Podcasts about Russian

Katsiaryna Shmatsina, Eurasia Fellow at Lawfare, sits down with Gabrielius Landsbergis, former Lithuanian Foreign Minister (2020–2024), now a visiting fellow at Stanford University, and Vytis Jurkonis, Associate Professor at Vilnius University and Director of Freedom House's Lithuania office.They discuss Lithuania's response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including shifts in security policy, public sentiment, and military readiness. The conversation covers regional defense, U.S.–Lithuania relations, NATO's role, and growing concerns about possible escalation into the Baltic region. They also reflect on Lithuania's path from Soviet occupation to independence and its integration into NATO and the EU.Additional resources on this topic:Read more from GabrieliusRead more from Katsiaryna on the U.S. administration's deal with Belarusian regimeRelated: Regional threat assessment of Russian military buildup near NATO bordersTo receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe is edging closer to using seized Russian assets to finance Ukraine. The country badly needs that 140bn-euro windfall—and much, much more. A much-fretted-about AI jobs apocalypse is not here yet, but AI-adopting firms are hiring less for junior-level positions. And our ranking of the passports that permit the most freedom of movement.Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe is edging closer to using seized Russian assets to finance Ukraine. The country badly needs that 140bn-euro windfall—and much, much more. A much-fretted-about AI jobs apocalypse is not here yet, but AI-adopting firms are hiring less for junior-level positions. And our ranking of the passports that permit the most freedom of movement.Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week's cybersecurity news, including: L3Harris Trenchant boss accused of selling exploits to Russia once worked at the Australian Signals Directorate Microsoft WSUS bug being exploited in the wild Dan Kaminsky DNS cache poisoning comes back because of a bad PRNG SpaceX finally starts disabling Starlink terminals used by scammers Garbage HP update deletes certificates that authed Windows systems to Entra This week's episode is sponsored by automation company Tines. Field CISO Matt Muller joins to discuss how Tines has embraced LLMs and the agentic-AI future into their workflow automation. This episode is also available on Youtube. Show notes US accuses former L3Harris cyber boss of stealing and selling secrets to Russian buyer | TechCrunch Attackers bypass patch in deprecated Windows Server update tool | CyberScoop CVE-2025-59287 WSUS Unauthenticated RCE | HawkTrace CVE-2025-59287 WSUS Remote Code Execution | HawkTrace Catching Credential Guard Off Guard - SpecterOps Cache poisoning vulnerabilities found in 2 DNS resolving apps - Ars Technica Uncovering Qilin attack methods exposed through multiple cases Safety on X: "By November 10, we're asking all accounts that use a security key as their two factor authentication (2FA) method to re-enroll their key to continue accessing X. You can re-enroll your existing security key, or enroll a new one. A reminder: if you enroll a new security key, any" / X SpaceX disables more than 2,000 Starlink devices used in Myanmar scam compounds | The Record from Recorded Future News SpaceX: Update Your Inactive Starlink Dishes Now or They'll Be Bricked How we linked ForumTroll APT to Dante spyware by Memento Labs | Securelist Former Polish official indicted over spyware purchase | The Record from Recorded Future News HP OneAgent Update Broke Entra Trust on HP AI Devices Windows' Built-in OpenSSH for Offensive Security How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA | WIRED

Journalist Julia Ioffe returns to The Naked Pravda to discuss her new book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, which was recently listed as a finalist for the National Book Award. Julia describes her years-long writing process, the blending of memoir and historical analysis, and the unique perspective provided by the narratives of women from the top echelons of Soviet and Russian society. The episode provides a detailed look at the complexities of Soviet and Russian feminism, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in this history and gender studies. Timestamps for this episode: (2:25) Chronological structure and key figures(6:07) Stalin's daughter: A metaphor for Russia(9:49) Challenges of historical accuracy(18:09) Balancing American paradigms and Russian perspectives(29:22) Class and cultural differencesКак поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

My guest is Chris Pouy, who shares an astonishing true story of love, betrayal, and murder on this latest episode of Most Notorious. His grandmother, Zoya Fyodorova, was a celebrated Russian actress who fell in love with an American naval officer, Jackson Tate, in 1945. It was a forbidden romance that led to the birth of Chris's mother, Victoria. Zoya was imprisoned for nearly a decade before reuniting with her daughter, who later moved to Connecticut after marrying Chris's father, another U.S. Navy captain. During Zoya's preparations to defect and join her family in the United States, she was mysteriously murdered at her kitchen table in December of 1981. Chris's website: https://whoischrispouy.com/ Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pouy-3b56334a The Admiral's Daughter on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/admirals-daughter-Victoria-Fyodorova/dp/0440003660 BBC Outlook: Murder in Moscow: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct6xcs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, President Trump announced that he was imposing significant new sanctions on Russia. It's an effort to cut off revenue Russia needs for its war in Ukraine. This comes at a time when Russia's oil industry is also under pressure from intensifying Ukrainian attacks on refineries, crude pipelines, and export terminals. It's also happening as producers have been ramping up output amid signs of cooling demand growth. Yet the sanctions could still bite. Especially given that the Treasury sanctions announcement came with the explicit warning that secondary sanctions—targeting buyers of Russian crude oil from these companies—could be coming next. So why did Trump take this step now? Will these sanctions be strongly enforced? What's the point of these sanctions? And what do they mean for global energy flows, energy markets and geopolitics? This week, we are sharing a recording of a Rapid Response webinar from Monday, October 27, in which Jason Bordoff spoke with three experts from the Center on Global Energy Policy — Richard Nephew, Tatiana Mitrova, and Daniel Sternoff — about these new Russian oil sanctions. Richard Nephew is senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy and a former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran. Tatiana Mitrova is a global fellow at the Center and has deep expertise in Russian and global energy markets. Daniel Sternoff is a senior fellow at the Center. He also leads Energy Aspects' executive briefing service. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.

Первые недели Макса и его семьи в Испании: сидр, шашлыки с русскоязычными друзьями, поиски квартиры и культурные открытия в Астурии. Много живой разговорной лексики и бытовых выражений — отличная практика аудирования уровня A2–B1.Max and his family's first weeks in Spain: cider, barbecues with Russian-speaking friends, apartment hunting, and cultural discoveries in Asturias. Full of real-life Russian expressions and everyday vocabulary — great listening practice for A2–B1 learners.

This week, Moscow's top general has claimed that Russia has tested a low-flying experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile. It is said to be powered by a nuclear reactor and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a potentially unlimited range. Russia calls it Burevestnik, Nato have codenamed it ‘Skyfall', and others have said it's a ‘tiny flying Chernobyl'. Western experts have previously cast doubt over missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.But how dangerous is it?Victoria is joined by the BBC's Ben Tavener and Catriona Perry in Moscow and Washington respectively, plus Dr Justin Bronk who is a senior research fellow for Airpower and Technology at the military think tank RUSI.Plus, after Trump shifts his positions on sanctions, we look to the future to ask how the US president could potentially put more economic pressure on Russia.Today's episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire. The producers were Julia Webster and Rufus Gray. The technical producer was Dave O'Neill. The series producer is Chris Flynn. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480 You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast's Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord

It's Tuesday, October 28th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson South African government regulating churches Earlier this month, the South African government agency, known as the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission, launched a committee to regulate churches in the country. The new committee will most likely make determinations as to “what qualifies as a religion,” who may be recognized as a religious leader, and where churches may worship. The concern is also that this governmental power would force churches to come under State-approved umbrella bodies. The nation's churches have scheduled a march to the Parliament building in Cape Town, the capital of South Africa, on November 13th. South Africa rejects self-defense as reason to own a gun The South African Parliament is also considering additional restrictions on firearms to remove “self-defense” as a valid reason to own a gun. This would remove meaningful protection for families, farms, and churches from violent criminals, in one of the most violent nations on Earth. The Communists and the left-leaning African National Congress have 51% control of the South African parliament. Turmoil in Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist government is still in turmoil. At this moment, 38 of the 205 members of the central committee failed to appear for the big Plenum session last week. Of the 33 generals on the Committee, 22 were missing. Trump to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Asian tour President Donald Trump met with Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday. This week, he will move on to high level meetings in South Korea and China, with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.  The White House announced that President Trump has signed historic peace deals with Cambodia and Thailand, trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, and minerals deals with Malaysia and Thailand. Javier Milei's mid-term election triumph in Argentina The results for Argentina's mid-term elections are in.  And Javier Milei's Libertarian Party crushed it, reports Reuters. Now, Milei's party has 41% control of the legislature which is up from 26% in 2023. The left wing party dropped off from 44% to 32% which is an 11% decline. Milei's agenda will have stronger legislative backing for more reforms in tax reduction and deregulation of business for the country. Bolivia rejects socialism And, by God's sovereign order of things, Bolivia has a new president as of last week, reports CBS News. Rodrigo Paz is more centrist — a change after 20 years of socialism in this mountainous country of South America. Not surprisingly, socialist countries like Venezuela and Bolivia are the poorest countries in all of South America. King Charles III glorified sodomy King Charles III of England glorified homosexuality yesterday by placing flowers at a newly constructed memorial to homosexuals serving in the nation's military, reports The Times. Prince Charles's mentor and uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, served as Britain's Chief of Defense in the 1960s, and was reported in 2019 as “a homosexual with a perversion for young boys.” King Charles III joined Pope Leo XIV for worship King Charles III made other news headlines last week, when he participated in a public worship service with the Roman Catholic Pope Leo XIV.   This was the first time a reigning British monarch joined the Pope for such events since the Reformation. King Charles and his wife, Camilla, sat on golden thrones under Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" fresco in the Sistine Chapel for the ecumenical service.  Joel 3 reminds us of God's judgement.   “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow — for their wickedness is great.” Putin celebrates successful test of missile Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated a successful test for the Burevestnik missile over the weekend, reports CBS News. Putin announced that the armament was ready for deployment, after it completed a 10,000-mile flight. Plus, according to the Russian military, the missile “successfully performed all designated vertical and horizontal maneuvers, demonstrating its strong ability to evade anti-missile and air defense systems.” Hurricane Melissa: Biggest one to hit Caribbean Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is barreling down on Jamaica. It's the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean nation in recorded history.  America's most lethal aircraft carrier off Venezuelan coast Meanwhile, the U.S. Military is sending its most lethal aircraft carrier from European waters into the Caribbean for the ongoing drug war, now heating up somewhere off the shores of Venezuela, reports TheHill.com. The main target for the flurry of activity appears to be Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the Trump administration has called an “illegitimate leader.” Appearing on CBS's Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was asked about possible land strikes in Venezuela. BRENNAN: “Are land strikes planned?” GRAHAM: “Yeah, I think that's a real possibility. I think President Trump's made a decision that [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it's time for him to go. Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for ‘narco terrorists' for too long.” Oil likely will cost less in 2026 America's oil wells are pumping it out.   Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Fox Business host Maria Bartiroma, that gas prices in 2026 may very well be lower than they were this year. BARTIROMA: “Can you give us a sense of what you would expect for 2026?” WIRTH: “Yeah, I think we see supply growing, particularly from the OPEC-supplying countries, and demand growing steadily. But as this supply comes back, it's weighing on commodity markets. So, we're prepared for prices in ‘26 to be lower than they were in ‘25.” Christian pastors arrested for child p*rn And finally, assorted national news stories report that Christian pastors and leaders have been recently arrested for possession of extreme evil forms of pornography involving children.   Singer and worship leader Jon Paul Sheptock, of First Montgomery Baptist Church, is under arrest, reports the Baptist Press.  The Idaho Statesman reports that the senior pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Nampa, Idaho was arrested for handling images of a “horrific” nature. Another Baptist youth pastor from Greenville, South Carolina was just sentenced to twenty years for a similar offense. A pastor of the House of Prayer Christian Church in Georgia has been indicted by a federal court for similar offenses. And another former youth pastor at the Southcoast church in Goleta, California has been arrested on related charges. Jeremiah speaks of religious scandals in the churches. The prophet wrote, “My heart within me is broken because of the prophets. . . For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, and their might is not right. “For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord. I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment.” (Jeremiah 23:9-12) Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, October 28th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Born near Kiev, he was raised in piety and, at the early age of eleven, entered the Ecclesiastical Academy of Kiev. At the age of seventeen he was professed as a monk. A few years later he was ordained to the priesthood. Despite his constant desire to retire into a life of asceticism and solitude, his many gifts were needed by the Church and, much against his will, he spent most of his life engaged in writing and other labors. The Abbot of the Lavra of the Kiev Caves, knowing his scholarly abilities, called him to compile a Russian-language Lives of the Saints, a work to which he devoted himself tirelessly for twenty-five years.   This compilation was not a dry exercise for him; he approached each Saint's life with prayer, and was often granted visions. The holy Martyr Barbara appeared to him in his sleep in 1685; when he asked her to intercede for him to the Lord, she chided him for praying "in the Latin Way," that is, for using short prayers. Seeing his distress at being so rebuked, she smiled and said "Do not be afraid!"   St Demetrius was elevated to the episcopal throne (of Metropolitan of Tobolsk and Siberia) in 1701, but asked to be transferred due to ill health, and because the Siberian see would not allow him to continue his research. So he was appointed to the Diocese of Rostov in 1702; he received a divine revelation that he would end his years there. He completed his monumental Lives of the Saints in 1705; thereafter he devoted his energies to the care of his flock, the education of priests, and many spiritual writings, including several addressed to the schismatic "Old Believers," pleading with them to rejoin the canonical Church.   Despite his poor health, he maintained a life of strict prayer and fasting, and encouraged his faithful, in his sermons and writings, to do the same. He predicted his own death three days beforehand. The Synaxarion concludes: "the holy Bishop fell at the feet of his servants and chanters, and asked their forgiveness. Then, with an ardent prayer on his lips, he shut himself in his cell. The next morning, 28 October 1709, they discovered him dead upon his knees. The relics of Saint Demetrius were found incorrupt in 1752 and they wrought many healings. He was formally glorified by the Church in 1757."

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, has a new book…- The disaster of Russia- Trump's evolving views on Putin (and Nigel's…and Georgia's…)- When McFaul met Putin…in 1991- Was the Maidan uprising an American-sponsored coup?- It's not about NATO- From boring technocrat to a nationalist, imperialist ideologue- What does Putin believe?- Vlad the flat taxer - He's not a Bolshevik- A crook, sure. But an ideological crook- Does no one care about 200,000 dead Russians?- Liberation or surveillance - Elite fatigue in Putin's Russia- The documentary Moynihan mentioned - Mike McFaul, Soviet bootlegger

On this episode of The Sick Podcast, Eric Engels joins Tony Marinaro to discuss the Montreal Canadiens' 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, the powerplay starting to click, Ivan Demidov drawing comparisons to some elite Russian forwards, Jakub Dobes supplanting Sam Montembeault as the team's current go-to goalie, Arber Xhekaj unable to limit costly mistakes, Alex Newhook playing his best hockey since joining the Canadiens and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of STRAT, we examine Ukraine's FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile — a potentially game-changing long-range weapon now entering serial production. Retired Marine intelligence officer LtCol. Hal Kempfer walks through reported production rates, propulsion sourcing, warhead capabilities, and the strategic implications for Russian infrastructure and morale. We unpack claims about range, cost, and manufacturing scale; evaluate targets that suddenly fall within reach (refineries, rail chokepoints, weapons factories, command nodes); and consider how lower-cost mass production could reshape procurement and battlefield calculus. Discussion covers export and supply-chain angles, the possible US interest in the design or cost efficiencies, and political risks for Moscow if strikes reach population centers. Listeners will gain a clearer sense of how Flamingo changes deep-strike dynamics, what vulnerabilities Russia might face, and why industrialized, affordable cruise missiles matter to future warfare and deterrence. We end with policy options and scenarios.Takeaways:· Flamingo (FP-5) reportedly offers ~3,000 km range — deep-strike game changer.· Production is scaling quickly; Ukraine moving toward mass production capacity.· Unit cost reportedly far lower than US Tomahawk, enabling volume use.· Engines and components sourced creatively — raises proliferation and supply-chain questions.· Warhead options include bunker buster and cluster bomb units — wide target set.· 80–90% of Russian industrial targets could be within Flamingo range.· Strategic effects: strikes on refineries, rail, and weapons factories carry political risk for Moscow.· Wider implication: affordable cruise missiles could alter future procurement, deterrence, and escalation dynamics.#STRATPodcast #HalKempfer #MutualBroadcastingSystem #StrategicRiskAnalysis #FlamingoMissile #FP5Flamingo #UkrainianCruiseMissile #LongRangeStrike #DeepStrikeCapability #FirePoint #MissileProduction #LowCostCruise #CruiseMissileProliferation #RussianVulnerabilities #EnergyTargets #RailChokepoints #WarheadPenetration #PropulsionSourcing #MassedPrecisionFires #GeopoliticalConsequences

Christian College Sex Comedy: Part 18 Even if you know who you crawl into bed with, be surprised. In 30 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the podcast at Explicit Novels.   You will never see tomorrow's sunrise or yesterday's night. Caught In the Middle My clothing melted away as I slowly made my way to the bed. On the far side, Mercy reclined with some degree of expectation and happiness on her face. Her hands were cuffed over her head and her thighs showed some degree of vaginal stimulation by Rio. Last night Rio had taken it slow and gentle with her. Tonight, I imagined that Rio was going to tear a chunk off, so to speak. On the closer side of the bed rested Brandi (on the outside), Opal, Paige and Barbie Lynn. Barbie Lynn was pretending to be disinterested, throwing a yawn into the act; Paige's eyes were riveted on me; Opal acted as if she was smitten with me as well; and Brandi knew something was going on but wasn't sure what it was. Poor Paige was about to be ambushed. "Hey, my petit Принцесса," I simmered at Paige as I crawled up the bed toward her. It was clear she wanted to be center stage tonight, but she kept dragging along her body issues she'd felt thrust upon her years ago. A woman doesn't have to be busting out of a D-cup, have an hourglass shape, or the face of a Victoria's Secret model to pull a man's eye in for a feast. I got to Paige's ankles and the confidence of her smile shown through. She pulled her legs up and prepared to slip off her panties. "No you don't," I cautioned her as I grabbed her ankles and pulled her down toward me. "What did you call her?" Brandi chimed in. "I'm pretty sure that means 'Princess' in Russian," I replied in a husky voice, my eyes still soaking up Paige's beauty. "I once saw a Swedish art house film translated over to Russian in a Bangkok theater." "That's freaky-weird," Mercy remarked, running her fingers along her collar. "You can recall a word from a film in a language you don't even understand." "It had to do with a woman," Barbie Lynn grinned at Mercy before turning to me. "He's like that, and I love him for it." Paige looked from Mercy to Barbie Lynn to me, and that was her mistake. "Hey!" Paige squawked as Barbie Lynn and Opal grabbed her wrists and forearms, maneuvering them over her head. She struggled with Barbie Lynn and Opal but they were far more athletic than she was. I settled in between her legs and began kissing the insides of her upper thighs. "No," Paige began moaning as Barbie Lynn and Opal began sucking on her breasts through her sheer bra. Rio came striding into the room still stark naked but now carrying a large bowl of Neapolitan ice cream covered in chocolate syrup and a cherry. She rounded the bed and stutter-stepped. "Crap," she muttered. "Take this," Rio put the bowl on Mercy's quivering stomach, "I've got to get something for my Spank-o-matic." Spank-o-matic was her pet name for Barbie Lynn. Opal moved her lips up Paige's chest to her throat. Barbie Lynn, on the other side, jumped past Opal by going straight from the nipple to the ear. Since Opal was on her side, Brandi was able to straddle her and lean over to Paige's chest. She rolled up Paige's bra, temporarily pinching those pale pink nipples. "Iiieee!" Paige jolted. "Watch, her protests were buried by Opal's lips clamping down on Paige's and their tongues starting to play tag. Brandi continued her attack on Paige by popping her mouth over the breast closest to Barbie Lynn and swirling the nipple with her tongue, Opal had been doing a good job showing Brandi how to share pleasure. "Good God!" Brandi exalted. "This one tastes like cherries." Paige stifled a sob as Brandi went down for a second taste. I imagine Paige wanted me to discover this inventive little twist. I began rubbing her panties with my nose and kissing her panty covered cunt. I rolled my lips back and forth over her cunt. "Why are you doing this to me?" Paige whimpered once she broke her lips free from Opal's embrace. "Honey, do you think none of us noticed how much you make Zane smile?" Barbie Lynn drawled. "It isn't like he'd tell us what turned him on about you, Paige, so Barbie and I decided to find out for ourselves," Opal added. "Zane?" Paige begged for understanding. "I had no part of this, but once I saw Opal and Barbie Lynn closing in for the kill, I decided to play along because, quite frankly, you are so tasty," I confessed. "Brandi, please, I can't think straight with you nipping at my breasts like that," Paige pleaded. "Umm," Brandi mumbled before releasing her suction on Paige's breast. "Tell me what flavor the other one is. Is it cherry too?" Never more than an inch away, Brandi fell back to Paige's pale but painfully aroused nipple. "No," Paige wailed. "I want Zane to find out, ah, strawberry," she finally gasped out. "Let me sample it first, Brandi," I requested. Brandi shot me a peek down past her naked breast and gave me a wink. Barbie Lynn took advantage of Paige's distress, kissing her deeply and passionately. "Honey," Barbie panted to Paige, "is there anywhere else you want to be?" "I, no," Paige managed to get out. Opal tilted Paige's head toward her and took in a full kiss. "You are so eminently fuckable," Opal purred. Before Paige could respond, Barbie Lynn drew Paige back in. Within seconds, Paige was working in a three-way tug-of-passion with Opal and Barbie Lynn tongues. Brandi was letting her tongue wander from Paige's right nipple down to her belly and below until we kissed. Before and after that we worked down her panties until I finally cast them aside. I did a push up, Brandi wiggled underneath me, pressing her delicious tush against my raging rod, and I switched positions to where Brandi had been. Her left nipple really did taste like strawberries. I figured she'd used strawberry jam in a light enough glaze that its sugary redness was perfectly camouflaged by the pale pink of her areolas, freaking clever girl. Paige tilted her head away from her playmates long enough to see if I was the participant in question and if I enjoyed the experience. "Umm, damn clever," I murmured. "I've never thought of doing that before." Her eyes positively flared triumphantly at the news. "Well," Paige gasped, "you have only a, mediocre, intellect," she finished purring because Opal and Barbie Lynn's fingers and lips were driving her to distraction. "I still don't understand." Paige struggled for a breath between amorous attentions. "You pretty, pretty girl," Opal soothed seductively. "You are the most beautiful creature here tonight. Tomorrow morning the contest goes on, but tonight you are the Grand Prize winner, mainly, you've won us," she indicated herself, Barbie Lynn and Brandi. For other girls, they had often been called beautiful, pretty, and had reason to believe they were the hottest woman in the room. That had never been Paige; she had pride and pride to spare but that had always been based on her smarts. Her smarts were how she had ensnared me and while she knew I saw her as a beautiful creature, she largely believed I was alone in that assessment, until now. The borderline panic that had been residing inside Paige evaporated as all that energy turned into boiling sexual expression. It wasn't until Brandi was sucking deeply on her cunt that Paige realized I'd withdrawn to the foot of the bed. "Zane?" she panted as she raised her head once more and looked for me. "Paige, trust me; you are doing fantastic without me. Besides, we have most of the night. Once they have had all they can take from you, you are all mine," I grinned wickedly. She lowered her head back slowly and let Barbie Lynn and Opal hold her down and dominate her affections. "Mercy, wouldn't it be nice if some hottie wanted you as much as those bitches want Paige?" Rio teased her playmate. Mercy's immediate reaction was drowned out by her shudder as Rio dolloped a spoon full of ice cream onto her breast just above the nipple. The 'near miss' was torture enough for the girl. "Yes, one does," shivered Mercy. "Have you been letting someone else sample your goodies which are rightfully mine?" Rio quizzed her as she lapped up the ice cream as it melted toward Mercy's neck. "No," Mercy squeaked. "The only hottie in my life is you." "Wait; did I give you permission to speak?" Rio changed the direction of her attack. "Yes," Mercy gulped, "I mean, you asked me a question." Rio shimmied up until she was resting her crotch on Mercy's hips. She then took Mercy's nipples between her thumbs and forefingers, twisting them and pulling them up painfully. "That definitely sounded like you were being a smart-ass," Rio declared authoritatively. "Were you being a smart-ass, my cum-bunny?" "Eeep!" Mercy squealed from the pain. "Which answer do you want to hear?" Rio's eyes grew wide. She rolled her body forward until they were breast to breast and chin to chin. "Oh, yes, you are being a clever little wench. No matter what I say, you are going to say the opposite because you want me to take ownership of your lush, big-titties body, don't you?" Rio teased. "Yes?" Mercy hesitantly guessed. "Sorry, but you can't piss me off tonight, you annoying cunt," Rio taunted. Of course, 'annoy' was Rio and Mercy's key word for loving one another. "I've already got something horrible planned for this evening and you aren't going to distract me." Mercy noticeably perked up at that announcement. "I promise this is going to tear you up inside and out too," Rio gloated. Rio dismounted Mercy and scampered to her personal toy drawer. She gathered up several preselected goods and strode confidently back to Mercy's side. "Zane, I could use a hand," she called out as her goods spilled out of her hands. Mercy looked on attentively but didn't risk Rio's wrath by speaking. "Sure, what do you need?" I inquired as I crawled over carefully so as not to disturb the ladies on my side of the bed. Rio lubed up a slender steel vibrator. "Here, hold this (a vibrator) in place," Rio directed me to press the device's point against Mercy's clit with the trigger on her belly. I did it and was curious to figure out what Rio had planned. Rio presented her 'normal' strap-on, grinned at me, then started rubbing it on Mercy. I had to smile at her imagination but I had a feeling Mercy hadn't totally clued in yet to what the plan was. Rio began pouring lubricant over the artificial cock, the other vibrator, and then over a small series of anal beads, anal beads? When did I get anal beads? "AK!" Mercy gasped as the first bead was pushed in. "What was that?" "Shut up, Ass-angel," Rio smirked, "only a few more to go, so suck it up and be my bitch." As this new form of sexual expression was going on before me, a thought occurred. "Rio, you borrowed my credit card and car, didn't you?" I whispered. Rio's response was a maniacal grin. Mercy on the other hand, "Zane, I'm sorry," then Rio slapped Mercy's thigh, "Ow! She said she had your, Ouch!, permission." "I'm cool with it, Mercy, but Rio's license was suspended so next time you need to do the driving," I consoled the girl. Rio was too happy with herself to become overly upset with our little conversation. As if she was trying to prove how crazy/inventive she could be, Rio began putting the strap-on on, Mercy. Even as she fitted it snugly in place the realization was coming over Mercy. She desperately wanted to ask Rio something but was too torn up by Rio's glee to ruin the moment. Rio stroked Mercy's artificial cock a few times to make sure it was totally lubricated. "Okay," Rio cooed to Mercy as she mounted her stomach, "I'm going to make this easy on you because you are annoyingly child-like. When I rub your breasts," Rio let her hands settle and caress Mercy's tits, "it means I want you to pump me slow and easy." "When I pull your delicious nipples like this," Rio yanked and Mercy bucked up and grunted in pain, "I want you to hammer me as hard as you can. Does any part of my instructions confuse your little mind?" Mercy shook her head, indicating her understanding, but a definite sense of joy was coming over her countenance. She knew how good being penetrated felt and Rio trusted her to return the favor. Only when Rio's hip rotations rubbed the dildo into Rio's cunt did Mercy protest. "Rio, that's your, your cunt?" Mercy pleaded softly. Remaining incredibly unpredictable, Rio leaned down to Mercy's face and kissed her with tenderness. "Mercy-babe, I haven't been a virgin for some time. Stupid shit-long ago-let's not talk about it right now," Rio whispered. "Rio, I lo, I've never found anyone more annoying than you," Mercy breathed back. "I never thought I would." "That's your problem," Rio laughed quietly. "It is my job to do all the thinking while you look all hot, sweaty, and sexy. Am I going to have to hammer your tight asshole to make my point clear?" "Please?" Mercy perked up. Rio responded with some serious tongue-on-tongue play accompanied by intense mammary stimulation before speaking. "Maybe," Rio teased, "but someone has to get my rocks off before I contemplate anything else, so get to it." Rio began a series of rotations and presses to work the strap-on further into her cunt. After a few motions, Mercy fell into a sympathetic rhythm and was rocking up when Rio stopped, making Rio's ride one continuous penetration. Rio kept an intense eye-lock with Mercy as she took the plastic cock. She playfully tugged at her own lower lip as her breathing picked up a pace. "I think you've been fucking dozens of other sluts behind my back," Rio expressed deeply. "So have you been jumping some poor girl in the showers? Do you press them up against the wall and tear up those untouched cunts, or do you bend them over facing the wall and bugger those virgin assholes? " "No, no, I haven't," Mercy whimpered. "But you've wanted to," Rio teased her through increasingly hearty pants. "No, Mercy gulped. "So, you've never wanted to bend me over a sofa out there and make me squeal with pleasure?" Rio persisted in a mysterious tone. Mercy squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. "So if I ordered you to surprise me some night, jump me, bend me over and stir me up inside like only a wanton fuck-bunny could, you wouldn't do what I commanded, my Whore?" Rio taunted. "No," Mercy replied desperately as she looked upon Rio's face once more, "I would do that for you." "Do you know why?" Rio whispered. Mercy had no thoughts she could articulate. "You'll do it because you are Mine, I own you and you will do whatever is necessary to make me happy. You are going to tell me every dark little secret you hide in the horniest, sexiest part of your mind; every fantasy you have, every thought that makes you wet, and I'm going to make you live them out. You won't try to hide any from me because you know that if you lie, when I figure them out eventually, and I will figure them all out, I'm simply going to fulfill them with some other hottie I pick up instead of you. Is that what you want?" "No," Mercy whispered. "So every kinky, freaked-out, sexy over-the-top thing you want to do, you are going to tell me about, even though you know I'm going to force you to do it?" Rio scolded. "Yes," Mercy continued quietly. "If you don't tell me or you refuse to do what I say, I'm going to start selling you to motorcycle gangs and frat parties and find someone I can trust instead. All you can do is obey because I have total control over you, and if you don't you know how crazy I can be; clear enough for you, Butt-Slut?" Rio closed the trap. "I'll do whatever you want," Mercy responded; liberated by Rio from any guilt she might have. Now she could still be the Good Girl, only now she was one forced to do bad things against her will. Rio would soak up all the 'badness' in their relationship, be the one she could blame, and Mercy found that overwhelmingly, annoying. It was enough to make Mercy want to annoy Rio for years and years to come. "Good girl," Rio stroked her cheek. "Enough talking; shut the fuck up and start pounding this cunt until I squirt and scream." Mercy was a moment too slow so Rio began working over her nipples energetically and painfully. It got the desired effect; Mercy propelled her hips up so forcefully Rio rose over an inch off the dildo. "Wow, better than a whole year of horse-riding lessons," Rio giggled. "Oh, before I forget, I have one more treat for my personal prostitute." She reached down to the top of the vibrator and cut it on to the medium setting, shooting a jolt straight to Mercy's clit. "Oh, God!" Mercy gasped. "You are so annoying I had to think of something special just for you, Butter-cunt. I bet those vibrations feel great against that juicy clit of yours," Rio teased, and Mercy nodded vigorously in response. I had to consider that it wasn't two weeks ago that fundamentalist Mercy had been weeping on top of me, crying that her life was over because I had gently masturbated her once. Now she was working out 1,001 Nights of Pleasure with one of the greatest perverts I knew, who says you never see miracles anymore? As turned my attention back to Paige's prize, I noted a small black wooden paddle Rio must have tossed Barbie Lynn's way right behind her rump. Feeling inspired, I rolled back to Mercy and Rio, reached around to retrieve the lube, and began slinking up on Barbie from behind. Barbie Lynn was totally drawn into the play around Paige so ignored me. Opal and Barbie Lynn were orchestrating sensitive excitement from the top of Paige's pale haired head to the flat plain that flowed from her ribs down past her hips. Barbie Lynn had told me she was familiar with other female students before she met me. I would have bet that Opal had experimented a time or two. That the two of them could make such compassionate love to Paige was a surprising marvel to me. Paige's normally translucent flesh was blushed red with blood at every point her top two lovers had tantalized with all their kisses and licks. I was sure that if Paige could have found her voice, she would have been singing out to the Heavens with joy. The cause of her physical incapacity was Brandi, who was experimenting on her own style of cunt-licking. I studied Brandi for a minute before I knew what her technique was. She'd flit her tongue back and forth like a tiny motorboat for several seconds then switch to a slow probing action for twice as long before returning to the rapid-fire motion. The result was that Paige would amp up but before she could spike, Brandi would let her cool down before driving her to even greater heights closer to climax once more. I guess I can be a bit of a bastard. The girls were going along so wonderfully yet I still felt I had to indulge in my swelling need. I settled on my knees behind Barbie Lynn and brushed the paddle across that so-perfect ass. She taunted me with that ass, pushing back toward me, increasing its vulnerability, but kept her primary attention on Paige. I repeat: Barbie Lynn is beyond awesome. I reached back and paddled her once. Barbie Lynn took a deep breath but didn't relent. The second spank was harder and the third harder still. It was the fourth one that did the trick. "Oh, God, Yes," Barbie Lynn exclaimed. The great thing was that her body rocked forward and her ginormous breasts brushed over Paige's face. Paige was excited, not lost in orgasm. It took her maybe three milliseconds to latch onto one of Barbie Lynn's tits and engulf an areola in her mouth. Chewing on that nipple came a few seconds later. Barbie Lynn began moaning up a storm and stroking Paige's hair, Opal grinned and fell ravenously on Paige's left nipple, and Brandi went over to full-on clitoral assault mode. Paige gamely held on for almost a minute before she let Barbie Lynn go and proclaimed her immense pleasure. "Oh, all of you, oh, God, I, I can't take, Oh Fuck, Zane!" she ended up screaming. Huh? I had done nearly nothing this session and still there was my undeserved name on a woman's lips. If the girls had resented me I would have totally understood. Instead, Barbie Lynn looked over her shoulder, rubbed a hand along the paddle resting on her ass and smiled. Opal laughed musically. Brandi was beset by Paige's orgasm though. Paige's stocking clad thighs were wrapped tightly around Brandi's head as she thrashed and undulated over the sheets. Brandi kept lapping like a champ because Paige was a copious ejaculator, as I could attest. "Damn, Zane, you can pick 'em," Opal congratulated me. "What? This plan wasn't mine," I confessed. "No, I mean your luck in picking out bed partners is better than mine," Opal explained. "Oh, you were missing a few nights ago. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Who did you home in on?" I asked. "Cappadocia," Opal told me. Uh-oh. "I don't think Cappy is ready for a bi-sexual encounter. Besides, she's far too aggressive for you right now," I informed her. "Yeah, we figured that out. We both tried being on top all the time and things sort of fell apart," Opal related to me. "We both did agree you are one hell of a primer for virgins." "Thanks, that's very kind of you," I jibbed. "Oh, wow," Brandi gasped out, finally released by Paige. "That was wild." Brandi backed away from Paige's cunt on all fours before rolling over and resting the back of her head on Paige's thigh. "She's yummy," Brandi giggled. "We should get her over for shower time." Paige was now splayed out, limp, and looking up at the ceiling. "I, I, Paige rasped. "Yes, Sugah?" Barbie Lynn purred down at Paige. "I, I have to do this again," Paige worked out. She followed that up by wrapping a hand into the hair at the back of Barbie Lynn's head and pulling her in for a kiss. "Woot!" Opal shouted. "We got another one. Zane, who is next on the menu?" "How about Vivian?" Brandi suggested. "Okay, ladies, there is no menu. We are not stalking girls down for bi-sexual trysts, and if we were interested in anyone, we should ask Paige for her opinion first," I countered. Paige rapidly disentangled from Barbie Lynn and propped herself up excitedly on her elbows. "Cordelia," she declared defiantly. "Cordelia Dresden, I've always had this secret thing for her, which also involves a little bondage and having her tell me I'm smarter than she is as I torture her with an ostrich feather," Paige finished with a wicked smile. "Thought this out much?" Opal snickered. "Just because Zane was the first person to see me as the devastatingly beautiful woman I am doesn't mean I haven't made contingency plans for when the inevitable happened," Paige was smarmy right back. "Paige, you were sure Zane would take you to his bed?" Barbie Lynn said. "As I recall, those were some shaky few minutes you two had." "Inevitable?" Paige scoffed. "I never doubted for a moment. In fact, I already have him trained." Even Brandi looked askance at that declaration but Paige beamed victoriously. "Zane," Paige grinned sweetly. "Bouncy, bouncy." I sighed, reached over Barbie Lynn, hooked one arm under Paige's arm and around her back while the other was reaching between her legs. I hefted her up and pulled her over on top until she comfortably straddled me. Paige glowed like the Sun. "Holy crap," Opal giggled. "Bouncy, bouncy," Brandi perked up and spoke to me. I wasn't sure what I'd do or say but it turned out I didn't matter. "No, you don't," Paige scolded Brandi. "Get your own command phrase; this phrase is mine." "What happens now?" Brandi prodded. I had the feeling that actual intercourse fascinated her. Paige turned her head away from the woman and looked down on me. She crashed upon my frame in slow motion until she was resting her chin on the top of my sternum and we had to strain to keep eye contact. "Please, Zane, take your mighty cock and put it in my tight, wet cunt. Make me tingle from the tip of my toes up to the ends of my white hairs on the crown of my head," Paige playfully pleaded. "Be gentle because my new-found friends have left me tender and hyper-sensitive all-over." Mighty cock, it isn't like my buddy attracts amorous attention from sequoias or something. My cock is a highly valued member of the team, but come on now, it is a freaking piece of meat. I can certainly get the job done without, Paige looks up and licks her lips while she pants like a famished huntress. Suddenly the last three years of my maturity lose their blood supply as it rushes elsewhere. Oh, well. I'll recall what I was bitching about later. "Okay," I grinned. "Maneuver up and I'll work it in." "I'll help!" Brandi excitedly volunteered. Before I could politely decline, Brand landed on my left leg and was pushing Paige's ass up. Paige was far more amused with the situation than I was and reconciled Brandi's movements with her desires to rise up from straddling to kneeling with one leg up. Brandi took the opportunity to stroke my cock, raised it to the vertical, and dragged it over Paige's cunt. She rested my cock a little far back, or so I thought. Paige thought so too. "Not the ass!" she squeaked. "Not the Butt!" "You want it in your, Brandi hesitated. "Her cunt," Barbie Lynn filled her in. "Yes, it looks so delicate," Brandi wondered. "Well, yes," Paige snipped, "but Zane has taken my virginity. My anus is even smaller than my cunt, and it isn't like Zane isn't already going to pass Cleopatra's Needle through something the size of a dime as it stands." "Did you just call Zane a needle-cock?" snickered Opal. "No," I groaned. "Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk, like Washington's Monument, except only one-twentieth the size." "Yep," Rio panted from her side of the bed, "she definitely called him 'needle-cock'." "I don't care what you gals call it," Barbie Lynn chuckled. "He can stick me with that cock anytime." "Tell me you love me, Zane," Paige sighed. "I can't. You are absolutely wonderful to me but I can't lie to you even though I think it would make you happy to hear those words," I frowned sadly. "Why can't it be you and me?" she asked but her fatigued smile betrayed no anger. "Eh, the tired old romantic tale: boy loves girl but girl can't, or won't, show affection for him," I related. "How about this story instead," Paige's smile grew. "A post-Apocalyptic tale where you, me, and a select group of other genetically superior women retreat to a remote coastal island, fend off the end of the world, and set about repopulating the Earth over, and over, and over again." "Wait; if I agree does this mean you are going to plot out a way to bring about the end of civilization as we know it?" I questioned. What I didn't question was the reality that Paige would never have children of her own womb, but hell, this was her fantasy; right? "I know where your mind is, Zane Braxton," Paige said softly with tears brimming in her eyes but that smile still on her lips, "and that makes you a wonderful, wonderful man." "Now, please, bouncy, bouncy," that mischievous glint returned to her countenance. In some stories this would be the trigger for me to ram my thunderous love pylon deep into her womb. Or, I could hug her tight and let us express our emotions in some open, healing manner. In my reality, I was still somewhat of a tool to Paige, an object that brought her happiness and fulfillment. I was almost a human person of worth to her too. Paige had arrangements, not friendships, and controlled those relationships with mental domination. I know it would have surprised her and brought forth a torrent of denial if I showed she trusted me, as exhibited by her actions of the past few minutes. Rarely did one love their power drill or hammer and you certainly didn't get all teary-eyed when you read their mind correctly. Brandi steadied and reinforced my cock with a hand as Paige worked her way down. I held Paige by the hips to keep her from trying to move too fast. She was busy concentrating, undoubtedly committing the sensations to memory, I kind of like really smart women. "What does it feel like?" Brandi questioned Paige timidly. "If, you have never been, penetrated, you couldn't understand," Paige panted. "Don't worry about it," Opal cooed to her friend. "We are sophomores so we have nearly three years with Zane here at school. That is plenty of time to talk him into doing the deed." "That shouldn't be hard," Brandi giggled. "I've seen Zane scoping me out. He wants me." "Ha," laughed Barbie Lynn. "If it was that easy, there wouldn't be a virgin in this room. Zane could have woken up that part of me ten times over if his wanting my body was all it took." "Pop your cherry!" Rio shouted, close to climax. "Call it what it is, you dumb bimbo, oh, fuck!" She twisted Mercy's nipples with a violence that caused me pain by just looking. That cued Mercy to pound up into Rio unmercifully. Rio released Mercy's breasts and put her hands to torturing her own nipples. Her orgasm came in seconds. With sheer force of will, Rio fought off her physical spasms until she was body to body with Mercy, Rio's hands cupping Mercy's face and her lips planting fast kisses on Mercy's lips, nose, and eyes. "You are mine, mine, mine," Rio exulted with animalistic fury magically melded with heartwarming compassion. It was coaxed along by the vibrator to her clit, sending Mercy off to her own orgasm. "God mother-fucking damn, Rio," Mercy screamed, "Own, own me; make me yours." "I'm tattooing, your ass, this weekend," Rio whispered and groaned. On my side of the sexual diorama, Paige was still screwing herself down my cock, though Brandi had less to do but more to think about. "I can't decide when I want Zane to do the deed for me," Brandi wondered. "No," I breathed heavily, eyes still on Paige and her radiance, "Brandi, you and I will figure things out when the time is right." "Or you tie him down and ride him like Paige," Opal giggled. "Bouncy, bouncy," Paige panted through her chuckle, "It is not just a catchy jingle. It is the recipe for romantic success." "You talk too much, Princess," I emphasized with a thrust deep into her womb, "I think it is time to start your interrogation." She sizzled and I had a dark desire to feel her body heat burn me so we quickly figured out how we could get along. "Roll over, Pound cake," Rio ordered as she worked the strap-on off Mercy. "I've got all sorts of issues to work out and your priceless backside is my destination of choice. Buck up, Buttercup, stick out that ass and get ready for some furious pent-up teenage aggression." I was stunning that the friction Mercy generated as she spun over in the sheets didn't set the bed on fire. She wasn't on all fours but her ass was raised at a four-five degree angle and quivering in her desire. Rio affixed her tool of choice before allowing her gaze to bask in Mercy's splendor. It took her several seconds before she draped her body over Mercy's back. "I'm going to become so bored with this view," Rio teased, "in about fifty or sixty years." Mercy flexed and undulated her back, ass and thighs against Rio's body. Together the two lovers moaned sensually. "I lied to you," Rio panted into Mercy's ear. "I'm not going to get tired of your body in fifty or sixty years. I'm going to fuck you to death before you hit thirty." Mercy gave some sort of guttural reply which she accentuated by driving her posterior against Rio's artificial cock. It slid up between Mercy's cheeks as opposed to going into her anus but Mercy was certainly energetic enough to keep thrusting. Sometimes I wasn't sure which one was leading the other down the road to impassioned insanity. Afterglow The whispering in my ear had woken me up. I shifted my head toward the noise and saw Paige's elfin head cloaked by her fine white hair. In her slumber, Paige had brought one hand up to her chin and took slow nibbles out of the tip of her thumb. Her body was curled up in a near-fetal ball with her other arm vanishing beneath the sheets. Paige's lips parted and she moaned. "Oh, right there, Brandi, yum, yeah, right there." She rotated the shoulder of her downturned arm and her hips rocked gently beneath the covers, certainly driving those attached fingers against her cunt. She went back to nibbling her thumb and slowly quieted down. Paige was in the middle of the bed so I had to raise my head to peek past her sublime form to see Rio and Mercy who were both facing away, Rio was closer to me with her arms wrapped around and cradling Mercy. Fingers stroked my stomach bringing my head to the other side. Barbie Lynn was snuggled up against me and both her hands rested on my stomach, though only one was rubbing against my abs. The only problem was that Barbie Lynn regularly slept on her side with one hand on me and the other resting under the pillow, plus both hands on my stomach were lefties. I shifted slightly, looked over and tracked the moving hand back to the arm that led to a slumbering Vivian. I swear to God I did nothing to deserve this. I had to think about this for a few seconds. Finally I decided on a little clarity. "Vivian," I whispered as I tapped her hand. From experience I knew she woke slowly so I was patient. "Umm," she smiled dreamily at me. A three-count later her eyes focused enough to match my gaze. "You are in my bed and while I don't mind, I want to make sure you are doubly okay with this," I requested softly. "Opal and Brandi woke me up when they left," Vivian informed me, "and I felt, alone and left out. Are you okay with me being here? Are you going to be able to control yourself?" A few things made sense now. Vivian and her boyfriend had fallen into the habit of cuddling on one of their beds. Before long they were falling asleep comfortably in each other's arms. He woke up, high school boy's hormones racing, and she took a few moments too long to realize what was going on. I gave her bonus points for not hating the guy for taking her virginity and stealing away the bedtime comfort of lying with another person she yearned for. "Vivian, you have my permission to crash on my bed anytime," I smiled warmly. "Barbie Lynn will keep me in check. If you ever want to join me and no one else is around, I keep some restraints, left dresser, second drawer." "I don't want to tie you down, Zane," she whispered. "Restraints are not only about holding someone down but empowering the other partner. You get to feel comfortable close to me, I don't mind you being close to me one bit, and I don't have to worry about doing something I'll regret," I related. "You learned all of this in rural Thailand?" Vivian mused. "They are an ancient and scholarly people," I countered. "Are we okay?" "We are okay," she responded. "Great," muttered Barbie Lynn, "let's go to sleep because if I wake up, Vivian, I'm going to make you hold my head in your lap while Zane pleasures me from behind." Vivian grinned, rested her head, and closed her eyes. I laid back down and let my vision darken behind sleepy lids. I really felt like hammering Barbie's delicious ass but I knew she was tired and needed her sleep. Besides, she had only said that because she wanted Vivian to go to sleep. "Honey," Barbie Lynn whispered words sweeter than fresh cane sugar, "you had best give me all the long, hard strokes I can stand in the morning or I'm going to leave my own set of teeth and claw marks all over that wonderful body of yours." Normally I should accept the warning and fall asleep immediately but since it is a well proven fact that I have no sense where sex and sensuality are concerned, I was awake for quite a while. When I did wake up, it was brought about by Barbie Lynn rolling away from me. "Vivian," Barbie whispered kindly. Once Vivian was appropriately responsive, "Vivian, I'm about to wake Zane up and make him take that damn fine cock and use those powerful strokes I love to fill up my ass with cum until I scream." "You might want to go back to your sofa until he lifts me to climax," she advised. "On second thought, make that two screams, I'm feeling extra horny this morning." Isn't it wonderful that I get no say in where my cock is going or when I'm going there? I mean, it's not like I'm an adult or we are currently residing in my room. Wait, I am!! I'm sick and tired of this shit and I'm putting my foot down! Barbie Lynn rubs her scrumptious ass cheeks against my thigh and moans like my bitch in heat. I Man-Up; I'll set her straight as soon as I finish fucking her, damn it! Okay, I'll set her straight when I finish fucking her twice, but that's all she's getting from me. Barbie Lynn languidly gets onto her elbows and knees, favoring the sore one. She scoops the tube of lube from under the pillow and pushes it back to me as Vivian shakes her head, scoots off the bed, and makes her way to the exit. I pour some lube onto my palm then rub my hands together to warm it up because I don't want to cruelly use something cold on her vulnerable flesh. "Zane, I need this so bad," Barbie Lynn purrs. "Hammer me, hammer me twice and make me scream." "Oh," I growl, "I intend to." I'm going to nail her good then give her a piece of my mind. "Baby, I know you are taking Iona home this weekend so can you sneak away during lunch and sex me up one more time?" she pleads with a voice rich with need. "Of course I will, Babe," I reply. And then I'll give her a piece of my mind, damn it! "What's wrong, Zane?" Rio asked as she watched me strip my bed. She wasn't offering to help. "Man," I sighed, "sometimes I think I'm nothing more than a tool for sexual release on this campus." "That's surprisingly accurate," she chuckled. "I'm stunned you realized it so quickly." "Realized what?" Iona grinned as she glided into the room, unusually chipper. "Zane realized he's a sex toy, a pleasure slave to our whims," Rio pontificated. Mercy sighed slightly and came over to help me with the bed, as did Iona, and she hadn't even made the mess. "The willingness to give of yourself does not indicate a surrender of your will," Iona countered. "Zane gives and gives freely, without expectation of return." "He is your mirror image if you think about it," Iona continued. "With Zane it is pleasure and with you it is pain." Now you never know which way Rio will go with something like this; Iona was like a kid sister to her but I wasn't totally sure Rio hadn't experimented with patricide, matricide and infanticide along with cannibalism. "Damn, Iona," Rio came up and wrap her arms around Iona's waist from behind, "that's real cool." "Ah, you are welcome?" Iona smiled but with uncertainty. "How about I give you Mercy for a night? You know, a snuggle buddy for you to sleep with. We could dress her in an appropriate nightgown and she could be like a big warm teddy bear for you to cuddle with." "I would rather have Zane dressed up as a cuddly teddy bear," Iona glanced to me. "Oh, hell, no!" I declared. "I have my pride, ya know." "Get over it, Zane," Rio laughed. "You are the only guy I know whose home page is linked to both gay and lesbian porn sites." I am? How the fuck did that happen? "Would you do that for me, please?" Iona pleaded playfully. I had to avoid answering no matter what. "Iona, I've decided to designate you as my heir," I surprised her. "We'll do that Monday." "I already knew that," Iona stated evenly. "It was posted on your website yesterday." "What!" I squawked. "Am I bugged? Am I carrying a wire? How do people figure out these things?" "Cordelia," all the women in the room said simultaneously. Yep, I'm going to have to fix her little red wagon. I wonder if she has my home wired for surveillance as well. "Iona, what would you do with all that money? Zane's got a boatload of money; right?" Mercy broke in. "I don't know," Iona began; "Maybe make a trust for Christian World Charities or something like that." "Bitch," Rio recoiled, "do you know what Zane's family does? He's a freaking gazillionaire." "Rio," Iona swiveled so that she was facing Rio, "there is no such number and Zane's family mines copper, cobalt, chromium and manganese, primarily." "Dummy, that's the parent company," Rio scoffed, heady with her one-time mental superiority over Iona. "They build spaceships." "That's silly," Iona countered. "No one builds spaceships anymore. Do you mean rockets?" "Yeah," Rio groaned with impatience, "they build rockets that put satellites in orbit, spacecraft components, space-age ceramics, non-integrated circuit computers, and crap like that." Iona looked to me for some clarity. "I don't know," I shrugged. "I had a collage of the solar system in my room when I was five; I went to the NASA facility in Florida once a year; I've been to that space facility in Russia once; and I've seen a rocket launched from this site in South America. I figured all kids did stuff like that." Then something occurred to me. "Rio, how do you know all this about me?" I inquired. "Eh," Rio grunted. "In that first week I considered kidnapping you so I wanted to figure out what you were worth so I would know how much to ask for." "How much is he worth?" Mercy asked. "Enough so that his people wouldn't call in the FBI, they would call in some former Spetznaz and simply kill me instead of paying the ransom," Rio chuckled. "Yeah," I laughed too, "I recall Dad saying that he'd 'met up' with some South African Commandos when he was not much older than I am now. He sent them Christmas presents every year until he died." "Zane, I'm not sure I want that much money," Iona worried. "Well, you've met Aunt Jill and we both know she couldn't handle it," I countered. "What, what, what about Rio, Oh, My God, what am I saying? That would be nuts," Iona fretted. Rio gasped. "Hey!" Rio shouted. "What's wrong with me?" "You are totally insane with an annoying lack of impulse control," Mercy stated clinically. Rio's mouth dropped open and she gawked at her 'toy'. "Pound cake!" she barked at Mercy. Mercy perked up and looked ready to throw herself on the bed and at Rio's mercy. "No," I intervened. "We have to get to breakfast and I can hear Vivian pacing like mad just beyond the screens. She deserves better from us. Now let's get going." Everyone was remarkably behaved until we got into the elevator and the door shut. "Are you sure you are the right person for this job?" Vivian asked Mercy as the doors shut. "What?" Mercy gulped. "What do you mean?" "Yeah, what the fuck do you mean by that, ya Cunt?" Rio interjected both her words and her body into the conversation. "Mercy and I are doing just fine." "You shower together, sleep together, stick all kinds of things in one another; I'm neither blind nor stupid," Vivian growled out. "I'm sorry," Mercy mumbled. "Oh, I don't blame you. They got to you before this 'guardian' thing happened. It is simply unfortunate that you ended up as Rio's minder and now we will have to deal with it," Vivian responded without heat or condemnation (toward Mercy). "Are you going to turn her in?" I had to ask. "Forcing Mercy to face the condemnation and ridicule of those who have no clue to her situation would not be the Christian thing to do," Vivian sincerely related. "I will not let Mercy fall into depravity. She and I will work together to save her soul." Rio didn't trust her and looked ready to pounce. On the other hand, I was truly impressed and believed her. "What is your plan?" Iona joined in. "Vivian, you wouldn't bring this up if you didn't have a plan." "I am creating a list of Christian works, not the Bible, Rio, that the two of them could read together for half an hour before bedtime," Vivian enlightened us. In the short-term it sounded naive but if you took into account the almost three years Mercy and Rio could be here together it was rather clever. "Blow it out your ass!" Rio growled back. "No, Rio, you will do it," I demanded. I had never demanded anything of her before. I'd asked, begged and suggested but I had never told her 'do this or else'. I was now. Rio and I locked gazes. She felt betrayed and pissed. "Fuck you," Rio snapped at me. "You don't tell me what to do." "You'll do what I tell you to do now," I insisted. "Or what?" she sneered. I could feel Iona cringing beside me. Mercy was afraid and looked trapped. Vivian was taking the exchange with interest. "Or nothing. I am not going to hold anything over your head but I'm also going to fight to keep you from fucking up your life," I kept at it. "It is what friends do." There was a pause. "Glenda, you suck," Rio declared quietly. That quavering in Rio's resolve was Mercy's cue. "I'll do the readings," Mercy said. "Rio, if you want to wait in the bedroom for me, well I'm fine with that, if that is what you want to do." "Gurr," Rio mumbled. "Fine, I'll do it, but if I hear even one chorus of Kumbaya, I'm skewering someone with a pool stick." "Thank you, Vivian got out. "Not a word," Rio warned. "Not another damn word, from any of you." Mercy shot me a look and I could see she finally got it. You let Rio run amok for 90% of the time so that you could coax Rio toward stability the other 10% without her rebelling. I didn't want to make Rio sane; I was sure she was happy being fucking nuts. I only wanted her to be a 'fucking nuts' that didn't make her destroy her life and drive away the people that really cared for her. What can I say? I'm selfish. Rio fills a void in my life and I didn't want to see her fall away into the darkness the way my Mom did. Aliens, Vampires and Werewolves, maybe not. To make the right decision requires a combination of confidence, knowledge, and luck. A little nonsequitur: I once asked my close associates why they believed in God. Rio said: "Well, I can't very well be a convincing Satanist if I don't give lip service to the Other Guy." Iona put it this way: "The Universe makes sense. It is our roadmap for Ascension and a fuller understanding of God's Love." Christina reasoned: "I've seen Evil so there must be Good." Heaven s take was: "Because I prayed for death but Christina came; and I prayed for you (Zane) to go but you stayed." Hope expounded: "Because I live in a country that allows me to own a K11 assault rifle for home defense." No one wants to ask Hope if she has the official rifle of the R O K Army with her at school, or if she actually has the grenades that go with it. What good would it do; it isn't like we would try to take it away from her. Most of us like living too much. Chastity observed: "Firefighters, organ donors, Christian converts in Iran, with so many people giving for no material gain, that indicates to me a higher purpose for mankind, a struggle between right and wrong." Faith rebutted: "Belief in Christ cannot be given a definition. If you define it, it ceases being faith." Barbie Lynn: sweetly gave me a peppermint and smiled. She had to look no farther than the fate that had brought us together and the joy we shared; she didn't need words. Paige resolved: "Only something with infinite precision and power could bring about the Big Bang. The day they can give a name to that force, I will gladly surrender my faith." Cordelia said: "Let me think about my reply. Why do you believe in God?" (Like I'd ever tell her.) Cappadocia lamented: "What an empty and lonely thing life must be, if these few years are all we have?" Opal s mind was made up: "I always have and never heard an argument that would make me think differently." Brandi chided: "It was how I was raised. But the first time you kissed my stomach, I had my own personal religious experience (giggle)." And Now, Back to the Story! Breakfast unfolded pretty much like it had a week ago, with the added bonus of poisonous glares between clumps of students, bandages, bruises, and the sense of unease that comes from unresolved conflict. After all, neither Christina nor Rhaine had won. This was acceptable to most of the sane crowd as the alternative would have been to make the school unbearable to the other half of the student body so that they left. Instead, we got to bask in the chilly civility that Christian politeness dictated. At least I wasn't (too) worried about a pack of girls ambushing me. As was becoming her habit, Gabrielle Black had devoured her food in less than four minutes and paced the perimeter of the Dining Room floor, her eyes dodging about with no discernible pattern. I kept an eye on her because she worried me in a way that went far beyond hormones. "Zane?" Iona repeated. I had barely registered her first request for a moment of my time. "Yes, Hon?" I smiled down at her. She looked happy for the eye contact but worried about what she had to say. "Zane, there are two other candidates for Freshman Class President, Mhain Reynard and Millicent Pierce," Iona informed me. "Millicent?" grumbled Rio. "Zane saved her ass and now she's kicking sand in his face? The bitch." "Millicent is free to do what she wants. She may have wanted to be nominated before all this chaos came about. I'm not going to begrudge her having political ambitions," I told them. "Zane, I don't think you understand what this means," Iona worried. "Sure I do; Millicent and I are going to split the Pro-Christina vote. There will be a run-off. If it is Millicent and I, Mhain's votes will go to her and I lose. If it is Mhain and Millicent, my votes will go to Millicent and she wins. If it is Mhain and I, it will be a toss-up. Essentially, Millicent can definitely defeat Mhain but I can't." "This sounds like a job for the NSA," Rio glared off to where Millicent was sitting. I don't think Rio knew what Mhain looked like. NSA referred to Rio's title as my in-house assassin, Ninja Stripper Angel. "Don't worry," I patted Rio on the shoulder, "I got this, Bro." When I got up, Rio followed me nonetheless. Chancellor Bazz was absent for the second day in a row so the highest authority seemed to be Doctor Scarlett, the Vice Chancellor. Gabrielle noted my movement but didn't deviate from her path. Mrs. Cunningham was closest but seeing neither authority figure appeared nervous, she too went about her rounds. Mind you, girls are moving around the Dining Hall all the time but I'm special, being a troublemaking, devious male. I rounded a table and walked over to Millicent, who was warned of my approach by an associate. She twisted in her chair and waited for the flavor of my greeting. "Hey, Millicent, I want to congratulate you on your nomination and I hope you get the votes to be on the ballot," I said as I extended my hand. She shook it and smiled. "Thank you, Zane. Good luck to you too," she replied. "How about we have a debate a few nights before the election? Interested?" I pondered. "That would be great," Millicent agreed. "We can request the Assembly Hall but we'll need to figure out who should be moderator." "We'll figure it out," I nodded. "I'm going to say 'hi' to Mhain as well." "I will come along," Millicent informed me as she stood up and stepped to my side. "Hi, Rio." "Eat shit and die, you ungrateful whore," Rio snarled back at Millicent, who backed off. "Zane should have left you for Bazz to fuck over." Millicent's crowd was shocked, then outraged. "Cool it, Rio." I stroked her arm. "You and I do what we do for our own ends and not for the accolades of others." I turned to her, "Right?" Rio took a deep breath. "You are such a dumb blonde," she smirked at me. "I get my thirty pieces of silver up front." "Thanks, Babe," I grinned at Rio. I looked back to Millicent. "I'm still going to see Mhain if you want to tag along with me and Rio." "I'm feeling fearless with a positive outlook on life so I'll risk it," Millicent smiled. Yeah, beating Millicent in this election was going to be fun, right up there with waking up on the

Gaslit Nation is excited to announce a new show, for our subscribers, featuring Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, a researcher on investigative journalist Craig Unger's bestselling books House of Trump, House of Putin and American Kompromat. “The oligarchs see the people like the sh*t they grow their money in.” That's what Andrea heard while living in Ukraine in 2006, and it perfectly captures the crisis the world faces today. Chaos weapon Donald Trump is a reality TV star of terror whose job is to destroy laws, regulations, and protections to enrich the shadowy elite profiting from global misery. They hide behind Trump. It's time to make them famous. Follow the Money will feature Andrea and Olga every week, exposing who's getting rich off Trump, Putin, and other merchants of chaos, and what can be done about it. Gen Z is rising up. In this special episode, community organizer and school board official Bushra Amiwala, now running for Congress in Illinois's 9th District, shares her story, her generation's view of a world in turmoil, and how they plan to build a more progressive and inclusive future, with our help.  For our Patreon subscribers who keep Gaslit Nation's independent journalism alive, we'll see you today at the Gaslit Nation Salon at 4 p.m. ET. The Zoom link is available on Patreon. Thank you for your support–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you. Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Programming change: Our book club discussion has moved to next Monday November 3rd at 4pm at our Patreon salon. For the month of October, we're reading Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky and Total resistance by Hans von Dach.    Show Notes:   DOD accepts anonymous $130M donation to partially cover troop pay White House and military officials will not say who the donor is or whether the gift has been properly vetted. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/24/dod-accepts-anonymous-130-million-donation-to-partially-cover-troop-pay-00622219   Watch ad and Reagan address at centre of Trump ending Canada trade talks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCKmMEFiLrI   Bushra for Congress: https://www.bushraforcongress.com/  

LONDINIUM 91 A.D.: Roman Siege Tactics and Russian Attrition: A Study in Political Vengeance and War Strategy Gaius (John Batchelor) and Germanicus (Michael Vlahos) Gaius and Germanicus open by discussing fresh swan meat in Londinium before moving to the main topic of political vengeance, noting that Romans recognize it while American editorialists are discovering it afresh due to Emperor Trump. They review the war in Ukraine, where Russians are employing a strategy of attrition to achieve the collapse of the Ukrainian army. Germanicus explains that Ukraine's strategy of refusing to retreat has led to disproportionate losses and the encirclement of up to 10,000 soldiers in "cauldrons" near Pokrovsk and Kupyansk. Gaius relates this situation to successful Roman siege tactics used at Carthage and Jerusalem. Historically, the reward for Roman soldiers breaking a siege was to ransack the city, causing the prices of gold and slaves to plummet. Germanicus asserts, however, that the Russians are taking pains to signal that leveling cities is not their way, emphasizing mercy due to the kinship between the two related peoples. The hosts also mention the delay of a summit involving Vladimir Putin and Mr. Trump's proposed Greco-Roman style building at the White House. 80 BCE SULLA SACKS ROME

Day 1,342.Today, after a weekend of Russian bombardments on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities – with fires killing multiple civilians – we examine Moscow's failed diplomatic bid to block Donald Trump's latest sanctions on Russian energy. Then we consider how Vladimir Putin's unveiling of a “next-generation” cruise missile reveals growing unease in the Kremlin. Later, we sit down with Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy, to discuss the Cold War arms race, and how Kyiv could have retained nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union.Please note this episode features distressing recordings from the bombardment on Kyiv, including sounds of incoming drones.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.With thanks to Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy. @SPlokhy on X.WATCH OUR SPECIAL LIVE EPISODELink here: https://youtu.be/Mw_lWhp-flUQuestions from the audience are answered in the podcast version, below:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-putin-could-strike-london-in-90-minutes-russias/id1612424182?i=1000733450202 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DKehIQCz24eKK73xjP2e8 LINKSSerhii Plokhy's new book, ‘The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power and Survival':https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nuclear-Age-Epic-Power-Survival/dp/0241582865 ‘Will I die?' Moment nursery children rescued after Russian strike (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/25/will-i-die-moment-nursery-children-rescued-russian-strike/ Russia's latest attempt to woo the US reeks of desperation (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/27/kirill-dmitriev-russia-donald-trump-marco-rubio-putin/ Russians circling around Trump to sway his mind, warns key ally (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/25/russians-circling-around-trump-to-sway-his-mind-key-ally/ At least 250 Russians in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian troops walk 10-15 km to reach positions (Ukrainska Pravda):https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/10/24/8004333/ Europe's Plan B for Ukraine (POLITICO):https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/Europes-Plan-B-for-Ukraine/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Roy and teacher Kamila walk through useful post office vocabulary and common phrases in Polish — words like poczta, koperta, znaczek — and how to ask about costs, send letters, and collect parcels. They also practice short dialogues you can use at the post office, including buying stamps, describing envelope sizes, and paying by cash or card.   I have just launched my PodFather Podcast Coach Community https://www.skool.com/podfather/about   Start your own SKOOl Academy https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=c72a37fe832f49c584d7984db9e54b71   All about Roy / Brain Gym & Virtual Assistants at ⁠https://roycoughlan.com/⁠   

Photojournalist Brent Renaud became the first American on assignment to be killed while covering the war in Ukraine after he was shot by Russian forces in 2022. In the new documentary short "Armed Only With a Camera," Renaud's brother Craig Renaud puts together footage shot over Brent's career in combat zones to tell the story of his life and work. Craig talks about the film, along with producer Juan Arredondo, who was injured in the same attack that killed Brent. "Armed Only With a Camera" is streaming now on HBO Max.

A catch-up Monday! Pop quiz: Did you already know about the three presidency-ending corruption scandals… just from last week? Greg Dworkin gets us grounded with his Abbreviated Pundit Roundup. All the news you can eat in one hour! All the pre-game punditry comes to an end soon enough in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City. That VA AG race remains tighter than most of the other ones. Canada is soory, not soory, eh? But the bottom line remains that Trump is wrong about Reagan and tariffs. He just is. In fact, he's just wrong about tariffs in general. But then again, he's wrong—well past the point of lunacy—about a lot of things. He's even wrong about how he targets "enemies" for his special punishments. Maybe that's why he had to have his head examined. As the government shutdown continues, ACA insurance premiums are set to become the source of the first widespread pain delivered to the middle class by this intentional Republican failure. They just don't care. And it's not clear that debate is a real tool for changing that. Stephen Miller and Pam Bondi ended last week with new threats to investigate and prosecute Democrats they don't like, claiming it's a felony to hold federal officers accountable if they break state laws. But no, it's not. Are you still using AI? The Russians won't stop, but you should! Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead, and so is the East Wing of the White House. Melania is actually said to be unhappy about it. But Michael Wolff may make her unhappier still, by turning the litigation tables on her.

In this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast, we discuss some intel being shared in the LimaCharlie community.A breach at the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), a facility responsible for manufacturing roughly 80% of the non-nuclear components for U.S. nuclear weapons, was enabled by two critical Microsoft SharePoint vulnerabilities.COLDRIVER, a Russian state-sponsored group also tracked as UNC4057, Callisto, or Star Blizzard, has shifted rapidly toward new malware development following the public exposure of its previous malware, LOSTKEYS, in May 2025.CISA has officially added three newly exploited vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, urging swift remediation efforts across federal environments. Newer article link.Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a major outage on October 20th that impacted thousands of applications globally, disrupting operations for companies and end-users alike.Support our show by sharing your favorite episodes with a friend, subscribe, give us a rating or leave a comment on your podcast platform.This podcast is brought to you by LimaCharlie, maker of the SecOps Cloud Platform, infrastructure for SecOps where everything is built API first. Scale with confidence as your business grows. Start today for free at limacharlie.io.

Written by British former intelligence officer, Anthony Tucker-Jones, this fascinating, illustrated guide takes a deep dive into the secret operations which shaped World War II. Most of the great military campaigns and breakthroughs of World War II would not have been successful without the efforts of teams of people working unsung and undercover. The codebreakers of Bletchley Park cracked codes that allowed for the interception and exploitation of German intelligence but many took the secret of their wartime activities to the grave. Others put their lives on the line to gather information for their countries, infiltrating other nations' secrets at great personal risk. The Secret War: Spies, Lies and the Art of Deception in World War II (Sirius, 2025) covers some of the main campaigns carried out by the secret services such as the fabled Operation Mincemeat, and others, such as Operation Fortitude, carried out in support of D-Day. It also looks at the case of the fifth columnists and stories of double agents such as Agent GARBO.Anthony Tucker-Jones, a former intelligence officer, is an author, commentator and writer who specializes in military history. He has written more than 50 books as well as several hundred features online and in print. His latest study provides a fascinating account of the role of espionage and other undercover activities during World War II. Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. 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

Written by British former intelligence officer, Anthony Tucker-Jones, this fascinating, illustrated guide takes a deep dive into the secret operations which shaped World War II. Most of the great military campaigns and breakthroughs of World War II would not have been successful without the efforts of teams of people working unsung and undercover. The codebreakers of Bletchley Park cracked codes that allowed for the interception and exploitation of German intelligence but many took the secret of their wartime activities to the grave. Others put their lives on the line to gather information for their countries, infiltrating other nations' secrets at great personal risk. The Secret War: Spies, Lies and the Art of Deception in World War II (Sirius, 2025) covers some of the main campaigns carried out by the secret services such as the fabled Operation Mincemeat, and others, such as Operation Fortitude, carried out in support of D-Day. It also looks at the case of the fifth columnists and stories of double agents such as Agent GARBO.Anthony Tucker-Jones, a former intelligence officer, is an author, commentator and writer who specializes in military history. He has written more than 50 books as well as several hundred features online and in print. His latest study provides a fascinating account of the role of espionage and other undercover activities during World War II. Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

October 27th 2025 Yuriy returns to his childhood apartment in Kharkiv, reflecting on memories and the stark changes brought by war. Amidst the remnants of the past, he finds solace in small comforts and prepare the space for fellow Ukrainian soldiers passing through. Send Yuriy your letter of support fightingtherussianbeast@gmail.com  Yuriy's Podbean Patron sign-up to give once or regularly: https://patron.podbean.com/yuriy   Buy Yuriy a coffee here: https://bmc.link/yuriymat  Subscribe to his substack: https://yuriymatsarsky.substack.com/  ----more---- TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)   It is 27th of October. I'm recording this episode sitting in the kitchen of my apartment in Kharkiv. I came here for, just a few hours and almost as soon as I finish this story, I'll be living again. This apartment belonged to several generations of my family. I grew up here, as did my cousins, my daughter, and my nephews. There were always a lot of people here, always noisy and cheerful, you know those silly comedies where stereotypical Italian families all cram into a tiny kitchen and everyone talks at once, it was kind of like that here too. But for almost four years now, it hasn't been like that. The Russian border is less than 20 miles away and constant sharing has destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure. There is no heat in the apartment and electricity is often cut off. I look out the window and see almost the same view I saw all my childhood- trees with yellow, autumn leaves a few people walking by dogs, pigeons perched on the wires, waiting for my elderly neighbor to come out and feed them bread crumbs. Of course, many things in the courtyard have changed. The big, beautiful riping willow is gone, only the stump remains. A few weeks before the full scale war, it was struck by lightning and burned completely. If I believed in omens, I would have taken that as a very bad sign. Next to the stump, there is something else that was not here when I was a child, a green military van. It's mine. It's large and fairly comfortable though, it's already 20 years old. It could easily fit my whole family and we could drive somewhere to the sea, to Crimea where it is still warm, even if swimming in the sea is no longer possible. But there is no one to go with, and Crimea has long been occupied. My family is scattered across the world. The once noisy apartment now stands silent and slowly falls apart. I'm not selling it or renting it out- not only for sentimental reasons, but also because I use it as a place to rest during my trips. There is still gas here so I can hit some water and take a shower. When the power's on, I can even do laundry in the washing machine. You can't imagine what a luxury that is for a soldier. I made several sets of keys to this apartment and gave them to friends who serve nearby or occasionally pass through Kharkiv. I can tell that someone was here recently. There is a bottle of water and a can of food on the table just in case someone arrives late when the stores are closed, so they'll have something to eat and something to make tea or coffee with. Someone also spent the night in my daughter's former room and read books from her little library, Sherlock Holmes, and some modern science fiction. It's time for me to go. I'll check if I've turned off all the lights, leave some fresh water and a bit of cookies on the table for people who can come here in the future and head out from my childhood home once again. I don't know when or if I'll come back, but I really hope I will.  

Программу SBS Russian в прямом эфире можно слушать по радио, на нашем сайте и в приложении SBS Audio. Программа также доступна в записи, в подкастах.

US and EU sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies this week has left refineries in China and India assessing their implications. Some sell refined products to Australia. But will the latest measures be able to capture Russia's shadow fleet that exploit sanction loopholes? Exclusive data shared with SBS has shown vessels transporting Russian crude oil and previously sanctioned by the Federal government still appear in the supply chains of Australian companies. - Санкции США против крупнейших российских нефтяных компаний заставили нефтеперерабатывающие заводы в Китае и Индии оценивать последствия. Но смогут ли последние меры остановить теневой российский флот, использующий санкционные лазейки?

In this enlightening episode of History Rage, host Paul Bavill is joined by historian and author Dr. Francis Young to delve into the often overlooked history of Eastern Europe. Together, they challenge the dominant narratives surrounding the region, particularly the misconceptions that arise from a focus solely on the 20th century and the pervasive influence of Russian perspectives.Episode Highlights:- Uncovering the Past: Dr. Young discusses his latest project, Silence of the Gods, which aims to excavate the religious histories of Eastern Europe, highlighting the unique traditions of its lesser-known pagan peoples.- The Misunderstood Region: The conversation critiques the tendency to ignore Eastern Europe's rich pre-20th century history and the impact of this historical short-sightedness on contemporary understanding.- The Role of Kyivan Rus: Explore the significance of Kyivan Rus and its legacy in shaping modern Ukrainian identity, as well as the historical contestation between Ukraine and Russia.- The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Discover the complexities of this once-great state, its unique political structure, and its cultural diversity, which included a multitude of religions and languages.- National Identity and Resistance: Dr. Young highlights the resilience of national identities in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland and Lithuania, amidst the pressures of imperial powers.- Recommendations for Further Reading: Gain insights into essential literature that expands on the themes discussed, including works by Robert Frost and Richard Butterwick Pavlikovsky.Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that not only sheds light on the historical significance of Eastern Europe but also encourages a deeper appreciation for its diverse cultures and identities. Dr. Young's book, Silence of the Gods, is set to be released in June, and you can find a link to pre-order it in the show notes.Connect with Dr. Francis Young:- Follow him on X: @rfrancisyoungSupport History Rage:If you're enjoying this episode, consider joining the 'Angry Mob' on Patreon at patreon.com/historyrage for exclusive content, early access, and the coveted History Rage mug.Follow the Rage:- Twitter: @HistoryRage- Instagram: @historyrageStay curious, stay passionate, and most importantly, stay angry! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Russian News at 12:30 (JST), October 27

After briefly threatening to fall below $60/b last week, Brent crude has staged a strong recovery, climbing back above $65/b. The rebound reflects a shift in market sentiment, driven by new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors, easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and a broader improvement in global risk appetite. Please note: this podcast is provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell financial instruments. This podcast does not constitute a personal recommendation and is not investment advice. Investec

From refugee to Russian pop star, startup founder to life coach and evangelist pastor — Christian Ray Flores's journey has spanned continents, ideologies, and careers. In this remarkable conversation, John explores how those experiences shaped Christian's views on creativity, entrepreneurship, AI, faith, and the American dream. Can such diverse identities truly fit together? The result is a thought-provoking dialogue across boundaries of culture, belief, and experience.   Timestamps 00:00 – Start 00:51 – Intro 03:00 – Christian's extraordinary backstory: refugee, pop star, entrepreneur 08:15 – Standing out by serving others 09:42 – Building a personal brand: the “outer game” 13:45 – How his program helps people flourish 18:35 – The role of “good fuel” and “bad fuel” in motivation 25:24 – AI and the future of coaching 35:46 – Faith and human potential 47:00 – Immigration and American values 54:31 – Go-to karaoke song? 55:21 – End     Find John Helmer LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer X (Twitter): @johnhelmer Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social Website: learninghackpodcast.com

Some of the key figures behind the collapse of the Chinese spy case have been telling their side of the story to a parliamentary committee. We find out what we've learned from one of the committee's members.How worried should we be about a new Russian missile described as a "tiny flying Chernobyl"?And as the King unveils a monument to LGBT+ veterans, we hear what it means to a Royal Navy veteran sacked for being gay.

Chuck Todd breaks down the ongoing government shutdown and the deep dysfunction gripping Washington. With the shutdown dragging into late October, Trump is reportedly tapping private donors to pay the military, while Speaker Mike Johnson keeps the House out of session — a move Chuck calls a major political blunder. As Trump consolidates control over both the presidency and Congress, Republicans appear more focused on shielding him than exercising oversight. Meanwhile, the Oversight Committee under James Comer has devolved into partisan theater, investigating the Bidens while ignoring blatant corruption in Trump’s orbit. Chuck argues that without real congressional checks, America risks drifting toward the kind of pre-revolutionary rot the Founders warned about — where power, privilege, and impunity rule unchecked. Then, filmmaker Raoul Peck joins Chuck to discuss his powerful new documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 — an exploration of truth, propaganda, and power in the age of Trump. Peck, whose work often examines systems of control and colonialism, draws from Orwell’s life and letters to reveal how 1984 was never just a warning about the future — it was a reflection of the present. He and Chuck unpack how doublespeak, “alternative facts,” and the rewriting of history have crept into modern democracies, from the U.S. to Russia, and what Orwell’s insights reveal about the fragility of truth today. Peck also reflects on his own Haitian roots and how the legacy of colonialism still shapes global politics, from America’s interference in Haiti to its uneasy role as an arbiter of democracy abroad. The conversation turns to the media’s complicity in enabling authoritarian narratives, the dangers of AI-driven misinformation, and why reclaiming truth — and teaching future generations to defend it — may be the defining struggle of our time. Finally, he hops in the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the publication of the Federalist Papers and why their lessons are extremely pertinent in the Trump era, answers questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and gives his college football recap. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 06:00 The government shutdown continues into the end of October 06:45 Trump tapping private donor to pay the military 07:45 Democrats have earned the leverage to reopen the government 08:15 Mike Johnson making a huge mistake by keeping House out of session 10:00 Voters want Congress to serve as a check on an unpopular president 11:45 House Republicans look like they’re out to lunch & on vacation 12:45 Trump says he’s both the speaker and the president 15:30 Sen. Lankford admits R’s would be furious if Biden was doing what Trump is 16:30 Everything now is viewed or ignored through a partisan lens 18:45 Without congressional oversight, we lose our founding framework 19:30 Qatari jet gift was the type of bribe our founders warned about 20:30 Republicans in charge of oversight ignoring plane bribe 21:30 Trump using coin scheme to build international bribery racket, R’s ignore it 23:00 The oversight committee under Comer has become a partisan weapon 23:45 Trump is ordering the DOJ to compensate his own business 25:15 Trump is using his power to direct money to his companies 26:00 The double standard from Republicans is insulting to the American people 28:45 Trump’s orbit is giving pre-revolutionary France vibes 29:30 Oversight is still investigating the Biden family 30:15 Democrats aren’t on moral high ground after Biden’s family pardons 31:15 If the Bidens were doing anything Trump was doing, R’s would impeach 32:00 Oversight has become partisan entertainment 32:45 Democrats weren’t interested in Epstein until it entangled Trump 33:30 Trump’s desperation to hold the house is to avoid oversight 34:15 Trump could stonewall oversight, but private companies can’t 35:00 Private companies can’t go to law enforcement when extorted 35:45 Mike Johnson is the weakest speaker in the modern era 37:45 Raoul Peck joins the Chuck ToddCast 39:15 How did you end up directing Orwell 2+2=5? 41:15 Coming from Haiti, you have a real understanding of abuse of power 42:45 Working with legendary documentarian Alex Gibney on the project 44:15 Would the film have been released if Kamala Harris had one? 45:45 Americans are becoming familiar with "doublespeak" under Trump 46:45 The contradiction of leading democracies being colonial 47:30 Orwell grew up in India, saw colonialism firsthand 48:45 Orwell joined Imperial Police Force in Burma 50:00 Orwell's letters revealed his inspiration and thought process 51:00 Orwell struggled to finish 1984 while very sick 52:00 Using historical media to create the documentary, no re-enactments 54:30 Why not tell this story in a movie? Does 1984 need to be re-made? 55:45 1984 was only a portion of the story 56:45 Orwell was writing about the present and warning about the future 58:30 US story starting with lies about the Iraq War using propaganda 1:00:00 Americans think authoritarianism only comes from "the other side" 1:00:45 Language sets the stage for the erosion of democracy 1:01:30 Authoritarians seek to remake and revise history 1:02:30 Russian citizens have basically given up on truth, don't believe anything 1:03:15 Trump's use of "alternative facts" is incredibly Orwellian 1:04:15 Trump accuses any negative coverage of being "fake news" 1:05:00 U.S. government purging certain words from their websites 1:07:00 Authoritarian takeovers can move very quickly 1:07:45 Journalism and discourse are controlled by a few tech companies 1:08:30 Trouble distributing the documentary in the current political climate? 1:10:00 Documentary breaking records…. But what does that say? 1:11:30 Too many people are tuning out during Trump's second term 1:12:00 People take democracy and their freedoms for granted 1:13:15 Mike Pence saved democracy… temporarily 1:14:15 AI generated videos will make people questions everything 1:15:15 Most of the press is captive to a few billionaires 1:16:15 The technology isn't the problem, lack of regulation is 1:17:45 Humans will want interpersonal contact in AI era 1:19:45 There is no such thing as neutrality in politics 1:21:15 Beating authoritarianism will take a generation in America 1:23:00 Why have Haiti and the Dominican Republic gone so differently? 1:24:45 The slave rebellion caused the U.S. to treat Haiti as a pariah 1:26:15 Haiti suffered from "cannon diplomacy" from colonial powers 1:27:00 The U.S. meddling in Haiti has always caused problems 1:29:15 U.S. has always asserted control in the western hemisphere 1:30:45 Next project is doc about assasination of Haiti's president 1:31:45 Using AI as a tool in creating films? 1:33:45 Government has performed almost no oversight of AI 1:36:00 ToddCast Time Machine 1:36:45 This week, in 1787 was the initial publication of the Federalist Papers 1:37:30 The papers were America's first political blog 1:38:30 Hamilton began by debating whether reason or rage would win out 1:39:45 Federalist #51 argued ambition must be made to counteract ambition 1:41:00 America's biggest problem now is an extraordinarily weak congress 1:41:45 Hamilton warned of political parties & can't limit it to one or two 1:42:45 Federalist #70 warned against an overly powerful executive 1:43:45 Federalist #65 worried that impeachment would become a partisan exercise 1:45:45 Federalist #78 argued that judges should never be elected 1:47:00 Madison argued in favor of slow deliberation 1:48:30 Founders warned that too few representatives breeds corruption 1:50:00 Hamilton argued that rights are only guaranteed by people enforcing them 1:52:00 Ask Chuck 1:52:15 Should Democrats flip the script and use "America First" messaging? 1:54:45 Should Democrats reign in ActBlue for advertising? 1:58:45 Why are there no consequences for cabinet members lying to congress? 2:00:45 Will Trump governing only for supporters backfire in the midterms? 2:04:15 College football updateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, filmmaker Raoul Peck joins Chuck to discuss his powerful new documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 — an exploration of truth, propaganda, and power in the age of Trump. Peck, whose work often examines systems of control and colonialism, draws from Orwell’s life and letters to reveal how 1984 was never just a warning about the future — it was a reflection of the present. He and Chuck unpack how doublespeak, “alternative facts,” and the rewriting of history have crept into modern democracies, from the U.S. to Russia, and what Orwell’s insights reveal about the fragility of truth today. Peck also reflects on his own Haitian roots and how the legacy of colonialism still shapes global politics, from America’s interference in Haiti to its uneasy role as an arbiter of democracy abroad. The conversation turns to the media’s complicity in enabling authoritarian narratives, the dangers of AI-driven misinformation, and why reclaiming truth — and teaching future generations to defend it — may be the defining struggle of our time. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Raoul Peck joins the Chuck ToddCast 01:30 How did you end up directing Orwell 2+2=5? 03:30 Coming from Haiti, you have a real understanding of abuse of power 05:00 Working with legendary documentarian Alex Gibney on the project 06:30 Would the film have been released if Kamala Harris had one? 08:00 Americans are becoming familiar with “doublespeak” under Trump 09:00 The contradiction of leading democracies being colonial 09:45 Orwell grew up in India, saw colonialism firsthand 11:00 Orwell joined Imperial Police Force in Burma 12:15 Orwell’s letters revealed his inspiration and thought process 13:15 Orwell struggled to finish 1984 while very sick 14:15 Using historical media to create the documentary, no re-enactments 16:45 Why not tell this story in a movie? Does 1984 need to be re-made? 18:00 1984 was only a portion of the story 19:00 Orwell was writing about the present and warning about the future 20:45 US story starting with lies about the Iraq War using propaganda 22:15 Americans think authoritarianism only comes from “the other side” 23:00 Language sets the stage for the erosion of democracy 23:45 Authoritarians seek to remake and revise history 24:45 Russian citizens have basically given up on truth, don’t believe anything 25:30 Trump’s use of “alternative facts” is incredibly Orwellian 26:30 Trump accuses any negative coverage of being “fake news” 27:15 U.S. government purging certain words from their websites 29:15 Authoritarian takeovers can move very quickly 30:00 Journalism and discourse are controlled by a few tech companies 30:45 Trouble distributing the documentary in the current political climate? 32:15 Documentary breaking records…. But what does that say? 33:45 Too many people are tuning out during Trump’s second term 34:15 People take democracy and their freedoms for granted 35:30 Mike Pence saved democracy… temporarily 36:30 AI generated videos will make people questions everything 37:30 Most of the press is captive to a few billionaires 38:30 The technology isn’t the problem, lack of regulation is 40:00 Humans will want interpersonal contact in AI era 42:00 There is no such thing as neutrality in politics 43:30 Beating authoritarianism will take a generation in America 45:15 Why have Haiti and the Dominican Republic gone so differently? 47:00 The slave rebellion caused the U.S. to treat Haiti as a pariah 48:30 Haiti suffered from “cannon diplomacy” from colonial powers 49:15 The U.S. meddling in Haiti has always caused problems 51:30 U.S. has always asserted control in the western hemisphere 53:00 Next project is doc about assasination of Haiti’s president 54:00 Using AI as a tool in creating films? 56:00 Government has performed almost no oversight of AISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Topic: Through the Eyes of a Historian Serhii Plokhy, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, joins Taras Dobko, rector of Ukrainian Catholic University, in a conversation about what has changed in Ukrainians and their society in the last three years during the Russian aggression, and the ways in which hope and resilience together can be fertile ground for miracles to happen.Featured Speakers: Serhii Plokhy, Harvard UniversityTaras Dobko, Ukrainian Catholic UniversityRead this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/c74a70.This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Revolutions of Hope. Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career. Learn more about ThinkND and register for upcoming live events at think.nd.edu. Join our LinkedIn community for updates, episode clips, and more.

Doomberg stops by the Energy News Beat and Energy Impacts Podcast with Stu Turley and David Blackmon . Doomberg lays out the massive topic of trade wars with China and the global impact on the financial markets. What are investors and consumers thinking?In this engaging discussion, they explore China's dominance in rare earth minerals, the U.S. response to growing supply chain risks, and how geopolitical tensions are reshaping global trade alliances. From the future of energy independence to the economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Doomberg brings sharp analysis and thought-provoking insights on the shifting balance of power across nations.I absolutely love my time with Doomberg, but it was extremely cool when he recognized Dave's name as we flashed his comment live on the screen. Doomberg appreciated Dave's subscription, and this was just cool.We will see an end to the Russian war soon, and we need to keep the war mongers out of the decision-making positions.Doomberg is a national treasure.Highlights of the Podcast00:01 – Introduction01:43 – China's Rare Earth Monopoly and Trade War Signals07:17 – U.S. Response and Administrative Inaction10:40 – Reactions to Global Trade Developments14:17 – U.S. Efforts to Break Rare Earth Dependence15:53 – U.S. Manhattan Project for Supply Chains20:13 – Regulatory Hurdles and Mining Challenges22:40 – Global Bifurcation and Emerging Trade Blocks25:24 – Russia, Ukraine, and the Changing Global Order34:13 – Media Narratives and Propaganda38:31 – Drone Warfare and Shifting Military Power42:16 – Venezuela, the Monroe Doctrine, and U.S.-China Rivalry46:08 – Europe's Energy Crisis and Deindustrialization53:17 – Alaska, Energy Development, and Infrastructure Delays55:05 – Closing Thoughts and New Project PlugAgain, we highly recommend subscribing to David Blackmon's Substack at blackmon.substack.com, the Energy News Beat Substack, and Doomberg!

In today’s episode, Ben O’Shea unpacks a US Navy report of a helicopter & fighter crash in the South China Sea. Plus, why is Australia still importing Russian “blood oil”?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atenção (disclaimer): Os dados aqui apresentados representam minha opinião pessoal.Não são de forma alguma indicações de compra ou venda de ativos no mercado financeiro.Painel S.A.: Acionistas da Cosan aprovam entrada de BTG e Perfin como sóciashttps://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/painelsa/2025/10/acionistas-da-cosan-aprovam-entrada-de-btg-e-perfin-como-socias.shtmlCeasefire violations in Gaza strain fragile truce between Israel and Hamashttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/ceasefire-violations-in-gaza-strain-fragile-truce-between/id78304589?i=1000732562107&l=en-GBAn Economy Built on Speculation—for Better and for Worsehttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/an-economy-built-on-speculation-for-better-and-for-worse/id152016440?i=1000732508679&l=en-GB‘We intend to defend our democracy,' says ‘No Kings' protest organizerhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/we-intend-to-defend-our-democracy-says-no-kings-protest/id78304589?i=1000732462595&l=en-GBViktor Orban's political futurehttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/viktor-orbans-political-future/id1830530855?i=1000732397476&l=en-GBHow European leaders are responding as Trump urges Ukraine to cede territory to Russiahttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/how-european-leaders-are-responding-as-trump-urges/id78304589?i=1000732724123&l=en-GBTrump's push for peace tested as Putin meeting called off and Gaza ceasefire shows crackshttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/trumps-push-for-peace-tested-as-putin-meeting-called/id78304589?i=1000732886865&l=en-GBWhat to know about the withdrawn Trump nominee who reportedly said he has a ‘Nazi streak'https://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/what-to-know-about-the-withdrawn-trump-nominee-who/id78304589?i=1000732886661&l=en-GBA anatomia das emendashttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/a-anatomia-das-emendas/id1477406521?i=1000732912931&l=en-GBXi's Top Bargaining Chip Is a Trade War Game Changerhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/xis-top-bargaining-chip-is-a-trade-war-game-changer/id1746141911?i=1000732878359&l=en-GBMovimentos de esquerda não reagiram ao serem contrariados em duas questões essenciaishttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/movimentos-de-esquerda-n%C3%A3o-reagiram-ao-serem/id1552208254?i=1000733008972&l=en-GBTrump sanctions Russian oil companies as his efforts to end Ukraine war falterhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/trump-sanctions-russian-oil-companies-as-his-efforts/id78304589?i=1000733050499&l=en-GB‘This is going to hurt us': U.S. ranchers push back on Trump's Argentina beef dealhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/this-is-going-to-hurt-us-u-s-ranchers-push-back-on/id78304589?i=1000733048300&l=en-GB'Gastar ao infinito interessa e une tanto o governo quanto a oposição'https://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/gastar-ao-infinito-interessa-e-une-tanto-o-governo/id265071481?i=1000733136935&l=en-GB18 Minutes From Nuclear Annihilationhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/18-minutes-from-nuclear-annihilation/id1258635512?i=1000733122732&l=en-GBCould Home Batteries Save the Grid?https://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/could-home-batteries-save-the-grid/id1602541473?i=1000732075596&l=en-GBConsider the shrimphttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/consider-the-shrimp/id1554578197?i=1000732944715&l=en-GB'Decisão deixa porta aberta para corrupção', diz integrante da Transparência Brasil sobre decisão do STF para nepotismohttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/decis%C3%A3o-deixa-porta-aberta-para-corrup%C3%A7%C3%A3o-diz-integrante/id203963267?i=1000733335548&l=en-GBInside the PLA's Accelerating Modernization: A Conversation with John Culverhttps://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/inside-the-plas-accelerating-modernization/id1144663360?i=1000733190868&l=en-GB

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In this week's Macro Mondays James Todd is joined by Ed Hayden-Briffett and Will Cunliffe to unpack another turbulent week across global markets. US equities hit fresh all-time highs as lower-than-expected CPI data fuels optimism - yet the rally is increasingly narrow, driven by speculative tech names with little to no earnings. Meanwhile, recession risks are flashing red, with UBS warning of a 93% probability and nearly a third of US states already contracting. In Asia, China's deflation deepens to its worst levels since 2004, while GDP growth slips below target and fixed-asset investment turns negative, underscoring the fragility of its recovery.Commodities told a very different story: gold suffered its biggest single-day fall since 2013, silver followed suit, and the dollar rebounded as traders priced out rate cuts. Oil surged on renewed Russian sanctions, and volatility returned to precious metals markets. Key highlights include:✅ U.S. equites make new all-time highs S&P500 and Nasdaq✅ While Gold & Silver come crashing down to earth✅ Brent spikes on fresh Russian sanctions✅ US CPI come in lower than expected 

October 23rd, 2024John Kelly confirms to the Atlantic that Trump called military and veterans suckers and losers; the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously upholds the block of the State Election Board's last minute rule changes; US officials confirm the smear of Tim Walz was Russian propaganda; Rudy has been ordered to hand his property over to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss; judges have rejected the RNC lawsuits challenging some overseas ballots in Michigan and North Carolina; the former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO has been charged with sex trafficking over a dozen victims; a Philadelphia man has been charged for making gruesome threats against a person recruiting poll watchers; the Army has been ordered to release the report of the Trump incident at Arlington National Cemetery; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News. Guest:Timothy SnyderOn Freedom by Timothy SnyderOther Books (timothysnyder.org)Twitter - @TimothySnyderSubstack - Thinking About... Our Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - DonateMSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueWhistleblowerAid.org/beansFederal workers - feel free to email AG at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Find Upcoming Actions 50501 Movement, No Kings.org, Indivisible.orgDr. Allison Gill - Substack, BlueSky , TikTok, IG, TwitterDana Goldberg - BlueSky, Twitter, IG, facebook, danagoldberg.comCheck out more from MSW Media - Shows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 pod, The Breakdown | SubstackShare your Good News or Good TroubleMSW Good News and Good TroubleHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?The Daily Beans | SupercastThe Daily Beans & Mueller, She Wrote | PatreonThe Daily Beans | Apple Podcasts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Learn Polish Podcast. In this episode Ania and Roy share personal memories of school and discuss how education could be reformed — covering strict teaching methods, the focus on memorization and exams, the value of practical life skills, homeschooling, hybrid learning, and how AI might change the teacher's role. You can find all episodes at learnpolishpodcast.com and on Bitchute, YouTube and Rumble. Lessons with Ania are available in Polish or Spanish; links are in the show notes. Scan the QR code or visit roikon.com to see my six podcasts, podcast coaching and school group, and go to VA.world for virtual assistant services.   I have just launched my PodFather Podcast Coach Community https://www.skool.com/podfather/about   Start your own SKOOl Academy https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=c72a37fe832f49c584d7984db9e54b71   All about Roy / Brain Gym & Virtual Assistants at ⁠https://roycoughlan.com/⁠   

2025-10-26 | Silicon Wafers 041 | DAILY UPDATES | The hammer is falling on Putin's regime, swinging against the oil revenues that support the system and the illegal war. The first cracks are showing in Moscow's façade, as oil is targeted, and the main buyers China and India blink. Putin says that the sanctions are serious but will not affect his regime. He's lying and immediately dispatched a Kremlin minion and apparent ‘deal maker' to the US to advocate for lifting the sanctions. See the problem with the logic – please remove these sanctions that are having no effect on us. It simply makes no sense. What else is happening? Russia's fourth-largest refinery goes dark after a Ukrainian strike. We'll also look at fresh data on desertions, Russia's creeping mobilization by stealth, hybrid hits against Europe, and what frontline commanders say about the next phase of drone warfare. ----------Partner on this video: KYIV OF MINE Watch the trailer now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arJUcE1rxY0'Kyiv of Mine' is a documentary series about Ukraine's beautiful capital, Kyiv. The film production began in 2018, and much has changed since then. It is now 2025, and this story is far from over.https://www.youtube.com/@UCz6UbVKfqutH-N7WXnC5Ykg https://www.kyivofmine.com/#theprojectKyiv of Mine is fast paced, beautifully filmed, humorous, fun, insightful, heartbreaking, moving, hopeful. The very antithesis in fact of a doom-laden and worthy wartime documentary. This is a work that is extraordinarily uplifting. My friend Operator Starsky says the film is “Made with so much love. The film series will make you laugh and cry.” ----------SOURCES: Reuters, “Analysts: ‘Can't be one and done' on sanctions,” Oct 22–24, 2025The Guardian / Reuters markets wrap, oil jump then ease, Oct 23–24, 2025Reuters, “Chinese state majors suspend seaborne Russian oil; India to cut,” Oct 23–24, 2025The Guardian, “Putin: sanctions may cause ‘some losses',” Oct 23, 2025The Moscow Times, “Putin Envoy Visits U.S. After New Sanctions,” Oct 24, 2025; Reuters, Dmitriev appointed special envoy, Feb 23, 2025Kyiv Independent, “Ryazan (4th-largest) refinery suspends operations after attack,” Oct 25, 2025Reuters, “Orenburg gas plant hit — Kazakhstan cuts Karachaganak output,” Oct 20, 2025Reuters graphics, “Inside Ukraine's refinery strike campaign,” Oct 16, 2025ISW / Critical Threats, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessments, Oct 22–24, 2025Mediazona, “20,662 refusal-to-serve cases by end-May,” Jun 26, 2025----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

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Venezuela's president accuses the Trump administration of fabricating a war in sending a naval strike force to the Caribbean to lead its controversial sea campaign against alleged drug traffickers. Also: Ukraine's allies pledge to take Russian oil and gas off the market to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war; calls grow for more humanitarian corridors in Gaza as 15,000 Palestinians wait for medical evacuation; the US places sanctions on the president of Colombia; Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit dies at the age of 93; the Children's Booker Prize is launched; and we delve into the murky world of art forgery. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The Postponement of the Budapest Meeting and Negotiating with Putin. Cliff May discusses the postponement of the Trump-Putin Budapest meeting, attributing it to Marco Rubio insisting on a cessation of hostilities, which Foreign Minister Lavrov rejected, demanding "all Ukraine." May warns President Trump against being outnegotiated, referencing Stalin's success over Roosevelt and Churchill at Yalta. Putin admires Stalin, who expanded the Russian Empire and engineered the Holodomor famine. May stresses that Russians negotiate only to win, not to compromise. 1921 RED ARMY

SHOW 10-24-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT CANADA  IN THE EYES OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. FIRST HOUR 9-915 Pennsylvania Aims to Be AI Capital with US-Made Non-Lithium Batteries. Salena Zito reports on Governor Shapiro's plan to establish Pennsylvania as the AI and data center capital, capitalizing on its energy resources and university system. She focuses on EOS, a Turtle Creek company making non-lithium batteries that are 97% US-made, countering reliance on Chinese lithium. AI data centers require high energy reliability, favoring coal and natural gas infrastructure. Governor Shapiro supports this buildout, including a $22 million grant for EOS. 915-930 Italian Olive Harvest and Historical Vatican-UK Royal Visit. Lorenzo Fiori reports that the olive harvest in Tuscany is expected to be low in quantity due to mosquito damage caused by humidity and rain. However, recent strong winds helped remove damaged olives, potentially ensuring a "very tasty" oil. Fiori also discusses the historical visit of King Charles III to the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to pray with Pope Francis. This event, which Fiori found spectacular, is seen as crucial for restoring dialogue between the Anglican and Catholic Churches after centuries of division. 930-945 Small Business Economy Steady; AI Remains a 'Toy'. Gene Marks reports on the small business economy, noting steady activity among machine parts manufacturers, often preparing for an "onshoring boom." Construction and housing are holding steady but anticipate a future boom as interest rates decline. Tariffs have a muted impact, often absorbed or passed on as separate invoice line items for transparency. Marks demonstrates that AI, despite its advances, is not ready for prime-time business use, failing to accurately generate a requested image of a Yorkshire Terrier hitting a home run. 945-1000 Small Business Economy Steady; AI Remains a 'Toy'. Gene Marks reports on the small business economy, noting steady activity among machine parts manufacturers, often preparing for an "onshoring boom." Construction and housing are holding steady but anticipate a future boom as interest rates decline. Tariffs have a muted impact, often absorbed or passed on as separate invoice line items for transparency. Marks demonstrates that AI, despite its advances, is not ready for prime-time business use, failing to accurately generate a requested image of a Yorkshire Terrier hitting a home run. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 Pacific Palisades Housing Dispute and West Coast Infrastructure Challenges. Jeff Bliss covers West Coast issues, including traffic disruption from new high-speed rail construction between Southern California and Las Vegas. Pacific Palisades residents are protesting state and local plans to use burned-out lots for high-density, multistory affordable housing, fearing the change in community character and increased traffic. Additionally, copper theft from EV charging stations is undermining Los Angeles's zero emissions goals. Homeless encampments are also sparking major brush fire concerns in areas like Malibu and the Sepulveda Basin. 1015-1030 Pennsylvania Pursues Data Center Hub Status, Converting Golf Courses. Jim McTague reports on Pennsylvania's effort to become a data center hub, citing over $90 billion committed investment statewide. York County secured $5 billion, with plans including converting Brierwood Golf Course into a data center. This effort faces public resistance fueled by fears of higher electricity and water prices. McTague notes that consumer spending in Lancaster County is "steady." The conversion of golf courses reflects the decline of golf, seen as a "dinosaur" activity that takes too much time. 1030-1045 Professor Epstein Slams Trump's Economic Policies as 'State Socialism'. Professor Richard Epstein analyzes four Trump administration economic decisions concerning Intel, Nvidia, US Steel, and MP Mining, labeling them forms of state-owned enterprise or "state socialism." Epstein argues that acquiring golden shares or negotiating side deals—like Nvidia paying 15% of China revenue—destroys market value, undercuts competitors, and violates the neutral application of laws. He also critiques the Gaza deal, stating Hamas must be wiped out before any subsequent phases of the agreement can proceed. 1045-1100 Professor Epstein Slams Trump's Economic Policies as 'State Socialism'. Professor Richard Epstein analyzes four Trump administration economic decisions concerning Intel, Nvidia, US Steel, and MP Mining, labeling them forms of state-owned enterprise or "state socialism." Epstein argues that acquiring golden shares or negotiating side deals—like Nvidia paying 15% of China revenue—destroys market value, undercuts competitors, and violates the neutral application of laws. He also critiques the Gaza deal, stating Hamas must be wiped out before any subsequent phases of the agreement can proceed. THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 cMcNamara at War: Loyalty, Secrets, and the Vietnam Conflict. Professor William Taubman discusses Robert McNamara's complicated role during the LBJ years. McNamara enabled the Vietnam War escalation, notably misrepresenting the Gulf of Tonkin incidents to Congress. Despite later secretly opposing the war ("I want so badly to bring the boys home"), he remained silent due to loyalty to Johnson and the presidency. Taubman also details McNamara's role spying on the Kennedys for LBJ and his "loving" relationship with Jackie Kennedy. His post-Pentagon role at the World Bank served as a form of repentance. 1115-1130 cMcNamara at War: Loyalty, Secrets, and the Vietnam Conflict. Professor William Taubman discusses Robert McNamara's complicated role during the LBJ years. McNamara enabled the Vietnam War escalation, notably misrepresenting the Gulf of Tonkin incidents to Congress. Despite later secretly opposing the war ("I want so badly to bring the boys home"), he remained silent due to loyalty to Johnson and the presidency. Taubman also details McNamara's role spying on the Kennedys for LBJ and his "loving" relationship with Jackie Kennedy. His post-Pentagon role at the World Bank served as a form of repentance. 1130-1145 cMcNamara at War: Loyalty, Secrets, and the Vietnam Conflict. Professor William Taubman discusses Robert McNamara's complicated role during the LBJ years. McNamara enabled the Vietnam War escalation, notably misrepresenting the Gulf of Tonkin incidents to Congress. Despite later secretly opposing the war ("I want so badly to bring the boys home"), he remained silent due to loyalty to Johnson and the presidency. Taubman also details McNamara's role spying on the Kennedys for LBJ and his "loving" relationship with Jackie Kennedy. His post-Pentagon role at the World Bank served as a form of repentance. 1145-1200 cMcNamara at War: Loyalty, Secrets, and the Vietnam Conflict. Professor William Taubman discusses Robert McNamara's complicated role during the LBJ years. McNamara enabled the Vietnam War escalation, notably misrepresenting the Gulf of Tonkin incidents to Congress. Despite later secretly opposing the war ("I want so badly to bring the boys home"), he remained silent due to loyalty to Johnson and the presidency. Taubman also details McNamara's role spying on the Kennedys for LBJ and his "loving" relationship with Jackie Kennedy. His post-Pentagon role at the World Bank served as a form of repentance. FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Trump Administration's Economic Interventionism Questioned as 'State Capitalism'. Veronique de Rugy critiques the Trump administration's economic policies regarding companies like Intel, US Steel, and MP Mining, calling them "state capitalism" or forms of nationalization. She argues that the government acquiring a minority share in Intel creates bad incentives and unfair competitive advantages. Regarding MP Mining, de Rugy notes that guaranteeing a price floor fails to address the underlying issue of government regulation hindering rare earth production in the US.E 1215-1230 The Postponement of the Budapest Meeting and Negotiating with Putin. Cliff May discusses the postponement of the Trump-Putin Budapest meeting, attributing it to Marco Rubio insisting on a cessation of hostilities, which Foreign Minister Lavrov rejected, demanding "all Ukraine." May warns President Trump against being outnegotiated, referencing Stalin's success over Roosevelt and Churchill at Yalta. Putin admires Stalin, who expanded the Russian Empire and engineered the Holodomor famine. May stresses that Russians negotiate only to win, not to compromise. 1230-1245 NASA's Artemis Woes, Chinese Debris, and Global Space Industry Shifts. Bob Zimmerman discusses NASA's Artemis program, noting Administrator Sean Duffy is using a social media feud with Elon Musk as a "shiny object" to distract from the Orion capsule's untrustworthy heat shield risks. Other space issues include China's dangerous rocket debris crashes, some using highly toxic fuels, and European satellite companies consolidating into Project Bromo due to competition. Zimmerman also highlights the discovery of a large asteroid orbiting near Venus and Lockheed Martin's investment in Venus Aerospace's radical rocket engine design. 1245-100 AM NASA's Artemis Woes, Chinese Debris, and Global Space Industry Shifts. Bob Zimmerman discusses NASA's Artemis program, noting Administrator Sean Duffy is using a social media feud with Elon Musk as a "shiny object" to distract from the Orion capsule's untrustworthy heat shield risks. Other space issues include China's dangerous rocket debris crashes, some using highly toxic fuels, and European satellite companies consolidating into Project Bromo due to competition. Zimmerman also highlights the discovery of a large asteroid orbiting near Venus and Lockheed Martin's investment in Venus Aerospace's radical rocket engine design.

In this episode of Ninjas Are Butterflies, we dive into the twisted intersection of occult science, satanic rituals, and historical cover-ups. From Aleister Crowley's strange fusion of mysticism and experimentation to a bleeding crucifix revival in Russia that defied explanation, this episode blurs the line between faith, fear, and forbidden knowledge. The guys also uncover how Walt Disney once commissioned a Nazi artist, revealing a bizarre footnote in the history of American imagination. It's a wild mix of theology, history, and conspiracy—equal parts creepy, fascinating, and hilarious in true NAB fashion. Thanks to our sponsor, Uncommon Goods. Visit https://www.uncommongoods.com/ninjas for 15% off. #ad Get MORE Exclusive Ninjas Are Butterflies Content by joining our Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/NinjasAreButterflies NEW EPISODES EVERY FRIDAY @ 6AM EST! Ninja Merch: https://www.sundaycoolswag.com/ Start Your Custom Apparel Order Here: https://bit.ly/NinjasYT-SundayCool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As tensions rise with Venezuela, the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group is leaving Europe to head closer to South America. This as a key ally to Vladimir Putin arrives in the U.S. for meetings with the White House. This Putin ally joins live.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week in Washington, President Trump halted trade talks with Canada, announced a private donation to help pay the military and authorized new sanctions on Russian oil. We discuss these developments, as well as how Trump uses his carefully cultivated image.This episode: political correspondent Ashley Lopez, senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell & Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy