Podcasts about soviet

Chris Paul and Burning Bright revisit Matt Reeves's 2022 take on the Caped Crusader, and both come away more impressed than they expected to be. Expect a thoughtful dive into the film's central theme of vengeance versus justice, what it means to be harmed by a system versus harmed by people, and how that tension plays out through Bruce Wayne's arc. There's a genuinely funny personal theater horror story woven into the discussion, plenty of comic book fan perspective comparing this take to Nolan's trilogy, and a sharp pivot into real world parallels about political lying, informed consent, and what it actually means to "wake up" versus just acting like the Riddler online. Stick around for the closing thoughts on vengeance and justice, plus next week's pick, a 2017 dark comedy about the chaotic power scramble following a Soviet dictator's death.  

When amateur mad scientists can leverage AI to engineer future pandemics, we need to be prepared to counter the threat. Rob Reid is here to tell us how.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1390What We Discuss with Rob Reid:How a terrifying thought experiment reframes bio risk. Rob argues the scariest scenario isn't a Soviet-style industrial complex but the mere passage of time, since an exponential technology turns what a handful of elite specialists can do today into routine undergraduate coursework tomorrow.Why a $100 million USAID program called DEEP VZN struck Rob as a suicide pact. The plan was to hunt 15,000 undiscovered viruses, sort them for which posed the gravest threat, then publish the findings openly. Rob and MIT's Kevin Esvelt pushed until it was quietly defanged and later killed.What makes smart, well-meaning people defend this work. Rob points to an insider culture where open-science absolutism, confidence that we'd out-invent any bad actor, and vaccine promises that collapse under scrutiny combine into a stew that lets good people talk themselves into terrible ideas.Why Rob keeps returning to aviation as the model. America had 40 to 50 hijackings a year until basic airport screening arrived in 1972, and the next year there were zero. You can't make a threat impossible, but a high enough bar forces conspiracies big enough for law enforcement to catch.Fortunately, the countermeasures are cheap and already understood. Wastewater sequencing at major airports, stockpiled gear for frontline workers, and germicidal UV light in schools and hospitals would cost a sliver of the defense budget. Denial and despair both produce nothing.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanHims Weightloss: Get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you: hims.com/harbingerSimpliSafe Home Security: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanXero: Find out more: xero.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin and Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy join the podcast this week to discuss Russia's new ambassador to North Korea, Pyongyang's latest cyber operations and the growing dispute between Seoul and Kyiv over two North Korean prisoners of war.  Anton explains what the arrival of veteran diplomat Andrei Podelyshev signals about Moscow's priorities in Pyongyang, how his lower-profile style may differ from longtime predecessor and why his first visits to Soviet and DPRK war memorials underscore the increasingly institutionalized relationship between the two countries. Shreyas then breaks down North Korea's suspected role in the year's largest cryptocurrency heist so far, which saw roughly $352 million stolen from exchange Bitget and pushed estimated DPRK-linked crypto theft above $1 billion in 2026.  The episode concludes with a discussion on Ukraine's transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea and the diplomatic fallout after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly revealed the move at the U.N. General Assembly. They also discuss what intelligence the soldiers can provide about North Korea's deployment to Russia and what their resettlement in South Korea could look like after an unprecedented journey from the battlefield in Kursk. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Villain-Venice-Steampunk-Adventure-Expanded/dp/B0GYVW1ZM3?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE notes from wiki This article is about the novel. For the 1997 film, see Starship Troopers (film). For other uses, see Starship Troopers (disambiguation). Starship Troopers First edition hardcover Author Robert A. Heinlein Cover artist Jerry Robinson Language English Genre Military science fiction Philosophical fiction[1][2][3] Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons Publication date November 5, 1959[4] Publication place United States Media type Print (hardcover and paperback) Pages 263 (paperback edition) Award Hugo Award for Best Novel (1960) ISBN 978-0450044496 Online Computer Library Center number"}]]}"> OCLC 2797649 Library of Congress Classification"}]]}"> LC Class PZ7.H368 Su Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests,[5] the story was first published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons on November 5, 1959.[4] The story is set in a future society ruled by a human interstellar government called the Terran Federation, dominated by a military elite. Under the Terran Federation, only veterans of a primarily military Federal Service enjoy full citizenship, including the right to vote.[6] The first-person narrative follows Juan "Johnny" Rico, a young man of Filipino descent, through his military service in the Mobile Infantry. He progresses from recruit to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between humans and an alien species known as "Arachnids" or "Bugs". Interspersed with the primary plot are classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical and moral issues, including aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, and war; these discussions have been described as expounding Heinlein's own political views.[7] Identified with a tradition of militarism in US science fiction,[8] the novel draws parallels between the conflict between humans and the Bugs, and the Cold War.[9] It is also a coming-of-age novel, which criticizes the US society of the 1950s, arguing that a lack of discipline had led to a moral decline, and advocating corporal and capital punishment.[7][10] Starship Troopers brought to an end Heinlein's series of juvenile novels. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960,[3] and was praised by reviewers for its scenes of training and combat and its visualization of a future military.[11][12] It also became enormously controversial because of the political views it seemed to support. Reviewers were strongly critical of the book's intentional glorification of the military,[13][14] an aspect described as propaganda and likened to recruitment.[15] The novel's militarism, and the fact that government service – most often military service – was a prerequisite to the right to vote, led to it being frequently described as fascist.[14][16][17] Others disagree, arguing that Heinlein was only exploring the idea of limiting the right to vote to a certain group of people.[18] Heinlein's depiction of gender has also been questioned, while reviewers have said that the terms used to describe the aliens were akin to racial epithets.[19] Starship Troopers had wide influence both within and outside science fiction. Ken MacLeod stated that "the political strand in [science fiction] can be described as a dialogue with Heinlein".[2] Science fiction critic Darko Suvin wrote that it is the "ancestral text of US science fiction militarism" and that it shaped the debate about the role of the military in society for many years.[20] The novel is credited with popularizing the idea of powered armor, which became a recurring feature in science fiction books and films, as well as an object of scientific research.[21] Heinlein's depiction of a futuristic military was also influential.[22] Later science fiction books, such as Joe Haldeman's 1974 anti-war novel The Forever War, have been described as reactions to Starship Troopers.[23] The story was adapted several times, including in a 1997 film version directed by Paul Verhoeven that satirized what the director saw as the fascist aspects of the novel.[24] Writing and publication The cover of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (November 1959), illustrating Starship Soldier Robert Heinlein was among the best-selling science fiction authors of the 1940s and 1950s, along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke; they were known as the "big three" that dominated US science fiction. In contrast to the others, Heinlein firmly endorsed the anti-communist sentiment of the Cold War era in his writing.[25] Heinlein served in the US Navy for five years after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1929. His experience in the military profoundly influenced his fiction.[26] At some point between 1958 and 1959, Heinlein put aside the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers. His motivation arose partially from his anger at US President Dwight Eisenhower's decision to suspend US nuclear tests, and the Soviet tests that occurred soon afterward.[5] Writing in his 1980 volume Expanded Universe, Heinlein would say that the publication of a newspaper advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy on April 5, 1958, calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear weapons testing by the United States sparked his desire to write Starship Troopers.[27] Heinlein and his wife Virginia created the "Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the US nuclear testing program. Heinlein stated that he used the novel to clarify his military and political views.[28] Like many of Heinlein's books, Starship Troopers was completed in a few weeks. It was originally written as a juvenile novel for New York publishing house Scribner; Heinlein had previously had success with this format, having written several such novels published by that publisher. The manuscript was rejected, prompting Heinlein to end his association with that publisher completely, and to resume writing books with adult themes.[5][19][29] Scholars have suggested that Scribner's rejection was based on ideological objections to the content of the novel, particularly in its treatment of military conflict.[19][30] The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction first published Starship Troopers in October and November 1959 as a two-part serial titled Starship Soldier.[29] A senior editor at Putnam's, Peter Israel, purchased the manuscript and approved revisions that made it more marketable to adults. Asked whether it was aimed at children or adults, he said at a sales conference "Let's let the readers decide who likes it."[31] The novel was eventually published by G. P. Putnam's Sons.[29] Setting Set approximately 700 years in the future,[19] the book depicts an Earth ruled by a world government run by military veterans.[6] The society is depicted as affluent, and futuristic technology shown as coexisting with educational methods from the 20th century.[19] The rights of a full citizen, to vote and hold public office, are not universally guaranteed, and rather must be earned through Federal Service.[18] Those who do not perform this service (of which only military service has been described) retain the rights of free speech and assembly, but can neither vote nor hold public office. People of either sex above the age of 18 are permitted to enlist; only those who complete their service receive the right to vote.[19][32] Important government jobs are reserved for federal service veterans.[6] This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the "20th century Western democracies", driven in part by an inability to control crime and juvenile delinquency, particularly in North America, and a war between an alliance of the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia, against the "Chinese Hegemony".[33] Two extraterrestrial civilizations are depicted, respectively, as the "Pseudo-Arachnids" (or "Bugs"), and the "Skinnies". The "Bugs" are described as communal beings originating from the planet of Klendathu, and consist of multiple castes; workers, warriors, brains, and queens, similar to those of ants and termites on Earth. The warriors are the only ones who fight, and are unable to surrender in battle.[34] It also is implied that the Bugs are technologically advanced, possessing such technologies as spaceships.[35] The "Skinnies" are depicted as less communal than the Arachnids, yet more so than humans.[36] The events of the novel take place during an interstellar war between the Terran Federation and the Arachnids.[37] At the opening of the story, Earth is not at war, yet such a declaration has come when Rico has completed his training.[5] The "Skinnies" are initially allies of the Pseudo-Arachnids, but switch to alliance with humans, midway through the novel.[36] Faster-than-light travel exists in this future: spacecraft use the "Cherenkov drive", and can travel "Sol to Capella, forty-six lightyears, in under six weeks".[38] Starship Troopers is narrated by the main protagonist Juan "Johnny" Rico, a member of the "Mobile Infantry". It is one of the few Heinlein novels which intersperses his typical linear narrative structure with a series of flashbacks.[5][37] These flashbacks are frequently to Rico's "History and Moral Philosophy" course in school, in which the teacher discusses the history of the structure of their society.[5][18] Rico is depicted as a man of Filipino ancestry. He is from a wealthy family, whose members had never served in the military.[5][19][32] Rico's ancestry is depicted as inconsequential, society having finally abandoned racial and gender-based prejudice.[19] Plot The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette transport Rodger Young (named after real life Medal of Honor recipient Rodger Young),[39] serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks". The platoon carries out a raid against a planetary colony held by Skinnies.[19] The raid is relatively brief: the platoon lands on the planet, destroys its targets, and retreats, suffering two casualties in the process. One of them, Dizzy Flores, is rescued by Rico but dies while returning to orbit.[40] The narrative then flashes back to Rico's graduation from high school. Rico and his best friend Carl are considering joining the Federal Service after graduation; Rico is hesitant, partly due to his father's attitude towards the military.[5] Rico makes his decision after discovering that his classmate Carmen Ibañez also intends to enlist.[41] Rico's choice is taken poorly by his parents, and he leaves with a sense of estrangement. He is assigned to the Mobile Infantry, and moves to Camp Arthur Currie (named for Sir Arthur Currie who rose through the ranks to command the Canadian Corps in World War I) on the Canadian prairie for his training under Sergeant Charles Zim.[42] The training is extremely demanding.[43] Rico receives combat training of all types, including simulated fights in armored suits.[44][45] A fellow recruit is court-martialed, flogged, and dismissed for striking a drill instructor who was also his company commander. Rico himself is given five lashes for firing a rocket during a drill with armored suits and simulated nuclear weapons without ensuring that no friendlies were within the blast zone, which in combat would have resulted in the death of a fellow soldier.[46] Another recruit, who murdered a baby girl after deserting the army, is hanged by his battalion after his arrest by civilian police.[46] Disheartened, Rico thinks of resigning when he receives a letter from Jean Dubois, who taught Rico History and Moral Philosophy.[47] Dubois reveals that he was once a lieutenant colonel in the Mobile Infantry, which gives Rico the motivation not to resign.[48] After further training at another camp near Vancouver, Rico graduates with 187 others, of the 2,009 who had begun training in that regiment.[49] The "Bug War" has changed from minor incidents to a full-scale war during Rico's training. An Arachnid attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires alerts civilians to the situation; Rico's mother is killed in the attack.[50] Rico participates in the Battle of Klendathu, an attack on the Arachnid's home world, which turns into a disastrous defeat for the Terran Federation.[51] Rico's ship, the Valley Forge, is destroyed, and his unit is decimated; he is reassigned to the Roughnecks on board the Rodger Young, led by Lieutenant Rasczak and Sergeant Jelal.[52] The unit carries out several raids, and Rico is promoted to corporal by Jelal after Rasczak dies in combat.[53] One of his comrades in the Roughnecks suggests that Rico go to officer training school and try to become an officer. Rico ends up going to see Jelal, and finds that Jelal already had the paperwork ready. Rico enters Officer Candidate School for a second course of training, including further courses in "History and Moral Philosophy".[54][55] En route from the Roughnecks to the school Rico encounters his father who has also enlisted and is now a corporal, and the two reconcile. He is also visited in school by Carmen, now an ensign and ship's pilot officer in the Navy, and the two discuss their friend Carl, who had been killed earlier in the war.[56] Rico is commissioned a temporary third lieutenant for his final test: a posting to a combat unit. Under the tutelage of his company commander, Captain Blackstone, and with the aid of his platoon sergeant, his boot camp drill instructor Fleet Sergeant Zim, Rico commands a platoon during "Operation Royalty", a raid to capture members of the Arachnid brain caste and queens.[57] Rico then returns to the officer school to graduate. The novel ends with him holding the rank of second lieutenant, in command of his old platoon in the Rodger Young, with his father as his platoon sergeant. The platoon has been renamed "Rico's Roughnecks", and is about to participate in an attack on Klendathu.[58] Themes Robert Heinlein in 1976 Commentators have written that Starship Troopers is not driven by its plot, though it contains scenes of military combat. Instead, much of the novel is given over to a discussion of ideas.[59] In particular, the discussion of political views is a recurring feature of what scholar Jeffrey Cass described as an "ideologically intense" book.[16] A 1997 review in Salon categorized it as a "philosophical novel".[1] Critics have debated to what extent the novel promotes Heinlein's own political views. Some contend that the novel maintains a sense of irony that allows readers to draw their own conclusions; others argue that Heinlein is sermonizing throughout the book, and that its purpose is to expound Heinlein's militaristic philosophy.[16][18] Militarism Starship Troopers has been identified as being a part of a tradition in American science fiction that assumes that violent conflict and the militarization of society are inevitable and necessary.[8] Although the Mobile Infantry, the force to which Rico is assigned, is seen as a lowly post by the characters in the story, the novel itself suggests that it is the heart of the army and the most honorable unit in it.[43] In a commentary written in 1980, Heinlein agreed that Starship Troopers "glorifies the military ... Specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and the war's desolation – but is rarely appreciated ... he has the toughest job of all and should be honored."[13] The story is based on the social Darwinist idea of society as a struggle for survival based on military strength. It suggests that some conflicts must be resolved by force: one of the lessons Rico is repeatedly taught is that violence can be an effective method of settling conflict.[19] These suggestions derive in part from Heinlein's view that in the 1950s the US government was being too conciliatory in its dealings with communist China and the Soviet Union.[17][59][60][61] Heinlein draws an analogy between the human society in the novel, which is well-to-do but needs to be vigilant against the imperialist threat of the Arachnids, and US society of the 1950s. Reviewers have suggested that the Arachnids are Heinlein's analogue for communists. Traits used to support this include the communal nature of the Arachnids, which makes them capable of a much higher degree of coordination than the humans. Bug society is once explicitly described as communist, and is moreover depicted as communist by nature; this has been read as implying that those with a different political ideology are analogous to alien beings.[9][19][62] The related motifs of alien invasion, patriotism, and personal sacrifice during war, are present, as are other aspects of US popular culture of the 1950s.[17] Commentators have argued that Heinlein's portrayal of aliens, as well as being a reference to 1950s communist countries, aims to "reinscribe the ideologies of America's mythic frontier history". The concept of the frontier includes a social-Darwinist argument of constantly fighting for survival, even at the expense of indigenous people or, in the case of Starship Troopers, of aliens. Heinlein suggests that without territorial expansion involving violent conquest of other races, humans would be destroyed.[63] Scholar Jamie King has stated that Heinlein does not address the question of what the military government and Federal Service would do in peacetime, and argues that Heinlein has set up a society designed to be continuously at war, and to keep expanding its territory.[64] Coming of age Starship Troopers has been referred to as a bildungsroman or "coming-of-age" story for Rico, as he matures through his tenure in the infantry. His training, both at boot camp and at officer candidate school, involves learning the value of militarism, thus inviting the reader to learn it as well.[43] This is especially true of the parts of his training that involve indoctrination, such as the claim by one of his instructors that rule by military veterans is the ideal form of government, because only they understand how to put collective well-being above the individual.[43] The story traces Rico's transformation from a boy into a soldier, while exploring issues of identity and motivation,[18] and traces his overall moral and social development, in a manner identified by commentators as similar to many stories about German soldiers in World War I.[65] Rico's transformation has been likened to the common narrative within stories with military themes by scholar H. Bruce Franklin. This typical narrative is that of a sloppy and unfit civilian being knocked into shape by tough officers, whose training is "calculated sadism" but is depicted as fundamentally being on the right side.[32] The letter Rico receives from Dubois, partly responsible for Rico "crossing the hump" with his training, is shown as a turning point in his development.[19] The classroom scenes embedded in the story serve to explain Rico's adventures, and highlight his reactions to events around. A notable example is the execution Rico is forced to witness after a deserter from his unit murders a young girl; Rico is uncertain of his own reaction until he remembers a lecture by Dubois in which the latter argues that "moral sense" derives entirely from the will to survive.[19][66] The concept of the American frontier is also related to the coming-of-age theme. Young protagonists across Heinlein's novels attain manhood by confronting a hostile "wilderness" in space; coming-of-age in a military, alien context is a common theme in Heinlein's earlier works as well.[67] Rico's coming-of-age has also been described as being related to his relationship with his father; the journey "outward" through the novel also contains a search for Rico's childhood and a reunion with his estranged parent.[68] Moral decline Starship Troopers also critiques US society of the 1950s, suggesting that it led young people to be spoiled and undisciplined. These beliefs are expressed through the classroom lectures of Dubois, Rico's teacher for History and Moral Philosophy. Dubois praises flogging and other types of corporal punishment as a means of addressing juvenile crimes. It has been suggested that Heinlein endorsed this view, although the fact that Dubois also compares raising children to training a puppy has been used to argue that Heinlein was making use of irony.[10] The story is strongly in favor of corporal punishment and capital punishment, as a means of correcting juvenile delinquents, part of a trend in science fiction which examines technology and outer space in an innovative manner, but is reactionary with respect to human relationships.[7][23] As with other books by Heinlein, traditional schools are denigrated, while learning "on the spot" is extolled: Rico is able to master the things required of him in military training without undue difficulty.[19] Dubois also ridicules the idea of inalienable rights, such as "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", arguing that people have only the rights that they are willing to fight and die for to protect.[33][66][69] The novel appeals to scientific authority to justify this position; Dubois repeatedly states that his argument is mathematically demonstrable, statements which have led scholars to label the novel "hard science fiction", despite its social and political themes.[70] The "moral decline" caused by this situation is depicted as having caused a global war between an alliance of the US, Britain, and Russia against the "Chinese Hegemony" in the year 1987. Despite the alliance between the US and Russia, this war has been described as demonstrating Heinlein's anti-communist beliefs, which saw "swarming hordes" of Chinese as a bigger threat. The novel draws some comparisons between the Chinese and the Arachnids, and suggests that the lessons of one war could be applied to the other.[69] Reception To Heinlein's surprise,[71] Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.[72] It has been acknowledged as one of the best-known and most influential works of science fiction.[2][21] The novel is considered a landmark for the genre, having been described by a 1960 review as one of the ten best genre books of 1959,[73] in a 2009 review as a key science fiction novel of the 1950s,[14] and as the best-known example of military science fiction.[74] The novel has been described as marking Heinlein's transition from writing juvenile fiction to a "more mature phase" as an author.[3] Reviewing the book with others written for children, Floyd C. Gale of Galaxy Science Fiction wrote in 1960 that "Heinlein has penned a juvenile that really is not. This is a new and bitter and disillusioned Heinlein". Rating it 2.5 stars out of five for children, 4.5 stars for adults, and "?" for civilians, he believed that the novel would be "of exceptional interest to veterans with battle experience ... but youngsters will find it melancholy and verbose".[75] Conversely, Michael Moorcock described it as Heinlein's last "straight" science fiction, before he turned to more serious writing such as Stranger in a Strange Land.[76] By 1980, twenty years after its release, Starship Troopers had been translated into eleven languages and was still selling strongly. Heinlein nevertheless complained that, despite this success, almost all the mail he received about it was negative and he only heard about it "when someone wants to chew me out".[71] The novel is highly contentious.[3] Controversy surrounded its praise of the military and approval of violence, to the extent that it has frequently been described as fascist, and its implication that militarism is superior to traditional democracy.[3][77] Heinlein's peers were among those who argued over the book; a comparison between a quote in Starship Troopers that "the noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and war's desolation"[78] and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen began a two-year discussion in the Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies from 1959 to 1961, with James Blish, Poul Anderson, Philip José Farmer, Anthony Boucher, John Brunner, Brian Aldiss, among those debating Starship Troopers's quality of writing, philosophy, and morality.[79] The writing in Starship Troopers has received varied responses, with the scenes of military training and combat receiving praise. In a 2009 retrospective, science-fiction writer Jo Walton wrote that Starship Troopers was "military SF done extremely well".[18] She went on to argue that "Heinlein was absolutely at his peak when he wrote this in 1959. He had so much technical stylistic mastery of the craft of writing science fiction that he could [tell the story] 'backwards and in high heels' and get away with it."[18] Others referred to it as very readable, and found the military scenes compelling.[3][11][12] Heinlein's descriptions of training and boot camp in the novel, based on his own experiences in the military, have been described as being rendered with remarkable skill.[17] A 1960 review in the New York Herald Tribune praised the "brilliantly written" passages describing infantry combat, and also called attention to the discussion of weapons and armor,[80] which, according to other reviewers, demonstrated Heinlein's "undiminished talent for invention".[19] Scholar George Slusser described the book in 1986 as the "ultimately convincing space-war epic", praising in particular the "precisely imagined" weapons and tactics,[68] while a 1979 science fiction encyclopedia referred to it as the "slickest" of Heinlein's juvenile books.[19] Criticism of the style of the book has centered on its political aspects. Heinlein's discussions of his political beliefs were criticized as "didactic",[11][80][81] and the novel was derided for "exposition [that was] inserted in large indigestible chunks".[80] Author Ken MacLeod's 2003 analysis of the political nature of Starship Troopers stated that it was "a book where civics infodumps and accounts of brutal boot-camp training far outweigh the thin and tensionless combat scenes".[12] Scientist and author Brunner compared it to a "Victorian children's book",[82] while the Science Fiction Handbook published in 2009 said that the novel provided "compelling images of a futuristic military" and that it raised important questions, even for those who disagree with its political ideology. However, it stated that the story was weak as a tale of an alien encounter, as it did not explore alien society in any detail, but presented the Arachnids as nameless and faceless creatures that wished to destroy humanity.[22] Boucher, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, remarked in 1960 that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story".[80] A 1979 summary said that though Heinlein's vision might verge on fascism, his tightly controlled narrative made his ideology seem "vibrantly appealing".[19] Criticism of militarism Starship Troopers is generally considered to promote militarism, the glorification of war and of the military.[14] Scholar Bruce Franklin referred to it in 1980 as a "bugle-blowing, drum-beating glorification" of military service, and wrote that militarism and imperialism were the explicit message of the book.[15][83] Science fiction writer Dean McLaughlin called it "a book-length recruiting poster".[84] In 1968 science fiction critic Alexei Panshin called Starship Troopers a militaristic polemic and compared it to a recruiting film, stating that it "purports to show the life of a typical soldier, with a soundtrack commentary by earnest sincere Private Jones who interprets what we see for us." Panshin stated that there was no "sustained human conflict" in the book: instead, "All the soldiers we see are tough, smart, competent, cleancut, clean-shaven, and noble."[85] Panshin, a veteran of the peacetime military, argued that Heinlein glossed over the reality of military life, and that the Terran Federation-Arachnid conflict existed simply because, "Starship troopers are not half so glorious sitting on their butts polishing their weapons for the tenth time for lack of anything else to do."[85] Literature scholar George Slusser, in describing the novel as "wrong-headed and retrogressive", argued that calling its ideology militarism or imperialism was inadequate, as these descriptions suggested an economic motive. Slusser instead says that Heinlein advocates for a complete "technological subjugation of nature", of which the Arachnids are a symbol, and that this subjugation itself is depicted as a sign of human advancement.[83] A 1997 review of the film in Salon stated that the novel could almost be described as propaganda, and was terrifying as a result, particularly in its belief that the boot camp had to be an ingredient of any civilization. This was described as a highly unusual utopian vision.[1] Moorcock stated that the lessons Rico learns in boot camp: "wars are inevitable, [and] that the army is always right".[76] In discussing the book's utility in classroom discussions of the form of government, Alan Myers stated that its depiction of the military was of an "unashamedly Earth-chauvinist nature".[11] In the words of science fiction scholar Darko Suvin, Starship Troopers was an "unsubtle but powerful black-and-white paean to combat life", and an example of agitprop in favor of military values.[81] Other writers defended Heinlein. George Price argued that "[Heinlein] implies, first, that war is something endured, not enjoyed, and second, that war is so unpleasant, so desolate, that it must at all costs be kept away from one's home."[86] Poul Anderson also defended some of the novel's positions, arguing "Heinlein has recognized the problem of selective versus nonselective franchise, and his proposed solution does merit discussion."[87] Complaints were made against Heinlein for the lack of conscription in Starship Troopers. When he wrote the novel, the military draft was still in effect in the US.[88] Allegations of fascism The society within the book has frequently been described as fascist.[14][16][17] According to the 2009 Science Fiction Handbook, it had the effect of giving Heinlein a reputation as a "fanatical warmongering fascist".[6] Scholar Jeffrey Cass has referred to the setting of the book as "unremittingly grim fascism". He has stated that the novel made an analogy between its military conflict and those of the US after World War II, and that it justified American imperialism in the name of fighting another form of imperialism.[89] Jasper Goss has referred to it as "crypto-fascist".[17] Suvin compares Heinlein's suggestion that "all wars arise from population pressure" to the Nazi concept of Lebensraum or "living space" for a superior society that was used to justify territorial expansion.[90] Some reviewers have suggested that Heinlein was simply discussing the merits of a selective versus a nonselective franchise.[18] Heinlein made a similar claim, over two decades after Starship Troopers's publication, in his Expanded Universe and further claimed that 95 percent of "veterans" were not military personnel but members of the civil service.[91] Heinlein's own description has been disputed, even among the book's defenders. Heinlein scholar James Gifford has argued that a number of quotes within the novel suggest that the characters within the book assume that the Federal Service is largely military. For instance, when Rico tells his father that he is interested in Federal Service, his father immediately explains his belief that Federal Service is a bad idea because there is no war in progress, indicating that he sees Federal Service as military in nature. Gifford states that although Heinlein's intentions may have been that Federal Service be 95 percent non-military, in relation to the actual contents of the book, Heinlein "is wrong on this point. Flatly so."[5] Dennis Showalter, writing in 1975, defended Starship Troopers, stating that the society depicted in it did not contain many elements of fascism. He argues that the novel does not include outright opposition to Bolshevism and liberalism that would be expected in a fascist society.[89] Others have responded by saying Showalter's argument is based on a literal reading of the novel, and that the story glorifies militarism to a large extent.[89] Ken Macleod argues that the book does not actually advocate fascism because anybody capable of understanding the oath of Federal Service is able to enlist and thereby obtain political power.[12] Macleod states that Heinlein's books are consistently liberal, but cover a spectrum from democratic to elitist forms of liberalism, Starship Troopers being on the latter end of the spectrum.[2] It has been argued that Heinlein's militarism is more libertarian than fascist, and that this trend is also present in Heinlein's other popular books of the period, such as Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966). This period of Heinlein's writing has received more critical attention than any other, although he continued to write into the 1980s.[14] Apparent utopianism The setting of the book is presented by Heinlein as utopian; its leaders are shown as good and wise, and the population as free and prosperous.[6][19] Slusser wrote in 1987 that Starship Troopers depicts a world that is "hell for human beings", but nonetheless celebrates the ideology of its fictional society.[83] The rulers are claimed to be the best in history, because they understand that human nature is to fight for power through the use of force.[43] The suggestion of utopia is not explored in depth, as the lives of those outside the military are not shown in any detail.[19][22] The novel suggests that the militarist philosophy espoused by many of the characters has a mathematical backing, though reviewers have commented that Heinlein does not present any basis for this.[18][43] Writers such as Farmer, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and Michael Moorcock have criticized the novel for being a hypothetical utopia, in the sense that while Heinlein's ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to the test. Moorcock wrote an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and other writers over similar "Utopian fiction".[76] Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man arguments, "countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths".[92] Lowndes further argued that the Terran Federation could never be as idealistic as Heinlein portrays it to be because he never properly addressed "whether or not [non-citizens] have at least as full a measure of civil redress against official injustice as we have today".[92] Farmer agreed, arguing that a "world ruled by veterans would be as mismanaged, graft-ridden, and insane as one ruled by men who had never gotten near the odor of blood and guts".[93] Race and gender Authors and commentators have stated that the manner in which the extraterrestrial beings are portrayed in Starship Troopers has racist aspects, arguing that the nicknames "Bugs" and "Skinnies" carry racial overtones. John Brunner compared them to calling Koreans "gooks".[82] Slusser argued that the term "Bugs" was an "abusive and biologically inaccurate" word that justified the violence against alien beings, a tendency which, according to Slusser, the book shared with other commercially successful science fiction.[62] Some of Heinlein's other works have also been described as racist, though Franklin argues that this was not unique to Heinlein, and that he was less racist than the US government of the time.[94] Heinlein's early novel Sixth Column was called a "racist paean" to a white resistance movement against an Asian horde derived from the Yellow Peril.[95] In 1978, Moorcock wrote that Starship Troopers "set the pattern for Heinlein's more ambitious paternalistic, xenophobic" stories.[76] Robert Lowndes argues that the war between the Terrans and the Arachnids is not about a quest for racial purity, but rather an extension of Heinlein's belief that man is a wild animal. According to this theory, if man lacks a moral compass beyond the will to survive, and he was confronted by another species with a similar lack of morality, then the only possible moral result would be warfare.[92] The fact that all pilots in the novel are women (in contrast to the infantry, which is entirely male) has been cited as evidence of progressive gender politics within the story, although the idea expressed by Rico that women are the motivation for men to fight in the military is a counter-example to this.[18][22] A 1996 science fiction encyclopedia said that like much of Heinlein's fiction, Starship Troopers exemplified "macho male culture".[96] The prosthetically enhanced soldiers in the novel, all of whom are men, have been described as an example of the "hyper-masculinity" brought on by the proximity of these men to technology.[97] The story portrays the Arachnids as so alien that the only response to them can be war. Feminist scholars have described this reaction as a "conventionally masculinist" one.[98] Steffen Hantke has described the mechanized suits in the novel, which make the wearer resemble a "steel gorilla," as defining masculinity as "something intensely physical, based on animal power, instinct, and aggression". He calls this form of masculinity "all body, so to speak, and no brain".[99] Thus, in Hantke's reading, Starship Troopers expresses fears of how masculinity may be preserved in an environment of high technology.[100] This fear is exacerbated by the motifs of pregnancy and birth that Heinlein uses when describing how the soldiers in suits are dropped from spaceships piloted by women.[101] Though Rico says he finds women "marvelous", he shows no desire for sexual activity; the war seems to have subsumed sex in this respect.[19] A 1979 summary argued that despite the gestures towards women's equality, women in the story were still objects, to be protected, and to fight wars over.[19] Influence A real-life concept of powered armor, an idea popularized by Starship Troopers[102] Heinlein's books, and Starship Troopers in particular, had an enormous impact on political science fiction, to the extent that author Ken MacLeod has stated that "the political strand in [science fiction] can be described as a dialogue with Heinlein," although many participants in this dialogue disagree with Heinlein.[2] Science fiction critic Darko Suvin states that Starship Troopers is the "ancestral text of US science fiction militarism" and that it shaped the debate about the role of the military in society for many years.[20] In addition to his political views, Heinlein's ideas about a futuristic military as depicted in the novel were deeply influential among films, books, and television shows in later years.[22] Roger Beaumont has suggested that Starship Troopers may some day be considered a manual for extraterrestrial warfare.[103] Suvin refers to Juan Rico as the "archetypal Space Soldier".[104] Starship Troopers included concepts in military engineering which have since been widely used in other fiction, and which have occasionally been paralleled by scientific research. The novel has been cited as the source of the idea of powered armor exoskeletons, which Heinlein describes in great detail.[83][105][106][107] Such suits became a staple of military science fiction. Franchises that have employed this technology include Iron Man, Exo Squad, Halo, District 9, Elysium, and Edge of Tomorrow.[21] During the shooting of the science fiction film Aliens, director James Cameron required the actors playing space marines to read Starship Troopers to understand their parts, and also cited it as an influence for the space drop, terms like "bug hunt", and the cargo-loader exoskeleton.[108] Starship Troopers had a direct influence on many later science fiction stories. John Steakley's 1984 novel Armor was, according to the author, born out of frustration with the small amount of actual combat in Starship Troopers and because he wanted this aspect developed further.[109] The "Mobile Suits" from the 1979 Nippon Sunrise anime series Mobile Suit Gundam were inspired by the powered armor from Starship Troopers.[110] The 1988 Gainax OVA series Gunbuster has plot elements similar to Starship Troopers, depicting humanity arrayed against an alien military.[107] Scholars have identified elements of Heinlein's influence in Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, as well. Hantke, in particular, compares the battle room in Ender's Game to Heinlein's prosthetic suits, stating that they both regulate but also enhance human agency.[111] Suvin suggests parallels between the plots of the two novels, with human society in both stories at war against insect-like aliens, but states that the story of Ender Wiggin takes a very different direction, as Ender regrets his genocidal actions and dedicates his efforts to protecting his erstwhile targets.[104] Conversely, Joe Haldeman's 1974 anti-war, Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction novel The Forever War is popularly thought to be a direct reply to Starship Troopers, and though Haldeman has stated that it is actually a result of his personal experiences in the Vietnam War, he has admitted to being influenced by Starship Troopers.[112][113][114] Haldeman said that he disagreed with Starship Troopers because it "glorifies war", but added that "it's a very well-crafted novel, and I believe Heinlein was honest with it".[112] The Forever War contains several parallels to Starship Troopers, including its setting. Commentators have described it as a reaction to Heinlein's novel, a suggestion Haldeman denies; the two novels are very different in terms of their attitude towards the military. The Forever War does not depict war as a noble pursuit, with the sides clearly defined as good and evil; instead, the novel explores the dehumanizing effect of war, influenced by the real world context of the Vietnam War.[23] Haldeman received a letter from Heinlein, congratulating him on his Nebula Award, which "meant more than the award itself".[115] According to author Spider Robinson, Heinlein approached Haldeman at the awards banquet and said the book "may be the best future war story I've ever read!"[116] Harry Harrison's 1965 novel Bill, the Galactic Hero has also been described as a reaction to Starship Troopers,[6] while Gordon R. Dickson's 1961 novel Naked to the Stars has been called "an obvious rejoinder" to Starship Troopers.[117] Ring of Swords, written by Eleanor Arnason in 1993, also depicts a war between two highly aggressive species, of which humans are one. The story deliberately inverts several aspects of Starship Troopers: the story is told from the point of view of diplomats seeking to prevent war, rather than soldiers fighting it, and the conflict is the result of the two species being extremely similar, rather than different.[118] Adaptations 1997 film Main article: Starship Troopers (film) Further information: Starship Troopers (franchise) The film rights to the novel were licensed in the 1990s, several years after Heinlein's death. The project was originally entitled Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine, and had been in production before the producers bought the rights to Starship Troopers.[119][120][121] The film was directed by Paul Verhoeven (who found the book too boring to finish), and released in 1997.[122] The screenplay, by Ed Neumeier, shared character names and some plot details with the novel.[123] The film contained several elements that differed from the book, including a military that is completely integrated with respect to sex. It had the stated intention of treating its material in an ironic or sarcastic manner, to undermine the political ideology of the novel.[17][124] The mechanized suits that featured prominently in the novel were absent from the film, due to budget constraints.[99] The film used fascist imagery throughout, including portraying the Terran Federation's personnel wearing uniforms strongly reminiscent of those worn by the SS, the Nazi paramilitary.[125] Verhoeven stated in 1997 that the first scene of the film – an advertisement for the Mobile Infantry – was adapted shot-for-shot from a scene in Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935), specifically an outdoor rally for the Reichsarbeitsdienst. Other references to Nazism include the Albert Speer-style architecture and the propagandistic dialogue ("Violence is the supreme authority!").[126] According to Verhoeven, the references to Nazism reflected his own experience in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II.[24][127] The film reignited the debate over the nature of the Terran society in Heinlein's world, and several critics accused Verhoeven of creating a fascist universe. Others, and Verhoeven himself, have stated that the film was intended to be ironic, and to critique fascism.[77][128] The film has also been described as criticizing the jingoism of US foreign policy, the military industrial complex, and the society in the film, which elevates violence over sensitivity.[129] It received several negative critical reviews, reviewers suggesting that it was unsophisticated and targeted a juvenile audience, although some scholars and critics have also supported its description as satirical.[21][24][124][129] The absence of the powered armor technology drew criticism from fans.[21][99] The success of the film's endeavor to critique the ideology of the novel has been disputed.[24] Four sequels, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004),[130] Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008),[131] Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)[132] and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) were released as straight-to-DVD films. In December 2011, Neal H. Moritz, producer of films such as the Fast & Furious series and I Am Legend, announced plans for a remake of the film that he claims will be more faithful to the source material.[133] In 2016 Mark Swift and Damian Shannon were reported to be writing the film.[134][needs update] Animated series Main article: Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles An animated TV series was also released based both on the novel and 1997 film called Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, it follows the exploits of the Mobile Infantry squad, "Razak's Roughnecks", during the SICON–Bugs War between a newly united humanity and an extraterrestrial race, known as the "Bugs," also sometimes referred to as Arachnids. The show focuses mainly on the Roughnecks' missions, rather than addressing the larger war. Paul Verhoeven served as an executive producer.[135] The show ran for one season from August 1999 to April 2000. Other media From October to December 1988, Sunrise and Bandai Visual produced a six-episode Japanese original video animation locally titled Uchū no Senshi with mobile infantry power armor designs by Kazutaka Miyatake, based on Starship Troopers.[136] Dark Horse Comics, Mongoose Publishing and Markosia hold the license to produce comic books based on Starship Troopers, written by authors including Warren Ellis, Gordon Rennie and Tony Lee.[137][138] Avalon Hill published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers in 1976, a map-and-counter board wargame featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel.[139] In 1998, Mythic Entertainment released Starship Troopers: Battlespace. The web-based interactive game, in which players battled each other in overhead space combat, allowed players to assume either Klendathu or Federation roles, was developed alongside the film adaptation.[24][140] Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game was released by Mongoose Publishing in 2005, a miniature wargame which used material from the novel, film, and animated TV series.[141] Spectre Media released Starship Troopers: Invasion Mobile Infantry, a game for PCs, in 2012.[142] Offworld Industries developed and published the 2023 game Starship Troopers: Extermination, a cooperative multiplayer first-person shooter available for PC.[143]

On this month's update episode we have so much to talk about, as it's Three Ravens Haunting Season once again!Back for our fourth annual month-long celebration of original ghost stories and all things spooky a weird, we run down what's coming from us across October, including a brand new Spenser & Associates Mystery, our amazing guests for Local Legends this month (now including Joanne Harris!), we announce the winners of this year's Ghost Story Writing Competition, and also open up the Three Ravens Pumpkin Carving Competition!Before all that though, we grab our spades and dig into the loamy earth of Halloween folklore. Taking a different approach to our previous two special episodes on the subject, we dig into the specifics of how Christianity changed views and practices related to the shift from the Light Half to the Dark Half of the year. There's chat about ghosts, of course, but also the origin of the idea of "the veil being thin" around Hallowmas, divinatory customs for the season, and more. We also include some of our own news, chat about our upcoming spooky Live Shows surrounding the launch of our second book Three Ravens Ghost Tales which was literally published today, and share the opening chunks of September's two Three Ravens Patreon Exclusive episodes.First comes the opening 20 minutes of our exploration of Rowan Tree folklore for our ongoing series Nine Sacred Trees. This is then followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about witch-tastic, Soviet-era folk fever dream Viy from 1967.Note: We have recorded a new Haunting Season theme song variation but haven't had time to quite finish it. Should be ready for Saturday!About Three Ravens

French President Emmanuel Macron made an extraordinary claim at the United Nations: Hamas has “never been active in the West Bank”, Judea and Samaria.That claim is a total lie, contradicted by Hamas's documented history of terrorist networks and attacks in Judea and Samaria. But Macron's statement is only the beginning of this story.In this video, Avi Abelow examines the much bigger historical and ideological questions surrounding the Palestinian national movement, the PLO, Yasser Arafat and the Soviet Union.Former Romanian intelligence chief and Soviet-bloc defector Ion Mihai Pacepa made explosive claims about the KGB's role in creating and supporting the PLO, shaping its international image and grooming Arafat as its leader. Pacepa even claimed Soviet intelligence helped reconstruct Arafat's biography and transform the Palestinian cause into a Soviet-style “national liberation” struggle. And that raises a question Western leaders rarely confront:How much did Soviet political warfare contribute to the international narrative surrounding Israel and the Palestinians?The video also examines the Palestinian Authority, its education system, payments connected to imprisoned and deceased Palestinians involved in attacks, and the continuing ideological struggle over Israel's legitimacy.Macron's statement about Hamas deserves scrutiny. But focusing exclusively on Hamas risks missing the much larger debate over the history, ideology and objectives of the Palestinian national movement itself.Watch. Think. Research the history for yourself. And share.Join Our Whatsapp Channel: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GkavRznXy731nxxRyptCMvFollow us on Twitter: https://x.com/AviAbelowJoin our Telegram Channel: https://t.me/aviabelowpulseFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pulse_of_israel/?hl=enPulse of Israel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelVideoNetworkVisit Our Website - https://pulseofisrael.com/Donate to Pulse of Israel: https://pulseofisrael.com/boost-this-video/

World War II casts a long, dark shadow over eastern Europe. Especially in those nations caught between the Wehrmacht and Red Army. Some locals joined the Nazis, others served in the Red Army, and some others fought against both. Many more simply fled or hunkered down hoping just to survive. Regardless, the memory of the war doesn't tolerate nuance. If you fought, you were either on the Nazi or Soviet side, even if the goal was to liberate yourself. Reality was much more complicated, says Harry Merritt in Latvian Soldiers of World War II: Fighting for the Homeland in Nazi and Soviet Service. Both Soviet and Nazis created special Latvian regiments to fight for their side. Why? What did it mean to Latvian in the service of the occupiers? And how does the experience of these Latvian soldiers complicate the war, its meaning, and memory then and now? The Eurasian Knot hasn't given the Baltics its due, so we jumped at the opportunity to talk to Harry Merritt to learn more about this complex and controversial aspect of war on the eastern front.Guest:Harry C. Merritt teaches in the Department of History at Rhode Island College. He's the author of Latvian Soldiers of World War II: Fighting for the Homeland in Nazi and Soviet Service published by Oxford University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris takes the controls this week with The Living Daylights, the 1987 James Bond adventure that introduced Timothy Dalton as 007 following Roger Moore's retirement from the role. Directed by Bond veteran John Glen and produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the film had an estimated $40 million budget and paired Dalton with Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies and Art Malik. Filming took the production from Pinewood Studios to Gibraltar, Vienna and Morocco, with Dalton throwing himself into the action and performing a surprising amount of the stunt work himself.Released in the summer of 1987, The Living Daylights earned roughly $191.2 million worldwide, comfortably keeping the Bond machine rolling into its fourth decade. Dalton's harder-edged, more serious interpretation divided some contemporary critics: Roger Ebert felt the new Bond lacked the humour the series needed, while other reviewers welcomed the return to a more grounded, Fleming-inspired 007. Over the years, Dalton's brief two-film run has developed a strong following among Bond fans, with The Living Daylights increasingly remembered as an interesting bridge between the larger-than-life Moore era and the tougher Bonds that followed.TRAILER GUY PLOT SYNOPSISWhen a Soviet general decides he'd quite like to defect without acquiring any additional ventilation holes, 007 is sent to make sure he reaches the West alive. But when Bond spots a beautiful cellist holding the rifle that's supposed to kill his man, something doesn't quite add up. Mainly because James Bond has apparently discovered the revolutionary espionage technique of asking, “Hang on... does any of this make sense?”FUN FACTSThe Living Daylights takes its title from Ian Fleming's James Bond short story, first published in 1962. The opening portion of the film retains the basic idea of Bond protecting a defector from a sniper before the movie heads off into an original adventure.Norwegian band a-ha performed the title song, with Bond composer John Barry also involved in its production. The collaboration was reportedly not always harmonious, but the resulting track became one of the unmistakably '80s entries in the Bond song catalogue.This was John Barry's final James Bond score, ending a remarkable association with the series that stretched back to Dr. No and his arrangement of the James Bond Theme.The Pretenders also feature heavily on the soundtrack. Their song Where Has Everybody Gone? is repeatedly associated with Necros, while If There Was a Man plays over the end credits.Kara's legendary cello-case escape was achieved using a specially constructed fibreglass case fitted with skis underneath and handles that allowed it to be controlled. Finally, an instrument case with a Q Branch specification sheet.Timothy Dalton performed a number of his own action sequences, including stunt work on top of a speeding Land Rover during the Gibraltar opening. Apparently simply turning up, saying “Bond, James Bond” and collecting the cheque wasn't adventurous enough.SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you enjoy the show and would like to support us, we have a Patreon ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.And if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leaving us a 5-star review (and a short comment) really helps more people discover the show. It's quick, free, and makes a huge difference. Referral links also help out the show if you were going to sign up:⁠⁠⁠NordVPN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NordPass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevhsstrikesback@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/vhsstrikesback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hey everybody, it's that time again, when my two pals Ed and Evan swing by to talk some Marvel Fanfare! In this episode, we begin a four part story featuring the Black Widow! Shield is involved and they need her to infiltrate a Soviet operation that might include her best friend and confidant, Ivan! Along the way she attracts the attention of a few enemies as well, though. As usual, if you'd like to leave any feedback for the show, you can do so through email at Magazinesandmonsters@gmail.com or to me on Twitter @Billyd_licious on Instagram @magazinesandmonsters, on BlueSky @docstrange or on the show's FB page (just search Magazines and Monsters). You can find Ed on most social media sites @tealproductions and currently on the Superman Supershow and Comic Book Supershow, cohosting with Steeven Orr. Ed also has a huge back catalog of podcasts such as…The Mighty Thorcast, Ronin Rabbit, Newsprint Commando, Lords of Order (Dr Fate), among others! Ed and s now on Substack as well at https://tealproductions.substack.com/ (check it out)!Evan can be found on twitter @evan_bevins and at his fun blog asterisk51.blogspot.com! And on the Source Material podcast with Jesse Starcher and with Mark Radulich on his network as well! Plus, he now has a Substack, too. Check it out here https://ebasterisk51.substack.com/p/super-blog-team-up-staff-picks! Thanks for listening!

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: in another round of Museum Show and Tell, Dave Owen of the Te Awamutu Space Centre introduces Wallace to two prized possessions: a sleeping bag used by Soviet cosmonauts, and a slice of a meteorite from Mars.

It was preparation for an invasion that might never come, and never did. Across Cold War Europe, stay-behind networks were established on the premise that Soviet forces might successfully invade and occupy sovereign territory. These clandestine organizations consisted of carefully vetted soldiers, intelligence officers, and everyday citizens tasked with remaining behind enemy lines to gather intelligence, conduct sabotage, and support resistance movements if their country were overrun. In neutral Sweden, the prime minister secretly authorized one such covert network in 1949 to mount guerrilla warfare against a potential Red Army occupation. Guest host Dr. Mark Jacobson speaks with Johan Wennström, author of The Stay Behinds: Sweden's Cold War Guardians, about this long-classified operation. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/@sasha-ingber  For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic,  you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs. 

Tonight is a loose one, folks. Sam buys a Sfera helmet that was clearly never designed for a head that big, Will gets Pee-90 with it, and everyone gets entirely too excited about enormous Soviet 220mm rockets. Bringing you the best of the Motherland, but with somehow even less common sense.

Russia's provocations against NATO countries are becomingincreasingly difficult to dismiss as isolated incidents. How far is Moscow prepared to go — and how should Poland and its allies respond?In this Deep Dive, Adam Reichardt speaks with Jakub Bornio,security analyst and scholar at the University of Wrocław, the Institute of Central Europe and the Jamestown Foundation, about the deteriorating security environment on NATO's eastern flank.They discuss Russia's strategy towards Poland and the Balticstates, the danger of escalation and miscalculation, why Bornio is sceptical of the term “hybrid war”, and whether Moscow is deliberately testing the credibility of NATO's Article 5 guarantees.The conversation also examines plans for a permanent US military presence in Poland, what American troops can realistically contribute to deterrence, and why the coming winter could become another major test for both Ukraine and NATO's eastern flank. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction01:45 How serious is the security situation on NATO's eastern flank?04:00 Russia's growing provocations against NATO06:45 What is Russia's strategy towards NATO?09:10 Moscow's goal: weakening US influence in the region11:30 Could a provocation escalate into direct confrontation?13:35 How should NATO respond to Russian provocations?15:19 Why “hybrid war” may be the wrong term18:45 A permanent US military presence in Poland23:47 What should we watch for this winter?Talk Eastern Europe is the podcast from New Eastern Europe magazine - your trusted source for in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the post-Soviet space.Read the New Eastern Europe Magazine Bimonthly publication with exclusive long-formanalysis. https://neweasterneurope.eu/become-a-member-of-new-eastern-europe/Support us on PatreonJoin our community for bonus content, early access, behind-the-scenes insights, and access to our exclusive WhatsApp group where we discuss the news in real-time.https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeSubscribe to the Brief Eastern Europe NewsletterWeekly briefing sent out every Monday with news updates, expert commentary, and our editorial picks - free to your inbox: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/subscribeFOLLOW USInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/neweasterneuropemag/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewEasternEurope/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-eastern-europe/

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze welcomes aboard retired Navy Captain, aviation lawyer, and author Mark C. Fava to talk about Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape, the first book in his Shipshape Shipmates series.Inspired by the best leaders Mark served with and by his own Navy father, Andy the Admiral takes young readers onto a bustling aircraft carrier where kindness, good manners, honesty, and teamwork keep everything shipshape. Mark shares how three decades in uniform, a career built on words, and a lifetime of fatherhood came together in a picture book full of heart, humor, and hidden surprises.Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).Highlights:It's All in the Inflection: Why "shipmate" can be a scolding or a compliment, and how "Well done, shipmates" became the heart of the bookA Floating City of 5,000: The doctors, dentists, cooks, mechanics, and pilots who keep an aircraft carrier runningFinally Getting Sea Time: How a two-week carrier cruise, after 30 years in land-based P-3 aircraft, shaped the bookEvery Word Matters: What a career in law taught Mark about wordsmithing, and why he writes with outlines, lists, and yellow highlightersWhy the Navy Teaches Friendship: Everyone has a job and everyone depends on each other, at sea and at home"Son, Make Me Proud": The father who pinned on Mark's Navy bars, handed down his sword, and told him to take care of his sailorsYou Don't Have to Be Perfect: Mark's advice for kids who dream of joining the Navy, from building paper rockets to not giving up on hard subjectsPerseverance, Passion, and Persistence: The publishing lessons Mark learned the hard way, including why he waited to launch after the holidaysEaster Eggs Ahead: Captain the Black Cat, Skipper the Sea Dog, and sneak peeks at Patrick the Pilot and Riley the Rescue SwimmerNotable Quotes:"Everybody has a job and everybody is looking to the other person to complete their job." —Mark C. Fava"Do the best you can, but you don't have to be perfect." —Mark C. Fava"I hope they remember that there is a reward for being kind to each other." —Mark C. FavaBooks Mentioned:Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape by Mark C. Fava, illustrated by Agus Prajogo and Yohanes Bastia: Amazon or Bookshop.org Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders by Mark C. Fava: Amazon or Bookshop.orgComing soon: Patrick the Pilot and Riley the Rescue SwimmerAbout Mark C. Fava:Mark C. Fava is a career aviation lawyer and retired U.S. Navy Captain who served 30 years, six on active duty and 24 in the reserves, commanding three units, including a P-3 squadron. As a naval flight officer, he flew missions tracking Soviet submarines in the P-3 Orion. He is a vice president at the world's largest aerospace company and the author of Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders. Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape is his first picture book and the launch of the Shipshape Shipmates series. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and three daughters.Visit: https://theshipshapeshipmates.com/Author website: https://markcfava.comCredits:Host: Bianca SchulzeGuest: Mark C. FavaEditor: Kelly RinkProducer: Bianca Schulze

In Episode 500 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Logan Wright, director of China macro and financial sector research at the Rhodium Group and author of Broken China, about why China's economic troubles are structural rather than cyclical, the product of the largest single-country credit expansion in history, how Beijing's official GDP figures obscure what is actually happening to Chinese households, local governments, and the property market, why the renminbi is overvalued and capital flight out of China is likely to persist, and what it means for the West to treat the PRC not as a rising power to be managed, but as a declining one. The first hour focuses on Wright's central argument that China's economy is in structural decline, not because its leaders chose austerity or an unwavering commitment to running chronic trade surpluses, but because the largest single-country credit expansion in over a century has exhausted the financial system's capacity to generate growth, leaving it unable to ignite the domestic demand needed to rebalance both the Chinese and global economies. They discuss why optimism about Beijing's reform prospects was once rational, how China's official GDP data obscures what is actually happening on the ground, and why the prevailing narrative that Chinese policymakers retain the capacity to engineer a recovery is, in Wright's view, fundamentally mistaken. The second hour turns to the consequences of China's credit bubble and property market collapse for ordinary households and local governments, the similarities and critical differences between China's predicament and Japan's in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the striking historical parallel between the CCP's political choices and those of Soviet leaders during the USSR's era of stagnation under Brezhnev. They also discuss the structural demographic headwinds compounding the collapse in Chinese demand, why Wright believes the renminbi is overvalued and poses no credible threat to the dollar's international role, the implications for America's strategic competition with the PRC when viewed through the lens of a declining rather than a rising power, and why Wright argues that the threats China poses are deterrable and require coordinated allied action to address. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Join our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/23/2026

Who was behind the gunman that shot Pope John Paul II in 1981? We know the man who pulled the trigger was a Turkish member of the Grey Wolves. We know he planned to flee via the Bulgarian Embassy. We know an Italian nun ensured he didn't get away.  But had someone ordered the assassination? One possible clue is held in the answer to this next question: how did the Soviet Union collapse? We also know three unlikely heroic figures played pivotal roles: a Czechoslovakian playwright, a salt-of-the-earth electrician, and the Polish Pope. Even as the totalitarian Soviet empire cracked down against uprisings in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, the voices of people crying out for democratic freedoms, human rights, and equal opportunity became undeniable. In his latest historical narrative, Julian weaves together powerful stories of three people who risked everything to defy an authoritarian power. They exemplify the playwright's ideal of “living in truth,” the electrician's movement known as “Solidarity,” and John Paul II's advice that his people “be not afraid.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Dolan returns for a deep dive into the hidden history of USOs and some of the most extraordinary cases from his latest research. Dolan takes us aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and submarines, into Soviet-era underwater mysteries, and beneath the waters of Lake Baikal as we explore decades of strange encounters at sea.  We examine the 1971 USS John F. Kennedy incident, the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt encounter, the mysterious Soviet “Croakers,” the alleged Lake Baikal swimmers, the Lummi Island incident, and a bizarre encounter involving the USS Saratoga in the Bermuda Triangle. Then we turn to the UFO conversation today. Dolan weighs in on PURSUE Tranche 6, the newly released UAP videos and historical documents, Edward Ruppelt's recovered 1952 audio, the AAWSAP/DIA studies, whistleblower waivers, Christopher Mellon's criticism of the Wall Street Journal, and the continuing push for UFO disclosure. We also explore whether artificial intelligence could play a role in understanding, or even communicating with, non-human intelligence, before asking a bigger question: Has ufology become too focused on Washington and disclosure while losing sight of the actual UFO encounters happening around the world?  Find all of Richard Dolan's work: ⁠https://richarddolanmembers.com/⁠ Patreon: ⁠http://www.patreon.com/somewhereskies⁠ ByMeACoffee: ⁠http://www.buymeacoffee.com/UFxzyzHOaQ⁠ Send us a voicemail: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/SomewhereSkiesPod⁠ Substack: ⁠https://ryansprague.substack.com/⁠ All socials and books: ⁠https://linktr.ee/somewhereskiespod⁠ Email: ⁠ryan.sprague51@gmail.com⁠ Opening theme song by Septembryo Closing song by Per Kiilstofte Copyright © 2026 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. #UFO #UAP #USO #UFODisclosure #RichardDolan #Aliens #NHI #UFOs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On an English field in 1957, the final touches were made to what was then the largest radio telescope in the world. But designing and building the Jodrell Bank Observatory hadn't been easy.Sir Bernard Lovell, the mastermind behind the 76m wide dish, had to overcome money shortages, engineering difficulties and media scepticism. But as the space race took off in the 1960s, Jodrell Bank proved its worth, tracking American and Soviet missions.Jane Wilkinson has been through the BBC archives to find out more.Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.When you subscribe to Witness History, you'll be taken inside turning points in world affairs from West Africa's fight back against Boko Haram in 2015 to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations. You'll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. You'll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden's Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles' George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy's show to a sudden end. And if you're curious about inventions, we'll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.If you're new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.(Photo: Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory, 1961. Credit: Touring Club Italiano/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

We celebrate the United States' 250th birthday and discuss our founding fathers and key moments in early American history. We avoid political debate and focus on history, myths, and facts about the Declaration and its signers. I share anecdotes about July 2, July 4, and August 2 and note edits to Jefferson's draft. We also enjoy patio life and taste a range of anniversary bourbons while weather and a brief power outage interrupt the show. We compare bottles like Jack Daniels 14 and Russell's 13 and sample river roots and other picks. We invite listeners to join our chat and continue the conversation with us on Discord.7-1We convene on the patio to mark the United States' 250th anniversary with disciplined reflection and measured commentary. I recount and we interrogate foundational moments and widely held misconceptions: the distinction between July 2 as the date of the initial resolution and July 4 as the ratification, the serial signatures that extended into August, and the excised anti‑slavery passages from Jefferson's draft. I offer historical vignettes that underscore the human dimensions of the founding generation — Hamilton's youth in public service, the anomalous case of a fourteen‑year‑old commissioned officer, and Franklin's contested proposal for a national bird — and we analyze how these specifics illuminate broader constitutional innovations such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and the conceptual novelty of a republic subject to popular sovereignty. We then broaden our perspective to evaluate what has constituted genuinely defining American achievements across the intervening centuries. We deliberate soberly upon post‑World War II reconstruction, the Apollo program, the civil rights movement, and geopolitical outcomes such as the dissolution of the Soviet bloc, while acknowledging the unevenness of late‑20th and early‑21st century accomplishments. I articulate a concern that contemporary civic life too often defaults to passive spectatorship rather than ambitious civic enterprise. The conversation remains earnest and reflective throughout, privileging historical accuracy and civic self‑examination over partisan invective.Takeaways:We examined the semiquincentennial and recounted nuanced historical anecdotes about the Founding Fathers.I clarified that Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776, yet many signatories formally subscribed on August 2, 1776.We debated which twentieth and twenty‑first century achievements best signify the American ethos, citing the moon landing, civil rights progress, and technological innovation.I described the bourbon tasting sequence and we methodically tallied age statements, transforming convivial sampling into a cumulative numerical challenge of considerable scope.We persevered through abrupt meteorological disruption and a mains power failure, seamlessly transferring the transmission to alternate devices to maintain continuity of the broadcast.I acknowledged numerous community contributors and collaborators, highlighted recent bottle shares and regional selections, and invited listeners to continue discussion within our Discord community.

Dan and Brian continue their "train" month of movies about teachers, training, and self-improvement with a look at the entire Rocky and Creed series. Come celebrate 50 years of Sylverster Stallone's epic saga as Dan and Brian go all nine rounds and discuss Rocky as an unlikely success story that claimed Best Picture among an unusually stacked class of candidates. Then they look at each of the Rocky movies one by one, lingering for a bit on Rocky IV and its generational montage sequence. Join as they discuss the terrific screenwriting of the original, the many flavors of Rocky follow-up, the surprising wholesomeness of Rocky and Adrian, the insufferable Paulie getting a cool robot, the mirror images of Rocky V and Rocky Balboa, Ryan Coogler's fresh reframing of the Rocky saga, and the duelling approaches to sequels between Creed II and III. Then, Dan and Brian rate and rank all nine films. Dan's movie reviews: http://thegoodsreviews.com/ Subscribe, join the Discord, and find us on Letterboxd: http://thegoodsfilmpodcast.com/

A tiny bottle of perfume opens a story of Rīga industry, Soviet scarcity and changing ideas of femininity. This episode follows Dzintars from its nineteenth-century roots through its Soviet heyday, explores the cult fragrance Koķete, and asks what MÁDARA's rise reveals about Latvia's modern cosmetics industry. Thanks for listening!

1945Berlin Crumbles In Final SiegeIan Buruma, Part Two: Buruma details the destructive final years of the war as Allied strategic bombing intensifies over Berlin. He highlights Goebbels' continued production of escapist and propagandistic films, including Münchhausen and Kolberg, alongside brutal Gestapo crackdowns following the July 1944 assassination plot. The account culminates in the Soviet siege of Berlin, widespread post-capitulation violence, and the narrow, miraculous survival of Buruma's father Leo, framing wartime existence around the imperative to stay alive amidst total ruin. (2)

X: @Former_Soviet @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia Join America's Roundtable radio co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy with Vladimir Jaffe, an American entrepreneur and a proponent of freedom and capitalism based on the rule of law. Vladimir Jaffe is owner of Palace Imports and a board member of Israel Justice Organization. Vladimir Jaffe is a former Soviet citizen with a master's degree in chemical engineering. In the USSR, he was active in Jewish circles, dissident movements, and international media—at significant personal risk—and was interrogated at KGB headquarters in 1985. He emigrated to the United States in 1988 at the age of 29 and is now a successful American entrepreneur. Vladimir Jaffe reveals the realities of what it was like to have lived in communism and socialism from his own experiences. Over the years, a new generation of Americans are favoring socialism with an awe of communism over capitalism. Our conversation focuses on the surge of socialism in America - an ideology and political system that has devastated economies around the world and forced people to leave their lands for free and prosperous countries like the United States. Gallup's latest survey, released September 23, 2026, found that among Americans ages 18–34, 57% have a positive view of socialism, compared with 43% who have a positive view of capitalism. Among Americans 55 and older, the pattern is reversed: 65% view capitalism positively and 34% view socialism positively. Vladimir Jaffe is the owner of U.S. based Palace Imports, that provides 100% solid wood furniture: https://www.palaceimportsinc.com The company specializes in 100 percent solid wood furniture sourced from Africa, Europe, South America, and Mexico, sold online through retailers such as Macy's, Wayfair, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock and others. Since becoming a U.S. citizen in 1993, Vladimir has remained politically active and is deeply involved in supporting Jewish organizations and initiatives. Vladimir Jaffe is one of the newest leadership members of International Leaders Summit, the parent organization of America's Roundtable. Vladimir serves on the Executive Advisory Board. He is dedicated supporter of America's conservative movement and the vision articulated by President Donald Trump in advancing freedom and reforms based on the rule of law. Vladimir Jaffe has a YouTube site with over 75,000 subscribers. | https://www.youtube.com/@VladimirJaffe/videos americasrt.com https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 X: @Former_Soviet @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable radio program focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 68 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Tune into WTON in Central Virginia on Sunday mornings at 9:30 A.M. (ET). Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

In this episode, we separate the gripping fiction of The Americans from the gritty operational realities of the Cold War. While television depicts undercover Soviet operatives as lethal martial artists outsmarting federal agents at every turn, real espionage operated on a vastly different playbook. We explore the actual doctrine of the KGB's Directorate S "Illegals" program, contrasting cinematic thrills with the patient, paranoid grind of deep-cover intelligence. Finally, we examine how the FBI's real-world counterintelligence surveillance kept tabs on foreign networks operating right beneath the surface of American suburbia.

Constance Victoria Briggs, author of the Encyclopedia of Moon Mysteries and the Galactic history series, joins this episode to make the case that the moon was not always in Earth's sky, and that ancient Greek, Roman, Zulu, and Hindu sources all describe its sudden and violent arrival. Constance walks through the Soviet scientists who theorized the moon is hollow and artificially constructed, the unidentified materials the Apollo missions brought back, and the possibility that a race of beings may still be living inside it today.This episode is presented by Codega's Codex of Curiosities, a weekly podcast exploring paranormal encounters, UAP phenomena, cryptid sightings, and high-strangeness stories from guests across the world. Find more episodes and join the community at the links below.Topics Discussed:Ancient Greek and Roman writings describing an era with no moon in the sky, and why Constance argues these sources shouldn't be dismissedA decoded Bolivian doorway inscription and Zulu oral tradition, both independently describing the moon's arrival as an artificial, hollowed-out objectThe 1970s Soviet "ringing moon" theory, built on Apollo mission seismic data, uniform crater depth, and unidentified metals in the lunar samplesWhy NASA's own "giant impact" origin theory has since been abandoned, and why Constance says scientists are now unwilling to commit to any explanationSanskrit texts describing ancient aerial travel between the Moon and Earth, including flying "vimana" craft described in Hindu scriptureThe theory that the moon may be a "generation ship," and the unsettling question of whether its original passengers ever left it for EarthLinks

In 1982, Soviet military divers allegedly encountered mysterious 10-foot humanoid beings deep beneath Lake Baikal.

Sara Paretsky chats to Paul Burke about her new spy thriller Bad Company, Lily, CIA = bad dog, being a Chicago Pitbull and falling out of bed in Paris as inspiration for a novel.Bad Company The CIA forced Lily to retire before she was ready. She'd spent forty years as a field agent. She'd been skilled, resourceful, dedicated – everything that makes a good agent, but she'd rubbed too many of her bosses the wrong way. They jumped on a botched op as an excuse to fire her. Now in her seventies, waiting in a doctor's office, she reads a magazine article that startles her out of retirement. The story casts doubt on everything she believed about her first – and happiest – posting in Hayalistan, one of the old Soviet republics. Lily's angry, and she decides to find out what really happened when she was stationed there. As word of her investigation gets back to the CIA, the Company knows they must silence her. But Lily's aging body can't perform the feats it managed in her forties and fifties, and escaping their attempts on her life will test her physical and mental skills at a whole new level.Mentions: Sally Carson, Ian McEwan, Saul Bellow, Ross Thomas, Dasheill Hammett, Raymond Chandler, The Sisterhood Liza MundySara Paretsky Called a "genius" by Lee Child and "one of the all time greats" by Karin Slaughter, Sara Paretsky transformed the role of women in the mystery world with her detective, V.I. Warshawski. V.I. is tough, feminine and vulnerable, but above all loyal to her friends and clients. Paretsky and Warshawski share a love of singing, Golden Retrievers and Italian reds. V.I. has escaped many near-death experiences, including drowning in Chicago's swamps (Blood Shot), falling down an elevator shaft (Burn Marks), and multiple attempts to shoot her down (Dead Land). Paretsky would have retired to the Umbrian Hills after one such event, but V.I. keeps coming back for more. Paretsky's passion for social justice is reflected in her novels but also in her support for reproductive health and the welfare of women and children. She founded Sisters in Crime, an international organization that advocates for women in the mystery/thriller field. She is one of four living writers to earn both the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers and Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America.Paul Burke's first book Spies on Screen will be published in October.Produced by Junkyard DogCrime TimeCrime Time FM is the official podcast ofGwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025CrimeFest 2023CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 20242024 Slaughterfest,  

We're taking you to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and sharing everything you need to know before you go! We cover the city's Soviet-era landmarks, the stunning Turkish Central Mosque, Osh Bazaar, where to eat, and the travel tips that made our first days in Central Asia a breeze.Highlights of this Bishkek episode:How to get to Bishkek & from the airport to your hotelTips for visiting Bishkek (cash, e-SIMs, Yandex Go, tipping & more)Where to stay in BishkekBishkek Central Mosque (Turkish Central Mosque)Victory SquareOak Park & the Open-Air Sculpture MuseumVladimir Lenin StatueState Historical MuseumPanfilov ParkAla-Too Square & the changing of the guardOsh BazaarDinner at Papuri (Georgian khinkali!)Hotels in Bishkek we recommend:Sheraton Bishkek — booked with Marriott points, great home base before and after the tourAk Keme HotelOrion Hotel BishkekBook a Private Airport Transfer from Manas International Airport to your hotel — it's about 45 minutes into the city.Check out our Kyrgyzstan Viator Experiences for all activities we recommend and even some we wanted to do but couldn't get to.Find a great flight deal to Bishkek with Thrifty Traveler Premium's flight deals. Use our promo code TSP to get $20 off your first year subscription.—---------------------------------------Shop: Trip Itineraries & Amazon StorefrontConnect: YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram and contact us at travelsquadpodcast@gmail.com to submit a question of the week or inquire about guest interviews and advertising.Contains affiliate links, thanks for supporting Travel Squad Podcast!

Before Andrei Tarkovsky's "Stalker," Arkady & Boris Strugatsky's novel shocked Soviet censors and created a stir among the intellectuals of their era. In episode 394, author Laura Cranehill (WIFE SHAPED BODIES) joins Luke Elliott & James Bailey to discuss what happens when aliens don't even notice us, the importance of earthworms, a familiar podcast villain taking center stage, and how this novel is somehow just as relevant as ever in the modern era of AI. Laura will return next week to discuss the movie and vote on which is ultimately the best version! Join our Discord channel https://discord.gg/yQpgu9jYB2 Pickup Roadside Picnic and Wife Shaped Bodies at the Ink to Film Book Store https://bookshop.org/shop/inktofilm Support Ink to Film on Patreon for bonus content, merch, and the ability to vote on upcoming projects https://www.patreon.com/inktofilm Ink to Film's Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky (@inktofilm) Home Base: inktofilm.com Intro/outro music: "The Wasteland" by Ross Bugden   Laura Cranehill Website: https://www.lauracranehill.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lauracranehill.bsky.social IG: https://www.instagram.com/lauracranehill Luke Elliott Website: www.lukeelliottauthor.com Social Media: https://www.lukeelliottauthor.co... Writing: https://www.lukeelliottauthor.co... James Bailey Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jamebail.bsky.social IG: https://www.instagram.com/jamebail/

In the 1960s, the Soviet film industry decided to make an adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace that would blow any Hollywood epic out of the water. They gave it a virtually unlimited budget, with battle scenes using over 12,000 Soviet soldiers trained using the historical French and Russian drill manuals from the time of the war with Napoleon, using real period paintings and furniture borrowed from Russia's museums. The result was the most epic film ever made, divided into four installments taking over seven hours in total. But War and Peace has something more than a big budget and battle scenes on a mind-blowing scale. It is also one of the most creative and poetic films ever made, a very faithful adaptation of the novel yet using all the tools of cinema in the most unexpected ways to bring Tolstoy's vivid prose to life in scenes of dancing, hunting, dueling, love, betrayal, forgiveness, and spiritual awakening. Links Watch War and Peace for free on the official Mosfilm YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaTJrWP-PVcB-kpfOvzzp_7m4RdJPc0MC DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

A few months ago, when President Donald Trump began floating the idea of taking over Cuba using military force, many people were understandably surprised. Since then, however, the State Department has put out reports and statements making the case for why Cuba is such a threat to the United States, calling the regime “an espionage superpower.”A recent report says the Cuban regime has waged a 70-year-long war against the United States—not with kinetic weapons of course, but instead by using the dark arts of sabotage and subversion, including by propping up anti-U.S. socialists in central and south America and sending over spies who then spent decades hidden inside America with top security clearances. And then, there's what the State Department calls Cuba's greatest weapon: the ability to control people in our cities and towns through ideological alignment. It's the old Soviet tactic of, “If you hate American imperialism, work for Cuba behind the scenes.”Apparently, it's been effective—so let's go through it together.

Konstantin Kisin says Britain did something extreme — then called anyone who noticed an extremist. In this interview, the Soviet-born "Trigonometry" co-host walks through what that looked like — more people arriving in 11 years under Tony Blair than since 1066, a London he calls "completely unrecognizable" from the city he moved to in 1996, a welfare system that fits a Middle Eastern saying: If you want to work, go to America; if you want benefits, go to Europe — and why he believes you could deport every illegal immigrant "three times over" and still not fix a country whose GDP per capita is lower than it was 20 years ago. His argument isn't that Britain is lost; it's that the Shire has to be tended, and the people meant to protect it haven't. There are big things happening at Blaze, and we'd love for you to join us. You can join now at https://Get.BlazeTV.com/Nick and use promo code “NICK” to get $20 off! ----- SPONSOR: Good Ranchers Good Ranchers is the number one company delivering 100% American meat straight to your door. They partner with over 100 local farmers and ranchers, every cut is pasture-raised with no antibiotics and no added hormones, and they are backed by more than 25,000 5-star reviews on Trustpilot. Your first order comes with a free 4-pound Angus ground beef bundle, plus free meat in every order when you start a plan. Use code NICK to claim your free Angus ground beef bundle at https://GoodRanchers.com/discount/NICK ----- SPONSOR: Human Coalition For $26, you can create a life-saving moment for a mother and her baby. Human Coalition reaches women before the abortion industry does, with free ultrasounds, real resources, and a Continuum of Care that stays with her until she is stable. They have already helped more than 36,000 women choose life, and through December 31 a $100,000 matching gift doubles every dollar you give. Leave a legacy of life. Give today at https://HumanCoalition.org/Nick ----- GET YOUR MERCH HERE: https://shop.nickjfreitas.com/ BECOME A MEMBER OF THE IC: https://NickJFreitas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickjfreitas/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickFreitasVA Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickJFreitas YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nickjfreitas TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nickjfreitas3.0 00:00 – Is Britain's immigration crisis overblown by the media? 03:30 – London is "completely unrecognizable" from the city he moved to in 1996 05:03 – Race isn't culture, but "the sacred mantra of progressivism" says we're all the same 11:17 – Russia, China and the Middle East amplifying the West's most destructive voices 14:44 – The UAE foreign minister who warned Europe its stupidity would lead to terrorism 19:27 – "If you want to work, go to America. If you want benefits, go to Europe" 23:23 – Can Britain Still Fix This? 26:01 – More people came in 11 years under Blair than since 1066 27:58 – Britain's GDP per capita is lower today than it was 20 years ago 31:20 – Take away "the candy that attracts people" and some will leave on their own 33:01 – The Shire has to be tended, and it's getting overrun This is Episode 586 of Making the Argument, published September 24, 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcasting in Time is brought to you by the Afterheads and Producers on Patreon in collaboration with my unemployment. If you enjoy it, SUBSCRIBE to get episodes early and enable me to do more things like this. You'll also get all the other bonus episodes of TIYA After Dark:https://www.patreon.com/thisisyourafterlifeWelcome back to Podcasting in Time, a This Is Your Afterlife bonus miniseries exploring the filmography of Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky.This episode, we're covering 1983's Nostalghia, a film that presents some people's favorite final image in a Tarkovsky movie and answers the questions, "What if Mirror were more personal but in the present?" and "What if Andrei Tarkovsky made a fringe show?" This conversation gets more personal than the others in this series and touches on comedy and music as art forms, thanks to the thoughtfulness of my guest, Comrade Yui. Yui is a passionate, provocative writer and critic, and it was lovely to have them accompany me on this trip down Nostalghia lane.P.S. I forgot to give my own answer in the "Fire, Water, Mirror" segment, so here it is: Mirror.Follow Yui:https://letterboxd.com/comrade_yui/https://twitter.com/yui_antinomyhttps://www.patreon.com/comrade_yuiFollow TIYA, share your thoughts:https://thisisyourafterlife.com/https://www.instagram.com/thisisyourafterlife/thisisdavemaher@gmail.comMusic by TIYA house band Lake Mary:https://lakemary.bandcamp.com/https://www.instagram.com/chaz.prymek/

Earlier this month, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a space weapon in Earth's orbit. John B. Sheldon and Jack Dickens discuss the fight for extraterrestrial supremacy. Image: A mural of a Soviet-era cosmonaut in Ukraine. Credit: Alamy

Guest Jon Fleischman helps Will break down the news of the week, including Gavin Newsom's remarkably weird interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, his AI alarmism, and his surprise legislative vetoes. Yet another major battery fire has climate activists wondering who to blame when “clean” energy goes awry. The city of Long Beach responds to the Soviet submarine in its harbor. And we remember the Siege of Los Angeles, September 22, 1846. Music by Metalachi.Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.orgFollow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaimTheRadioFreeCAShow Notes:Jon Fleischman, So Does It Matter SubstackGavin Newsom tells CNN's Jake Tapper he won't run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028Newsom signs bill barring other states from sending National Guard troops to CaliforniaGovernor Newsom issues executive order to accelerate independent oversight and advance the creation of an AI kill switchWho Pays When AI Causes Harm? The “Kill Switch” Is LiabilityNewsom vetoes bill to loosen work-from-home rules for state workersRepublicans Help SEIU Defy Gavin Newsom's Return-to-Work Order - WTH?Newsom vetoes bill closing CEQA manufacturing exemptionNewsom cites pension crisis as he vetoes bill to enhance retirement for police and firefightersI Was Wrong About Gavin Newsom And AB 1383, The Public Safety Employee Union Sponsored Pension Spiking BillLAUSD struggles to decide between refurbishing and retrofitting or closing schoolsLAUSD Ignored the Warnings. Now the Bills Are Due.New fire breaks out at Moss Landing Power Plant in California; shelter-in-place order issuedHow do you dispose of an abandoned Russian submarine? Long Beach is on the hook to find out This week's advertising sponsor: California Center for Nonprofit LawNPOlawyers.comboardtrainingprinciples.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet has witnessed and reported on some of the most consequential events of our time. She has reported from Iran and Afghanistan since 1988, played a leading role in the BBC's coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings reporting from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria, and has covered major wars as well as efforts to make peace in the Middle East since 1994. In 2022 she covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine live from Kyiv as Putin's tanks crossed the border. And most recently having reported on the ground in Iran in February 2026, Doucet has been a hugely insightful voice explaining the consequences of the U.S-Israeli led war on the country and what it means for the world. Doucet is renowned for her compassionate, human-centred reporting often in times of war and suffering. In September 2026, she came to the Intelligence Squared stage to share her reflections and insights from the frontlines. Doucet also discussed the themes and approach of her Women's Prize-winning book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul, a vivid history of Afghanistan as seen from the iconic Inter-Continental Hotel. Drawing on years of interviews with its staff and guests, the book traces the country's tumultuous history – from the Soviet withdrawal and civil war to the US invasion and the return of the Taliban – through the prism of this landmark hotel and the lives of the staff who kept it running during war and peace. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moldova is an Eastern European nation of almost three million people nestled between NATO member Romania and Ukraine. It has become a stage for Russian interference and drone incursions. Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan spoke with Nick Schifrin about Russia's attempts to sway the former Soviet republic back into its orbit, and the government's current efforts to move closer to the West. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

This week on the Newscast, we're joined by Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, the founder of the Home Planet Fund, an independent, Indigenous-led nonprofit that provides funding for local and Indigenous communities and conservation projects around the world. Khonikboyeva, who is also the organization's executive director, speaks about the ethos of the Home Planet Fund and how it works. But I must emphasize that in my conversation with Khonikboyeva, what stands out most to me isn't just the fund's focus on Indigenous-led conversation and investing in local knowledge. It's the well of experience Khonikboyeva brings to it that, growing up in Tajikistan under Soviet occupation and having firsthand experience of a community making do under extremely difficult circumstances, I believe, is rare among philanthropic efforts. In a sector that runs on reports, restrictions, and guarantees, Khonikboyeva encourages funders to work differently, which often might come in an answer they don't want to hear. "If you're getting a satisfying answer in this space, something isn't right," she says. She explains: "I think sometimes people wanna hear, 'Yes, we'll take your money. Yes, we'll do what you want in the timeline that you want. Yes, everything is possible." And it's just not true, right? That is actually not how life works, and anybody who tells you otherwise is certainly selling you something." The Home Planet Fund chooses to focus on four distinct ecologies that "researchers have pinpointed around the world [as] critical from a climate and biodiversity angle," Khonikboyeva says. These are the Tongass Rainforest of Alaska; the glaciers around Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India — sometimes referred to as "the third pole"; the grasslands of East Africa; and the South Pacific. Through trusted networks, Khoniboyeva and her team identify and build relationships with local communities in these areas who are already engaged in conservation efforts and provide them with funding. "Making sure we have elders, making sure we have whole communities, making sure we have women's groups, making sure we have youth groups involved and co-building with them is really, really important," she says. Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast here. Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Banner image: Faye Saemala, whose family has lived in the village of Lilisiana, in the Solomon Islands, for generations. Image courtesy of Jason Gagame. —- Timecodes (00:00) "The Hardest of Humanity That I've Seen" (03:41) Dilafruz Khonikboyeva Explains the Home Planet Fund (08:39) Growing Up in Tajikistan (12:00) Community Works Over Monetary Incentive (16:58) How the Fund Built Relationships (19:45) Identifying the Four Ecologies (24:10) Support Mongabay on Patreon (24:48) 'We Don't Accept Grant Proposals' (27:56) Women's Collectives in the South Pacific (31:58) The Case for Unrestricted Funding (35:02) Towards a Collaborative Fund (38:33) "If You're Getting a Satisfying Answer, Something Isn't Right" (40:51) Working in Conflict Zones (45:10) Mindset Shifts for Philanthropists (46:55) 'Investing in Healing Ourselves' (50:49) Closing

China's role in the Western Balkans is changing. Once associated primarily with infrastructure projects, loans and the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing is increasingly turning towards AI, digital technologies, telecommunications and deeper political partnerships with Serbia at the centre of its regional presence.In this Deep Dive, Alexandra Karppi speaks with Stefan Vladisavljev, Programme Director at Foundation BFPE in Belgrade, about what China actually wants from the Western Balkans and what countries like Serbia gain from the relationship.They discuss why Serbia has become China's closest partner in the region, Chinese investment and access to raw materials, Beijing's position on Kosovo, the growing presence of Chineseworkers and tourists, Serbian public opinion towards China, and concerns surrounding surveillance technology, transparency and political influence.The conversation also asks a bigger question: are we looking at China in the region clearly — or are we still caught between fear-mongering and overly positive narratives?BONUS FOR PATRONS: Stefan stays with us for an extendedconversation looking beyond the Western Balkans to China's evolving role across Central and Eastern Europe. They discuss why Beijing prefers bilateral relationships, Europe's difficulty developing a common approach towards China, and why AI, digital cooperation and technology could define the next phase of China's engagement with the region. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction01:11 What is China doing in the Western Balkans?04:56 From Belt and Road to AI and digital technology06:33 China's political interests, Kosovo and Serbia10:17 Why Serbia has become China's key regional partner17:11 Chinese tourism and workers in Serbia22:17 China, Serbia and a changing Hungary25:23 What do Serbians actually think about China?28:53 Surveillance, transparency and the risks of Chinese technology32:29 Bonus conversation for Patrons – China's role in the wider regionTalk Eastern Europe is the podcast from New Eastern Europe magazine - your trusted source for in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the post-Soviet space. ABOUT THIS PODCASTAvailable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and all major platforms.Read the New Eastern Europe Magazine Bimonthly publication with exclusive long-form analysis. https://neweasterneurope.eu/become-a-member-of-new-eastern-europe/ Support us on PatreonJoin our community for bonus content, early access, behind-the-scenes insights, and access to our exclusive WhatsApp group where we discuss the news in real-time.https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeSubscribe to the Brief Eastern Europe NewsletterWeekly briefing sent out every Monday with news updates, expert commentary, and our editorial picks - free to your inbox: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/subscribeFOLLOW USInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/neweasterneuropemag/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewEasternEurope/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-eastern-europe/

Russia just held its State Duma elections. United Russia walked away with 355 of 450 seats, the largest faction in its history, on a result the Kremlin's own planners had reportedly tried to talk down to 45%. So how do you get 58%?You spend 120 years perfecting the method.ACT 1: THE ALGORITHMBloody Sunday, the October Manifesto, and the Tsar's four Dumas. How Stolypin broke his own constitution in 1907 and invented the core trick of Russian managed democracy: you don't fear the ballot box if you control the calculator. And the Grand Duchy of Finland, where, under the same Tsar, women got the vote and a seat in parliament.ACT 2: THE RITUALSoviet elections, told by the people who lived them. A Pioneer honor guard at the ballot box. A first-time voter in 1982 Riga waiting for a flower that never came. A PE teacher turned into "Citizen Linaberga" behind a folding table. The portable urn that drove out to your kitchen. The secret booth nobody dared to use, until 1989, when a Politburo member running unopposed lost to a pencil. And 2011's legendary 146%.ACT 3: THE TECHNOLOGYThe 2026 vote itself. The electronic black box two ministries can't agree the size of. Round-number turnout "shelves." The CEC announcing "only two" stuffing cases while voiding 36,850 ballots. Observers thrown out for "walking around too much." A green apple confiscated by police. Liberal exiles and pro-war nationalists landing on the same tactic. And the Z-patriots holding a wake for the supermajority they got.Special thanks to our family members who shared their memories of Soviet-era voting in Latvia and Belarus. This episode is built on their testimony. Happy birthday, Toms!Car4Ukraine Eastern Border Autumn Harvest Campaign!https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-2026-the-eastern-borderBecome our patron:https://www.patreon.com/theeasternborderMerch store + another option for memberships:https://theeasternborder-shop.fourthwall.com/Follow what's going on here in the very border of Eastern Europe:https://bsky.app/profile/theeasternborder.lvDownload all episodes for free on our website; pictures accompanying certain episodes can be found there as well!http://theeasternborder.lv/Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1968, a Soviet ballistic-missile submarine disappeared somewhere in the Pacific. The Soviets couldn't find it, but the United States did - and what happened next involved Howard Hughes, a fake deep-sea mining company, a gigantic mechanical claw and a ship secretly designed around one nearly impossible mission. This week, we dive into Project AZORIAN, the CIA operation that attempted to steal K-129 from three miles beneath the Pacific Ocean without the Soviet Union realizing what was happening. Then we play the Yap Yap with Magician Cameron Zvara!  Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589 Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit http://theinternetsaysitstrue.com/deals

Come hear the story of a single nuclear bomb's deep origins, brief life during the Cold War, and lasting environmental and political legacies―and how some are viewing the entire sweep of the American nuclear enterprise. A grave reminder of the frightening truth about nuclear testing, as international norms waver. As the United States and Russia let one treaty after another falter and expire, Jon Else reminds us of the terrible price of those tests. In his new book Frenchman Flat, Else recounts the science, politics and human experience of those who developed nuclear weapons, suffered the consequences of their testing, and fought for and against arms control between the 1940s and 1990s. The throughline of this vast, complex story is a 37-kiloton atomic bomb dubbed “Priscilla” that was exploded above a custom-built mini-civilization at Frenchman Flat, Nevada, in 1957. Jon Else uses Priscilla and the bombs that preceded and followed to highlight the terrifying ways we have considered to blow ourselves to bits with nuclear weapons, how near and often we came to self-annihilation, how we managed to avoid it, and what we did to the planet and to our own bodies in the process, from wartime Los Alamos to the suspension of U.S. and Soviet nuclear testing in 1992. In the two decades after Hiroshima, a pair of dramatic stories unfolded alongside each other: the scramble to produce ever more powerful nuclear weapons, and the struggle to ban testing of those same weapons. The dramatic narrative takes in the physics of the megaton postwar bombs, the role of private industry, the near misses of the Cuban Missile Crisis and less well-known events, and the testimony of scientists, politicians, doctors, weapons developers, test-site workers, ranchers and families downwind of test sites. Else reminds us how we have―so far―prevented nuclear war by deterrence, diplomacy and luck. It is for the moment a success story—and a warning. This content has EXPLICIT langauge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" talks to Dominik Tarczyński about why Poland rejected Germany's approach to mass migration and refused to accept illegal immigrants; how Poland's history of occupation, World War II, and communism shaped its approach to national sovereignty and border security; why Tarczyński argues Poland chose safety over cheap labor and faster economic growth; Poland's response after a soldier was killed at the Belarus border and why Polish forces were authorized to use live ammunition against violent border crossings; his firsthand experience growing up under communism and his plans to teach about communism at Florida International University; why he compares modern American socialists like Bernie Sanders and AOC to the communist ideology he experienced; his warnings about open borders, policing, the military, and European immigration policies; his family's history fighting communism, including his grandfather's fight against the Soviet-backed communist regime and his father's role in founding Solidarity in his hometown; why the treatment of his mother inspired Tarczyński to enter politics; why he sees an alliance between the radical left and jihadists; his warning to young Americans about socialism, food shortages, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea; and much more.

Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist best known for playing the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (1985). He went on to star in action films including Universal Soldier, The Expendables franchise, and Aquaman, establishing himself as one of Hollywood's most recognizable action stars. Check out his new documentary ‘Dolph: Unbreakable' out on October 6th and his new book ‘Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength In Struggle' out on September 22nd. IN THE NEWS: L.A. and California state officials say Paramount Studios is leaving California, 3 dead after a news helicopter reporting for NBC Los Angeles crashes while covering a fatal bus collision, all of Ed Sheeran's openers—including Finneas—ditch the tour after the Macklemore fiasco, feds smash a multimillion-dollar L.A. homeless scheme as a bigwig and “charity” worker are dragged from their homes, and an entire California high school football team is suddenly suspended as disturbing claims emerge.GET IT ON!FOR MORE WITH DOLPH LUNDGREN:DOCUMENTARY: “Dolph: Unbreakable” - Releases October 6thBOOK: “Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength In Struggle” out September 22ndFOR MORE WITH MIKE DAWSON:INSTAGRAM: @dawsangelesLIVE SHOWS: September 20 - Santa Ana, CA (Live Podcast)September 24 - Burbank, CAThank you for supporting our sponsors:gruns.co Code: ADAMHims.com/adamhomechef.com/adamhomeserve.com/adamoreillyauto.com/ADAMrosettastone.com/adamPluto.tvPodcastOneSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dmitri Shostakovich: "I have set myself a task fraught with tremendous responsibility, to express in sound the immortal image of Lenin as a great son of the Russian people and as a leader of the masses. I have received numerous letters from all over the Soviet Union with regard to my future symphony. The most important advice contained therein was to make considerable use of musical folklore." In the massively consequential year of 1939, Shostakovich used these words to launch his Sixth Symphony. The piece was meant to have soloists and a chorus alongside the orchestra — perhaps a nod to his Second and Third Symphonies, which were essentially propaganda pieces. Shostakovich even promised to use the poem "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" by Vladimir Mayakovsky as the basis for his choral text. The Soviet public eagerly awaited this new symphony, which was inevitably going to be compared with his Fifth Symphony — the piece that had brought Shostakovich back into the Soviet government's good graces, and which remains one of his most popular works even as it's also one of his most complex and nuanced pieces beneath its relatively conservative surface. But whether Shostakovich ever actually planned to write this gigantic "Lenin" symphony is highly doubtful, since no sketches of it have ever turned up. Instead, Shostakovich pivoted publicly to describing his new symphony this way: "The musical character of the Sixth Symphony will differ from the mood and emotional tone of the Fifth Symphony, in which moments of tragedy and tension were characteristic. In my latest symphony, music of a contemplative and lyrical order predominates. I wanted to convey in it the moods of spring, joy, youth."[6] As you can see, Shostakovich wasn't actually saying much about the content of the symphony — if anything at all. He was leaving things deliberately ambiguous, and, fittingly, ambiguous is a pretty good description of this highly enigmatic symphony. Everything about this symphony is slightly off. It's in three movements, not the typical four, and it opens with a massive slow movement; the two remaining movements are fast and significantly shorter, together lasting less than the first movement alone. It was written in 1939 — supposedly a year of military triumph for the Soviet Union, given the Stalin pact with Hitler that allowed Hitler to invade Poland and launch World War II — and yet there is not a hint of military triumphalism in it. In short, this symphony confused a lot of people and has always received mixed reviews, whether from musicologists trying to fit it into the traditional "everything in Shostakovich is about Stalin" narrative, or from Soviet critics of the time trying to fit it into Socialist Realist aesthetics. In the end, descriptions of Shostakovich always attempt to put him into a box — silent dissident, Soviet stooge, hero, coward, etc. The truth, of course, is complicated, and this symphony is a great example of the eternal enigma that is Dmitri Shostakovich. Today, on this Patreon-sponsored episode, I'll take you through this wonderful symphony from a musical perspective, trying to parse its unusual form, its unusually lyrical first movement, and the wild, madcap dash of the final two movements. Join us!

Doomscrolling: Alien Abductions, The Goonies, Pinky and The Brain, Pretty Woman, Black Shorties (9/15/26)Doomscrollin is hosted by Sam Tripoli and Midnight Mike.We are back with vengeance!Sam Tripoli's 5th Comedy Special drops Sept 1st on Gas Digital's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GaSDigitalNetworkCheck out Word War Debate 2: https://wordwardebate.com/Please support our sponsors:Quince: Quince focuses on high-quality wardrobe staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and merino wool. The styles are timeless, versatile, and designed to become the dependable pieces you reach for day after day.  Find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to Quince dot com slash DOOM. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash DOOM.HIMS: Hims offers convenient access to a range of prescription hair loss treatments with ingredients that work, including chews, oral medication, serums, and sprays.  For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit Hims dot com slash DOOMPlease check out Sam Tripoli's 6th Crowd Work Special "Women Can't Peg" Live From Batavia: https://bit.ly/3TZBzHTCheck out WordWarDebate.com for the next great debate event.Grab Tickets To Sam Tripoli's Live Shows At SamTripoli.com:Lawerence, KS: 9/17-9/19Tulsa, OK: 10/9-10/10Austin, TX: Dec 11th-13thWitcha, KS: Dec 18th-19thPlease check out Sam Tripoli's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/samtripoliPlease check out Midnight Mike's Internet:The OBDM Podcast Website: https://ourbigdumbmouth.com/Twitter: https://x.com/obdmpodPlease check out all the Content Creators we featured on today's show:1. Man finds strange object in woods @ninjasarebutterflies2. Ocean predators rip out shark livers @offcialodddanny3. The word to exterminate us all @liveactionorg4. Fake baseball card kid mystery revealed @slabdynastycards5. Sleep paralysis alien experiences strange memories @gregreese6. Suburban living trade-offs near gym good news @hgtvhousehunters7. Pop pop goes the trash can @dungmangmoingay8. Heads missing tribes of lost earth @eerieenigmarealm9. Seeing things that aren't there @the_treehouse_show10. Tattoo story of a mothers unfinished memoir @theartrevival_11. Dennis Nedra never-ending wardrobe quiz @filmbotica12. Silver suits follow a girl with horns @s3anson3dsoulfifty313. Why is the brain recording a frozen pea @treehousedetective14. Mind games Cold War mind control deep state @tayjmcm15. Boston left calf ski viral pop star secret @jonthrifts16. Baffling sounds from a strange box @reasonmagizine17. Not all fairytale creatures live in one book @ellemclemoreshow18. City housing puzzle unlocked @wallstreetjournal @emmacamp19. From oil to cubicles a return scare @n/a20. The seven days of Hollywood hookers @heartthrobanderson21. Popeye cocaine secret set scandal @zingamau22. Real life Soviet research institute movie set @treehousedetective23. Mystery money blooms in desolate lands @dommystories24. pov you're an Asian in the drivers seat of a modern day car @n/a25. How to crack a hot black midget this summer @moggingwbrannt26. Converting got to Israel @porterjugs27. It's not cheating if I'm not sneaking @dareal0828. Neuro deviant @chief_queef_tv29. Missing person - Dixon Myaz @andredavid8830. Kurt & sam talk business @gasdigital31. The daily ‘men suck' scream by @spencerhunt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Danger Close Podcast, I sit down with Ben Macintyre to discuss his latest book, REDWOOD, a true Cold War story of Soviet, Iranian and British intrigue, espionage, and a double agent who changed the course of history.  REDWOOD is on shelves now. Buy REDWOOD on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TzqU6D

Caption 1700. Yemen mountains of TaizzSTREAMING-MAKING-JBS-COPLEY-TOOMEY-BEN-UR.The Houthi Surge and the Battle for the Red SeaThis broadcast presents a deep historical and geopolitical analysis of the ongoing conflict in Yemen, focusing on the rise of the Houthi rebels and their impact on global trade. The discussion traces the country's modern struggles back to the Suez Crisis and the subsequent Soviet and American interventions that divided the region. It highlights how the Houthi movement challenges the religious and political legitimacy of Saudi Arabia, leading to a stalemate where the Saudis rely on air power due to a fear of ground combat. Additionally, the broadcast examines the humanitarian and strategic crisis in Gaza, questioning the feasibility of Hamas's disarmament amidst shifting Israeli political dynamics. Together, these segments illustrate a Middle East defined by complex tribal loyalties, proxy warfare, and the struggle for control over vital maritime choke points.

This is an extraordinary story of espionage, betrayal and an unlikely friendship between spies on opposite sides - and of a man who risked his life and shaped the course of history, for a deeply personal and unlikely reason. In 1981, Washington feared a Soviet takeover of Iran could trigger military intervention and potentially a nuclear war. A KGB officer - Vladimir Kouzichkin - was stationed in revolutionary Iran. He was codenamed Agent Redwood and worked with British intelligence to expose the Soviet Union's operations in Iran... in exchange for a cure to a very private medical problem.Ben McIntyre's new book is called Redwood: The Most Extraordinary Spy of the Cold War and is out now!Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Listen to The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Yn4pGGxsG1YLI90kf4UkM?si=sUB3ShdzQiGEDeEj9fyBNgApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-iranian-embassy-siege-with-ben-macintyre/id1042631089?i=1000670522326Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.