a new phase. As Singapore takes another step in evaluating whether nuclear energy could one day play a role in its energy mix, what exactly does nuclear readiness involve? How prepared is Singapore to build the ecosystem required to support it? On Viewpoint, Lynlee Foo speaks to Mr. Trung Ghi, Partner and Head of Energy & Utilities Practice for Asia Pacific at Arthur D. Little, to find out more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are Singaporeans too rigid to be funny? How to take ourselves less seriously to overcome stress. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a head start in your personal finance, career and life with The Straits Times. In this episode, theatrical clown and actor Shanice Stanislaus shares with host See Kai Wen about how thinking and acting like a clown can help navigate high-pressure environments. The “Clown Mentality” includes having the audacity to dream and try, never afraid of failing and finding ways to add whimsy into your life. We all have a little clown in our pockets. Shanice also speaks about her journey as one of the only few professional clowns in Singapore, her award-winning clown shows, and how she helps Singaporeans find their “funny” in her workshops. Highlights (click/tap above): 0:00 What is clowning? 02:58 Are Singaporeans too uptight to be funny? 07:11 Why we need to learn how to fail 10:51 Comedy is truth and pain wrapped nicely 15:33 Using humour to break the ice in work situations 21:55 How to find your inner clown and humour 25:47 Adopting a “Clown Mentality” 27:51 Shanice’s experience performing as a clown overseas Follow See Kai Wen on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/qfwqQ Host: See Kai Wen (seekw@sph.com.sg) Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producers: Elizabeth Law and Joanna Seow Follow Headstart On Record Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3 Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9 Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Get business/career tips in ST's Headstart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- Do note: All analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast are for your general information only. You should not rely on them in making any decision. Please consult a fully qualified financial adviser or professional expert for independent advice and verification. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SPH Media shall not be liable for any loss arising from the use of or reliance on any analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast. SPH Media accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever that may result or arise from the products, services or information of any third parties. --- #headstartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Off the coast of Sierra Leone, Sherbro Island has been earmarked for an ambitious transformation: a new centre for international business and investment, designed to rival cities like Singapore or Hong Kong. The BBC's Ed Butler travels to the island to investigate the project and speaks to developer Siaka Stevens, who is leading the effort alongside supporters including film-star Idris Elba, about the vision and what it will take to deliver it. But how realistic is the ambition, and can it become more than a promise?Presenter/producer: Ed Butler Editor: Stephen RyanEach Monday on Business Daily, we take you around the globe to the heart of the stories and meeting those living through them.You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Chapter 16 - In Which Fix Does Not Seem to Understand in the Least What Is Said to HimChapter 17 - Showing What Happened on the Voyage from Singapore to Hong KongFix is having a rough stretch, and it is deeply enjoyable to watch.Chapter 16 puts him in a conversation where he is genuinely, completely lost - and the comedy of a professional detective being this thoroughly confused is something Verne clearly relished writing. Then Chapter 17 gets us on the water between Singapore and Hong Kong, and the voyage produces exactly the kind of unexpected development that keeps this story moving at such a relentless pace.New city, new complications. Let's go.You could've enjoyed this full episode early if you'd been a Patron! Become a Patron (https://www.patreon.com/anotherworldaudiobooks) & get more episodes EARLY!Want a free audiobook? All you have to do is ask! Choose from the ever-growing AWA Library (https://anotherworldaudiobooks.com/#library)!If you enjoyed this episode, would you mind telling a friend about the podcast??:) It's really the only way the show can grow (and really the only way I'll be able to continue putting out episodes for you)! Thanks a million!!!____Thanks to our sponsor - Invicta Web Design! Get a professional, website, headache free. Just go to https://invictaweb.design/For all things Another World, go to https://anotherworldaudiobooks.com/ (seriously, you should - I'm giving away a FREE audiobook to anyone who goes to the website & requests it!!!)Thanks for listening & for SHARING the podcast!____Support the podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/anotherworldaudiobooks) and get tons of awesome perks!Check out the merch store https://another-world-audiobooks.myspreadshop.com/! Tons of awesome, hand-drawn designs (by yours truly!:) for t-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs & more. PLUS every purchase goes to bring you more awesome audiobooks!Support the podcast by purchasing FULL audiobooks - all purchase links are at https://anotherworldaudiobooks.com/!If that's not for you, don't worry, I'll still make you audiobooks;) All I ask is that you listen & share the podcast with your friends!
Jeremy Tan, independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC in Singapore's GE2025, joins Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh to unpack why he ran, why he lost, and what he learned about Singapore's political meta. He explains why public scrutiny and small-town dynamics deter Singaporeans from entering politics, why negative campaigning backfires with voters, and why opposition parties should focus resources on winning single member constituencies. The conversation digs into Singapore's fertility crisis, with Jeremy arguing that housing affordability, not incentives, is the real bottleneck, alongside his policy ideas: ending primary school affiliation, building cheaper HDB flats, and compounding baby equity accounts tied to the STI. For founders, investors, and operators across Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, this episode offers a candid look at how AI driven layoffs, capital concentration, and rising costs are reshaping Southeast Asia's most developed economy, and what it takes to challenge an incumbent system from the outside. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/jeremy-tan-singapore-politics BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com #Singapore #SingaporePolitics #GE2025 #HousingCrisis #FertilityRate #HDB #SoutheastAsia #TechPodcast #VentureCapital #AI 00:00 Highlights and introduction 01:24 Why Jeremy Tan ran as an independent in Mountbatten 04:20 Why Singaporeans don't run for office 07:40 AI, layoffs, and the decision to enter politics 11:49 The new political meta in Singapore 14:30 Criticism, pet policies, and running against a newcomer 17:40 Election night: predicting his own loss 25:50 What opposition parties got wrong in GE2025 29:21 Singapore's fertility crisis starts with housing 34:35 Primary school affiliation and education inequality 44:55 Three policy ideas: housing, schools, baby equity accounts 49:59 Capital, the sandwich generation, and what comes next 54:25 Closing reflections
Jeff McCausland draws parallels between the performative style of Civil War General Jeb Stuart and current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He critiques Hegseth's recent speeches in Singapore, Normandy, and Guantanamo, arguing they prioritize individual image over grand strategy and mark significant, potentially transactional shifts in long-standing U.S. foreign policy toward Taiwan and European allies. (12)PERSIA
SCHEDULE THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 6-12-2026.1903 PRINCETON UNIVERSITYJeff Bliss describes massive, deadly swells hitting California beaches due to a southern hemisphere storm system. The conversation shifts to Las Vegas, where a massive, highly anticipated In-N-Out Burger recently opened on the Strip. Bliss details the chain's reputation for fresh food, cleanliness, and fair employee wages. (1)Jeff Bliss discusses the surprising results of the Los Angeles City Council primary, where Nithya Raman surged despite initially conceding. He highlights allegations of voter fraud in the Skid Row area and the impact of California's ballot harvesting laws. The segment also touches on Xavier Becerra's lead in the governor's race. (2)Richard Epstein analyzes the legal effort to prevent the removal of Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Centerfacade. He argues that the Trump-aligned board's appeal lacks legal merit and strength, as removing a nameplate does not constitute irreparable harm. Epstein suggests the judge should consider firing the current board due to bias. (3)Richard Epstein critiques the construction of the Obama Center in Chicago, lamenting the destruction of 800 historical trees and the seizure of public land. He describes the project's design as a "monstrosity" with a flawed traffic plan and expresses concern over the foundation's lack of financial transparency and endowment. (4)Jim McTague reports on a "budget-minded hesitancy" among Pennsylvania consumers despite falling gas prices. He notes a rare layoff notice for 70 logistics workers and uneven retail activity. Meanwhile, a data center project near Costcoproceeds under heavy security, while a similar proposal was rejected by a neighboring borough. (5)Lorenzo Fiori discusses the "disaster" of the Italian national football team failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. The segment transitions to Pisa, highlighting the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore and recent astronomical breakthroughs involving the James Webb Space Telescope. Fiori concludes with local wine and culinary recommendations. (6)Bob Zimmerman discusses the crew selection for NASA's Artemis 3 mission, which has been simplified to focus on Earth-orbit docking tests. He also examines private sector developments, including German startup Isar's funding, Stoke Space's reusable rocket design, and an orbital servicing mission by Catalyst intended to rescue a decaying NASAtelescope. (7)Bob Zimmerman honors the late Alan Hale, co-discoverer of the record-setting Comet Hale-Bopp. He reviews the historical significance of the first image of the moon's far side taken by Luna 3 in 1959. The segment also explores current cosmological debates regarding dark energy and the existence of "little red dots" in the early universe. (8)Peter Huessy discusses the history of "tactical" nuclear weapons and the 1950s Desert Rock exercises where U.S. troops were exposed to nuclear detonations. He details the health risks soldiers faced and parallels these actions with Sovietmaneuvers, highlighting the "ludicrous" idea of trying to operate militarily in a post-detonation environment. (9)Peter Huessy explains that Russia views low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons as usable battlefield tools to achieve victory or coerce opponents. He contrasts this with U.S. doctrine, which keeps such weapons under central command. Huessywarns of the lack of transparency regarding China's dual-use nuclear capabilities and Russia's "reckless" potential to use these weapons. (10)Colonel Jeff McCausland discusses stalled negotiations with Iran, noting the heavy influence of the Revolutionary Guard Corps over the diplomatic process. He analyzes the military difficulty of seizing Kharg Island and the profound impact of Ukrainian drones on the Russian front, suggesting that drone saturation has leveled the battlefield and interdicted Russian resupply lines. (11)Jeff McCausland draws parallels between the performative style of Civil War General Jeb Stuart and current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He critiques Hegseth's recent speeches in Singapore, Normandy, and Guantanamo, arguing they prioritize individual image over grand strategy and mark significant, potentially transactional shifts in long-standing U.S. foreign policy toward Taiwan and European allies. (12)Veronique de Rugy argues that the U.S. already has the most progressive tax system among OECD countries, with the wealthy paying a disproportionate share of revenue. She critiques Thomas Piketty's proposal for a global wealth tax and mandated "degrowth," characterizing it as an effort to limit national growth under the guise of climate and social justice. (13)Mary Anastasia O'Grady questions the delay in scheduling Venezuelan elections under Delcy Rodriguez. She reports that over 400 political prisoners remain held, and the notorious Helicoide prison remains operational despite contradictory claims. O'Grady notes that the regime lacks the political will to allow a free press or fair electoral body to organize. (14)Conrad Black emphasizes the vital economic ties between the U.S. and Canada, noting Canada provides 25% of U.S.aluminum and 20% of its uranium. He expresses confidence that Prime Minister Mark Carney will build necessary oil pipelines to both coasts to benefit the Canadian economy, despite opposition from environmental groups and Carney's own "green instincts." (15)Francis Rose discusses the U.S. military's efforts to integrate AI by "gamifying" systems to make them intuitive for young, video-game-literate service members. He also highlights CISA's work in rebuilding its workforce to protect private-sector cyber infrastructure and the Army's Joint Innovation Outpost, which aims to accelerate the transition of technology from private inventors to the battlefield. (16)One name correction: (2) Nithia Raman → Nithya Raman (established style for the LA city council member).
Yah Lah But returns to Dead Air! Together with Kyle & Wayne, Haresh and Terence discuss some of the wildest conspiracy theories in Singapore!►FOLLOW YAH LAH BUT:YOUTUBESPOTIFYINSTAGRAM►THIS EPISODE'S HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS:Bukit Brown CemeteryCaldecott HillHaw Par Villa Episode, Tell You FirstWinchester Mystery HouseSingapore $1 Coin ConspiracyThe Truth Behind Army Mass BlessingJōhatsuBukit Timah Monkey ManMidnight Mass (2020)Hellhound (2021)Omukade (2025)Ghost in the Cell (2026)►DEAD AIR CREDITS:Wayne Rée - Host / WriterKyle Ong - Host / ProducerJoline Lim - Art Director►SUPPORT & FIND US HERE:HANTU InstagramHANTU YouTubeHANTU TikTokHANTU FacebookHANTU TwitterHANTU WebsiteHANTU Patreon ►MUSIC CREDITS:Kevin Macleod: https://incompetech.comMyuu: https://www.youtube.com/user/myuujiArtlist: https://artlist.io/ ►EQUIPMENTS:Dead Air is recorded on Audio-Technica Mics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to the Art Life Faith Podcast, and I’m your host, Roger Lowther. We are recording live from the JCAMM conference in downtown Tokyo with the theme of “The Beauty of Japan・The Beauty of Heaven.” It’s a week-long conference from Friday, May 22 to Wednesday, May 27, 2026, where we are talking about the arts of Japan, the beauty of Japan, and how that helps us worship God. We’ve had so many amazing guests this week, and now I have the privilege of sitting down with one of our key presenters, a band like no other I’ve ever seen in the world called IziBongo. They sing not only in the various languages of the world, but they use the various instruments of the world and the various styles and genres of the world so people can see what it looks like for the nations to praise God and how that can lead us all in praise of God. So I wanted to sit down with them and have a conversation. I’ve also asked Akira Mori to sit down with us. He is our MC for the conference, and he’s a longtime friend and partner. We got to know each other very well through the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. He’s the pastor of Global Mission Chapel in Iwaki, Japan, not too far south of the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. And his amazing church was one of the key centers for relief work for all of Tohoku. Through the years, we’ve gotten to know each other better, and I’ve so appreciated not just his encouragement and the way he leads especially movements of prayer in Japan but the way he’s encouraged me personally and for his friendship. And so I invited him to be the MC for this conference and also to be with us for this podcast episode. So thank you, all of you, for being here. Why don’t we start with a quick introduction? Please tell me who are you and where this name IziBongo came from. It’s kind of an interesting name. Cory Sure, Izibongo is a Zulu word which means praises intoned in honor of a person. It’s a kind of praise poetry. This is a second generation of the group itself, originally called the Wycliffe World Music Band, which came from Wycliffe Bible Translators. Roger Not as catchy… Cory Yeah…, which came from Wycliffe Bible Translators. Roger Okay, so what do you do? Why did you form IziBongo? Cory Originally, the Wycliffe World Music Band was meant to be an illustrative form of the music of the world and to promote Bible translation. That was one of the hopes for the people who organized it. We would go to Christian music festivals and perform there to show how the nations would worship or do their songs. Paul I might add that originally it was an ad hoc group of students in a particular class learning about some of these principles of music and worship around the world. The leader of that class was our mentor, Tom Avery. He would gather the students and throw instruments at them and say, “Sing this and let’s play this.” And so it was just to appreciate the worship around the world. This developed out of that educational starting point to more of a worship focus and whatever it is today. Cathy Another point that Tom would make when teaching us these songs was that music is not a universal language, it’s a universal phenomenon. But different peoples have different ways of singing. We think we might understand what they’re singing about. We might make a judgment if we hear another culture’s music and say, “That’s demonic,” or, “You could not praise God with that music.” But he was teaching us that we need to understand when we go into cultures their music systems. We can’t just go in and say, “No, you have to sing it this way.” Mary And to follow up on that is the focus of outsider-insider, an outsider trying to understand from the insiders, “What does this mean to you? What is the content?” because as outsiders, we can really miss it and not understand what’s actually being expressed. So we have terms. We say etic and emic, outsider/insider perspectives, that we talk about in our courses and our learning. Roger Help us to see what this looks like a little bit more concretely. What countries, what groups are you representing, and what kinds of instruments are you playing? Paul Well, I’m playing about 3 or 4 instruments here. One is a charango from Bolivia, which I bought on the River Walk in San Antonio from a real live player. I’m also playing a Moroccan oud, which we use for other instruments as well. We don’t carry 50 instruments, we carry about 10. And I’m playing a Greek bouzouki, but I’m using that to represent music from other parts of the world as well if the instrument sounds similar to the sounds. So again, we’re approximating all these. We’re never being exactly authentic. We are just Americans. We’re not trying to pretend that we’re something else. But we love the sounds of the world and the praises that they lift up. So we want to approximate those sounds so that you will learn to appreciate their music. As for the countries that we actually sing songs from, we could give a list if you’d like. Cory We do some from South America, so there’s Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia…Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo… Cathy Nigeria… Cory Egypt… Paul Tunisia, Papua New Guinea, Bhutan, South Korea…We don’t have a Japanese song yet. Roger Okay, well, we’ll have to fix that. Paul Exactly! We’re working on it. Roger So tell me more about why you do this. What is your purpose in singing these different styles—using different instruments, different languages, representing different countries? Paul Well, for myself, and I think for my wife as well, we were worship leaders in a local church and trying to find the most relevant ways to help people worship in our culture. It was mostly not a mixed culture. It was mostly just a normal American church in Texas, but still we had to wrestle with contemporary versus older styles and who was there and what kind of music they liked. In the South it’s a little more Baptist hymnal kind of songs, which I wasn’t that familiar with. So you always have to learn and find out from the congregation that you’re worshiping with, what helps them express their heart, because that’s really what a worship leader is trying to do, just help the people worship from their heart. So that was where we started, and when we ran into Tom and he was doing that in the jungles of Brazil, it sounded radically different, of course. So we learned from him how to approximate that sound so that we could present it. Cathy So the first time we performed this kind of music, we thought we were just going to give people an educational experience and say, this is what your brothers and sisters sound like over in Africa, or this is what they say to God in their songs. The people that heard us in Memphis, Tennessee, on that very first trip were crying. They said, “This is a kind of worship that we’ve never experienced before.” It wasn’t necessarily something they could participate in, but it was like when you look up at the stars and go, “Wow, God, that’s amazing.” And you get a glimpse of the worship that God is preparing for himself across the world. And it does increase your love for your brothers and sisters. So we wanted to give more people that kind of understanding and that kind of love for brothers and sisters that they’ve never met, maybe an experience that would have them want to pray for those brothers and sisters. And so when we go to a mission conference, we hope, too, that it opens people’s eyes to understand that we want to encourage authentic ethnic worship and not just press our Western songs onto others. Mary I was just going to say one word, beauty. Well, I’ll say a few more words than just that. We have a colleague who decades ago said, why would God have created birds that only sing one song? And so we think about the diversity of artistic communication and think about the beauty of how we can all be different and have different artistic expression, but that it can be unified in the worship of our Creator, and to learn to appreciate that, but also know that it’s perfectly great to have those styles and songs and ways that you can sing and worship that come really from a deep place in your heart. So, we want to get into what that is in each culture to lead people to that place of beauty. Paul It makes me think also the necessity that we feel of presenting things with authentic instrumentation as much as possible and with some costuming. It’s not like we’re not trying to appropriate someone else’s culture. We’re trying to represent so that you will have a deeper appreciation of those—the beauty, not just the sound, but the beauty of those cultures in their expression of worship. Roger I’m glad you all are talking about this because that was one of my next questions is like, why is this important? You know, when I first came to Japan, the first thing that people wanted me and my wife to do is, as musicians, help with worship. And there’s basically two choices you can do. Contemporary or you can do traditional. One or the other. If you play organ and piano, well that’s traditional. If you use the guitar, well then that’s going to be contemporary. Those are the only two choices, so choose. If you go back and forth between the two, then that’s blended, a little of both. So to hear what you all do is so far outside people’s expectations of what worship can be. And that message, I feel, is especially needed in Japan. I would love Mori-Sensei to comment on that. Have you heard anything like this in Japan, this group? Mori No. That’s it. Roger And is it important then for Japan? Mori Absolutely. Japanese people like to feel safe, I guess, and don’t want to be criticized. Therefore, they try to conform to whatever is the mainstream, whether it’s a small group of 3, 4, 5 or a bigger group of 50–100. But that’s what I sense, and that’s what I find in myself from the past. So, especially when you think about the Christian church. The gospel was brought by typically Caucasian Western missionaries, and I don’t think they had any other way than to just do what they were used to. And without being intentional, I believe a kind of very clear line between Christians and non-Christian Japanese was drawn. When I was a teenager and a church member, the pastor said secular songs shouldn’t be sung, not even for yourself when you’re alone. So there was a very clear line, and I think in every church it was the same. And if you dare to play jazz or, rock was not so much in Japan in those days, then you were looked at as unspiritual, not a good Christian. So naturally, for those reasons, the Japanese ethnic or original music was separated from the church. It is still very much the same, I think. Therefore, it’s very difficult to take different styles of music and even ethnic music into the church. We don’t have any group like IziBongo. I don’t know if any other countries do either, but it is great riches brought to the church. Roger You know, when I first came to Japan, I was in language school that first year. We made friends with a clarinetist, and she was feeling turmoil about being in the church because the church told her she couldn’t play. She was a professional clarinet player, but they would not allow her to play clarinet in church because that was not appropriate for Christian worship. But, they said, you can play the piano because we need someone to play the piano. She was like, but I’m not a keyboardist and don’t play the piano very well, and it was hard for her to worship while playing the piano. When we came in, they asked us as missionaries to come give a concert, and we invited her to join us. There were tears in her eyes because that was the first time anyone in the church had ever heard her play the clarinet, which was her heart language. And I was like, wow, well, maybe it’s just this church. Well, then we went and were helping to plant another church out in Chiba, where we met a pastor whose son played the saxophone. And it was the same story. He invited his son to play saxophone once in worship, and the church members got so upset. Saxophone is not appropriate for worship, they said. It sounds worldly. It sounds like jazz, you know. And we’ve come across stories like that over and over again. And I want to tell you one more. Sorry I’m talking so much! But there’s this other story when we met this koto player. She was featured in one of our videos during the conference. I think I’ve shared this in a past podcast episode, but we invited her to come and play koto in worship. That’s a traditional Japanese harp, and it was so beautiful. We loved it, but there were so many people upset afterwards. And there were so many meetings afterwards, not the kind of meetings that you really want to have happen, you know, like with the pastor and the elders. Okay, this person’s upset, and they felt like it was connecting to the non-Christian culture in Japan. They said, “You can’t use the koto in worship. You were distracting me from worship. I was not able to worship God because you had the koto there.” And, you know, the way—I’ve shared this with some of you before—the way that we were able to bring healing to that situation is when they realized how she was able to worship God through her heart language, through the koto, it drew them in and they were able to worship God by seeing how she was worshiping God. It wasn’t a gimmick, you know, it wasn’t like we’re trying to force something on the church, but that this is how she worshiped, and they were able to worship through her. It was that relational key that made all the difference. Mori Um, can I ask you a question? Roger Sure. Mori That was your experience in the beginning. Is that still very much the same in the Japanese churches? Roger I do sometimes continue to hear stories, yeah… Mori This is my subjective, biased opinion, but around 20 years ago, God raised a young man and gave him song after song. An authentic Japanese young man, producing Japanese praise songs, worship songs, and they did some gatherings using yukatas and guitars on the stage, dancing and singing. And those worship songs created by those people, they have quite rapidly spread all across Japan. Roger Oh, wow. I’d like to hear them. Mori Yes. Oh, you know him. Taka. His songs, I believe, have changed the atmosphere of Japanese churches. Nagasawa Takafumi wrote that famous song, “Sono Hi Zen Sekai Ga” (“On That Day”). He started out as a worship leader in his father’s church. Now, he’s the senior pastor. But he was invited as a worship leader to a church in a different place, totally different place, and the pastor, as the congregation sang that song, proudly said to Taka, “Don’t you think this is an awesome song?” He didn’t know that Taka wrote that song, and Taka did not tell him. But today, more instruments are naturally taken into church services. Different styles are tolerated. Not every church, but, by and large, so many churches are resembling Western American churches, worship band in front and leading songs with guitars and drums and bass guitars and keyboard. And it’s spreading. And I just think that change has been happening. But still though, not Japanese authentic instruments or styles. Roger Yeah, that's still pretty rare. Mori Yeah, because of the schism that happened, right in the beginning, the Christians somehow feel that those instruments are not theirs. And to me, that’s okay if Christians don’t play any koto or shakuhachi. Of course, they’re greatly considered by Christians to be a special genre of instrument. Roger Generally. Yeah, Cathy? Cathy That’s one thing that seems to happen when we play. We had an experience in Singapore. A Japanese gal came up and talked to me afterwards and said, “This makes me want to go home and find what is unique from my culture that I can offer to God. It makes me want to go home and find or make something unique from my culture. And so, I think that IziBongo sometimes has that effect when we show what other cultures are doing. Roger Yeah, I also wanted to ask you all, I know that like sometimes I hear this word “appropriation” in the States, because you are not from those cultures, because you are Americans doing that music. If someone was to come at you and say, “Hey, that’s not appropriate for you to be doing that,” how would you respond to them? Paul Well, it depends who it’s coming from, I think, is where we start. We have never had anyone come to us from those nations with a problem with us. In fact, all we’ve ever heard is appreciation that we at least attempted to sing in their language. And again, we don’t do it perfectly. We had one experience up at Prairie Bible College where we played a First Nations song, a Native American song, and there was one young gentleman there who was a young man from the First Nations, and he was so excited. He wanted to sing the song. It was very simple, so he wanted to lead it. It was so amazing to him that he could do that. And almost immediately, we got strong pushback from a missionary couple who’d been there for 30 years working with First Nations peoples who felt like that was very inappropriate for the church. So let me say it this way: What we do is not try to impose on the church what you should do. What we’re doing is saying praise is happening all over the world, not always on Sunday morning. In fact, most of this wouldn’t be in Sunday morning worship, but it’s worship. Some of it’s on the streets of Brazil, a samba. And it was a Christian song sung on the streets of Carnaval. I mean, that’s not Sunday morning. So again, what we’re presenting is just the various expressions of praise. Whether they fit on Sunday morning in the church, your pastor and your worship leaders need to work that out. And we shouldn’t be judging them. They’re the ones who are to guide and guard the flock. So pray for your pastors that they might have vision even when they have reservations. Cathy I would say it’s also not only praise, but Scripture memory songs, storytelling, telling of Bible stories, and historical things. So there are other ways to use the music. Cory And the use of the music that we do when we perform are based on relationships that we have with the communities themselves, either through a Bible translation project or actual one-on-one. So, we have gotten permission to do these songs according to the communities that we’ve come in contact with. Mary And I’ll say that coming back to the U.S. from West Africa and starting to hear this word appropriation, I was a little bit shocked because I was like, oh, what does that mean? You know, I had to say, what does that actually mean? Because to be in West Africa or in that particular culture, you dress with the cloth and you learn their songs and they are thrilled that you are learning their language and wearing their clothes. So appropriation is not about using these things for our own benefit, but it’s about lifting up and respecting that culture. Roger We are almost out of time, but I want to give Mori Sensei the last word. So, think about what you’re going to say. Let me just say that I’ve been moved by talking with all of you, you know, outside this interview, the stories you’ve told me about how people respond saying, wow, I had no idea I could worship God in that way through my culture, through my art, and how it’s encouraging them, empowering them really. You are empowering the nations to say, God has given you these gifts to worship him, and it’s just such an important message. Thank you so much for the time and money you’ve spent to come all the way to Japan to share this with us. We really appreciate it. Mori Sensei, do you have any final comments? Mori Well, thank you very much. I’m so honored. Change is happening in the Japanese churches. It’s not only negative. In one church, 45 minutes away from Tokyo, they started using enka. Enka is very secular, many love songs. They were the songs church members' husbands especially loved. So they invited the husbands and did a couples' night. They served beer and they sang enka. And the people loved it. Actually, the wives loved it too. So, some changes are happening. Also, Japanese instruments—koto, shakuhachi, shamisen—are not widely used in the churches. I think that’s because nowadays Japanese people have grown up without those instruments nearby. But those who have, they should be invited to the churches to perform and make them feel at home. Still, the Japanese churches are very much under the control of pastors. So these gatherings would be excellent for the Japanese pastors to know and come attend, listen to, hear the stories. That’s probably the challenge for the near future. Roger Thank you. Thank you so much, all of you. I really appreciate it. God bless you. You've been listening to the Art Life Faith Podcast. To watch the video of this podcast or many other videos from the conference, please go to our website: www.communityarts.jp. As we say in Japan, “Ja, mata ne.” We'll see you next time.
From Nairobi's Zero Project Tech Forum: Steven Scott and Shaun Preece meet innovators using AI robots to teach deaf students STEM, digital avatars to interpret sign language at scale, and 3D printing to put custom prosthetics within reach across Africa. Day two of Double Tap's coverage from the Zero Project Tech Forum in Nairobi centres on communication and care. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece speak with three innovators whose work shares a common thread: using off-the-shelf technology and African-built data sets to solve problems that mainstream assistive tech has repeatedly overlooked. Maxwell Kamau, Partnerships Lead at ZeroBionic, introduces a Kenyan startup building AI-powered humanoid robots as learning aids for blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard of hearing students. Their first product is a 3D-printed prosthetic arm, made from recycled plastic, that translates documents and video into sign language, trained on African sign language data sets that automatically adapt to the student's country. Their second product is a Braille-tagged STEM robotics kit designed for blind learners. Every component, from motors to microcontrollers, carries a Braille label so students can identify and assemble the parts by touch. The kit supports coding by voice, sign language, text, or drag-and-drop, and is aimed at learners from age five upwards. ZeroBionic is now presenting its new Braille education hardware, and is seeking manufacturing and distribution partners to reach schools that cannot afford commercial robotics kits. Winnie Ongiri, Operations Manager at Signvrse, explains how her Nairobi-based company has built an AI-powered digital sign language interpreter that converts speech and text into signing via lifelike customisable avatars. Rather than a standalone app, Signvrse is designed as an API, a foundational accessibility layer that other platforms can plug into. Currently operating at a two to three second response time, the team is working toward 500 milliseconds for genuinely real-time interpretation. Motion capture data is collected directly from deaf community members, and quality assurance is built around ongoing community involvement at every stage. Winnie addresses the displacement question directly: the technology is designed for places human interpreters cannot reach, such as websites and online video, rather than to replace them. Dr Nick Were, co-founder of Prothea in Kenya, describes how his company is using iPhone LiDAR scanning, proprietary 3D modelling software, and desktop 3D printing to produce custom-fitted prosthetic sockets in under 24 hours. Traditional methods take a week or more, and public facilities can take a month. The sub-millimetre accuracy of the digital workflow produces a more comfortable fit than a plaster cast, and the hub-and-spoke model means prosthetists can travel to remote patients with just an iPhone, send the scan file back to base, and have a printed socket shipped out. Prothea has served more than 700 patients and holds close to 600 scan files that could be used to train AI modelling, a partnership the team is actively seeking. Prothea operates as an implementing partner of Ugani Prosthetics, whose workflow and software were developed through university research in Belgium and are now being deployed across Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. The episode closes with news that the Zero Project Tech Forum will continue to Mumbai in September, Tokyo on October 9th, Singapore in November, and Santiago de Chile also in November. Relevant Links Zero Project: https://www.zeroproject.org ZeroBionic: https://zerobionicafrica.com Signvrse: https://signvrse.com Prothea / Ugani Prosthetics: https://ugani.org/en/ ----Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedinSubscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheartAbout Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited."Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Asia infrastructure investing is becoming central to the global energy transition as rising demand, energy security concerns, and the need for more resilient systems accelerate capital deployment across the region. In Southeast Asia, the opportunity is not only about replacing old systems, but building new infrastructure at scale for a growing economy.In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks live from Ecosperity in Singapore with Salim Samaha, Global Head of Energy at Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and Heidi Yip, Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions for Asia Pacific at BlackRock. Together, they discuss how the infrastructure opportunity is evolving globally, why Asia's transition differs from Western markets, and where investors are seeing momentum across renewables, grids, storage, and system flexibility. Key insights include:· How Asia's infrastructure build-out differs from Western markets· Why energy security is becoming inseparable from the energy transition· Where capital is flowing across renewables, grids, storage, and interconnection· How public-private partnerships can help mobilize transition finance· Why execution bottlenecks, permitting, and offtake frameworks remain critical· Where AI, innovation, and rising demand may reshape future infrastructure needsKey moments:00:00 Asia Infrastructure Boom01:06 Live From EcoSperity03:16 Energy Transition Now04:20 Southeast Asia Grid Challenge06:43 West vs Asia Reality Check08:58 How APAC Investors Deploy Capital11:26 Scaling Projects and Labor Crunch13:17 Where Capital Flows and Bottlenecks15:13 Five Year Outlook and Innovation17:23 Wrap Up and Disclosures
Asia infrastructure investing is becoming central to the global energy transition as rising demand, energy security concerns, and the need for more resilient systems accelerate capital deployment across the region. In Southeast Asia, the opportunity is not only about replacing old systems, but building new infrastructure at scale for a growing economy.In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks live from Ecosperity in Singapore with Salim Samaha, Global Head of Energy at Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and Heidi Yip, Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions for Asia Pacific at BlackRock. Together, they discuss how the infrastructure opportunity is evolving globally, why Asia's transition differs from Western markets, and where investors are seeing momentum across renewables, grids, storage, and system flexibility. Key insights include:· How Asia's infrastructure build-out differs from Western markets· Why energy security is becoming inseparable from the energy transition· Where capital is flowing across renewables, grids, storage, and interconnection· How public-private partnerships can help mobilize transition finance· Why execution bottlenecks, permitting, and offtake frameworks remain critical· Where AI, innovation, and rising demand may reshape future infrastructure needsKey moments:00:00 Asia Infrastructure Boom01:06 Live From EcoSperity03:16 Energy Transition Now04:20 Southeast Asia Grid Challenge06:43 West vs Asia Reality Check08:58 How APAC Investors Deploy Capital11:26 Scaling Projects and Labor Crunch13:17 Where Capital Flows and Bottlenecks15:13 Five Year Outlook and Innovation17:23 Wrap Up and Disclosures
EPISODE DESCRIPTION I sat down with Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, co-founder of U-Tribe and GIFT (Gold International Fungible Token), to explore one of the most ambitious real-world asset projects I've come across. Mamadou spent decades in banking and early-stage investing across Africa , including in the first GSM projects and mobile payments before M-Pesa , and he turned that experience into a mission: giving anyone on earth access to physical, one-to-one backed gold from as little as 15 cents. We talk about why central banks are quietly buying more physical gold than at any point in the past 40 years, why the gold ETF market is dangerously over-encumbered, and how GIFT's MiCA-regulated token could become the financial safety net for 2.5 billion people across 35 countries. Mamadou also walks me through their quantum-enhanced wallet, their Ubuntu Academy for financial and digital literacy, and their upcoming STO launching in July. This one is packed with insight on the real shift happening in global finance right now. DISCLAIMERNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/ CONNECT U-Tribe / GIFT: https://utribe.one/Twitter/X: https://x.com/UtribeOneWeb3 with Sam Kamani Podcast: https://www.web3pod.xyz/ KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS • [00:01] Sam introduces Mamadou and the GIFT tokenized gold project, noting the recent MiCA license in Europe• [01:36] Mamadou shares his background: 20+ years in African banking and tech investment, including early GSM and mobile payments before M-Pesa• [03:46] The origin of GIFT , one milligram of gold accessible from 15 cents on any mobile phone, backed one-to-one by physical gold• [05:06] The global financial shift: why the world is moving back toward asset-backed monetary systems and away from dollar dominance• [06:48] Central banks bought over 1,300 tons of gold last year and more physical gold in the past decade than the previous 40 years• [07:16] Why the gold ETF market is 10–15x over-encumbered and what that means for ordinary investors• [09:53] How blockchain solves the collateral problem for financial inclusion , instant loans from as little as 10 cents of gold• [10:42] GIFT holds a MiCA license in Europe and is upgrading to asset reference token status, with 30+ countries and 2.5 billion people in reach within five months• [13:05] Physical gold is stored in vaults in Zurich, Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Dubai, and Singapore, insured by Lloyds of London and audited on-chain• [16:30] The quantum-enhanced wallet , one of only four or five in the world , is live on Google Play Store and coming to App Store• [17:43] Ubuntu Academy inside the wallet: financial literacy, digital literacy, vocational training, and ethical leadership powered by a personalised AI tutor• [19:29] 10% of transaction fees go toward education and healthcare, including in the mining communities where the gold is extracted• [23:39] How Mamadou explains RWAs to newcomers: a digital title deed, like a certificate of ownership , no crypto jargon needed• [26:48] How to onboard: download the app on Google Play or visit utribe.gift.app, complete KYC, and pay via card, wire, mobile money, or voucher• [28:00] Key Web3 infrastructure shifts: NYSE moving $87 trillion of assets on-chain, DTCC moving on-chain, 130+ nations working on CBDCs• [30:55] Long-term vision: launching SIFT (Silver International Fungible Token), becoming a tokenization-as-a-service infrastructure provider• [33:20] Upcoming July STO (Security Token Offering) and tokenized convertible bond to finance gold extraction and fuel growth
The crisis: 948,000 young people aged 16–24 in the UK — 1 in 8 — are not in education, employment, or training. In the US, it's worse. Youth labour force participation has been collapsing since 2000. That's 25 years of failure.The experiment: The UK government is running a £45 million test across 8 regions to find out what actually works. The answer isn't obvious — Switzerland gets 90% of young people certified and employed; Singapore's scholarship model hits 50% participation with strong outcomes. The UK is nowhere near either.The stakes: This isn't a temporary blip. Labour force participation has structurally failed a generation. The £45 million is a bet that it's not too late.Welcome to The Marvyn Harrison Podcast — a story-driven conversation exploring identity, fatherhood, masculinity, relationships, culture, politics, sport, and modern life.In each episode, Marvyn Harrison sits down with leading thinkers, creatives, athletes, policymakers, and cultural voices to unpack the defining moments that shaped them. Through image prompts, structured storytelling, and revealing game segments, guests explore pivotal memories, career turning points, personal struggles, and the beliefs that guide their decisions today.Expect honest discussions on mental health, family dynamics, leadership, equity, ambition, resilience, and the realities of navigating success in Britain and beyond.This is a podcast about clarity, where lived experience meets sharp cultural insight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gavin landed back in Australia just the day before recording, and he and Ken settle in for a full debrief on WDC 2026 in Athens. From the venues and the social activities to all four of Gavin's games and the top board, this one covers it all. Intro Ken sets up the episode – this one is going to be almost entirely about WDC 2026 Athens, because Gavin was there and has only just landed back in Australia (as at the time of recording) (15 secs) He notes the DBN coverage gave a strong account of the boards and Ed's player interviews, but plenty of the magic from Spyros Dovas and his organising team didn't make it to the stream (45 secs) Drinks are introduced: Ken is on one of his home-brew lagers with a kick, and Gavin is working through a leftover Sicilian Nero d'Avola that has turned a little sour – a fitting metaphor, he suggests, for how his first round went (1 min 45 secs) The tournament in aggregate Ken asks Gavin to give a broad overview – location, numbers, facilities, atmosphere (2 mins 45 secs) Around 106 players registered, though some didn't show due to last-minute issues. Approximately 5 Australian players couldn't attend because their original flights were routed through the Middle East (3 mins 30 secs) The geopolitical context: as of recording, the Middle East airspace situation was in week nine of its shutdown, forcing Australian travellers to reroute via Singapore, Hong Kong, or Malaysia. Some also baulked at the US transit option due to the documentation requirements (4 mins 30 secs) Despite the drop-outs, the turnout was excellent and genuinely representative – a heavy European component split between the UK and the rest of Europe, a strong French contingent, players from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Norway, a good number of Americans and a couple of Canadians (including Chris Brand), around 10 Australians, and a couple of Kiwis (Dominick Stephens and Craig Purcell). The local Greek contingent, given the Athens club had only been running for about 18 months, was especially impressive (3 mins 30 secs) Tournament format: three regular rounds followed by a fourth round of tiered top boards. Rather than a single top board, the format featured seven simultaneous top boards – the top 7 players went to the premier board, players 8–14 played the second tier, 15–21 the third, and so on down through the field. Crucially, players who volunteered to sit out for round four to help with numbers kept their ranking position (7 mins) Ken and Gavin discuss how the tiered format means the fourth round is never a dead rubber – every board is still competing for something meaningful (8 mins 15 secs) Discussion of the central clock arrangement: effectively federation-based rather than a literal single clock, with the two main venues coordinating their start times by communication (9 mins 30 secs) The venues The main venue was the upstairs function space of a beachside restaurant operation – excellent location right on the waterfront, but somewhat cramped for negotiations once all the boards were in (9 mins 45 secs) As a result, boards were redistributed to the secondary venue: the Anchor bar, about 150–200 metres down the road. Gavin played two games in each location and considered the Anchor the better play space – more open, well ventilated, and with a large covered outdoor area next to a (drained) pool (11 mins) The colour-coded sash system made it easy to identify players by country but created the amusing challenge of locating your specific Italy in a room full of Italys from different boards (13 mins) The third venue – an outdoor shaded area – was reserved for the premier top board. Unlike Milan's car park, this one had good shade and plenty of room for spectators around the giant shadow board (13 mins 30 secs) Pre-tournament social activities Gavin outlines the structure: you could do as much or as little as you liked. He landed well due to a useful 5.5-hour Singapore layover that helped reset his body clock, and flew over on the same flight as tournament director Jamal Blakkarly (16 mins) They were met at Athens airport by Spyros, his wife, and daughter, who drove them to breakfast at a beautiful harbour-side restaurant in one of the small inlet bays east of Piraeus (18 mins 15 secs) Pre-tournament island stay: Gavin spent two days on Serifos, the island Spyros recommended and which has personal significance to his family (his grandfather was christened there). Spyros provided a detailed Google Map of the best spots. With the tourist season barely starting, Gavin got excellent last-minute accommodation at a family-run hotel and had the beaches almost entirely to himself (18 mins 45 secs) The island was so off-season that locals were literally still painting their furniture and kerbs in preparation. Gavin did the recommended hikes and swims, and the hotel gifted him a dry-bag left behind by a previous guest (20 mins 30 secs) Back in Athens overnight, Gavin caught up with a multinational squad of players including Shane, Brandon, Max, Zoe, Justin Law, Bradley Grace, and Karthik. They had dinner at an Italian restaurant with the Acropolis lit up above them (22 mins 30 secs) Hydra day trip (Wednesday): players caught the fast ferry from Piraeus out to Hydra (about 1.5 hrs). The island has a refined Venetian-Greek port feel, with rustic paths and rock beaches beyond. The group visited the Museum of the 1821 Greek Revolution, full of local history and artefacts. Gavin wore one of his Diplomacy shirts and ended up being an ambassador for the hobby to an American grandmother and her debate-champion granddaughter from North Carolina – and pointed them towards David Hood and the local hobby there (24 mins 15 secs) The water temperature at the beach was about 4–5 degrees colder than Australia, which meant the Europeans loved it and Gavin did not go in (26 mins 30 secs) Acropolis and Athens tour (Thursday): guided tour of the Acropolis by what Spyros described as the best guides operating there, followed by a walk through the Plaka and past the Panathenaic Stadium (venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896), then a seafood lunch at a beautiful harbourside restaurant (30 mins) Temple of Poseidon (Thursday evening): the most popular activity – the bus was packed. About halfway there, Spyros took everyone on an unannounced detour to a beach bar where they had the place to themselves, a wonderful surprise. The Temple itself sits on a peninsula with 270-degree sea views. Spyros told the story of how the Aegean got its name from that location, and a huge group photo was taken (31 mins 15 secs) Tournament production values Gavin describes the production as setting new high-water marks for tournament organisation – high enough that the Chicago 2027 organising team would be wondering how to match it. Every player had a colour-coded sash matching their country, a branded WDC Athens notepad in their country colour, and a matching pen for every round (33 mins) The awards were 3D-printed Greek god statues for the podium finishers, complemented by a full suite of themed awards for the top players in each country and for notable gameplay (34 min) Special awards included: the Ajax Award for 8th place overall (the brilliant fighter who just missed out); the Archimedes Award for the most innovative play; the Leonidas Award for the player who fought on against insurmountable odds; and professionally screen-printed awards for best performance as each of the seven Great Powers (35 mins 45 secs) Gavin's games Round 1 – France – Board: Agkystri (View game) Gavin introduces his first game and the board composition: he played France, with Danae Stamataki (Austria-Hungary, local Greek player who topped the board on 10 supply centres and won best Austria), Sabrina Ahuja "Sabi" as England, Brian Ecton as Germany, Jean-Louis Delattre as Italy, Teo Ananiadis as Russia, and Frank Oosterom from the Netherlands as Turkey (37 mins 15 secs) The plan was a Western Triple working with England and Germany, with the goal of neutralising a strong-looking Italy early. It didn't come together as intended (37 mins 45 secs) The infamous mis-order: Gavin had two builds and intended fleet Brest plus a second build. Instead he built fleet Brest and placed the build directly in MAO, effectively waiving his second build. The DBN commentators interpreted this as a genius strategic waive; Ken's interpretation was somewhat more grounded. Gavin confirms Ken was correct (39 mins) The other players on the board didn't share DBN's generous reading of the situation. Germany immediately moved into Burgundy and kept flipping between fronts as his position allowed. Italy kept pressing France throughout. Gavin found himself squeezed down to a single unit in the English Channel (40 mins 30 secs) Final turn plan: England agreed to convoy an army across to Picardy to support Gavin back into Brest. Instead, Sabi walked into an open Paris. Gavin ended the game with zero supply centres and was eliminated (42 mins 15 secs) Gavin notes he made his disappointment known professionally, and that he subsequently had a drink with Sabi – but not that night (44 mins 15 secs) Round 2 – England – Board: Lemnos Not covered by DBN. Gavin played England; the board included Dominick Stephens (New Zealand) as Germany, Chris Brand (Canada) as Russia, Ruben Sanchez as Italy, Roberto Perego (Italy) as France, Robert Schuppe as Turkey, and Anastasia "Nastja" Styles as Austria-Hungary (46 mins) The plan was a Northern Alliance of England, Germany, and Russia. It unravelled immediately when Chris opened Moscow to Livonia and Dominick interpreted it as aggressive – resulting in a Germany-Russia war from the outset (46 mins 15 secs) Gavin adapted: knowing Germany was occupied in the east, he gave Russia some space and opened into Belgium, with Dominick and Chris both honouring his request to take Norway unopposed via fleet (46 mins 45 secs) Dominick and Gavin worked to grind down Roberto Perego's France, who ground out a hard-fought game staying alive on 2 centres. Ruben Sanchez's Italy played a deft game, flipping between alliances with Turkey and Austria (49 mins 15 secs) Dominick topped the board on 10; Ruben came in at 9; Gavin finished at 7. The game was meant to run to 1909 but drew earlier when the position stabilised. Gavin reflects he may have drawn too early, with both Dominick and Ruben suggesting he had room to push for another two centres (50 mins) Round 3 – Germany – Board: Symi (View game) Gavin played Germany. The board included Shane Armstrong (Australia) as France, Mikalis Kamaritis as Italy, Alex Maslow (USA) as Russia, Steven Hogue (USA) as Austria, Alex Lebedev (Russia) as England, and Jack Johns as Turkey (51 mins 15 secs) The strategic context: only Mikalis Kamaritis and Alex Lebedev were realistically in contention for the top board from this game. Shane and Gavin identified this early and committed to supporting the player they believed deserved to be there (52 mins 45 secs) Shane and Gavin opened with a Sealion against England, while Gavin also walked a careful line with Alex Lebedev, who initially felt more threatened by France than Germany. Austria was eliminated in 1903, and England in 1904 (53 mins 45 secs) A notable moment: Gavin slipped an army from the North Sea into an unoccupied London – a move he acknowledged was unnecessary, created friction with Alex Lebedev, and which he would not make again. He apologised on the day (56 mins 15 secs) Mikalis told Gavin and Shane to wait until 1905 – and delivered. He launched from his eastern position, took two dots off Russia and one off Turkey in a single year, then steamrolled from there. Alex Maslow was a strong and enjoyable player who nearly flipped the alliance but ultimately couldn't (56 mins 15 secs) The game agreed to a draw of 10-10-14 (Shane-Gavin-Mikalis), which the three felt would get Mikalis comfortably onto the top board. In the final adjudication Mikalis took one extra dot away from Shane, making the final scores 15-10-9 (58 mins 15 secs) Round 4 – Austria – Board: Myconos (View game) Gavin made it onto the fourth round, placed into the 6th top board. The board featured Shane Armstrong again as Turkey, Emmett Wainwright as England, Patrick Jacobson as France, Nathan Lester as Germany, Cameron Taylor as Italy, and Richard Bolton as Russia (59 mins 30 secs) The standout introduction: Nathan Lester, son of Dan Lester (who Gavin played against at Bangkok WDC). Same voice, same playing style, same persuasive meta-game arguments – but with a mullet and dressed like he's in an 80s rock video, and without the beard-stroking (1 hr 0 mins 45 secs) Gavin and Shane, having just played together in Round 3, ended up as Austria and Turkey respectively – not a natural alliance. Gavin didn't trust it but it held. Italy and France both kept fighting hard throughout (59 mins 45 secs) The game drew in 1906, with Shane and Emmett both finishing on 8, Gavin on 6 as Austria. Everyone then rushed across the road to watch the top board (1 hr 3 mins 45 secs) The top board Ken asks about Mikalis's diplomatic style. Gavin: exceptional situational awareness, communicates clearly and directly, asked and answered the "what do you want from this game?" question in a way that built immediate trust, and was good to his word on timing (1 hr 4 mins) Gavin arrived at the top board mid-1906 (his own game had just drawn). The top board was played outdoors under a well-shaded tree with plenty of room for negotiations, guarded by two or three people ensuring other players and passing members of the public couldn't crowd the board (1 hr 5 mins) The giant shadow board: a massive life-size replica board was set up nearby so all spectators could follow the game without approaching the real board. Andrew Goff read out the orders and the shadow board was updated after each adjudication – the same setup used at Milan WDC (1 hr 7 mins 45 secs) When Gavin arrived, he felt Bradley Grace had the game. The shift came late – Mikalis made a decisive move in the endgame that separated him from a closely matched France/Germany contest (1 hr 9 mins) Congratulations to Mikalis Kamaritis – well deserved, Gavin says. And to Bradley Grace: so close, but it will happen (1 hr 9 mins) The awards ceremony included Mikalis receiving both the championship belt and a traditional olive laurel wreath – a detail that was not captured in the DBN stream. Ken flags this as something future broadcasts should consider covering (1 hr 11 mins 15 secs) A Best Shane Cubis Award was also created – won by a Greek player who loudly lobbied Spyros for an award on the basis of how much he'd helped out. An AI-generated image of Shane Cubis in 1901 attire featured on the award, to the complete bafflement of the European and American contingents (1 hr 12 mins 50 secs) Game hobby and future WDCs The Chicago Windy City Weasels delivered a presentation promoting WDC 2027, enthusiastically received by the assembled players (1 hr 13 mins 15 secs) The 2028 bid: Melbourne was the only bid, and it was unanimously approved. Andrew Goff (Goffy) presented it. WDC 2028 Melbourne will be held at the MCG – the Melbourne Cricket Ground – with the conference rooms used for regular play, and the premier top board played on the MCG wicket itself. The countdown timer will run on the MCG scoreboard. Notionally scheduled for the last weekend of February 2028 – the weekend after the Formula One Grand Prix and the weekend before the first AFL round (1 hr 14 mins 30 secs) For international context: roughly equivalent to playing at Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, the Camp Nou, or Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. English players will recognise the MCG as where English cricket hopes traditionally come to die (1 hr 15 mins 15 secs) Also at the game hobby: a unanimous vote to amend and modernise the WDC charter, which dates from around 2000–2001 and doesn't reflect current online play, email communication, or the organisational structures of the Asia-Pacific and European hobbies. Four representatives (from NADF, the Asia-Pacific Diplomacy Association, and the European and UK hobbies) will draft amendments to be presented at WDC 2027 Chicago, with ratification at WDC 2028 Melbourne (1 hr 18 mins) Wrap up Gavin acknowledges the full organising effort: approximately 10 people working behind the scenes alongside Spyros and Jamal to make everything run. The Greek hobby and Athens Diplomacy Club can be enormously proud (1 hr 20 mins 30 secs) The Armistice Party: held between rounds three and four in the venue near the pool area. A DJ with a custom app allowed all attending players to nominate up to 10 songs each, with the crowd then voting in real time from four options for what came next. Gavin describes it as stunningly well thought through (1 hr 22 mins) Ken summarises: meticulously planned, wonderful venue, brilliant location, great games, fantastic people. Gavin: you got it in one. Thank you to Spyros, Jamal, and everyone they played with (1 hr 23 mins) Addendum – recorded one week later Ken and Gavin explain the addendum: a few things were either forgotten or lost in the original recording, so they've caught up a week later to cover them (1 hr 25 mins 45 secs) The Cane Toad The Cane Toad tournament will not run in 2026 – Gavin has made the decision to rest it for the year and bring it back bigger and better in 2027 (1 hr 26 mins 30 secs) Reasons: Gavin no longer lives in Brisbane where the tournament has historically been based, and several attempts to get a local game going have been completely unsuccessful. He feels it would be unfair to interstate players to travel to Queensland only to play mostly other interstate players rather than a meaningful proportion of locals (1 hr 27 mins 30 secs) He also flags cost-of-living pressures and fuel costs as factors, noting that the fuel excise which had been removed is about to be reinstated (1 hr 28 mins 45 secs) Ken and Gavin have a brief riff on whether cane toads actually hibernate, and whether the tournament might one day move to a different Queensland location (1 hr 28 mins 45 secs) Gavin shares a long-held dream of running the Cane Toad on the beach under a sun-safe setup. Council regulations require public liability insurance – but the Asia Pacific Diplomacy Association is in the process of organising exactly that for tournament directors, which may open the door in future (1 hr 29 mins 15 secs) Tournament news The Sydney Cup is on the weekend of 4–5 July. Gavin would love to go but has used up his diplomacy credits between Greece and starting a new job – it'll have to stay in the bank for now (1 hr 30 mins 45 secs) A New Zealand tournament is being discussed for the week before WDC 2028 Melbourne (late February 2028). Three New Zealand players who attended WDC 2026 in Athens have flagged interest in hosting something, on the logic that if you're travelling all the way from Europe or the US, a short hop across the Tasman to New Zealand is well worth building into the itinerary (1 hr 32 mins) Ken enthusiastically endorses the idea and encourages anyone planning for WDC 2028 Melbourne to factor in a week in New Zealand beforehand (1 hr 33 mins 30 secs) Challenge for next episode Over his birthday lunch, Gavin's son surprised him with an accurate recall of his WDC result. This leads Gavin to issue a challenge for the next episode: both Ken and Gavin will do some homework and come back with three or four online diplomacy resources that people may not know about, to raise awareness of what the community has put together over the years (1 hr 34 mins 45 secs) Around the grounds VDiplomacy gets an introduction for any listeners who aren't familiar: a sibling platform to WebDiplomacy, it hosts classic games but is particularly known for its range of variants (1 hr 36 mins 30 secs) The Dionysus Reimagined game recap – the ancient Greece variant Ken and Gavin set up in the lead-up to WDC Athens. Ken soloed, eliminating Gavin in the final year. Gavin notes that technically his last dot was taken so late that his result registers as a survive rather than an elimination (1 hr 38 mins 45 secs) Gavin played Athens and found himself defending on all fronts from early on: Sparta (who built only armies and had nowhere to go but north), the Macedonians pressing from the north, Byzantium late in the game, and Rhodes. Ken played Byzantium and credits his early token luck as a key advantage, picking up all his bid supply centres including one he expected to bounce – giving him fleet dominance in the Aegean from the start (1 hr 40 mins) The bid mechanics are recapped for any listeners unfamiliar with the variant: each player has 4 tokens to bid on non-core supply centres; outbid or bounce and you don't get the build. Ken's fortunate opening bids gave him a decisive early position (1 hr 40 mins 30 secs) A practical tip for vDiplomacy players: always open the large map after adjudication. The small map can omit orders that didn't go through, making moves look different from what was actually played. Ken noted several instances in the Dionysus game where support orders that failed simply weren't visible on the small map (1 hr 45 mins 45 secs) Ken congratulates himself on the win and notes the ratings gap between the two has now closed to around 100 points (1 hr 47 mins 30 secs) New game announced: Gavin has set up a Pirates game titled Ahoy Mateys on vDiplomacy. Gunboat, 2-day 2-hour phase length. Ken explains the extra 2 hours: it gradually shifts the adjudication time back toward Australian time zones in games where everyone readies up early (1 hr 48 mins) Pirates variant overview: a 13-player variant set in the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean, created by Gavin in collaboration with Ollie (the vDiplomacy site administrator). The 13 players are broken into three factions (1 hr 51 mins 45 secs): Europeans – Spain, England, France, and Holland, who nominally control supply centres across the map but must capture them to make them count Pirates – five pirates, four historical (Montbas, Brasiliano, de la Cueva, and Johnson) and one fictitious: El Guapo, borrowed from the movie The Three Amigos Privateers – one per European power, operating as private navies with letters patent. They can attack anyone except their sponsoring power (and vice versa). The Dunkirkers serve Spain, Henry Morgan serves England, François Le Jones serves France, and the Rocherson serves Holland Unit rules: all units are fleets, but there are two types – Clippers (move up to two spaces, standard attack strength) and Frigates (move one space, attack at 1.5x strength). A single clipper cannot defend against an attacking frigate, but a clipper supported by another clipper can. Five marked spots on the board allow transformation between unit types (1 hr 57 mins 45 secs) Special rules: a voodoo witch's hut in Cuba allows a fleet on the north coast to teleport to the south coast and vice versa. And a 14th non-playing character – a Hurricane – spins up each storm season in a random sea territory, moves randomly in the fall turn, and destroys anything in its path with an effectively unstoppable attack strength, also resetting any supply centre it passes through to neutral (1 hr 59 mins) Ken commits to reading the full rules before play begins, notes Pirates has a genuine following on vDiplomacy with games regularly in progress, and suspects he may get slaughtered (2 hr 1 min 15 secs) Gavin and Ken wrap up the show (2 hr 2 mins 15 secs) Venue: At home Drinks for the interview: Ken: One of his home brews – a lager with a bit of a kick Gavin: A Baliamo Nero d'Avola from Sicily – opened two weeks prior, which he noted had become a little sour and bitter compared to its fresh opening, much like his first round at the tournament Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment… or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.
Robert Ward speaks with Japan's Minister of Defense, Koizumi Shinjiro, on the sidelines of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. In this special episode of Japan Memo, Minister Koizumi discusses his impressions of the Dialogue and reflects on what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's speech means for Japan and for the US—Japan Alliance.Together, they explore:● Minister Koizumi's impressions of the Shangri-La Dialogue;● the highlights of Secretary Hegseth's address and its implications for Japan;● Japan's defence-industrial cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.We hope you enjoy the episode. Please follow, rate and subscribe to Japan Memo on your preferred podcast platform. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us at japanchair@iiss.org.Date recorded: 30 May 2026Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The resignation of Britain's Defence Secretary has thrown high-level talks with Australia into disarray and reignited debate about the future of the AUKUS submarine pact. John Healey quit after accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government of failing to adequately fund defence, forcing the cancellation of a planned appearance with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. The political fallout is now being felt on both sides of the world, with critics questioning the stability of one of Australia's most ambitious defence projects.Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.TRANSCRIPT“At six a dramatic and unexpected resignation by the defence secretary John Healey... “The shock resignation of John Healy has exposed deep divisions within the British government over defence spending.Mr Healey quit after a dispute with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over military funding, warning Britain was failing to invest enough in its armed forces at a time of growing global threats.Just hours earlier, he had been photographed jogging with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles ahead of a planned visit to Portsmouth Naval Base.That event was later cancelled after Mr Healey's resignation.The now former Defence Secretary had been publicly defending AUKUS and Britain's commitment to the submarine partnership.“I'm not going to comment on figures - the Prime Minister knows what defence and the nation needs.” The resignation has triggered a political storm in London.Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch says Sir Keir Starmer's government is unraveling.“Keir Starmer's premiership is falling apart, his health secretary resigned two weeks ago, his defence secretary resigned at a critical time when we are facing global threats and he is doing so because the prime minister is trying to please his back benchers by putting money into welfare instead of defence”. The developments have also intensified scrutiny of AUKUS in Australia.Peter Garrett, who is chairing a public inquiry into the submarine pact, says the timing of the resignation highlights why the project needs closer examination.“The reason we need to have the enquiry now is there has never been a public debate or even a parliamentary debate about the biggest amount of money that Australian will ever spend in its defence history, at least up to now and the fact that Mr Marles' counterpart has disappeared overnight - I mean it's a bit of a symbol really” Mr Garrett says Australia should make its own assessment of whether the deal is in the national interest.“I think our credibility is only enhanced if we apply our own thinking as an independent sovereign nation as to what's in our best national interest, and that's the question that we're asking about AUKUS is it ultimately in our best national interest? And other nations will respect that, if we come to that view.” The Greens have also seized on the developments.Senator David Shoebridge says Richard Marles has been left politically exposed by turmoil among Australia's AUKUS partners.“Defence minister Marles seems committed to a process of ritual global humiliation as he does a world tour of AUKUS. Richard Marles went to Singapore and came back with 3 second hand submarines. He then travels off to the UK for AUKUS and is met by the resignation of the UK defence minister, literally been left standing at the altar with not a nuclear sub to be seen. You can't make this stuff up.” The federal government has rejected suggestions the resignation will affect the submarine deal.Cabinet minister Tim Ayres says AUKUS has deep support across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and will continue regardless of changes in personnel.
What if a cancerous tumour could be destroyed without a single incision, stitch or scar? A Singapore grandfather waiting for a liver transplant has become one of the first patients in Southeast Asia to undergo a breakthrough treatment called histotripsy - a technology that uses focused sound waves to destroy a liver tumour. Could this be a glimpse into the future of medicine, where cancer treatment becomes less invasive? Hosted by Michelle Martin, this episode explores the science, the human story and what innovations like histotripsy could mean for longevity and the future of cancer care. Send this episode onto someone who needs a boost of hope. Guest: Prof Brian Goh, Head of Department of Hepato-pancreato-biliary and Transplant Surgery, SGH & NCCS, and Principal Investigator of the HALT Study.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could Wall Street be dramatically underestimating how much the world's biggest tech companies will spend on AI infrastructure? Why are stocks like SanDisk and ASML soaring, and are we witnessing the early stages of a semiconductor supercycle? Where are professional investors finding opportunities beyond Singapore's blue chips, and what does DBS see in Centurion? And what can an AI prediction for the World Cup teach us about investing, probability and spotting opportunities before the crowd does? Hosted by Michelle Martin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Biblical Prosperity- Part BThis is not just a podcast - it's a move of God.Shan Kikon, from Nagaland, India, is the Lead Pastor of Faith Harvest Church, carrying a heart to ignite revival across the nations. Once he had a desire for a corporate future, but everything changed after a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ in Singapore in 1996. In that moment, he laid down his desires to become a bold voice for the Gospel.Marked by the anointing and grounded in truth, Shan Kikon delivers revelation that cuts deep, awakens the spirit, and transforms lives. This is not just teaching; this is an encounter.For inquiries, prayer requests, or more information, feel free to reach out to us at : faithharvestnagaland@gmail.com.
Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P.────────────────────── VALUE OPTIONS LETTER Three to five curated ideas every week — cash-secured puts, covered calls, and spreads on businesses we'd want to own at strikes we'd be willing to pay. Every trade includes the business thesis in plain English, the fair-value estimate and its key assumptions, the specific option trade with target premium, and the pre-identified exit criteria.Every idea reviewed and approved by an analyst before it hits your inbox.valueoptionsletter.com/subscribe──────────────────────See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcastAbout Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3lABOUT THE PODCASTHi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations.We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success.SEE LATEST EPISODEShttps://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/FOLLOW TOBIASWebsite: https://acquirersmultiple.com/Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/GreenbackdLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisleABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLETobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law.Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).
Mummy bread/A disturbing look at a vore aficionado Patreon (Get ad-free episodes, Patreon Discord Access, and more!) https://www.patreon.com/user?u=18482113 PayPal Donation Link https://tinyurl.com/mrxe36ph MERCH STORE!!! https://tinyurl.com/y8zam4o2 Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/28CIOGSFRUXAD?ref_=wl_share Dead Rabbit Radio Archive Episodes https://deadrabbitradio.blogspot.com/2025/07/ episode-archive.html https://archive.ph/UELip Dead Rabbit Radio Recommends Master List https://letterboxd.com/dead_rabbit/list/dead-rabbit-radio-recommends/ Links: EP 537 - The Men Who Love Quicksand (Vore episode) https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-537-the-men-who-love-quicksand EP 1588 - Bottoms Up! (Vore episode) https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-1588-bottoms-up Lee Cronin's The Mummy https://youtu.be/2QYptZpqDgA?si=NYThraxAV6hjrfF3 Sourdough made from yeast inside Europe's oldest mummy https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/03/sourdough-made-from-yeast-inside-europes-oldest-mummy/ Ötzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi Scientists find yeast in ancient Iceman's guts -- and make bread https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scientists-yeast-ancient-icemans-guts-002754866.html?ncid=redditnewsus Scientists Made Sourdough Bread With Yeast Found on Ötzi the Iceman's Mummified Body https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-made-sourdough-bread-with-yeast-found-on-otzi-the-icemans-mummified-body-180988894/ How Did Ötzi the Iceman Get His Tattoos? Archaeologists and Tattoo Artists Unravel the Mystery https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-did-otzi-the-iceman-get-his-tattoos-archaeologists-and-tattoo-artists-unravel-the-mystery-180984194/ Famed 5,300-Year-Old Alps Iceman Was a Balding Middle-Aged Man With Dark Skin and Eyes https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/famed-5300-year-old-alps-iceman-was-a-balding-middle-aged-man-with-dark-skin-and-eyes-180982744/ Ötzi the Iceman May Have Carried a Cancer-Causing Strain of HPV, a Common Virus Still Plaguing Humans Today https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/otzi-the-iceman-may-have-carried-a-cancer-causing-strain-of-hpv-a-common-virus-still-plaguing-humans-today-180988024/ The Iceman's microbiome: unveiling millennia of microbial diversity and continuity https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-026-02417-6 The Covid 'lab leak' theory isn't just a rightwing conspiracy – pretending that's the case is bad for science https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/covid-lab-leak-theory-right-conspiracy-science Vorarephilia: A case study in masochism and erotic consumption https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256930571_Vorarephilia_A_Case_Study_in_Masochism_and_Erotic_Consumption Vorarephilia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorarephilia Vorarephilia https://grokipedia.com/page/Vorarephilia Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Deviant-Desires-Incredibly-Strange-Sex/dp/1890451037 Trump x Biden vore happy vore day https://www.deviantart.com/tiprubberhoe/art/Trump-x-Biden-vore-happy-vore-day-1228002649 Strong Bad Vore Donald Trump At Homestar https://www.deviantart.com/zemelo2003/art/Strong-Bad-Vore-Donald-Trump-At-Homestar-854315088 Half A Million Kinksters Can't Be Wrong https://asteriskmag.com/issues/04/half-a-million-kinksters-can-t-be-wrong We Asked Predators and Prey About Their Vore Fetish https://www.vice.com/en/article/we-asked-predators-and-prey-about-their-vore-fetish/ Singapore forensic psychologist explains why voyeurs and molesters commit crimes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loQmV7kNwFc Voyeurism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyeurism A Descriptive Model of Voyeuristic Behavior https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10880415/ Beyond Looking: When Voyeurism Leads to Criminal Behavior https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/201801/beyond-looking-when-voyeurism-leads-to-criminal-behavior ------------------------------------------------ Audio Extract from "Latex Giantess Devours, Digests And Excretes Tiny Man - TRAILER" By The Goddess Clue Logo Art By Ash Black Opening Song: "Atlantis Attacks" Closing Song: "Bella Royale" Music By Simple Rabbitron 3000 created by Eerbud Thanks to Chris K, Founder Of The Golden Rabbit Brigade Dead Rabbit Archivist Some Weirdo On Twitter AKA Jack YouTube Champ: Stewart Meatball Reddit Champ: TheLast747 The Haunted Mic Arm provided by Chyme Chili Discord Mods: Mason, Rudie Jazz Forever Fluffle: Cantillions, Samson, Gregory Gilbertson, Jenny The Cat http://www.DeadRabbit.com Email: DeadRabbitRadio@gmail.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeadRabbitRadio Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DeadRabbitRadio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deadrabbitradio Dead Rabbit Radio Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DeadRabbitRadio/ Paranormal News Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalNews/ Mailing Address Jason Carpenter PO Box 1363 Hood River, OR 97031 Paranormal, Conspiracy, and True Crime news as it happens! Jason Carpenter breaks the stories they'll be talking about tomorrow, assuming the world doesn't end today. All Contents Of This Podcast Copyright Jason Carpenter 2018 - 2025
Today we cover the continued institutionalization of crypto as BlackRock moves closer to launching a Bitcoin income ETF, Japan advances legislation that could pave the way for crypto ETFs, and the CFTC proposes new oversight rules for prediction markets. We also examine the rapid growth of real-world asset tokenization, which has now reached nearly $29 billion, alongside a stablecoin market that has expanded to roughly $320 billion.Matt also discusses Singapore's DBS Bank launching tokenized gold products, why tokenization may be the most important trend in crypto today, and whether a potential SpaceX IPO could pull speculative capital away from Bitcoin, AI, and other risk assets. Finally, we review the latest crypto prices, Bitcoin's recovery above $62,000, and why the real story may not be price action at all, but the continued buildout of crypto infrastructure happening behind the scenes.Happy Hodling, Everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week on Autonomy Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla's application to operate up to 5,000 robotaxis in Las Vegas, Waymo's $220 million purchase of Apple's former proving grounds, and Neolix's partnership with Quickbot to solve the last 50 meters of autonomous delivery.On June 3rd, Tesla expanded their unsupervised robotaxi geofence to cover the entire 245 square mile Austin metropolitan area, even as its active fleet contracted to an estimated 20 to 25 vehicles. That same week, Tesla filed an application with the Nevada Transportation Authority for an Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit to operate up to 5,000 robotaxis in Clark County within the next 12 months.With expanding service areas and a contracting physical fleet, Tesla is optimizing for a coverage narrative while software readiness remains the critical bottleneck to commercial scale, and the path to Las Vegas still runs through individual casino property agreements.Waymo purchased Apple's former proving grounds in Wittmann, Arizona, originally the DaimlerChrysler proving grounds, for $220 million. The site is larger than Waymo's existing California and Ohio testing grounds combined, featuring a 115 acre city course, a four mile high speed oval, and a dedicated freeway loop, and it sits roughly an hour from Waymo's Mesa vehicle integration facility.By securing a closed loop validation pipeline adjacent to its manufacturing hub, Waymo is converting capital into validation velocity as it targets one million weekly rides by the end of the year and up to 20 additional cities by the end of 2026.Then there is Neolix, the Chinese autonomous delivery company, which announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based Quickbot to co-deploy an end-to-end autonomous delivery solution. The integration pairs Neolix's Level 4 logistics vehicles with Quickbot's autonomous final mile delivery platform, which manages secure entry through doors and elevators without human intervention.Anchored in Singapore's Punggol Digital District and timed to the country's regulatory transition from sandbox to commercial operations, the alliance creates the first commercially viable human-free continuous delivery chain from road to door, with the Asia-Pacific and Middle East as the real targets.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: Tesla's Big Austin Expansion and Las Vegas Robotaxi Ambitions22:47 Signal 2: Waymo Buys Apple's Former Proving Grounds44:07 Signal 3: Neolix Partners with Quickbot to Solve the Last 50 Meters56:42 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Are you struggling with anxiety around your MBA application? Karthik Rajeswaran is the owner of MBALink, the premier MBA consultancy in Singapore. In this episode, Karthik talks about how low attention spans create study roadblocks, test-taking anxiety, and procrastination, and how to overcome these common habits to succeed. Achievable's GRE prep course uses AI-powered adaptive learning to target your weak areas and boost your score - visit https://achievable.me/exams/gre/overview/#s=podcast to try it for free.
In this episode, portfolio manager Steven Visscher covers how Mawer's balanced portfolios navigated 2025 and how they are positioned in 2026. With a war-driven energy shock on one side and an AI investment boom on the other, the market is pulling in two directions at once. Steven walks through what that means for asset mix, where the team is seeing signs of investor complacency, and why cracks in private credit could soon create a meaningful opportunity. Key Takeaways: Two forces are competing for market direction in 2026: a war-driven energy shock from the conflict in Iran pushing inflation and rates higher, and a broadening AI investment boom driving strong earnings momentum across the global economy. AI capital investment has expanded well beyond the hyperscalers to include memory, storage, cooling, data centres, and electrical grid infrastructure, with more than 80% of S&P 500 Q1 reporters beating earnings expectations. Current positioning remains close to neutral at 60% equity, with a continued underweight to U.S. equities in favour of international and emerging markets. Valuations, interest rates, and investor psychology all support staying close to that neutral stance. Cracks in private credit are emerging through rising defaults and client redemption gating. The team is building global credit exposure gradually and is prepared to deploy capital more aggressively when a dislocation occurs. In an environment of competing forces and mixed signals, staying diversified, maintaining valuation discipline, and building portfolios that can withstand multiple scenarios remains the priority. Host: Andrew Johnson, CFA Institutional Portfolio Manager Guest: Steven Visscher, CFA Investment Counsellor This episode is available for download anywhere you get your podcasts. Founded in 1974, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. (pronounced "more") is a privately owned independent investment firm managing assets for institutional and individual investors. Mawer employs over 250 people in Canada, U.S., and Singapore. Visit Mawer at https://www.mawer.com. Follow us on social: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/mawer-investment-management/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mawerinvestmentmanagement/
Film Review: Emily: I Am Kam Main Topic: Antifungal Therapy in Avian Species We get furry and fuzzy this week with a deep dive into antifungal therapy in avian species. VetGurus Merchandise – VetGurus Etsy Store VetGurus Shop Checkout the VetGurus range of quirky, distinctive branded items. All purchases help support our podcast , helping pay for our production costs. So the bonus for you is that you get some great merchandise and you feel good inside for supporting us – win:win. So click on this link and get shopping. Order now: VetGurus Shop. Say Hi! Send us an email: VetGurus@Gmail.com. We love hearing from our listeners – give us a yell now! Become a Patron Become a Patron of VetGurus: Support us by ‘throwing a bone’ to the VetGurus – a small regular donation to help pay for our production costs. It’s easy; just go to our Patreon site. You can be a rabbit.. or an echidna.. one day we are hoping for a Guru level patron! https://www.patreon.com/VetGurus Support our Sponsors Specialised Animal Nutrition. Specialised Animal Nutrition is the Australian distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products. Used and recommended by top exotic animal veterinarians around the globe, the Oxbow range comprises premium life-staged feeds and supportive care products for small herbivores. Microchips Australia: Microchips Australia is the Australian distributor for: Trovan microchips, readers and reading systems; Lone Star Veterinary Retractor systems and Petrek GPS tracking products. Microchips Australia is run by veterinarians experienced in small and large animal as well as avian and exotic practice, they know exactly what is needed for your practice. Chemical Essentials. Cleaning and disinfection products and solutions for a wide variety of industries throughout Australia, as well as specific markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. The sole importer of the internationally acclaimed F10SC Disinfectant and its related range of advanced cleaning, personal hygiene and animal skin care products. About Our Podcast The veterinary podcast about veterinary medicine and surgery, current news items of interest, case reports and anecdotes. Wait: It's not all about veterinary matters! We also discuss other areas we are passionate about, including photography and wildlife. Thanks for joining us – Brendan and Mark. Our podcast is for veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary nurses/technicians. If you are at pet owner please search elsewhere – there are lots of great podcasts aimed specifically at pet owners. Disclaimer Any discussion of medical or veterinary matters is of a general nature. Consult a veterinarian with experience in the appropriate field for specific information relating to topics mentioned in our podcast or on our website.
As AI demand surges, our Asia Energy Analyst Mayank Maheshwari discusses the new multi-trillion-dollar investment cycle to secure the power, fuels, grids and storage that keep modern life running.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Mayank Maheshwari, Morgan Stanley's Asia Energy analyst. Today: how AI's rapid growth is forcing Asia into a massive energy buildout across power grids, fuels, storage and dependable energy and power generation. It's Tuesday, June 9th at 8am in Singapore. Every time you ask AI to draft a note, summarize a file, plan a trip or generate an image, the response feels instant and easy. But behind it sits a very physical system: data centers, electricity, cooling, fuel, metals, power lines, storage tanks and ships. There is no AI without energy. And in Asia, the power and energy needs could get much bigger. And right now, we are at a critical inflection point where energy, AI, and security converge into [a] once-in-a-generation investment cycle. We see a super cycle with $5 trillion plus in new investments in energy over next five years, almost double of what we have seen in the past decade. And this has global implications as Asia consumes almost half of the world's energy needs – but produces only about a third of it at home. Energy markets may be global, but energy insecurity is local. It shows up in electricity prices, fuel shortages, factory delays, food supply pressure and household budgets. By 2030, Asia's energy use could rise by about 38 exajoules. That increase is roughly equal to all the energy the Middle East consumes today. Power demand alone could reach about 19 trillion units a year when expressed in kilowatt-hours. That is around four trillion more units of electricity usage than in 2025, driven by data centers, industry, and onshoring of businesses. AI is now part of that demand story. By 2030, data centers could use roughly one-sixth of all new power units in Asia. That makes AI a major new load on the power system. Meeting this demand requires a major investment cycle. Asia's annual energy investment could rise to roughly US$1.1 trillion a year over the next five years. Much of that spending goes into the power system itself: generation, grids, storage and the equipment needed to connect everything. Grids may be the biggest bottleneck. Think of [the] grid as the highway system for electricity. You can build more power plants, but if the roads clog up, the power does not reach homes, factories or data centers. Asia's grid investment needs could reach close to about US$1 trillion by 2030. Transformer lead times have stretched to years in some cases, which shows how tight the equipment supply chain has become. The hardest part is keeping the lights on every hour of the day. Baseload power means electricity that can run around the clock. Asia is adding a large amount of renewable power to its energy infrastructure. But that source depends on when the sun shines or the wind blows. That is why coal, gas and nuclear remain part of the conversation. Storage also moves from useful to essential. Batteries help smooth out renewable power demand when supply rises and falls during the day. Global energy storage installations could rise from about 500 gigawatt hours in 2025 to around 3,000 gigawatt hours in 2030. Powering AI also reaches beyond electricity. Data centers need power, but the system around them needs dependable fuels, grids, batteries, metals, refining, storage and shipping. Electricity has to be generated, moved, backed up and supplied through physical infrastructure. That is why this story pulls in copper and aluminum for grids, fuel refining for transport and petrochemical supply chains, and fertilizers because energy security also connects to food security. The future may look digital, but it will be powered by something far more physical: the largest energy buildout Asia has seen in decades. Thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.
The 21st Century in 100 Games (Routledge India, 2024) is an interactive public history of the contemporary world. It creates a ludological retelling of the 21st century through 100 games that were announced, launched and played from the turn of the century. Aditya Deshbandhu is Senior Lecturer of Communications, Digital Media Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK. A researcher of video game studies, new media, and the digital divide, he examines how people engage with digital artefacts and seeks to understand how these interactions shape everyday lives. As someone who actively examines digital acts of leisure, his research in the last decade has examined social media and streaming platforms alongside video games and digital cultures. He is also the author of Gaming Culture(s) in India: Digital Play in Everyday Life and also serves as an editor for this book series. Khadeeja Amenda is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
The 21st Century in 100 Games (Routledge India, 2024) is an interactive public history of the contemporary world. It creates a ludological retelling of the 21st century through 100 games that were announced, launched and played from the turn of the century. Aditya Deshbandhu is a Lecturer of Communications, Digital Media Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK. A researcher of video game studies, new media, and the digital divide, he examines how people engage with digital artefacts and seeks to understand how these interactions shape everyday lives. As someone who actively examines digital acts of leisure, his research in the last decade has examined social media and streaming platforms alongside video games and digital cultures. He is also the author of Gaming Culture(s) in India: Digital Play in Everyday Life and also serves as an editor for this book series. Khadeeja Amenda is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Dr. Lydia Lau, Deputy Head, describes the undergraduate curriculum at Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). In this podcast, she walks us through the prelicensure curriculum, which is based on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). All of the nursing programs in Singapore now use these EPAs. Faculty use case based learning and have intentionally integrated modules in the curriculum to build students' resilience and promote their self-care.
Boards are under pressure to govern AI responsibly, but most directors still lack the knowledge to ask the right questions, let alone hold management accountable. Two leaders explain what it actually takes.Dr. Chong Yoke Sin chairs Singapore's SCS AI Ethics and Governance Council and sits on financial services, property, and healthcare boards. Heather Holding is Chief Risk Officer at Best Egg and hosts an AI adoption series called “AI With Heather.” They've approached AI governance from opposite ends of the org chart—and landed on the same answer.In this episode:Why fiduciary responsibility now extends to AI (and what that means for directors who lack technical backgrounds)How continuous AI monitoring is disrupting the traditional three-lines-of-defense modelThe “organize my closet” onboarding method that got an entire risk team using AI regularlyWhy curiosity is the most important governance capability of the next 12 monthsWhat “clean data in” means for getting AI outputs you can trustSubscribe to The Pre-Read for bi-weekly insight for finance, risk, audit, and sustainability leaders.