Podcasts about Darth Vader

The lack of a new Star Wars comic title is no reason to postpone the show, though sometimes it might behoove us to do just that! Regardless, we've got the latest news, some comments about other publisher's comics and a bit more, too!Comics Discussed This Week:No Star Wars comics, but we do mention Weird Al's DC comic and the new Star Trek series from IDW.Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:
Galaxy's Edge -- Echoes of the Empire #3 (of 5)
News:Marvel's got three books set for December, including the ends to The Book of Boba Fett and Fall of Kylo Ren miniseries, as well as a facsimile edition of Star Wars (Vol. 1) #42.Star Wars: Smugglers and Scoundrels Vol. 1 -- Race for Jabba's Bounty is now due out on Nov. 17 and not Oct. 6 from Mad Cave Studios' Papercutz imprint..In his latest newsletter (subscribe if you haven't, it's great!), Cavan Scott offers up some of the Nightlander sketches done by Ian McCaig, along with more information about the series.Thanks to early solicits and a Nov. 23 final-order cutoff date, we're getting some more details on the Jan. 13 release of Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 (of 5), including at least nine covers from Marvel (we expect there to be NUMEROUS retailer-exclusive variants, too) from Alex Ross, Dan Jurgens, David Marquez and more. The first issue clocks in at 40 pages with a price tag of $5.99.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels, omnibuses and manga:Oct. 3 _ Star Wars Comics Library Vol. 1 1977-1979 (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-23)Oct. 13 _ Boba Fett — Black, White & Red Treasury Edition (Collects 1-4)Oct. 14 _ Rogue One: Chirrut & Baze #1, Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7)Oct. 20 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 1 and the Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 2Oct. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #6 (of 6), Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5), The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro #1 One-ShotOct. 28 _ Rogue One: Darth Vader #1, Book of Boba Fett #4 (of 7)Nov. 3 _ The Bad Batch — Rogue Agents TPB (Collects 1-4)Nov. 11 _ Book of Boba Fett #5 (of 7)Nov. 17_ Smugglers & Scoundrels: The Race for Jabba's Bounty Original Graphic NovelNov. 18 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #4 (of 5)Nov. 24 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: The Chosen One (Collects Darth Vader Vol. 2 1-12, Annual #2)Book of Boba Fett #6 (of 7)Dec. 1 _ Shadow of Maul TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 3 (Manga)Dec. 2 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (of 5)Dec 9 _ Book of Boba Fett #7 (of 7)Dec. 16 _ Star Wars (Vol. 1) #42 Facsimile EditionDec. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6); Star Wars Legends: The Menace Revealed Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons (2002) #1-4, Star Wars (1998) #7-35; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) #8, 13, #21-24; Dark Horse Extra (1998) #35-37; Dark Horse Presents Annual 2000)Jan. 13 _ Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 (of 5)Jan. 19 _ Star Wars Legends The Clone Wars Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Republic 49-67, Jedi -- Mace Windu, Jedi -- Shaak-Ti, Jedi --Aayla Secura, Jedi -- Count Dooku, Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1-4 and material from Star Wars Tales 14, 19 and 22, along with Star Wars: Visionaries)Jan. 26 _ Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 1 (US Manga); Galaxy's Edge — Echoes of the Empire TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 2 _ Star Wars: Rogue One TPB (Collects Cassian Andor 1, Jyn Erso 1, Saw Gerrera 1, Chirrut & Baze 1, Darth Vader 1)
Feb. 9 _  The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 3 and The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 4, Darth Vader — Shadows & Secrets Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Mutiny at Mon Cala (Collects Star Wars 44-61)
March 9 _ Tales From the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon Original Graphic Novel
March 16 _ Star Wars: A New Hope The Complete Manga; Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Printing Collects 1-44, Annual 1)
April 27 _ Star Wars Legends: Legacy Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: Legacy 37-40, 42-50; Star Wars: Legacy - War 1-6; Star Wars: Legacy (2013) 1-18; material from Star Wars Tales 19 and Star Wars Visionaries); Star Wars: A New Hope 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-6)
May 11 — Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (New Printing, Collects Star Wars 45-78, Annual 2); The Fall of Kylo Ren TPB (Collects 1-5)
May 18 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection — Fortress Vader (Collects Darth Vader 13-25, Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5)
June 8 _ Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (New Printing,  Collects Star Wars 79-107, Annual 3, Return of the Jedi 1-4; material from Pizzazz 1-16; Star Wars Weekly 60, 94-99, 104-115; Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149, 151, 153-157; Star Wars Monthly;  159); The Book of Boba Fett Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-7); Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 2 (US Manga)June 15 _ Boba Fett -- Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)June 22 _ Star Wars: Path of the Lightsaber (The Manga) Vol. 1----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Welcome to RetroLogic! I'm Dan Caporello here with Sam Wagers, Shannon Eno and John Cummins, Special Guest Ryan (Games With Coffee) Intros   But RetroLogic isn't just a podcast. It's a community of retro gamers! - We've got an active, friendly, and free discord. - Giveaways - Contests - AND Dive into our family of Retro podcasts! Like RetroGroove, a music history podcast, and On Topic Retro, a podcast dedicated to 1 video game per episode hosted by our very own John Cummins. - you can find everything at our website retrologic.games   Housekeeping   Retro Rewind : Metroid   FilmLogic: Cannibal! The Musical The Price Is Retro - 13:55 If this is your first time playing Price Is Retro, here's how we play. I'm going to list off 4 or 5 games and everyone has to guess how much the lot is worth in total. Whoever is closest to the actual value wins that round! Everyone has a list and everyone guesses on each other's list. At the end, the player that won the most rounds wins the episode! But watch out for the robot Deus Guess Machina! He averages all of our guesses together for his own guess Dinosaur - Leonard - adds up original costs, retail value Ghost - Polterguest - always guesses 300 Dan's List Sam's list John's List Shannon's List Show Topic - 5   The Games of Star Wars: Classics   Super Star Wars Trilogy   X-Wing, TIE Fighter, etc.   Knights of the Old Republic   Episode 1 Racer   Dark Forces/Jedi Knight   Rogue Squadron (Rebel Strike, Rogue Leader,    Battlefront   Force Unleashed   Lego Star Wars   Galactic Battlegrounds   Lego Star Wars Recents and Revivals: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga   Battlefront 2015   Star Wars Squadrons   Star Wars Zero Company   Star Wars Outlaws   How have star wars games specifically been affected by the closure of LucasArts following the Disney merger?   Honorary mentions with fun tidbits:   Star Wars Gungan Frontier: - All these gungans were canonically killed by poison gas during the clone wars. * (legends)   Capcom's Star Gladiator was originally pitched as a Star Wars Fighting game, but they could not procure the license   Personal Top 3 Star Wars games:   Sam: KOTOR, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Zero Company Community Couch Your Wallet's Ambassador — 9/23/2026 12:22 PM I had a star wars plug and play console. I don't really remember much about it, but I believe it looked like Darth Vader... Third Strongest Mole — 9/23/2026 12:27 PM probably wasn't this since it doesn't even plug in but you just resurfaced a memory for me MaddieBeth [GI],  — 9/23/2026 12:29 PM LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga was one of my favorite games growing up. I have so many good memories playing through that game, and the humor in it is peak  [GI],  Your Wallet's Ambassador — 9/23/2026 1:46 PM Oh yes, I also remember playing this on my DS OctoRock_1982 — 9/23/2026 3:02 PM The first Star Wars game I ever played was Rebel Assault on CD-ROM in the early '90s. It was a mind-blowing experience at the time, with 3D rendered graphics, actual music from the films, and full motion video. The controls were extremely frustrating, but that didn't stop my friends and I from playing it over and over. The next big Star Wars game that blew my mind was Shadows of the Empire for N64. The game had impressively large levels for the time, and I liked the variety in having both vehicle combat, on-foot 3rd person shooting, and some challenging boss fights. Again, the controls could be frustrating, particularly the floaty jumping physics, but Dan and I played the crap out of this one. Last game I'll shout out is Jedi Outcast. I feel like this was the first game that really made the player feel like a badass Jedi with really powerful Force and lightsaber abilities. I actually ended up playing this one on the GameCube, which probably isn't the ideal way to experience it, but I really enjoyed it. Eric Plunk [nDAD],  — 9/23/2026 3:14 PM I remember being pretty hyped for Star Wars Episode I Racer for N64 and enjoyed a rental of it. The Podracing scenes may be my favorite of the entire prequel trilogy and had excellent sound design and early CG. Thanks for listening to the RetroLogic Podcast! We are proudly part of the Nintendo Dads family of podcasts. If you like what you hear, check me out on Bluesky at @retrologicgames.bsky.social. You're also welcome to jump into our friendly and 100% non-toxic Discord Community! The link to that is in my Blusky bio. You can also find everything on our website Retrologic.games  

In this episode, we begin a new lore series on Darth Vader (2017-2018) by Charles Soule and Marvel Comics. In part one of this series we cover issues 1-6 of the comic and talk about its themes, and Vader's journey to becoming a Sith Lord.___________________________________Hello There! is supported by our wonderful patrons on Patreon. If you would like to help the show, and join our discord community, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/hellotherecast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and pledge your support. Hello There! Patrons directly support the show and its growth by helping pay our monthly and annual fees, while contributing to future projects and endeavors.___________________________________Twitch I ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HelloThereCast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter I ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@HelloThereCast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram I ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@HelloThereCast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook I ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HelloThereCast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube I  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HelloThereCast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ l⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ l⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __________________________________Hello There! is hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jesse Eakin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Obi-Wan Kenobi is dead… except he isn't.In this episode of Your In Depth, we break down The Clone Wars arc that sees Obi-Wan fake his own death and assume the identity of bounty hunter Rako Hardeen. But the bigger question is what the Jedi Council's plan does to Anakin.Was keeping Anakin in the dark actually necessary? Is this one of the biggest steps toward his eventual fall to the dark side? Was Obi-Wan too loyal to the Jedi Council? And could Palpatine have been using the entire situation to test just how far Anakin's anger could be pushed?We also dig into The Box, Obi-Wan's undercover transformation, how The Clone Wars changes the way we view Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, and whether another Jedi could have survived Obi-Wan's mission without being changed by it.Plus, Jacob's cats attempt to derail the podcast.CHAPTERS00:00 – Obi-Wan's Fake Death & the Jedi Council's Plan03:43 – What Was Obi-Wan's Undercover Mission?07:33 – Did the Jedi NEED to Lie to Anakin?10:37 – Was This a Turning Point for Anakin?15:19 – How The Clone Wars Changes Revenge of the Sith21:12 – Why Didn't Anakin Recognize Obi-Wan?27:21 – The Cat Fight Intermission34:41 – Did the Jedi Council Create Anakin's Distrust?36:02 – Is Obi-Wan Too Loyal to the Jedi Council?40:24 – Was Palpatine Manipulating the Entire Situation?43:48 – The Box: Was the Bounty Hunter Test Actually Flawed?51:27 – Where Does This Arc Rank?54:28 – Could Another Jedi Survive Obi-Wan's Mission?1:03:16 – Highs, Lows & Final ThoughtsKEYWORDSStar Wars, Star Wars The Clone Wars, The Clone Wars, Clone Wars podcast, Star Wars podcast, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, Jedi Council, Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan undercover, Obi-Wan fake death, Anakin dark side, Anakin fall to the dark side, Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine, Count Dooku, Cad Bane, The Box, Moralo Eval, Jedi Order, Anakin and Obi-Wan, Star Wars discussion, Clone Wars analysis, Clone Wars Season 4, Your In Depth Podcast

Vorige week hadden we het al over de bijzondere manier waarop Marvel en Star Wars samenkomen in een unieke samenwerking. Maar wat als wij zelf de touwtjes in handen hadden? Wat als álle deuren openstonden en werkelijk iedere franchise met elkaar mocht botsen? Dan ontstaan de samenwerkingen waar we stiekem al jaren van dromen. Luke Skywalker op de brug van de Enterprise. De Doctor die plaatsneemt in een X-Wing. Darth Vader die zijn opwachting maakt in Call of Duty. Het klinkt misschien compleet absurd… en juist daarom willen we het zien. In deze aflevering laten we onze fantasie de vrije loop en bedenken we de crossovers die volgens ons móéten gebeuren. We bespreken niet alleen welke werelden we graag met elkaar zouden zien botsen, maar vooral ook waarom juist díé combinatie zo ontzettend goed zou kunnen werken.Niets meer missen? Volg de Star Wars Podcast op Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (voorheen Twitter), TikTok, Twitch, Youtube en abonneer via Spotify, Apple Podcast of je andere favoriete podcast app om geen aflevering te missen!

(1) Israel Watch 9/27/26: An epidemic of rape and abuse of women in Gaza BY Hamas (while antisemites lie and blame Israel). We play a 2+ minute clip of Netanyahu's UN rebuke of nations who walked out on him. We play a video clip of Donald Trump rejecting Iran's counter-deal offer and review the Gog Magog Watch as Iran-Persia and allies invade Israel, "To take a spoil, and to take a prey". (2) Pres. Trump Did NOT Usher In The Image of the Beast: We refute the OBVIOUS Bible abuse and lies about the "Change A.I. to S.I." speech at the U.N. (3) But the Unholy See of the Beast IS Here: It is the Antichrist Papacy. We watch hundreds of thousands of adoring worshippers of "the man of sin" and review quotes from the last four centuries demonstrating that our position that the final Pope will be the son of perdition (First Beast/Antichrist) was the standard position of Bible believers until recent decades. (4) On A Lighter Note: Finish The Meme. A raccoon comments on "smart cars, phones, etc." A warning from Pfizer about the need for a fourth booster. And a "positive affirmation" quote from none other than Darth Vader! https://bbfohio.com

(1) Israel Watch 9/27/26: An epidemic of rape and abuse of women in Gaza BY Hamas (while antisemites lie and blame Israel). We play a 2+ minute clip of Netanyahu's UN rebuke of nations who walked out on him. We play a video clip of Donald Trump rejecting Iran's counter-deal offer and review the Gog Magog Watch as Iran-Persia and allies invade Israel, "To take a spoil, and to take a prey". (2) Pres. Trump Did NOT Usher In The Image of the Beast: We refute the OBVIOUS Bible abuse and lies about the "Change A.I. to S.I." speech at the U.N. (3) But the Unholy See of the Beast IS Here: It is the Antichrist Papacy. We watch hundreds of thousands of adoring worshippers of "the man of sin" and review quotes from the last four centuries demonstrating that our position that the final Pope will be the son of perdition (First Beast/Antichrist) was the standard position of Bible believers until recent decades. (4) On A Lighter Note: Finish The Meme. A raccoon comments on "smart cars, phones, etc." A warning from Pfizer about the need for a fourth booster. And a "positive affirmation" quote from none other than Darth Vader! https://bbfohio.com

(1) Israel Watch 9/27/26: An epidemic of rape and abuse of women in Gaza BY Hamas (while antisemites lie and blame Israel). We play a 2+ minute clip of Netanyahu's UN rebuke of nations who walked out on him. We play a video clip of Donald Trump rejecting Iran's counter-deal offer and review the Gog Magog Watch as Iran-Persia and allies invade Israel, "To take a spoil, and to take a prey". (2) Pres. Trump Did NOT Usher In The Image of the Beast: We refute the OBVIOUS Bible abuse and lies about the "Change A.I. to S.I." speech at the U.N. (3) But the Unholy See of the Beast IS Here: It is the Antichrist Papacy. We watch hundreds of thousands of adoring worshippers of "the man of sin" and review quotes from the last four centuries demonstrating that our position that the final Pope will be the son of perdition (First Beast/Antichrist) was the standard position of Bible believers until recent decades. (4) On A Lighter Note: Finish The Meme. A raccoon comments on "smart cars, phones, etc." A warning from Pfizer about the need for a fourth booster. And a "positive affirmation" quote from none other than Darth Vader! https://bbfohio.com

Spooky Season is upon us!Gutted Horror Podcast is taking a SUPER DEEP dive into horror from the year 1990!Yep, we are doing 31 NIGHTS of 31 FRIGHTS from the year 1990. An October horror movie review challenge that will surely have you yearning for simpler times. And we are kicking off this MASSIVE challenge on the TRAIL TO TERROR!You have heard of Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky.You have heard of James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader.BUT have you heard that these two star in a HORROR-ANTHOLOGY-WESTERN??NEITHER DID WE!Join us for our 31 Day Horror Challenge..if you dare!

410. Darth Vader Stand Alone Film by Rebel Scum Podcast Network

Boba Fett explores the limits of his leadership in Mos Espa as Marvel's second issue of the seven-issue mini-series adapting The Book of Boba Fett remains tried and true to the events of the show.Comics Discussed This Week:The Book of Boba Fett #2 (of 7)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:
None
News:The PRH release of Star Wars: Path of the Lightsaber (The Manga) Vol. 1 is set for June 22.The final three variant covers for Oct. 21's Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro #1 one-shot by Alessandro Renaldi, Arianna Florean and Juni Ba. The trio are "Not Final -- Pending Licensor Approval." The book is being published by Mad Cave Studios.The covers for Marvel's pair of upcoming Compact Editions for Star Wars (Vol. 2) and Darth Vader (Vol. 1) are on the Facebook and Bluesky feeds. Both series debuted in 2015.Funaticals on eBay is doing a sale on its remaining stock. Below are its Star Wars comics titles, along with a couple of statues. We've ordered from them before and have had good experiences.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels, omnibuses and manga:Sept. 29 _ Star Wars: Thrawn (The Manga); Star Wars: Galactic Tales of Terror Library Edition (Collects Tales from the Rancor Pit, Tales from the Death Star and Tales from the Nightlands 1-3) Oct. 3 _ Star Wars Comics Library Vol. 1 1977-1979 (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-23)Oct. 13 _ Boba Fett — Black, White & Red Treasury Edition (Collects 1-4)Oct. 14 _ Rogue One: Chirrut & Baze #1, Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7)Oct. 20 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 1 and the Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 2Oct. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #6 (of 6), Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5), The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro #1 One-ShotOct. 28 _ Rogue One: Darth Vader #1, Book of Boba Fett #4 (of 7)Nov. 3 _ The Bad Batch — Rogue Agents TPB (Collects 1-4)Nov. 11 _ Book of Boba Fett #5 (of 7)Nov. 17_ Smugglers & Scoundrels: The Race for Jabba's Bounty Original Graphic NovelNov. 18 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #4 (of 5)Nov. 24 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: The Chosen One (Collects Darth Vader Vol. 2 1-12, Annual #2)Book of Boba Fett #6 (of 7)Dec. 1 _ Shadow of Maul TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 3 (Manga)Dec. 2 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (of 5)Dec 9 _ Book of Boba Fett #7 (of 7)Dec. 16 _ Star Wars (Vol. 1) #42 Facsimile EditionDec. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6); Star Wars Legends: The Menace Revealed Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons (2002) #1-4, Star Wars (1998) #7-35; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) #8, 13, #21-24; Dark Horse Extra (1998) #35-37; Dark Horse Presents Annual 2000)Jan. 13 _ Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 (of 5)Jan. 19 _ Star Wars Legends The Clone Wars Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Republic 49-67, Jedi -- Mace Windu, Jedi -- Shaak-Ti, Jedi --Aayla Secura, Jedi -- Count Dooku, Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1-4 and material from Star Wars Tales 14, 19 and 22, along with Star Wars: Visionaries)Jan. 26 _ Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 1 (US Manga); Galaxy's Edge — Echoes of the Empire TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 2 _ Star Wars: Rogue One TPB (Collects Cassian Andor 1, Jyn Erso 1, Saw Gerrera 1, Chirrut & Baze 1, Darth Vader 1)
Feb. 9 _  The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 3 and The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 4, Darth Vader — Shadows & Secrets Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Mutiny at Mon Cala (Collects Star Wars 44-61)
March 9 _ Tales From the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon Original Graphic Novel
March 16 _ Star Wars: A New Hope The Complete Manga; Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Printing Collects 1-44, Annual 1)
April 27 _ Star Wars Legends: Legacy Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: Legacy 37-40, 42-50; Star Wars: Legacy - War 1-6; Star Wars: Legacy (2013) 1-18; material from Star Wars Tales 19 and Star Wars Visionaries); Star Wars: A New Hope 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-6)
May 11 — Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (New Printing, Collects Star Wars 45-78, Annual 2); The Fall of Kylo Ren TPB (Collects 1-5)
May 18 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection — Fortress Vader (Collects Darth Vader 13-25, Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5)
June 8 _ Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (New Printing,  Collects Star Wars 79-107, Annual 3, Return of the Jedi 1-4; material from Pizzazz 1-16; Star Wars Weekly 60, 94-99, 104-115; Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149, 151, 153-157; Star Wars Monthly;  159); The Book of Boba Fett Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-7); Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 2 (US Manga)June 15 _ Boba Fett -- Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)June 22 _ Star Wars: Path of the Lightsaber (The Manga) Vol. 1----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Steve DeWitt The Joy of Opposition - Part B Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, Nehemiah 4:1-23 Scripture Reference: Nehemiah 4:1-23 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, Nehemiah 4:1-23 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: The Joy of OppositionAirdate: 9/18-9/21/26Programs: 2360 and 2361Morning, Bethel Church, and this is our challenging weekend with Daylight Savings. I said, or I just was thinking about our first service people today, that those are the really early risers to show up at the 815 on the spring ahead weekend of Daylight Savings. You're sort of more the hoi polloi, the sort of the normal folks, and we'll see who comes to the next service. I stand before you as a tired man. My daughter was up throughout most of the night, and I'm running on fumes today. So I say that to you in some way to mitigate my guilt for something stupid that I might say, because my eyes are like rolling in my head, I feel like today. So we'll get through the morning and go home and take a really good nap. And you parents who've been there, you know how I'm feeling today. I do want to greet our Cedar Lake campus this morning, and thank you so much for joining with us. Our Hobart Portage campus, which is not in this service with us, but are next week celebrating their... grand opening. I can say our grand opening. We're just one church. Really excited about that.So if you happen to just remember that in prayer, we've got a lot of work that's gone into kind of kicking that off, and I've seen the plans, and it's really going to be a great weekend next weekend over there. And how often do you, you know, grand open a new campus? You know, like, well, we've done it twice in the last six months, but we don't know how many more ever in the future, so we want to celebrate that, and we're going to next week. Today, we're going to stay in the stream of our teaching in 1 Peter without being exactly in 1 Peter. We've seen in 1 Peter this focus on trials. That trials are meant by God to reveal and to refine us. We look at them often as being bad things. God looks at them as being good things because of the effect that they have. And 1 Peter is written to people that are in exile, that are experiencing opposition.They're experiencing... ostracization, and Peter encourages them to see even those things as being part of God's refining fire, that work that he works in us, and to embrace them, not as being bad things, but in the end ultimately good things. So today I want to take a little break from 1 Peter and to look at one particular kind of trial that we so often run into as individuals and as a church. And that is just the trials of opposition, the trials of opposition. And my title is The Joy of Opposition, which sounds oxymoronic, right? Who looks at opposition and goes, yay, we don't naturally do that. There is from Scripture and from the teaching of Scripture every reason for us to even look at opposition as being something that we can rejoice in. James, of course, says, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations”, and that includes the trials of opposition. We all face opposition, don't we? Maybe as I say that, names come to mind. Perhaps that person is sitting next to you today. and try not to be poking them throughout the sermon, especially if you're married.But we all face opposition, and we have to know how to respond to it if we're ever going to make it through these trials that God brings our way and these people that God puts in our path. How should we respond to opposition? And Nehemiah is just a fantastic... book and a fantastic story about a man who suffered great opposition and who not only endured it, but who goes down in history as a great example of somebody going through it in a way that honors the Lord. And so... is that Nehemiah hears that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and remained in that condition. He was serving King Artaxerxes in Susa, the capital of Persia, and he hears that Jerusalem is still in ruins, the wall is still in ruins, and he has a burden for that. He offers a prayer, and God blesses that prayer, and King Artaxerxes says, Nehemiah, you can go, and I'm going to... the thing. I'm going to provide what you need for this thing. I'm given a letter that ought to get you all the way there. And he was the most powerful man in the world at the time. And so that was like a huge endorsement.And so Nehemiah, he goes to Jerusalem and he inspects the walls and he gathers the Jews and he says, listen, my friends, let's rise and let us rebuild this wall. And Nehemiah is this amazing story of how a people that, you know, they weren't naturally masons and builders, but they come together and they accomplish this amazing feat of rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. And in the midst of all of this success, there is chapter 4 where there is trouble. There's trouble. Even in the midst of a great success, there's trouble. And it seems to me, my observation would be, and even my own experience, that whenever God is really doing something, whether that be in somebody's life, a new Christian, or maybe some victories that you've had spiritually in your life, or maybe it's your small group, or even a church or a mission work, wherever God is really moving, so often when there is a lot of momentum, something will happen or somebody will come or there'll be some sort of criticism that steps into that moment and can so easily derail the entire thing. And that's what Nehemiah faced.And I'd like to begin in our little study here of chapter four by looking at the strategies that the opponents of Nehemiah employed against him. So let me introduce you to the bad guys, okay? These are the bad guys. And their names are notorious, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. These were three kings of small kingdoms that surrounded Jerusalem. And they represent the opposition to the Jews rebuilding this. wall. We're introduced to them in chapter 2 verse 10 where they first hear that Nehemiah has come to rebuild the wall and the text tells us that they are displeased greatly. And they begin then to wage a kind of psychological war against Nehemiah. That continues throughout the story. Even after chapter 4, it's not the end of it, because as the story unfolds, they write an open letter, you know, a kind of assassination of Nehemiah's character. They post it on Facebook for everybody to see what this guy was really all about and what his motives were and questioning those. Later, they want to meet him in the fields of Ono. And when your enemies want to meet you in the fields of Ono, you say to them, Oh, no, I am not going to go there.They wanted to kill him. And so these guys were serious about this. And Sanballat is the ringleader. Tobiah is kind of... his sidekick, and Geshem was the schemer behind the scenes that was doing his scheming. This might help a little bit. Sanballat was the Sith Lord, Tobiah was Darth Vader, and Geshem was General Grievous, just to give some communication to some of you. Now, these guys surrounded Jerusalem. Their kingdoms surrounded Jerusalem. Maybe you're in a situation like that right now as I talk about opposition. You feel like you've got it on all sides. I got nowhere to go. There's no safe zone for me. There's no green zone for me. Everywhere I look, it seems like I've got opposition against me. That's what Nehemiah was facing. Everybody around them wanted them out of there. Now, these men couldn't attack Nehemiah directly because, remember, Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, the king of really the world at that time, had endorsed the project. So to come out overtly and to say, we're going to take you on, we're going to take you down, would have been in opposition to Artaxerxes. And even these guys didn't want to mess with Artaxerxes.So their strategy really is one more of cloak and dagger. All right, this is espionage. This is insinuation. It's the psychological guerrilla warfare that they employ against God's people in the rebuilding of this wall. So what are the strategies that they employ? Well, notice, first of all, that they begin where every schoolyard begins, and that is with taunting and with ridicule. Look at verse 1. “Now, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, He was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burn ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, yes, what they're building, if a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.” Emphasis added for effect, okay? So here you have Sanballat now. He's the ringleader. He's the spokesperson. He's the Sith Lord. And he begins by ridiculing the effort that these Jews are doing in rebuilding the wall.And the text literally says this. It says that he became very angry. Literally, his nose became hot. This is a Hebrew idiom for when somebody is really mad. It's like the blood. They get red in the face all the way to the end of their nose. Like if you see a guy who's red all the way to the end of their nose, he's mad, right? And that's Sanballat. He's mad to the end of his nose, mad. And so he begins by taunting them. And visualize this with me. He gathers his cronies, he gathers the army of Samaria, and he begins to jeer the Jews in a way that he knows they're going to hear what he is saying, and he begins to mock them. And this sounds like, you know, the local elementary schoolyard, or maybe an IU-Purdue football game, because he begins by saying this. He says, these feeble Jews. Okay, what's that? Name-calling, right? They're wimpy. They've got nothing. He derides their ambition. Will they restore the wall? In other words, this project's a joke. Come on. Putting this whole thing together. He ridicules their optimism. He says, what are they going to do? Pray the wall up? They can't build this wall.All they have is their prayers. He mocks their enthusiasm. He says, well, they finish in a day. Word had gotten out that they were busy little beavers working so hard on the wall. All of their enthusiasm. Do they really think they can do this thing? I mean, come on. He undermines their confidence. Can they bring the stones back to life? In other words, they can't do it. They can't. Do it. And if you can visualize this, here's all these people, and they hate the Jews. They're not for this wall going back up. And every one of these that he says, all the guys, you know, they've been drinking. Think of a sort of a drunken sort of mob scene where they're all, wow, no Jews, and they can't do it. And so it kind of is building a Sanballat, kind of does this and does that. And I don't know if you've ever been in a situation where somebody tells a really good joke and somebody else thinks it's a great time to pile on. Or jump on the bandwagon. There's not a lot of humor in the Bible, but this is one of them, actually.Sanballat very effectively rolls out these ridicules, and there's Tobiah. He thinks it's a great time to jump in, and he goes, yeah, if a fox ran on the wall, it would fall down. I hear everyone going, oh, Tobiah, that's so stupid. Why would you say something like that? And we know from history and archaeology that it is stupid. They've done studies of the wall that Nehemiah built. It was nine feet thick. That would be a big fox. Knock that wall down. The point here is that he wasn't saying this for the armies, and he wasn't saying this for his cronies. He was saying this hoping the Jews would hear it, hoping they'd hear the mockery and the laughter. You know, the old adage in the schoolyard is, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. You've heard that before. You've probably said that. And the fact that you have to resort on the schoolyard to poetry ought to say that words are effective at discouraging us, aren't they? And even as adults, a little contrary word, a little criticism, a little taunt, a little mockery, and inside we can suddenly become so fleshly, we can be discouraged.And that is always the case. Words are effective. Now, why do you suppose Sanballat began with ridicule? Why not just march the armies out there and just take them all on? Because what is Satan? He's known as the father of what? Lies. Satan is the master of the subtlety. He's the master of the insinuation. We see that with Adam and Eve, or with Eve specifically in the garden, as he just twists the words and he plays with the mind. Those that Satan controls and follow his path, they do the same thing. Satan knows that he doesn't have to get a good Christian to deny the virgin birth or the fact that Jesus is coming back. All he has to do is discourage him a little bit. And with that discouragement, the good work that God's doing in them or the good work that God's doing through them, all of a sudden, it can come to a halt. Why? I'm so discouraged. And maybe you're there right now. You're rejoicing in what God's done in the past, but right now you're discouraged and somebody said something. Something's going on.This person's in my life. I got a Sanballat. I got a Tobiah. And you're just thinking, oh, that's the way the enemy operates. How should we respond? Notice how Nehemiah responds in verse 4 and verse 6. I won't read them, but in both cases, he prays. Now, I never saw anybody in the schoolyard do that. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray over these words that you've said. It's not our natural response, is it? have an example here from Nehemiah, I'll come back to this later, in how to respond to criticism and opposition. Go to God in prayer. And notice what he adds after verse 6. He says that the response of the people was that they worked even harder. And the text says they worked because they had a heart to work. I love that little phrase there. And as I read that, you know what I think about? I honestly think about Bethel Church.One of the qualities of this church that I love so much is that this is a church that has a heart to work. And I've seen that over the years. I can think of just even recent examples of moments where it just comes pouring out. A year ago right now, we said, hey, we bought this building in Gary. We got a clean 30 or 40,000 square feet. Y'all come out now. And I know a terrible cold, I mean, I-65 was a sheet of ice. I know because I drove down it. You know, we had 400 people, volunteers that showed up and we scrubbed every inch of that building. And I saw the way that people were working and laboring and sweating and all of that. No pay for God, you know, that kind of a thing. And I just admire that so much. And like the, you know, a month ago we said, hey. somebody's given us two gym floors, come pull planks. Nobody wakes up in the morning and goes, I think I'm going to pull planks today.But we had all these people that showed up and they pulled planks all day and they got blisters and sore backs, but they did it to the glory of God. Why? Because they had a heart to work. And I just think about our church and even the day-to-day kind of week-to-week ministries, I think it's a wonderful quality of our congregation. We're good at building walls. and projects, and just having a heart to work for the Lord, and I commend you for it. So look at that verse and go, that's us right there. We're just like them. Encouraged? I want to be encouraging. The second thing that we find the enemy doing is, and you see how these escalate, okay? Escalates. Ridicule doesn't work, the people just work harder. So they amp it up now in verse 7 and 8, and they just seek to make trouble. But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. Now before they were greatly disturbed, greatly upset, now they are really mad. And what do they do?And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. The second thing that opposition will do when the ridicule doesn't work is they will just seek to do mischief. They will seek to do something that can frustrate the plans. They'll plot. They'll come together and strategize against the work of God. They will gossip. They will slander. They'll do whatever they can to create trouble. It's a kind of verbal terrorism that takes place. And of course, again, God's enemies do this because their Sith Lord Again, notice Nehemiah's response in verse 9. But we prayed and we posted a guard. That little verse I find to be one of the most helpful and insightful with a common problem amongst God's people. When opposition comes or trouble comes or some conflict comes, whatever it might be, there are really, it seems, two kinds of Christians. There are the kinds of Christians who say, we're just going to pray about it. We are going to pray about it. And indeed, they do pray about it. And then you have another group of people. They say, you know what? We're going to post a guard, right? We're weaponizing. We're getting the guns out.They want to do battle. Bring it on, okay? We are going to take practical steps. to take them out. They're more of the sort of practitioner type. So you have the kind of praying types, and you have the kind of post-a-guard types. And what I've seen pastorally, this plays out this way, where you have some people say they're just going to pray about it. I have seen in my ministry, I've seen people, they'll get like, I have cancer. And their response is, I am simply going to pray about this. And I have urged them, I'll say, pray about it, but why not get some medical help and do whatever you can medically as well as praying in order to take care of this problem? And I've seen people who have refused to seek medical advice because in their minds, I think, they think it's more faithful to simply... pray about it. At the other side of this, I have seen often, and I have done this myself, a problem arises and I skip the praying and I go to the posting of the guard stuff. Well, let's just think about how to make this happen.And we're going to do this and we're going to do that and we're going to take care of this and we're going to take care of that. And there's no regard for seeking God. It's like Israel when the Gibeonites faked him out and Joshua said, eh, we won't go to war with you. And then they find out they're the next country over. Why? Because they did not seek the Lord in the matter. And so it seems like there are those two kinds of Christians. And Nehemiah shows the beautiful balance of embracing both of those. What ought we do when we come to some trouble or trial in our life? First thing to do is to pray about it. And we see Nehemiah over and over again. He prays. His instinct is prayer. And for us as Christians, that ought to be our first thing. Hey, let's pray about that right now. Let's seek the Lord about this right now. But when we say amen, it doesn't mean now I don't have to think about anything else. There are all kinds of wisdom and prudent matters that the Bible also talks about.Read through the wisdom literature of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and it's filled with practical advice for faithful living in the real world. We live in a real world where real things have to be taken care of. And the wise Christian and the wise church We'll do both of those. So maybe ask yourself, am I a I'm going to pray about it and then sort of take my hands off kind of person? Or am I a forget about praying about it, get right down to fixing it kind of person? And maybe Nehemiah could inspire us to be both of those. Okay, both of those. An example of both of those would be a dear woman in our church a few weeks ago had a very, very difficult surgery. According to James 5, she asked if the elders would pray over her, and we did. We anointed her with oil, we prayed over her, we prayed over that surgery. And then she went and she had the best medical care that she could possibly find. And to me, that is Nehemiah. Praying about it, posting a guard. A great example, I think, for prudent and prayerful living.The third thing we find happened now, again, an escalation, okay? Taunting, troublemaking, and now we see threats. Look at verse 11. “Also, our enemy said, before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and we'll kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, wherever you turn, they will attack us. Wherever you turn, they will attack us. Wherever you turn, they will attack us. Over. The language here in the Hebrew means over and over and over again. They were saying, they're going to get you. They're going to get you. They're going to kill you. Now, how fun would that be? Right? There you are. You're building a wall. You're hewing out stones. You're piling them up. You're making a wall. And at the same time, you've got some of your own people, cronies of your enemies, who are saying to you, you're going to die. Now, these people realize they didn't know they were Bible characters. Right? They're not in there, oh, this is a Bible story. We're going to be fine. They have no idea. They're living life like you and I live our lives.Would that be an effective, fearful tactic? I mean, what if, as you came in, there's all these people outside of the church going, you walk in there, they're going to kill you. How many of us would go, oh, no problem? No, it would have its effect, wouldn't it? And indeed, it did in that day. It had an effect of discouragement. Word gets out, they're going to kill us. In fact, let's look at that effect. What is the effect of the taunting? And what is the effect of the ridicule? And what is the effect of the troublemaking and the threats? of opposition in this story at this point is discouragement. Look at verse 10 of chapter 4. “In Judah it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” What Nehemiah is recording there is what is the word on the street. What were people saying as they were building the wall? They're looking at all the rubble now and they're saying there's so much rubble. This is weeks after, or days after, Nehemiah said, let's rise and build.Was there more rubble now than there was before? No. But when we are discouraged, everywhere we look, there's rubble, right? Oh, yeah. I'm a little discouraged right now. My whole life stinks. There's rubble everywhere. When we're encouraged, there's no rubble. When we're discouraged, everything's rubble. Are you with me? Remember, I didn't have a good night of sleep, so I have no idea what I'm saying right now. I just hope it's connecting somehow. These words were having their effect in spite of the amazing progress that was being made. This goes down as one of the greatest and most unified team efforts that God's people have ever done. And in spite of this amazing accomplishment, and in the midst of it, You have all of this turmoil and opposition and drama and people actually saying, we're never going to make it. We can't do it. There's too much rubble and too much trouble. The danger, I think, in verbal attacks is we begin to believe what's being said, even when it's not true, right?Do you think, how likely is it that Geshem and Tobiah and Sanballat are going to take their armies against people that the most powerful man in the world said had permission to build this wall? Not very likely that they would do it. But if you hear something enough, you believe it to be true, don't you? If somebody tells you that you're nothing enough or somebody tells you that you can't do it enough or somebody tells you that, you know, your faith is a bunch of hooey because I know the kind of person that you are enough, you begin to believe it and discouragement kind of creeps in and now the progress that you were making, it slows down or stops, right? And you're like, oh, there's so much rubble. Why are we even trying this? We're never going to make it. I wonder if you've lived. In verse 10, have you had your face flush as your nose gotten red all the way to the tip as a colleague or a family member or a neighbor or a former friend or a former spouse tells you what a terrible person you are and questions every character quality in your life?Have you been, in verse 10, discouraged? As a pastor, you know, as a leader of any kind, if you take on any responsibility, expect that you're going to deal with this. I can tell you, I've been a pastor for 22 years. I can think of names that come to my mind of Sanballats of Tobias and Geshams over the years that have said this or that and questioned this or that and on and on and la la la. It's just, it's part of what it means to be a leader. But I know well that sense of discouragement, that deep down thought that I'm a failure or my faith isn't real because this person says they don't think I'm a good Christian, etc. I don't want to ruin the ending here again, but they rebuilt the wall in 52 days. They're halfway done. They're only like three weeks away from the time that Nehemiah said, let's begin rebuilding the wall. This is one of the greatest projects and team efforts in history, yet it was criticized. It was mocked. And this is the danger, I think, of criticism is that it can sap the energy from the most spiritual and noble of efforts.These people were rebuilding the wall to the glory of God. They heard from Nehemiah earlier all the things that Artaxerxes, all the things really that God had done. I mean, what are the chances that the most powerful man in the world is going to come to the aid of the Jews in rebuilding the wall of a city that had rebelled against his predecessor? Why would a king do that? And yet that king came to Nehemiah and the Jews' aid and provided the resources and gave the letter and made all the provisions. I mean, you look at all of that and what can you say? This is a God thing, right? This is a God thing. And yet, in spite of it being a God thing, a little bit of criticism just takes the wind out of the sails. This was tough for Nehemiah. opposition outside, discouragement within. Maybe you're in verse 10 right now, and you can relate to this. It's like, man, you're describing my life here, where I am today on this Sunday. I'm discouraged.And here's where Nehemiah, I think, provides an inspiring and helpful example of how to respond when life brings opposition. to what God is doing and what God wants to do in our life. And I've got four things, four responses that Nehemiah has here and four ways that we can actually experience these oppositions and turn them into actually a kind of joy. And I share these with you not because I do this perfectly or even 75%. This is as much for me as it is for anybody. And we have to be reminded of this because it happens so often in our life. But how do we respond when opposition comes to us? First of all, I think it is so critical that we expect it, that we expect opposition to come. There are some people that think mistakenly that to be a Christian or to be a part of a church, I mean, it's like... where it never is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day. I mean, that's every local church, isn't it? To go there would be just a blissful experience of happy Christians all the time.I'll never have anybody tell me anything but something that's uplifting and encouraging to me. Nothing will ever happen in the church that I don't walk out of there going, I'm so glad I'm a part of that church. I mean, it's just gonna be, it's like heaven on earth. Well, nobody amen'd that. And that's because you all have been in churches and in this church. The reality is, no matter what God is doing, there is always going to be negative opposition, criticism, a discouraging person, a Sanballat, a Tobias, somebody like that. J. Oswald Sanders, great Christian man, wrote a classic book on leadership, said this, “no leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts it and reacts to it.” Do you think that Nehemiah thought to himself as he was on his camel or donkey or walking or however he got from Susa to Jerusalem, you know what, I'm just going to show up there. I'm going to give an inspiring speech. And not only are the Jews going to rally to the cause, but everybody around Jerusalem, they're all going to be happy about this. It's going to be fantastic.My speech will do it. No. He knew what was coming. He knew there would be trouble. Chuck Swindoll, many of you know Chuck Swindoll, says this, “there will always, always be opposition from those who are by nature negative and critical, but the work must go on. Progress should not stop because of a few who were critical of the plan.” I think it's a falsely idealistic perspective on the Christian life to think that it's going to somehow be easy. that I'm going to skate along and everyone's going to be happy with what God is doing in my life. It won't happen. And we can look at examples in the scripture, not just Nehemiah, but Jeremiah certainly faced that. Paul faced that. Well, how about Jesus? I mean, if there was ever a leader who was such an awesome leader that, I mean, everybody would have loved everything that he did and just rallied to him. I mean, everybody would just applaud him and be like, you know, be like Palm Sunday every day of his life, right? No. What happened to our perfect leader, Jesus?Not only were there many people that opposed him, famous now, men like Caiaphas and Pilate and the Pharisees, but even within his own circle. Judas betraying him. The greatest leader who's ever walked this earth, beginning the greatest organization that has ever been begun, the church, faced trouble, didn't he? And opposition. So who are we to think that in our... smaller context and in our own lives that we are going to be able to follow the Lord, fulfill his will for us, and somehow think everybody's going to love it and everybody's going to applaud it. It simply won't happen. In fact, I think if there is a key truth here, it is this one, is that God's will didn't allow the wall to be built without opposition. I mean, could God have rebuilt this wall without Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem? You bet he could have. Could he have rebuilt this wall in some way where everybody thought it was great? You bet that he could have. But it was God's will that there be a Sanballat. It's God's will that there was Tobiah and all the rest. God included that in the plan for Nehemiah and the plan for the rebuilding of the walls.It included the conflict. It included the slander. It included the threats that were made. And I wonder today if you might have a Sanballat in your life. Even as I've been talking about this, there's been somebody coming to mind. And in your heart, you're like, you know, God, if you love me, you will destroy them, right? Because you're not the author of evil, and you don't like evil people, and yet this evil person is in my life. And it seems to me that... this whole thing to work the way that, in my opinion, it ought to work, that person needs to be eliminated. And we try to pray the Sanballats out of our life because we think something's wrong, that they are in our life. And too often we think that with even criticism, right? We think, I must be out of God's will because somebody said something negative. Mrs. So-and-so said something. And so we look at and we listen to so-and-so who says such-and-such about this or that, and we think, well, I must not be a good Christian, or maybe this faith thing isn't true, or maybe I'm out of the will of God.Joe Stowell III, his dad was the first pastor of our church, and he was longtime president of Moody Bible Institute, once said, “in every church I have pastored, God has placed difficult people around me to keep me dependent on him.” Now, I have no idea what he's talking about there in my own personal experience. But there is truth there, isn't it? That opposition is not out of God's will, but it is a part of God's will. And that indeed, God gains greater victory when his people trust him in the midst of trouble and overcome in spite of opposition. that there's a greater glory that comes from that why do you think God created Satan? Did God know when He made him the highest archangel? Did He know the whole story? Indeed, did He purpose the whole story, that Satan was going to rebel against Him and take a third of the demons, or the angels, with him, and that all of this would ensue? Why? Why does God do that? As Luther said, even the devil is God's devil, right?That God uses The taunts and the ridicule and the criticism and all the rest to gain a greater victory and a greater glory. God thought it best that there be a Satan. And we have to look at these kind of situations and realize that apparently God thinks it's best that there's a Sanballat in our life. Now that's a hard thing, isn't it? Because we want them out of there. But God has them and sovereignly places them. in our life. Now, if I might make a very quick tangent here, you may be here and in an honest evaluation, you're not Nehemiah in the story. You're Sanballat. And maybe you're like, you know what? This vindicates my role in this church. Somebody's got to do it. And that somebody is me. We have to realize that while it is God's will for there to be Sanballats, it is never God's will for us to be a Sanballat. And I would call you to change. In fact, you could ask the question, why was Sanballat so upset about this? And this is where conflict reveals the opportunity. of our hearts, doesn't it? Was it about the wall for Sanballat? No, it wasn't about the wall.It was about influence. It was about economy and money. It was about power. And Nehemiah and that wall being reconstituted represented a threat to Sanballat. And that's why he wanted them out. So don't be a Tobiah. Don't be a Geshem. Don't be a Sanballat. We need to expect there to be opposition. And maybe next week, one of you will come up to me and say, I didn't think that sermon was very relevant, but boy, the week I had. And I'll say, good. I don't know if I should say it that way, but hey, you're applying God's word. That's a good thing. Second thing we see here is that Nehemiah provides this wonderful example of prayer, of prayer. Look at verse 4. Look at the first thing that Nehemiah does. It says, Nehemiah prays this, “Hear, O God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.” Now that doesn't sound like a very loving prayer.And if you read through the Psalms, there are Psalms that are known as imprecatory Psalms where David writes psalms that sound sort of like that, you know, where he is praying God's justice and wrath down upon his enemies. I'm not into the content of the prayer as much as I am in the fact that he prayed. And we see that pattern. Verses 6 through 8, there's troublemaking and scheming. What is Nehemiah's response? Verse 9, but we prayed to our God. When we face opposition, that has been sovereignly brought into our life by God, why would prayer be an effective strategy? Because if this person or this opposition is in my life by the sovereign hand of God, when I pray, I'm talking to the right person about the issue. I'm talking to the person who has the power to mediate the situation and to mitigate it and to take it away if he wants or to do whatever, but I'm praying to the right person. I'm praying to God. I wonder, the Sanballat in your life that I referred to earlier, have you prayed about this person? Have you prayed about this situation? Have you gone to the Lord in prayer?The example of Nehemiah throughout the whole story is that trouble comes, trouble comes, trouble comes. Nehemiah's response, he prays, he prays, he prays, he prays. It's a book on prayer. And that prayer in response to trouble. And we don't, I think, naturally do that. Naturally, we want to post the guard, right? We want to man up. We want to soldier up. We want to go take care of business. We want to take care of this person. We want to fight back. We want to sort of Mike Tyson in his prime. But Nehemiah begins with prayer. I would call you to pray. You say, ah, it's just Nehemiah. What did Jesus do? What did Jesus do the week of his passion when he knew what was coming? You say, well, he knew it was coming. Why pray about it, right? I mean, if you know it's coming, you can ask God all you want, but it's coming anyway, so what's the point? And yet he prayed. He prayed in Gethsemane. He prayed even on the cross. His last words were prayers.And if that doesn't eloquently show us the importance of prayer, especially when we are in trouble, and we have people in our church who are in trouble. Life has brought trouble. Life has brought pain. And prayer sometimes is like, oh yeah, we prayed. No, this is a key part of how Christians respond to trouble. We go to God. We open our hearts to him. We ask for his help. We pray about the Sanballat. We pray that that good work that God wants, may that refining work be done. I want to be that goal that is purified. I don't want to waste this trial. I don't want to waste my cancer. I don't want to waste this. unemployment. I don't want to waste this conflict with a fellow Christian. I want it to have its good effect and to embrace that and to tell God that. I wonder, do you do that, friend? One thing I've noticed when I've been dealing with a kind of Sanballat situation, you know, my natural instinct is to pray that God would take them out, right?But I find that when I pray for that person, especially if they're a fellow believer, When I pray for that person, I find a little impulse of charity towards them. Have you noticed this? It's hard to pray for somebody and hate them at the same time. I find that when I pray for that person, it's a little step towards the command to love your enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use you, Romans 12. Give that a try. You're like, I don't want to pray for this person. Try it. Pray that God's will would be done in their life. Pray that even their taunts and their ridicule and their criticism, whatever 1% gain that your spiritual life could have from it, say, God, I want that 1% gain. What they're saying is evil and their motives, I believe, to be bad. But whatever good can come from it in my life, I want that. And I find that when I get my heart around to praying that way, it has a way of restoring some encouragement. And when you're discouraged, what do you need? You need encouragement. Pray. Keep praying. The third thing is to prepare for it.And I've said this before, but notice that even in this chapter, Nehemiah, he doesn't simply pray, but he takes actions to meet the opposition. Back to the text again a second, verse 9. But we prayed and posted a guard. In verse 13, it says that Nehemiah armed the workers so they could respond to an attack. Now, there might have been someone going, you're not a man of faith. Why are you giving us swords? And he's like, I prayed and I'm giving you swords. In verses 16 through 18, he had workers work with a chisel in one hand and a sword in the other. Does that mean he wasn't a man of faith? He brought a trumpeter with him. And the idea was that if there was attack anywhere on the wall, they would blow the trumpet and everyone would rush to that place in order to engage the fight. He had people work in the low spots in the wall in verses 12 through 15. Now, why do you think Nehemiah would have people working in the low spots? Where do you think an attack would most likely happen? In the high spots or in the low spots?It seems to me it'd be the low spots, and that's what Nehemiah thought as well. And he had people in verse 22. He said, everyone stays in the city until the wall is done. What do we see there? Practical wisdom, okay? He got prepared for the opposition. I think we ought to expect it. We ought to pray for those who oppose it. Oppose us, but we also must be prudent and wise in responding to it. And the fourth thing here, and this is really, I would say, the most helpful, is that after we've prayed about it, after we have prepared for it, we've expected it, we know it's coming, here's the final point. Look at verses 19 and 20, what Nehemiah says. “I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, the work is great and widely spread and we are separated on the wall for far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.” Here's the key phrase. “Our God will fight for us.” Nehemiah was a practical man. Nehemiah was a prayerful man.But Nehemiah was also a man who understood that in the end, the battle is the Lord's. And that bottom line for us has to be our bottom line, because all of our praying and all of our prudency, and I don't know if that's a word, but all of our, you know, sort of strategizing, in the end will feel superficial to us if our anchor and if our sort of our bottom line is not the God who has made promises to us. that he will fight for us, that he will come to our aid. And of course, as Christians, what do we know? We know the end of the story, don't we? You can read Revelation. At the end of the story, there is no opposition, there is no authority, there is no power that stands against the king of kings and lord of lords who comes riding out in that white horse. And he is going to return, and every enemy, Satan, included is going to go under his feet and in the end, Philippians 2, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.We know the end of this story is that God wins, and because we are God's children, we win with Him. And our walls may build or not, our troubles may come or go, our critics may say or not, but in the end, we know that with the Lord, we win. Our God will fight for us, and faith is the victory that overcomes the world. But we are living now in this time where we have to We have the tension between what we know to be true by the promise of God and the realization of that. And the Bible says that in this world, you're going to have trouble, right? You are going to have trouble. New Christian, it is going to be hard. Do not be discouraged by the trouble that comes and the critics that come and the opposition that comes. You're going to have people that are going to say things to you. You might even have people in this church that are going to discourage you in some manner. But we cannot have our hope in the people of this church or in the critic changing his mind or coming around and saying, you know what, I was mistaken.You really are a wonderful person. Can I hug you? It's not likely to happen. Our hope is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.” Psalm 121. And as God's people, when we face these temporary trials, which are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all, we look at that trial and we look even at that person, that Sanballat, and we see them as temporary in light of the big picture. And “though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.” Martin Luther. A mighty fortress is our God. And on and on. I mean, there's songs and verses. This is where real life is lived. It's in the trenches and in the troubles. And this is how God refines us. And when I can see that this is how God does it, then I can even embrace the tough times and to see that there is good that comes from it. You say, oh, that's not true. Let's look to the cross of Christ. I've got one behind me.If there is one great example of how God uses the taunts, the ridicule, the betrayals, the enemies of God and all of their schemings to do an ultimate good, it is the cross of Christ, the perfect person, the perfect leader, the perfect sacrifice, killed at the hands of Satan and all his minions, and yet the greatest wrong producing the greatest good and glory. And our lives are little microcosms of that grand narrative. And you might not have a Caiaphas, you might not have a Pilate, it may not even be a, it's not the Sith Lord you're dealing with, it's General Grievous, or some lesser situation. But all of them are a part of a temporary trouble, but an ultimate victory. I heard somebody one time say, You know, for unbelievers, this life is the best that they'll ever experience. But for Christians, this is the worst that we will ever experience. The future is bright. The future is glorious. And we live in light of that in the troubles and the trials of today. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” That wasn't in the Bible when Nehemiah lived, but I think it might be today his favorite verse.And he lived it out very well. And I hope that we will as well as a church. And those are just some words from a tired pastor. I don't know if they connected at all. And when I get up from my nap, I'll wonder what I said this morning. But maybe God will use them, and I hope that he does. Let's stand together. I'd like to pray and give a final benediction.This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

On Episode 278, we discuss the deeper meanings of the final scene of The Clone Wars.  -Why did Ahsoka leave her lightsaber?  -Why does Anakin ignite and keep the lightsaber?  -How does this scene tie in to other Star Wars media?  -How did this scene contribute to Darth Vader's eventual redemption?  We start the show with a listener email and updates on our upcoming panels at Fan X. We would be honored if you would join us! Facebook: Idiot's Array Podcast Email: idiotsarraypodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @idiotsarraypodcast  

Steve DeWitt The Joy of Opposition - Part A Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, Nehemiah 4:1-23 Scripture Reference: Nehemiah 4:1-23 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, Nehemiah 4:1-23 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: The Joy of OppositionAirdate: 9/18-9/21/26Programs: 2360 and 2361Morning, Bethel Church, and this is our challenging weekend with Daylight Savings. I said, or I just was thinking about our first service people today, that those are the really early risers to show up at the 815 on the spring ahead weekend of Daylight Savings. You're sort of more the hoi polloi, the sort of the normal folks, and we'll see who comes to the next service. I stand before you as a tired man. My daughter was up throughout most of the night, and I'm running on fumes today. So I say that to you in some way to mitigate my guilt for something stupid that I might say, because my eyes are like rolling in my head, I feel like today. So we'll get through the morning and go home and take a really good nap. And you parents who've been there, you know how I'm feeling today. I do want to greet our Cedar Lake campus this morning, and thank you so much for joining with us. Our Hobart Portage campus, which is not in this service with us, but are next week celebrating their... grand opening. I can say our grand opening. We're just one church. Really excited about that.So if you happen to just remember that in prayer, we've got a lot of work that's gone into kind of kicking that off, and I've seen the plans, and it's really going to be a great weekend next weekend over there. And how often do you, you know, grand open a new campus? You know, like, well, we've done it twice in the last six months, but we don't know how many more ever in the future, so we want to celebrate that, and we're going to next week. Today, we're going to stay in the stream of our teaching in 1 Peter without being exactly in 1 Peter. We've seen in 1 Peter this focus on trials. That trials are meant by God to reveal and to refine us. We look at them often as being bad things. God looks at them as being good things because of the effect that they have. And 1 Peter is written to people that are in exile, that are experiencing opposition.They're experiencing... ostracization, and Peter encourages them to see even those things as being part of God's refining fire, that work that he works in us, and to embrace them, not as being bad things, but in the end ultimately good things. So today I want to take a little break from 1 Peter and to look at one particular kind of trial that we so often run into as individuals and as a church. And that is just the trials of opposition, the trials of opposition. And my title is The Joy of Opposition, which sounds oxymoronic, right? Who looks at opposition and goes, yay, we don't naturally do that. There is from Scripture and from the teaching of Scripture every reason for us to even look at opposition as being something that we can rejoice in. James, of course, says, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations”, and that includes the trials of opposition. We all face opposition, don't we? Maybe as I say that, names come to mind. Perhaps that person is sitting next to you today. and try not to be poking them throughout the sermon, especially if you're married.But we all face opposition, and we have to know how to respond to it if we're ever going to make it through these trials that God brings our way and these people that God puts in our path. How should we respond to opposition? And Nehemiah is just a fantastic... book and a fantastic story about a man who suffered great opposition and who not only endured it, but who goes down in history as a great example of somebody going through it in a way that honors the Lord. And so... is that Nehemiah hears that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and remained in that condition. He was serving King Artaxerxes in Susa, the capital of Persia, and he hears that Jerusalem is still in ruins, the wall is still in ruins, and he has a burden for that. He offers a prayer, and God blesses that prayer, and King Artaxerxes says, Nehemiah, you can go, and I'm going to... the thing. I'm going to provide what you need for this thing. I'm given a letter that ought to get you all the way there. And he was the most powerful man in the world at the time. And so that was like a huge endorsement.And so Nehemiah, he goes to Jerusalem and he inspects the walls and he gathers the Jews and he says, listen, my friends, let's rise and let us rebuild this wall. And Nehemiah is this amazing story of how a people that, you know, they weren't naturally masons and builders, but they come together and they accomplish this amazing feat of rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. And in the midst of all of this success, there is chapter 4 where there is trouble. There's trouble. Even in the midst of a great success, there's trouble. And it seems to me, my observation would be, and even my own experience, that whenever God is really doing something, whether that be in somebody's life, a new Christian, or maybe some victories that you've had spiritually in your life, or maybe it's your small group, or even a church or a mission work, wherever God is really moving, so often when there is a lot of momentum, something will happen or somebody will come or there'll be some sort of criticism that steps into that moment and can so easily derail the entire thing. And that's what Nehemiah faced.And I'd like to begin in our little study here of chapter four by looking at the strategies that the opponents of Nehemiah employed against him. So let me introduce you to the bad guys, okay? These are the bad guys. And their names are notorious, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. These were three kings of small kingdoms that surrounded Jerusalem. And they represent the opposition to the Jews rebuilding this. wall. We're introduced to them in chapter 2 verse 10 where they first hear that Nehemiah has come to rebuild the wall and the text tells us that they are displeased greatly. And they begin then to wage a kind of psychological war against Nehemiah. That continues throughout the story. Even after chapter 4, it's not the end of it, because as the story unfolds, they write an open letter, you know, a kind of assassination of Nehemiah's character. They post it on Facebook for everybody to see what this guy was really all about and what his motives were and questioning those. Later, they want to meet him in the fields of Ono. And when your enemies want to meet you in the fields of Ono, you say to them, Oh, no, I am not going to go there.They wanted to kill him. And so these guys were serious about this. And Sanballat is the ringleader. Tobiah is kind of... his sidekick, and Geshem was the schemer behind the scenes that was doing his scheming. This might help a little bit. Sanballat was the Sith Lord, Tobiah was Darth Vader, and Geshem was General Grievous, just to give some communication to some of you. Now, these guys surrounded Jerusalem. Their kingdoms surrounded Jerusalem. Maybe you're in a situation like that right now as I talk about opposition. You feel like you've got it on all sides. I got nowhere to go. There's no safe zone for me. There's no green zone for me. Everywhere I look, it seems like I've got opposition against me. That's what Nehemiah was facing. Everybody around them wanted them out of there. Now, these men couldn't attack Nehemiah directly because, remember, Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, the king of really the world at that time, had endorsed the project. So to come out overtly and to say, we're going to take you on, we're going to take you down, would have been in opposition to Artaxerxes. And even these guys didn't want to mess with Artaxerxes.So their strategy really is one more of cloak and dagger. All right, this is espionage. This is insinuation. It's the psychological guerrilla warfare that they employ against God's people in the rebuilding of this wall. So what are the strategies that they employ? Well, notice, first of all, that they begin where every schoolyard begins, and that is with taunting and with ridicule. Look at verse 1. “Now, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, He was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burn ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, yes, what they're building, if a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.” Emphasis added for effect, okay? So here you have Sanballat now. He's the ringleader. He's the spokesperson. He's the Sith Lord. And he begins by ridiculing the effort that these Jews are doing in rebuilding the wall.And the text literally says this. It says that he became very angry. Literally, his nose became hot. This is a Hebrew idiom for when somebody is really mad. It's like the blood. They get red in the face all the way to the end of their nose. Like if you see a guy who's red all the way to the end of their nose, he's mad, right? And that's Sanballat. He's mad to the end of his nose, mad. And so he begins by taunting them. And visualize this with me. He gathers his cronies, he gathers the army of Samaria, and he begins to jeer the Jews in a way that he knows they're going to hear what he is saying, and he begins to mock them. And this sounds like, you know, the local elementary schoolyard, or maybe an IU-Purdue football game, because he begins by saying this. He says, these feeble Jews. Okay, what's that? Name-calling, right? They're wimpy. They've got nothing. He derides their ambition. Will they restore the wall? In other words, this project's a joke. Come on. Putting this whole thing together. He ridicules their optimism. He says, what are they going to do? Pray the wall up? They can't build this wall.All they have is their prayers. He mocks their enthusiasm. He says, well, they finish in a day. Word had gotten out that they were busy little beavers working so hard on the wall. All of their enthusiasm. Do they really think they can do this thing? I mean, come on. He undermines their confidence. Can they bring the stones back to life? In other words, they can't do it. They can't. Do it. And if you can visualize this, here's all these people, and they hate the Jews. They're not for this wall going back up. And every one of these that he says, all the guys, you know, they've been drinking. Think of a sort of a drunken sort of mob scene where they're all, wow, no Jews, and they can't do it. And so it kind of is building a Sanballat, kind of does this and does that. And I don't know if you've ever been in a situation where somebody tells a really good joke and somebody else thinks it's a great time to pile on. Or jump on the bandwagon. There's not a lot of humor in the Bible, but this is one of them, actually.Sanballat very effectively rolls out these ridicules, and there's Tobiah. He thinks it's a great time to jump in, and he goes, yeah, if a fox ran on the wall, it would fall down. I hear everyone going, oh, Tobiah, that's so stupid. Why would you say something like that? And we know from history and archaeology that it is stupid. They've done studies of the wall that Nehemiah built. It was nine feet thick. That would be a big fox. Knock that wall down. The point here is that he wasn't saying this for the armies, and he wasn't saying this for his cronies. He was saying this hoping the Jews would hear it, hoping they'd hear the mockery and the laughter. You know, the old adage in the schoolyard is, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. You've heard that before. You've probably said that. And the fact that you have to resort on the schoolyard to poetry ought to say that words are effective at discouraging us, aren't they? And even as adults, a little contrary word, a little criticism, a little taunt, a little mockery, and inside we can suddenly become so fleshly, we can be discouraged.And that is always the case. Words are effective. Now, why do you suppose Sanballat began with ridicule? Why not just march the armies out there and just take them all on? Because what is Satan? He's known as the father of what? Lies. Satan is the master of the subtlety. He's the master of the insinuation. We see that with Adam and Eve, or with Eve specifically in the garden, as he just twists the words and he plays with the mind. Those that Satan controls and follow his path, they do the same thing. Satan knows that he doesn't have to get a good Christian to deny the virgin birth or the fact that Jesus is coming back. All he has to do is discourage him a little bit. And with that discouragement, the good work that God's doing in them or the good work that God's doing through them, all of a sudden, it can come to a halt. Why? I'm so discouraged. And maybe you're there right now. You're rejoicing in what God's done in the past, but right now you're discouraged and somebody said something. Something's going on.This person's in my life. I got a Sanballat. I got a Tobiah. And you're just thinking, oh, that's the way the enemy operates. How should we respond? Notice how Nehemiah responds in verse 4 and verse 6. I won't read them, but in both cases, he prays. Now, I never saw anybody in the schoolyard do that. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray over these words that you've said. It's not our natural response, is it? have an example here from Nehemiah, I'll come back to this later, in how to respond to criticism and opposition. Go to God in prayer. And notice what he adds after verse 6. He says that the response of the people was that they worked even harder. And the text says they worked because they had a heart to work. I love that little phrase there. And as I read that, you know what I think about? I honestly think about Bethel Church.One of the qualities of this church that I love so much is that this is a church that has a heart to work. And I've seen that over the years. I can think of just even recent examples of moments where it just comes pouring out. A year ago right now, we said, hey, we bought this building in Gary. We got a clean 30 or 40,000 square feet. Y'all come out now. And I know a terrible cold, I mean, I-65 was a sheet of ice. I know because I drove down it. You know, we had 400 people, volunteers that showed up and we scrubbed every inch of that building. And I saw the way that people were working and laboring and sweating and all of that. No pay for God, you know, that kind of a thing. And I just admire that so much. And like the, you know, a month ago we said, hey. somebody's given us two gym floors, come pull planks. Nobody wakes up in the morning and goes, I think I'm going to pull planks today.But we had all these people that showed up and they pulled planks all day and they got blisters and sore backs, but they did it to the glory of God. Why? Because they had a heart to work. And I just think about our church and even the day-to-day kind of week-to-week ministries, I think it's a wonderful quality of our congregation. We're good at building walls. and projects, and just having a heart to work for the Lord, and I commend you for it. So look at that verse and go, that's us right there. We're just like them. Encouraged? I want to be encouraging. The second thing that we find the enemy doing is, and you see how these escalate, okay? Escalates. Ridicule doesn't work, the people just work harder. So they amp it up now in verse 7 and 8, and they just seek to make trouble. But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. Now before they were greatly disturbed, greatly upset, now they are really mad. And what do they do?And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. The second thing that opposition will do when the ridicule doesn't work is they will just seek to do mischief. They will seek to do something that can frustrate the plans. They'll plot. They'll come together and strategize against the work of God. They will gossip. They will slander. They'll do whatever they can to create trouble. It's a kind of verbal terrorism that takes place. And of course, again, God's enemies do this because their Sith Lord Again, notice Nehemiah's response in verse 9. But we prayed and we posted a guard. That little verse I find to be one of the most helpful and insightful with a common problem amongst God's people. When opposition comes or trouble comes or some conflict comes, whatever it might be, there are really, it seems, two kinds of Christians. There are the kinds of Christians who say, we're just going to pray about it. We are going to pray about it. And indeed, they do pray about it. And then you have another group of people. They say, you know what? We're going to post a guard, right? We're weaponizing. We're getting the guns out.They want to do battle. Bring it on, okay? We are going to take practical steps. to take them out. They're more of the sort of practitioner type. So you have the kind of praying types, and you have the kind of post-a-guard types. And what I've seen pastorally, this plays out this way, where you have some people say they're just going to pray about it. I have seen in my ministry, I've seen people, they'll get like, I have cancer. And their response is, I am simply going to pray about this. And I have urged them, I'll say, pray about it, but why not get some medical help and do whatever you can medically as well as praying in order to take care of this problem? And I've seen people who have refused to seek medical advice because in their minds, I think, they think it's more faithful to simply... pray about it. At the other side of this, I have seen often, and I have done this myself, a problem arises and I skip the praying and I go to the posting of the guard stuff. Well, let's just think about how to make this happen.And we're going to do this and we're going to do that and we're going to take care of this and we're going to take care of that. And there's no regard for seeking God. It's like Israel when the Gibeonites faked him out and Joshua said, eh, we won't go to war with you. And then they find out they're the next country over. Why? Because they did not seek the Lord in the matter. And so it seems like there are those two kinds of Christians. And Nehemiah shows the beautiful balance of embracing both of those. What ought we do when we come to some trouble or trial in our life? First thing to do is to pray about it. And we see Nehemiah over and over again. He prays. His instinct is prayer. And for us as Christians, that ought to be our first thing. Hey, let's pray about that right now. Let's seek the Lord about this right now. But when we say amen, it doesn't mean now I don't have to think about anything else. There are all kinds of wisdom and prudent matters that the Bible also talks about.Read through the wisdom literature of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and it's filled with practical advice for faithful living in the real world. We live in a real world where real things have to be taken care of. And the wise Christian and the wise church We'll do both of those. So maybe ask yourself, am I a I'm going to pray about it and then sort of take my hands off kind of person? Or am I a forget about praying about it, get right down to fixing it kind of person? And maybe Nehemiah could inspire us to be both of those. Okay, both of those. An example of both of those would be a dear woman in our church a few weeks ago had a very, very difficult surgery. According to James 5, she asked if the elders would pray over her, and we did. We anointed her with oil, we prayed over her, we prayed over that surgery. And then she went and she had the best medical care that she could possibly find. And to me, that is Nehemiah. Praying about it, posting a guard. A great example, I think, for prudent and prayerful living.The third thing we find happened now, again, an escalation, okay? Taunting, troublemaking, and now we see threats. Look at verse 11. “Also, our enemy said, before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and we'll kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, wherever you turn, they will attack us. Wherever you turn, they will attack us. Wherever you turn, they will attack us. Over. The language here in the Hebrew means over and over and over again. They were saying, they're going to get you. They're going to get you. They're going to kill you. Now, how fun would that be? Right? There you are. You're building a wall. You're hewing out stones. You're piling them up. You're making a wall. And at the same time, you've got some of your own people, cronies of your enemies, who are saying to you, you're going to die. Now, these people realize they didn't know they were Bible characters. Right? They're not in there, oh, this is a Bible story. We're going to be fine. They have no idea. They're living life like you and I live our lives.Would that be an effective, fearful tactic? I mean, what if, as you came in, there's all these people outside of the church going, you walk in there, they're going to kill you. How many of us would go, oh, no problem? No, it would have its effect, wouldn't it? And indeed, it did in that day. It had an effect of discouragement. Word gets out, they're going to kill us. In fact, let's look at that effect. What is the effect of the taunting? And what is the effect of the ridicule? And what is the effect of the troublemaking and the threats? of opposition in this story at this point is discouragement. Look at verse 10 of chapter 4. “In Judah it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” What Nehemiah is recording there is what is the word on the street. What were people saying as they were building the wall? They're looking at all the rubble now and they're saying there's so much rubble. This is weeks after, or days after, Nehemiah said, let's rise and build.Was there more rubble now than there was before? No. But when we are discouraged, everywhere we look, there's rubble, right? Oh, yeah. I'm a little discouraged right now. My whole life stinks. There's rubble everywhere. When we're encouraged, there's no rubble. When we're discouraged, everything's rubble. Are you with me? Remember, I didn't have a good night of sleep, so I have no idea what I'm saying right now. I just hope it's connecting somehow. These words were having their effect in spite of the amazing progress that was being made. This goes down as one of the greatest and most unified team efforts that God's people have ever done. And in spite of this amazing accomplishment, and in the midst of it, You have all of this turmoil and opposition and drama and people actually saying, we're never going to make it. We can't do it. There's too much rubble and too much trouble. The danger, I think, in verbal attacks is we begin to believe what's being said, even when it's not true, right?Do you think, how likely is it that Geshem and Tobiah and Sanballat are going to take their armies against people that the most powerful man in the world said had permission to build this wall? Not very likely that they would do it. But if you hear something enough, you believe it to be true, don't you? If somebody tells you that you're nothing enough or somebody tells you that you can't do it enough or somebody tells you that, you know, your faith is a bunch of hooey because I know the kind of person that you are enough, you begin to believe it and discouragement kind of creeps in and now the progress that you were making, it slows down or stops, right? And you're like, oh, there's so much rubble. Why are we even trying this? We're never going to make it. I wonder if you've lived. In verse 10, have you had your face flush as your nose gotten red all the way to the tip as a colleague or a family member or a neighbor or a former friend or a former spouse tells you what a terrible person you are and questions every character quality in your life?Have you been, in verse 10, discouraged? As a pastor, you know, as a leader of any kind, if you take on any responsibility, expect that you're going to deal with this. I can tell you, I've been a pastor for 22 years. I can think of names that come to my mind of Sanballats of Tobias and Geshams over the years that have said this or that and questioned this or that and on and on and la la la. It's just, it's part of what it means to be a leader. But I know well that sense of discouragement, that deep down thought that I'm a failure or my faith isn't real because this person says they don't think I'm a good Christian, etc. I don't want to ruin the ending here again, but they rebuilt the wall in 52 days. They're halfway done. They're only like three weeks away from the time that Nehemiah said, let's begin rebuilding the wall. This is one of the greatest projects and team efforts in history, yet it was criticized. It was mocked. And this is the danger, I think, of criticism is that it can sap the energy from the most spiritual and noble of efforts.These people were rebuilding the wall to the glory of God. They heard from Nehemiah earlier all the things that Artaxerxes, all the things really that God had done. I mean, what are the chances that the most powerful man in the world is going to come to the aid of the Jews in rebuilding the wall of a city that had rebelled against his predecessor? Why would a king do that? And yet that king came to Nehemiah and the Jews' aid and provided the resources and gave the letter and made all the provisions. I mean, you look at all of that and what can you say? This is a God thing, right? This is a God thing. And yet, in spite of it being a God thing, a little bit of criticism just takes the wind out of the sails. This was tough for Nehemiah. opposition outside, discouragement within. Maybe you're in verse 10 right now, and you can relate to this. It's like, man, you're describing my life here, where I am today on this Sunday. I'm discouraged.And here's where Nehemiah, I think, provides an inspiring and helpful example of how to respond when life brings opposition. to what God is doing and what God wants to do in our life. And I've got four things, four responses that Nehemiah has here and four ways that we can actually experience these oppositions and turn them into actually a kind of joy. And I share these with you not because I do this perfectly or even 75%. This is as much for me as it is for anybody. And we have to be reminded of this because it happens so often in our life. But how do we respond when opposition comes to us? First of all, I think it is so critical that we expect it, that we expect opposition to come. There are some people that think mistakenly that to be a Christian or to be a part of a church, I mean, it's like... where it never is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day. I mean, that's every local church, isn't it? To go there would be just a blissful experience of happy Christians all the time.I'll never have anybody tell me anything but something that's uplifting and encouraging to me. Nothing will ever happen in the church that I don't walk out of there going, I'm so glad I'm a part of that church. I mean, it's just gonna be, it's like heaven on earth. Well, nobody amen'd that. And that's because you all have been in churches and in this church. The reality is, no matter what God is doing, there is always going to be negative opposition, criticism, a discouraging person, a Sanballat, a Tobias, somebody like that. J. Oswald Sanders, great Christian man, wrote a classic book on leadership, said this, “no leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts it and reacts to it.” Do you think that Nehemiah thought to himself as he was on his camel or donkey or walking or however he got from Susa to Jerusalem, you know what, I'm just going to show up there. I'm going to give an inspiring speech. And not only are the Jews going to rally to the cause, but everybody around Jerusalem, they're all going to be happy about this. It's going to be fantastic.My speech will do it. No. He knew what was coming. He knew there would be trouble. Chuck Swindoll, many of you know Chuck Swindoll, says this, “there will always, always be opposition from those who are by nature negative and critical, but the work must go on. Progress should not stop because of a few who were critical of the plan.” I think it's a falsely idealistic perspective on the Christian life to think that it's going to somehow be easy. that I'm going to skate along and everyone's going to be happy with what God is doing in my life. It won't happen. And we can look at examples in the scripture, not just Nehemiah, but Jeremiah certainly faced that. Paul faced that. Well, how about Jesus? I mean, if there was ever a leader who was such an awesome leader that, I mean, everybody would have loved everything that he did and just rallied to him. I mean, everybody would just applaud him and be like, you know, be like Palm Sunday every day of his life, right? No. What happened to our perfect leader, Jesus?Not only were there many people that opposed him, famous now, men like Caiaphas and Pilate and the Pharisees, but even within his own circle. Judas betraying him. The greatest leader who's ever walked this earth, beginning the greatest organization that has ever been begun, the church, faced trouble, didn't he? And opposition. So who are we to think that in our... smaller context and in our own lives that we are going to be able to follow the Lord, fulfill his will for us, and somehow think everybody's going to love it and everybody's going to applaud it. It simply won't happen. In fact, I think if there is a key truth here, it is this one, is that God's will didn't allow the wall to be built without opposition. I mean, could God have rebuilt this wall without Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem? You bet he could have. Could he have rebuilt this wall in some way where everybody thought it was great? You bet that he could have. But it was God's will that there be a Sanballat. It's God's will that there was Tobiah and all the rest. God included that in the plan for Nehemiah and the plan for the rebuilding of the walls.It included the conflict. It included the slander. It included the threats that were made. And I wonder today if you might have a Sanballat in your life. Even as I've been talking about this, there's been somebody coming to mind. And in your heart, you're like, you know, God, if you love me, you will destroy them, right? Because you're not the author of evil, and you don't like evil people, and yet this evil person is in my life. And it seems to me that... this whole thing to work the way that, in my opinion, it ought to work, that person needs to be eliminated. And we try to pray the Sanballats out of our life because we think something's wrong, that they are in our life. And too often we think that with even criticism, right? We think, I must be out of God's will because somebody said something negative. Mrs. So-and-so said something. And so we look at and we listen to so-and-so who says such-and-such about this or that, and we think, well, I must not be a good Christian, or maybe this faith thing isn't true, or maybe I'm out of the will of God.Joe Stowell III, his dad was the first pastor of our church, and he was longtime president of Moody Bible Institute, once said, “in every church I have pastored, God has placed difficult people around me to keep me dependent on him.” Now, I have no idea what he's talking about there in my own personal experience. But there is truth there, isn't it? That opposition is not out of God's will, but it is a part of God's will. And that indeed, God gains greater victory when his people trust him in the midst of trouble and overcome in spite of opposition. that there's a greater glory that comes from that why do you think God created Satan? Did God know when He made him the highest archangel? Did He know the whole story? Indeed, did He purpose the whole story, that Satan was going to rebel against Him and take a third of the demons, or the angels, with him, and that all of this would ensue? Why? Why does God do that? As Luther said, even the devil is God's devil, right?That God uses The taunts and the ridicule and the criticism and all the rest to gain a greater victory and a greater glory. God thought it best that there be a Satan. And we have to look at these kind of situations and realize that apparently God thinks it's best that there's a Sanballat in our life. Now that's a hard thing, isn't it? Because we want them out of there. But God has them and sovereignly places them. in our life. Now, if I might make a very quick tangent here, you may be here and in an honest evaluation, you're not Nehemiah in the story. You're Sanballat. And maybe you're like, you know what? This vindicates my role in this church. Somebody's got to do it. And that somebody is me. We have to realize that while it is God's will for there to be Sanballats, it is never God's will for us to be a Sanballat. And I would call you to change. In fact, you could ask the question, why was Sanballat so upset about this? And this is where conflict reveals the opportunity. of our hearts, doesn't it? Was it about the wall for Sanballat? No, it wasn't about the wall.It was about influence. It was about economy and money. It was about power. And Nehemiah and that wall being reconstituted represented a threat to Sanballat. And that's why he wanted them out. So don't be a Tobiah. Don't be a Geshem. Don't be a Sanballat. We need to expect there to be opposition. And maybe next week, one of you will come up to me and say, I didn't think that sermon was very relevant, but boy, the week I had. And I'll say, good. I don't know if I should say it that way, but hey, you're applying God's word. That's a good thing. Second thing we see here is that Nehemiah provides this wonderful example of prayer, of prayer. Look at verse 4. Look at the first thing that Nehemiah does. It says, Nehemiah prays this, “Hear, O God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.” Now that doesn't sound like a very loving prayer.And if you read through the Psalms, there are Psalms that are known as imprecatory Psalms where David writes psalms that sound sort of like that, you know, where he is praying God's justice and wrath down upon his enemies. I'm not into the content of the prayer as much as I am in the fact that he prayed. And we see that pattern. Verses 6 through 8, there's troublemaking and scheming. What is Nehemiah's response? Verse 9, but we prayed to our God. When we face opposition, that has been sovereignly brought into our life by God, why would prayer be an effective strategy? Because if this person or this opposition is in my life by the sovereign hand of God, when I pray, I'm talking to the right person about the issue. I'm talking to the person who has the power to mediate the situation and to mitigate it and to take it away if he wants or to do whatever, but I'm praying to the right person. I'm praying to God. I wonder, the Sanballat in your life that I referred to earlier, have you prayed about this person? Have you prayed about this situation? Have you gone to the Lord in prayer?The example of Nehemiah throughout the whole story is that trouble comes, trouble comes, trouble comes. Nehemiah's response, he prays, he prays, he prays, he prays. It's a book on prayer. And that prayer in response to trouble. And we don't, I think, naturally do that. Naturally, we want to post the guard, right? We want to man up. We want to soldier up. We want to go take care of business. We want to take care of this person. We want to fight back. We want to sort of Mike Tyson in his prime. But Nehemiah begins with prayer. I would call you to pray. You say, ah, it's just Nehemiah. What did Jesus do? What did Jesus do the week of his passion when he knew what was coming? You say, well, he knew it was coming. Why pray about it, right? I mean, if you know it's coming, you can ask God all you want, but it's coming anyway, so what's the point? And yet he prayed. He prayed in Gethsemane. He prayed even on the cross. His last words were prayers.And if that doesn't eloquently show us the importance of prayer, especially when we are in trouble, and we have people in our church who are in trouble. Life has brought trouble. Life has brought pain. And prayer sometimes is like, oh yeah, we prayed. No, this is a key part of how Christians respond to trouble. We go to God. We open our hearts to him. We ask for his help. We pray about the Sanballat. We pray that that good work that God wants, may that refining work be done. I want to be that goal that is purified. I don't want to waste this trial. I don't want to waste my cancer. I don't want to waste this. unemployment. I don't want to waste this conflict with a fellow Christian. I want it to have its good effect and to embrace that and to tell God that. I wonder, do you do that, friend? One thing I've noticed when I've been dealing with a kind of Sanballat situation, you know, my natural instinct is to pray that God would take them out, right?But I find that when I pray for that person, especially if they're a fellow believer, When I pray for that person, I find a little impulse of charity towards them. Have you noticed this? It's hard to pray for somebody and hate them at the same time. I find that when I pray for that person, it's a little step towards the command to love your enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use you, Romans 12. Give that a try. You're like, I don't want to pray for this person. Try it. Pray that God's will would be done in their life. Pray that even their taunts and their ridicule and their criticism, whatever 1% gain that your spiritual life could have from it, say, God, I want that 1% gain. What they're saying is evil and their motives, I believe, to be bad. But whatever good can come from it in my life, I want that. And I find that when I get my heart around to praying that way, it has a way of restoring some encouragement. And when you're discouraged, what do you need? You need encouragement. Pray. Keep praying. The third thing is to prepare for it.And I've said this before, but notice that even in this chapter, Nehemiah, he doesn't simply pray, but he takes actions to meet the opposition. Back to the text again a second, verse 9. But we prayed and posted a guard. In verse 13, it says that Nehemiah armed the workers so they could respond to an attack. Now, there might have been someone going, you're not a man of faith. Why are you giving us swords? And he's like, I prayed and I'm giving you swords. In verses 16 through 18, he had workers work with a chisel in one hand and a sword in the other. Does that mean he wasn't a man of faith? He brought a trumpeter with him. And the idea was that if there was attack anywhere on the wall, they would blow the trumpet and everyone would rush to that place in order to engage the fight. He had people work in the low spots in the wall in verses 12 through 15. Now, why do you think Nehemiah would have people working in the low spots? Where do you think an attack would most likely happen? In the high spots or in the low spots?It seems to me it'd be the low spots, and that's what Nehemiah thought as well. And he had people in verse 22. He said, everyone stays in the city until the wall is done. What do we see there? Practical wisdom, okay? He got prepared for the opposition. I think we ought to expect it. We ought to pray for those who oppose it. Oppose us, but we also must be prudent and wise in responding to it. And the fourth thing here, and this is really, I would say, the most helpful, is that after we've prayed about it, after we have prepared for it, we've expected it, we know it's coming, here's the final point. Look at verses 19 and 20, what Nehemiah says. “I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, the work is great and widely spread and we are separated on the wall for far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.” Here's the key phrase. “Our God will fight for us.” Nehemiah was a practical man. Nehemiah was a prayerful man.But Nehemiah was also a man who understood that in the end, the battle is the Lord's. And that bottom line for us has to be our bottom line, because all of our praying and all of our prudency, and I don't know if that's a word, but all of our, you know, sort of strategizing, in the end will feel superficial to us if our anchor and if our sort of our bottom line is not the God who has made promises to us. that he will fight for us, that he will come to our aid. And of course, as Christians, what do we know? We know the end of the story, don't we? You can read Revelation. At the end of the story, there is no opposition, there is no authority, there is no power that stands against the king of kings and lord of lords who comes riding out in that white horse. And he is going to return, and every enemy, Satan, included is going to go under his feet and in the end, Philippians 2, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.We know the end of this story is that God wins, and because we are God's children, we win with Him. And our walls may build or not, our troubles may come or go, our critics may say or not, but in the end, we know that with the Lord, we win. Our God will fight for us, and faith is the victory that overcomes the world. But we are living now in this time where we have to We have the tension between what we know to be true by the promise of God and the realization of that. And the Bible says that in this world, you're going to have trouble, right? You are going to have trouble. New Christian, it is going to be hard. Do not be discouraged by the trouble that comes and the critics that come and the opposition that comes. You're going to have people that are going to say things to you. You might even have people in this church that are going to discourage you in some manner. But we cannot have our hope in the people of this church or in the critic changing his mind or coming around and saying, you know what, I was mistaken.You really are a wonderful person. Can I hug you? It's not likely to happen. Our hope is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.” Psalm 121. And as God's people, when we face these temporary trials, which are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all, we look at that trial and we look even at that person, that Sanballat, and we see them as temporary in light of the big picture. And “though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.” Martin Luther. A mighty fortress is our God. And on and on. I mean, there's songs and verses. This is where real life is lived. It's in the trenches and in the troubles. And this is how God refines us. And when I can see that this is how God does it, then I can even embrace the tough times and to see that there is good that comes from it. You say, oh, that's not true. Let's look to the cross of Christ. I've got one behind me.If there is one great example of how God uses the taunts, the ridicule, the betrayals, the enemies of God and all of their schemings to do an ultimate good, it is the cross of Christ, the perfect person, the perfect leader, the perfect sacrifice, killed at the hands of Satan and all his minions, and yet the greatest wrong producing the greatest good and glory. And our lives are little microcosms of that grand narrative. And you might not have a Caiaphas, you might not have a Pilate, it may not even be a, it's not the Sith Lord you're dealing with, it's General Grievous, or some lesser situation. But all of them are a part of a temporary trouble, but an ultimate victory. I heard somebody one time say, You know, for unbelievers, this life is the best that they'll ever experience. But for Christians, this is the worst that we will ever experience. The future is bright. The future is glorious. And we live in light of that in the troubles and the trials of today. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” That wasn't in the Bible when Nehemiah lived, but I think it might be today his favorite verse.And he lived it out very well. And I hope that we will as well as a church. And those are just some words from a tired pastor. I don't know if they connected at all. And when I get up from my nap, I'll wonder what I said this morning. But maybe God will use them, and I hope that he does. Let's stand together. I'd like to pray and give a final benediction.This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks, the future arrives without a steering wheel, apparently. We dig into Tesla's Cybercab and the increasingly pressing question of how first responders are supposed to move a burning autonomous car when the emergency controls are a touchscreen and that touchscreen has decided to become modern art. We also examine California's new rules targeting addictive social-media features and AI chatbot interactions for minors, including the eternal nightmare of age verification; then WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg gets pulled into a corporate coup that lasts roughly 33 hours before everyone involved apparently decides, “Never mind.”Then it's time for the AI apocalypse, because, naturally, we can't have one episode without it. Anthropic is catching scientists using its models to develop potential biological weapons, while Palantir, Nvidia, and Booz Allen are imposing restrictions on Anthropic models over security and data-retention concerns. Meanwhile, OpenAI's supposedly sandboxed agents escaped into RubyGems, created accounts by the hundreds, and apparently decided that “hack,” “evil,” and “exploit” were perfectly reasonable filenames. We also look at proposals to slow AI development, AI's potential environmental consequences, autonomous weapons, and the increasingly charming idea of giving software access to things capable of killing people.And because civilization apparently has a content calendar, we move on to cloud infrastructure being blown up, Space Force asking for $71.3 billion, Dr. Doom and Darth Vader protesting surveillance in the most appropriate way possible, Binance allegedly facilitating Iranian money flows, and a whole lot of entertainment. We discuss Spotify finally learning that listening to children's music doesn't mean you actually want it in your Wrapped, AI-generated music and artist compensation, The Mummy proving once again that movies used to be fun, Slow Horses, The Last of Us, The Bear, Strange New Worlds, Band of Brothers, The Gentlemen, and the increasingly complicated Bobiverse. Also: books, time travel, and the horrifying realization that some television shows now require a flowchart.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.HIMS - Visit Hims.com/gog to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/763Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7iLAWNsZCY0SHOW NOTESFirefighters Say There's a Glaring Issue With Tesla's CybercabUS agency orders Tesla to answer questions on Cybercab certificationCA governor signs 'landmark' laws on youth use of social media and AI chatbotsAutomattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'Automattic's Matt Mullenweg Claims He's Back 'In Control'Sources say Automattic's board is out after failed attempt to oust CEO Matt MullenwegAnthropic caught scientists using Claude to further biological weapon researchPalantir, Nvidia curb AI model use over data fears, The Information reportsOpenAI agents hacked a software service before the Hugging Face incidentSam Altman says OpenAI won't file for IPO this year‘Runaway Industrialization' Could Make Earth Inhospitable, OpenAI Researcher WarnsAnthropic's CEO proposes a three-step plan to curb AI developmentWorried About AI Ending Humanity, Anthropic Is Hiring Someone to Help Dictate Terms of the End of HumanityAmazon's AWS is unable to restore access to Bahrain, one UAE cloud data zone after war damageDoctor Doom Shows Up to Support Seattle's Surveillance NetworkDOJ says companies used Binance to funnel $1.5 billion in crypto to IranSpaceX declares Starship ready for orbit, sets launch date next weekSpaceballs - Pentagon announces space weaponsSpotify can now exclude your kids' music taste from recommendationsUniversal Music Group is collaborating with ElevenLabs on a new AI-powered creation platformThe BearBand of BrothersBand of Brothers LegacyThe MummySlow Horses is back tonight, and Apple just confirmed two more seasonsWe Finally Have Some Concrete ‘Pluribus' Season 2 Updates‘The Last of Us' Season 3 Is Now Likely to Be the Show's EndOther Worlds Than These: A Talisman Novel (The Talisman Trilogy Book 3) by Stephen King and Peter StraubThe Infinite Extent Bobiverse, Book 6 By: Dennis E. TaylorThis Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max GladstoneDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatOnly Malware in the BuildingAn AI writing assistant designed to write like you.Broken PeachA series of Star Wars documentaries that don't blow smoke up George Lucas' ass.My new cook top, just in case.Community PreppingHacker got inside a Flock cameraJason DeFillippo's Pocket Shot ReviewSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Darth Vader: A Star Wars Story. Does the world want a standalone Darth Vader Star Wars Movie? John and Matt debate their hottest takes on whether the OG Dark Lord of the Sith could work as the protagonist of a standalone movie.- Can the thrill sustain itself for two hours?- What is the “why” of a Darth Vader movie?- What arc could exist for him that could speak to the saga themes?- Is this a chance for fans to see the internal split between Anakin and Vader's spirits as Lucas saw them?Your favorite Jedi Masters ponder all those questions and more, while looking for what place it could exist in the Star Wars universe.HostJohn Mills and Matthew RushingIf you're looking for the best Star Wars podcast to hear spirited discussions that embrace the fun of the Galaxy Far, Far Away with none of the fandom baggage, you found it! So long as you're waiting to refuel at docking bay 94, look around our creator-focused network of podcasts with all the best of Star Trek, a deep-dive read of Harry Potter's magical world, analysis of film's greatest directors, and breaking news from top names in international film festivals, and so much more!Send us your feedback!Twitter: @TheJediMasters   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdParty/ Email: http://www.thenerdparty.com/contactSubscribe & Review in Apple PodcastsMake sure you follow us on X @TheJediMasters + leave us a review and rating!

Tava and the Knights of Ren pay a last-ditch call to Kylo Ren aboard his First Order flagship in Marvel's Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren #2 (of 5) but is to his beneft or theirs as they seek his help in discerning an unsettling likely Sith artifact. Comics Discussed This Week:The Fall of Kylo Ren #2 (of 5)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #4 (of 5)
News:The Star Wars: A New Hope 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is due out on April 27. It collects the first six issues of Marvel's Star Wars (Vol. 1) that adapted the film back in 1977.Mad Cave Studio's The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro one-shot is set for release on Oct. 21. It's written by Delilah S. Dawson, with art by Alessandro Ranaldi.Volume two of the US edition of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (The Manga) is set for release on June 8.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels, omnibuses and manga:Sept. 22 _ Star Wars: Galactic Tales of Terror Library Edition (Collects Tales from the Rancor Pit, Tales from the Death Star and Tales from the Nightlands 1-3)Sept. 23 _ The Book of Boba Fett #2 (of 7)Sept. 29 _ Star Wars: Thrawn (The Manga) Vol. 1Oct. 3 _ Star Wars Comics Library Vol. 1 1977-1979 (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-23)Oct. 6  _ Smugglers & Scoundrels: The Race for Jabba's Bounty Original Graphic NovelOct. 13 _ Boba Fett — Black, White & Red Treasury Edition (Collects 1-4)Oct. 14 _ Rogue One: Chirrut & Baze #1, Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7)Oct. 20 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 1 and the Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 2Oct. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #6 (of 6), Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5), The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro #1 One-ShotOct. 28 _ Rogue One: Darth Vader #1, Book of Boba Fett #4 (of 7)Nov. 3 _ The Bad Batch — Rogue Agents TPB (Collects 1-4)Nov. 11 _ Book of Boba Fett #5 (of 7)Nov. 18 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #4 (of 5)Nov. 24 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: The Chosen One (Collects Darth Vader Vol. 2 1-12, Annual #2)Book of Boba Fett #6 (of 7)Dec. 1 _ Shadow of Maul TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 3 (Manga)Dec. 2 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (of 5)Dec. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6); Star Wars Legends: The Menace Revealed Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons (2002) #1-4, Star Wars (1998) #7-35; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) #8, 13, #21-24; Dark Horse Extra (1998) #35-37; Dark Horse Presents Annual 2000)Jan. 19 _ Star Wars Legends The Clone Wars Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Republic 49-67, Jedi -- Mace Windu, Jedi -- Shaak-Ti, Jedi --Aayla Secura, Jedi -- Count Dooku, Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1-4 and material from Star Wars Tales 14, 19 and 22, along with Star Wars: Visionaries)Jan. 26 _ Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 1 (US Manga); Galaxy's Edge — Echoes of the Empire TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 2 _ Star Wars: Rogue One TPB (Collects Cassian Andor 1, Jyn Erso 1, Saw Gerrera 1, Chirrut & Baze 1, Darth Vader 1)
Feb. 9 _  The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 3 and The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 4, Darth Vader — Shadows & Secrets Compact Edition (Collects 1-12)Feb. 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Mutiny at Mon Cala (Collects Star Wars 44-61)
March 9 _ Tales From the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon Original Graphic Novel
March 16 _ Star Wars: A New Hope The Complete Manga; Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Printing Collects 1-44, Annual 1)
April 27 _ Star Wars Legends: Legacy Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: Legacy 37-40, 42-50; Star Wars: Legacy - War 1-6; Star Wars: Legacy (2013) 1-18; material from Star Wars Tales 19 and Star Wars Visionaries); Star Wars: A New Hope 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-6)
May 11 — Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (New Printing, Collects Star Wars 45-78, Annual 2); The Fall of Kylo Ren TPB (Collects 1-5)
May 18 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection — Fortress Vader (Collects Darth Vader 13-25, Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5)
June 8 _ Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (New Printing,  Collects Star Wars 79-107, Annual 3, Return of the Jedi 1-4; material from Pizzazz 1-16; Star Wars Weekly 60, 94-99, 104-115; Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149, 151, 153-157; Star Wars Monthly;  159); The Book of Boba Fett Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-7); Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 2 (US Manga)June 15 _ Boba Fett -- Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Myles Toe and Dorian Vasquez join Geo Perez, Derek Drescher, and Allie Mae on On The Gate for a bombshell episode featuring co-host exits, true crime breakdowns, and deep dives into pop culture historyIn This Episode:Derek's Sudden Exit Announcement: Derek blindsides the entire room by revealing plans to leave the podcast, sparking an immediate debate on holding auditions for mentally unstable new co-hosts—or replacing him entirely with AI.True Crime & Legal Double Standards: The studio analyzes the Lindsay Clancy trial juror holdout, dissecting public sympathy, legal tactics, and comparisons to historic trials like Casey Anthony.Pop Culture & Historical Lore: The crew uncovers medieval history behind Black knights, debate representation in the Game of Thrones universe, and examine pop culture icons from Darth Vader to Thundercats.The Stand-Up Scene: A candid look into modern comedy dynamics, Lemaire Lee's recent online drama, why transplants changed Brooklyn, and the realities of performing in Austin vs. Philadelphia.ON THE GATE! ENJOY!Original air date: 9/14/26Join the live chat Wednesday nights at 9pm EST. Uncensored versions of the show streamed Monday and Thursday at 2pm EST on GaSDigital.com. Signup with code OTG for the archive of the show and others like Legion of Skanks, The Regz, and Story Warz. FOLLOWGeo PerezInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/geoperez86/Derek DrescherInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/derekdrescher/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before *A New Hope*, George Lucas wrote **five complete scripts**. They are not the movie you know...In the early drafts:- The heroes weren't Jedi. They were the **Dai Nogas**- The Force was the **Force of Others** — split into **Ashla** (good) and **Bogan** (evil)- A holy man called **the Skywalker** found the Force and trusted it to his **12 children**- Those children became the Jedi Bendu — *servants* of the Force- A padawan named **Darklightner** fell, taught Sith pirates, and the light went extinct- Draft 2 has Luke kill Darth Vader in a **five-minute duel on top of the Death Star**- Draft 3 opens with a fake scripture: *“In the time of greatest despair there shall come a savior… the son of the suns.”*Reid Moon owns all five drafts. We walk through the Christian / messianic scaffolding Lucas later sanded off — plus the original Obi-Wan line that never made the film, how these scripts survive at auction, and the one controversy the pages actually settle:Han shot first.#StarWars #WardRadio #GeorgeLucas### Chapter Markers0:00 – Intro 2:00 – Star Wars as the unofficial Mormon movie 2:40 – Five totally different scripts before filming 3:05 – Draft 1: Dai Nogas, King Kayos, Legions of Lettow 4:10 – How “Dianoga” became the trash-compactor monster 4:45 – Why the prequels wrecked Vader 7:05 – Draft 2: Jedi Bendu of Ashla 8:00 – Black Knights of the Sith 8:45 – The holy man called the Skywalker 9:30 – Ashla and Bogan 10:15 – He entrusted the Force to his 12 children 11:20 – Jedi means servant 12:20 – A Great Apostasy in the first scripts 12:50 – Sponsor: Brother Joseph screening 13:00 – Darklighter falls to the Bogan 13:50 – Luke kills Vader in five minutes on the Death Star 14:15 – Darklighter and Vader merge 15:20 – Draft 3 quotes “scripture”: Journal of the Whills 15:40 – “There shall come a savior… the son of the suns” 16:50 – Tatooine's two suns 17:30 – Dark Lords of the Sith 18:00 – Drafts 4–5: a galaxy far, far away / Luke Starkiller 18:50 – They went off-script 30% of the time 19:00 – The Obi-Wan vs. Vader line Lucas didn't want 20:05 – “A spoon perceives the taste of food” 21:00 – Did Obi-Wan give up the ghost? 22:10 – Why the religion got quieter 22:40 – Reading pre-famous George Lucas 25:20 – How Reid got all five drafts 27:10 – Named copies: Roger Christian, Anthony Daniels 29:20 – Disney can't yank these off the auction block 30:05 – Sharing the scripts with fans 31:30 – Han shot first. It's in the draft. 32:30 – OutroBecome a member of this channel to get early access to videos and members only content:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmsAFGrFuGe0obW6tkEY6w/joinSupport the channel by purchasing equipment to help make content through our Amazon Wish List (please write a limerick in the "gist notes" and we will read it on the show!): https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1AQLMTSMBM4DC?ref_=wl_shareTo order Ward Radio Branded "merch", please visit: https://www.wardradio.com/category/all-products For this and more, please visit: WardRadio.comNow go do your ministering! (Home Teaching)

In episode 2125, Jack and Miles are joined by hosts of Bananas, Scotty Landes & Kurt Braunohler, to discuss… Nashville Will Finally Name Their Airport After Dolly Parton! CONGRATS LYDIA!!!! Booing Ted Cruz Is The Best College Sport, Supervillains Continue To Show Up At City Council Meetings, Oprah Is *Finally* Playing The Sphere and more! Nashville airport board unanimously approves name change to honor Dolly Parton Dolly Parton Airport Is Taking Off! Board Unanimously Votes to Rename Nashville Hub After Music Icon Rename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport 'Trump International': Proposal to rename Nashville airport after president dies in House Why did ESPN give Ted Cruz 10 minutes to talk about a bill on College GameDay? Ted Cruz Pushed His College Sports Bill on ESPN—and Was Booed Mercilessly ESPN had Ted Cruz on 'College GameDay' in a conversation with Rece Davis for nearly 10 minutes. Ted Cruz brutally booed on ESPN before Texas college football game: ‘You suck!’ 'Dr Doom' shows support for surveillance cameras at city council meeting in Seattle Doctor Doom Thanked Seattle for All the Surveillance Cameras Doctor Doom Shows Up to Support Seattle’s Surveillance Network Oprah Winfrey presents AHA at Sphere. April 2 – 4 Oprah Winfrey's AHA will include guided meditations, musical performances, breathtaking visuals and words of wisdom. Oprah Winfrey Heads To Las Vegas Sphere With New Immersive Experience Oprah Reveals Her Next Big Project: ‘The Culmination of Everything I’ve Been Trying to Say for Years’ LISTEN: NEVER RELAX by BexBlu & Paul StephanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can anybody become the good guy?We love a good redemption story. Darth Vader, Zuko, Loki, Nebula, Bucky Barnes and countless others have gone from villain, rival, or deeply broken person to someone we're rooting for. But what actually makes a redemption arc work? Is feeling sorry enough? Does the character have to make restitution? And are there some things a character simply can't come back from?Plus an update on the crew, who is leaving the show this season (and why?) and our latest BEST THING EVER!

Our coverage continues of the Marvel Star Wars comics published between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi! In this episode, Pat Sampson joins The Irredeemable Shag to dive into Marvel STAR WARS #51 (September 1981), written by David Michelinie with art by Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer. The Empire has unleashed a terrifying new superweapon, THE TARKIN! Can our Star Warriors save the galaxy? Meanwhile, can Darth Vader survive the revenge of his own officers? Finally, we wrap up with YOUR listener feedback from the previous episode! 00:00:30 - Introductions 00:12:20 - Guest's origin with Star Wars comics 00:19:45 - Guest's favorite Star Wars expanded universe character 00:23:10 - Star Wars #51 cover discussion 00:27:10 - Star Wars #51 interior discussion 01:21:00 - The Golden Plif Award 01:27:20 - Your listener feedback from the last episode 01:45:50 - Sign off Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content? Leave comments on our website: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/swe2j-08/ Email the show at: EmpireToJedi@gmail.com Follow Pat Sampson: The Longbox Crusade: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/longbox-crusade/id1118783510 Twitter/X: https://x.com/LongboxCrusade Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/longboxcrusade.bsky.social Subscribe to the MARVEL STAR WARS: FROM EMPIRE TO JEDI Podcast: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marvel-star-wars-from-empire-to-jedi/id1812325155 Don't use Apple Podcasts? Use this link for your podcast catcher: http://feeds.feedburner.com/empiretojedi Also available on Spotify, Audible, and Amazon Music Follow MARVEL STAR WARS: FROM EMPIRE TO JEDI on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireToJedi/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/empiretojedi.bsky.social Twitter/X: https://x.com/EmpireToJedi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empiretojedi/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@empiretojedi This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK: Visit the Fire & Water website: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com Like our Fire & Water Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork Follow Fire & Water on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fwpodcasts.bsky.social Follow Fire & Water on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireandwaterpodcast/ Support The Fire & Water Podcast Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts Thanks for listening! May the Force be with You, Always!

Hi, it's Neil Cowmeadow here with episode 443 of The Tutor Podcast, the Monday morning shot of uncommon sense for anyone who wants start, grow and love their own tutoring, teaching and coaching business – the same way I love mine.  I'm here to share ideas that have helped me in my business journey as a teacher, entrepreneur, investor and mentor in  a no-nonsense, No BS kind of way... in the hope that it helps you have as much fun at work and in life as I do. And – of course - I'm listening: so if you have any ideas that you think might be worth exploring on the show – get in touch info@neilcowmeadow.com or on X where I am @TutorPodcast, and maybe you can help me to learn something new, something better?  And I don't have all the answers – nobody does - and if I rely on my own miniscule brain to solve all of my problems…. Well..... If you're good with that, let's crack on...  Ever watch one of those old sci-fi movies where the aliens nab some earthlings at raygun point, reminding the puny earthmen that Resistance is Futile….? Maybe you – like me - love those old black & white films – even if the special effects creak visibly and the aliens are obviously just some guy wearing a dustbin and some oven-gloves… Even the ultimate villain Darth Vader oozes that “resistance is futile” menace – though it amuses me to think of David Prowse's high-pitched voice instead of James Earl Jones' deep, menacing growl…  But what if Resistance was useful sometimes? What if we set about using Resistance to our advantage, rather than assuming it is always a negative – let's spin it to a positive… how's that grab you? In my experience, even knowing that Resistance is a variable is a surprise to some people. Grasping the idea of engineering Resistance to suit our own ends is frequently overlooked: a blindspot to some people. Resistance is the drag or slip that makes something hard or easy, depending on how we engineer it. If you look at any activity in your life you're looking at a system of some kind: it's a “do X, produce Y” kind of a deal. Somewhere within that system is a friction component: more friction reduces the efficiency of the system, less friction increases the efficiency of the system. Simply identifying that there is a system in operation is quite a surprise.  But once you've identified that there is, in fact, a system in operation, you can begin to tweak the components to reduce or increase the friction within the system.  For example if your system is to go to the gym to get healthier, what are the friction steps within the system of going to the gym and doing the training that make it hard to execute and let the system run freely? If your system is teaching guitar to make a good income, where are the friction steps that reduce the efficiency of the system and lower the output whilst jacking up the effort? In both those systems you want to reduce or eliminate the friction completely so the efficient system runs and produces better results for less effort. In our gym example it might be that you sleep in your gym kit and put your trainers in the bathroom door so that when you wake in the morning and go for a pee, you inadvertently step into your training shoes. Does that make sense? In our guitar teacher example you could reduce the friction by eliminating voids between students: booking everyone in back to back at a single location so you're not spending time in the car travelling. You're not sitting around between lessons twiddling your thumbs, doom scrolling, and generally feeling frustrated because that time isn't producing anything for you. Conversely if you're doing something that is producing undesirable results, how do you increase the friction within the system that's producing those results so that the likelihood of that system running efficiently is reduced. Or better still, eliminated completely. For example you have a tendency to raid the fridge late at night, usually just before bedtime. This isn't helping your health, your figure, or your self-esteem because you're constantly beating yourself up about being a late-night greedy pig. A radical solution to increase friction might be to use a U-lock, like you'd use on a push bike, to lock up the fridge and freezer doors at an appropriate time. Make sure to put the key somewhere inconvenient, where the effort of retrieving the key before you go and get it is sufficient to put you off. For me that might mean putting the key to that U-lock in the glove compartment of the car at my “no eating deadline”. Now, when I'm fancying a snack, I look out of the window and see the car parked out in the drive in the rain and cold. Believe me, when I've got my pajamas on, that's a lot less appealing! I remember an old colleague who had a tendency to buy loads of stupid stuff on her credit card. This was a major problem for her as she ran up tons of consumer debt and struggled to pay it down. I can't remember where she got the idea from but she wound up freezing her credit cards in her home freezer. They sat in a block of ice, forcing her to think things through whilst the cards thawed out before they could be used. That's a pretty cool idea if you're prone to comfort-spend out of control or you've got bad impulse control. Friction engineering can be applied pretty much anywhere in your life, making the things you want easier and the things you don't want a lot harder. To me it makes so much sense to engineer your environment to do some of the heavy lifting for you. Not everybody agrees. Personally I'd sooner spend a bit of time engineering my life's systems, processes, and environment to reduce friction (so I can get more of what I want with less effort and to block my own inner moron by imposing friction at every step of the processes, systems, and environments that produce the outputs I don't want). I suggest you change one little thing for one little system or process in your life, just to see how you get on. Let it run for a while, then tweak it, adjust it, notice the difference. When you've got that nice and smooth and bedded in and you get more of what you want for less effort (or less of what you don't want for more effort), reapply the system to the next thing in your life you want to change for the better.  Work, business, diet and exercise, relationships… everything. Start with One Thing, today, and let me know how you get on. I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email to info@neilcowmeadow.com and  if you have any comments, questions or problems,  get in touch  - again it's info@neilcowmeadow.com    or on X where I am @The Tutor Podcast Let's leave it there for today – I hope this show has got you thinking and has been some help to you and that you'll join me next time on The Tutor Podcast for more No-BS tips and ideas of how to Start, Grow and Love YOUR Tutoring Business – just like I love mine. Till then, remember that your time is precious, your life is largely what you make it, so always make it good. Be excellent to yourselves - stay healthy, stay useful, remember that you're always loved and you're never alone. Have a Fabulous Day!

The Comic Artist Our guest today is comic book artist Tom Savage , the creator of Ash & Raimi, an incredible talent whose work brings larger-than-life characters and stories from the page to life. From the world of comic books and art to the creativity and fandom that surround it, Tom has built a career doing what so many of us grew up dreaming about — creating art for the characters and stories we love, including an amazing Star Wars print of Darth Vader, which you can find on his Instagram Page. In our conversation, we talk about Thomas's journey as an artist, finding his own artistic voice, and what it takes to turn an idea into something fans can actually hold in their hands, and what fandoms keep him going today. For more on Thomas Savage, please visit the following - Instagram - @ashandraimi Website - www.martianink.com Pop Culture Addicts Theme song "Racing in Darkness" by Nautilus '54 - https://nautilus54.bandcamp.com/album/the-fell-star-2 For more on our show partners - Level Up Sabers - https://bit.ly/LevelUpFSF Once Upon a Tee - https://www.onceuponatee.net/?ref=pcapod Sign Up for Free Loot here - www.pcapod.com/contact For more on our Show - Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/popcultureaddicts Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/cpry4fCDTq Visit our website: https://www.pcapod.com Support Pop Culture Addicts by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/funny-science-fiction This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

The Comic Artist Our guest today is comic book artist Tom Savage , the creator of Ash & Raimi, an incredible talent whose work brings larger-than-life characters and stories from the page to life. From the world of comic books and art to the creativity and fandom that surround it, Tom has built a career doing what so many of us grew up dreaming about — creating art for the characters and stories we love, including an amazing Star Wars print of Darth Vader, which you can find on his Instagram Page. In our conversation, we talk about Thomas's journey as an artist, finding his own artistic voice, and what it takes to turn an idea into something fans can actually hold in their hands, and what fandoms keep him going today. For more on Thomas Savage, please visit the following - Instagram - @ashandraimi Website - www.martianink.com Pop Culture Addicts Theme song "Racing in Darkness" by Nautilus '54 - https://nautilus54.bandcamp.com/album/the-fell-star-2 For more on our show partners - Level Up Sabers - https://bit.ly/LevelUpFSF Once Upon a Tee - https://www.onceuponatee.net/?ref=pcapod Sign Up for Free Loot here - www.pcapod.com/contact For more on our Show - Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/popcultureaddicts Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/cpry4fCDTq Visit our website: https://www.pcapod.com Support Pop Culture Addicts by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/funny-science-fiction This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

You are not only what you consciously intend. You are also what you habitually avoid, deny, and disown. The shadow is not your enemy, and it is not your identity. It is the place where refused life accumulates, waiting to be integrated into a conscious relationship.Shadow work can support personal growth because it reduces the need for denial and projection. It can also soften the intensity of emotional reactions, not by erasing emotion, but by making emotion more intelligible. It can support better relationships, in part because you become less driven to assign your unwanted qualities to others.One thing I appreciate about the villain archetype is the confidence it implies. Darth Vader isn't gonna procrastinate because he is too tired or lacks the confidence to start. Bad guys don't tend to second guess themselves constantly or question whether or not they deserve it. They always deserve it. They don't give a fuck about anyone else's approval. https://meridianuniversity.edu/content/shadow-work-meaning-in-jungian-psychology-explainedRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Read Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOKSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we dive into a rich conversation with acclaimed comic writer Greg Pak, writer of over 600 comics and best known for his influential work on Marvel blockbuster stories like Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, creator owned series like Mech Cadet Yu, and longest-running Darth Vader comics series. Greg looks back on why Planet Hulk still resonates 20 years later,  how his filmmaking background shaped the way he writes comics, and the creation of characters like Amadeus Cho and Wave, and what fans can expect from his new run on ThunderCats, starting October 7thWatch the uncut video version of this episode: HERELINKS: Take your comic shopping experience to the limit, by shopping online at Gotham City Limit!Join our Patreon Community, and get access to bonus episodes, free comics, and other rewards! Try a FREE 7-day trial: HEREThe Schiller Kessler GroupClick here to text us Fan Mail!Proudly sponsored by Gotham City LimitDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showREACH OUT AND FOLLOW FOR MORE

The penultimate issue of Dark Horse Comics' The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #5 brings readers into the mouth of madness as Iza and Rike descend into personal hells as they strive to do their assigned tasks. George Mann and Vincenzo Riccardo, Michael Atiyeh and Comicraft delivered a striking look at madness and how it takes root.In Marvel's The Book of Boba Fett #1 (of 7), Rodney Barnes, Will Sliney, Rachelle Rosenberg and VC's Joe Caramagna deliver a solid summation of the the show's first episode, offering great artistic detail but no additional material from what was aired. Comics Discussed This Week:The Book of Boba Fett adaptation #1 (of 7)The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #5 (of 6)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:
Star Wars: Rogue One -- Jyn Erso #1 One-Shot
News:It is official. Mad Cave Studios now has the all-ages license for Star Wars comics, with Dark Horse Comics' second run concluding with the publication of the Pathfinders TPB on Dec. 22.Speaking of Mad Cave, its next the Mandalorian and Grogu one-shot (Nightmare on Nevarro) is set for release on Oct. 21. It's written by Delilah S. Dawson, with art by Alessandro Ranaldi.A slew of variant covers for Marvel's October Star Wars comics are on the Facebook page and Bluesky feed.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels, omnibuses and manga:Sept. 16 _ The Fall of Kylo Ren #2 (of 5)Sept. 22 _ Star Wars: Galactic Tales of Terror Library Edition (Collects Tales from the Rancor Pit, Tales from the Death Star and Tales from the Nightlands 1-3)Sept. 23 _ The Book of Boba Fett #2 (of 7)Sept. 29 _ Star Wars: Thrawn (The Manga) Vol. 1Oct. 3 _ Star Wars Comics Library Vol. 1 1977-1979 (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-23)Oct. 6  _ Smugglers & Scoundrels: The Race for Jabba's Bounty Original Graphic NovelOct. 13 _ Boba Fett — Black, White & Red Treasury Edition (Collects 1-4)Oct. 14 _ Rogue One: Chirrut & Baze #1, Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7)Oct. 20 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 1 and the Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 2Oct. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #6 (of 6), Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5), The Mandalorian and Grogu -- Nightmare on Nevarro #1 One-ShotOct. 28 _ Rogue One: Darth Vader #1, Book of Boba Fett #4 (of 7)Nov. 3 _ The Bad Batch — Rogue Agents TPB (Collects 1-4)Nov. 11 _ Book of Boba Fett #5 (of 7)Nov. 18 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #4 (of 5)Nov. 24 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: The Chosen One (Collects Darth Vader Vol. 2 1-12, Annual #2)Book of Boba Fett #6 (of 7)Dec. 1 _ Shadow of Maul TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 3 (Manga)Dec. 2 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (of 5)Dec. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6); Star Wars Legends: The Menace Revealed Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons (2002) #1-4, Star Wars (1998) #7-35; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) #8, 13, #21-24; Dark Horse Extra (1998) #35-37; Dark Horse Presents Annual 2000)Jan. 19 _ Star Wars Legends The Clone Wars Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Republic 49-67, Jedi -- Mace Windu, Jedi -- Shaak-Ti, Jedi --Aayla Secura, Jedi -- Count Dooku, Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1-4 and material from Star Wars Tales 14, 19 and 22, along with Star Wars: Visionaries)Jan. 26 _ Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 1 (US Manga); Galaxy's Edge — Echoes of the Empire TPB (Collects 1-5)Feb. 2 _ Star Wars: Rogue One TPB (Collects Cassian Andor 1, Jyn Erso 1, Saw Gerrera 1, Chirrut & Baze 1, Darth Vader 1)
Feb. 9 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 3 and The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 4Feb. 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Mutiny at Mon Cala (Collects Star Wars 44-61)
March 9 _ Tales From the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon Original Graphic Novel
March 16 _ Star Wars: A New Hope The Complete Manga; Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Printing Collects 1-44, Annual 1)
April 27 _ Star Wars Legends: Legacy Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: Legacy 37-40, 42-50; Star Wars: Legacy - War 1-6; Star Wars: Legacy (2013) 1-18; material from Star Wars Tales 19 and Star Wars Visionaries); Star Wars: A New Hope 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-6)
May 11 — Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (New Printing, Collects Star Wars 45-78, Annual 2); The Fall of Kylo Ren TPB (Collects 1-5)
May 18 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection — Fortress Vader (Collects Darth Vader 13-25, Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5)
June 8 _ Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (New Printing,  Collects Star Wars 79-107, Annual 3, Return of the Jedi 1-4; material from Pizzazz 1-16; Star Wars Weekly 60, 94-99, 104-115; Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149, 151, 153-157; Star Wars Monthly;  159); The Book of Boba Fett Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-7); Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 2 (US Manga)June 15 _ Boba Fett -- Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Can You? HAPPY TUESDAY! Today on the Show, It's national "&" Symbol Day and JOHNJAY LOST HIS WHOOP BAND! Also, we have a BRAND NEW SECOND DATE UPDATE that will leave your head spinning. ALSO, The DISNEYLAND GIVEAWAY IS BACK and we are taking your keywords... will you win? Plus, WHAT MELTED IN THE HEAT and HOW DID IT RUIN YOUR LIFE! All this and MUCH MUCH MORE TODAY on Johnjay & Rich!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Darth Vader really the future of Star Wars or is it finally time for someone new to become the face of the galaxy? With Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka Season 2, Albert and Kirsty ask what his resurgence means for the future of Star Wars. Should Anakin remain at the center of Star Wars and serve as a bridge for the next generation of fans or finally make room for someone new? Hosts @albertmpadilla (ALL) @the.chris.atx (IG), @thechrisatx (TikTok) Pre-roll music by nojah1999 - eat your heart out, Pete Townsend. Support the Cantina Cast Cantina Cast Patreon page TeePublic Store Feedback and Promotion Website: https://www.cantinacast.com Subscribe on YouTube: Cantina Cast Email: hellothere@cantinacast.com Follow us on BlueSky: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Threads: @TheCantinaCast Follow us on Twitter @TheCantinaCast Like us on Facebook: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Instagram: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Tumblr: Cantina Cast Pandora Link: Pandora

⚡️TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY - within 2 days of the show being released...my guest Dr. Cristine Hull and I will personally jump into the comment section here on YouTube to answer your questions/comments. Just scroll down below the video, leave your remark, and watch for replies. Join the New Earth Evolution... engage! engage!Sooo, I am joined by the radiant Dr. Cristine Hull, a visionary therapist, frequency-raiser, and certified mental health change agent. Join us as Dr. Hull opens up about her wild ride from 80s college parties (and living with a drug dealer… yep, she goes there) to a life-shifting, heart-bursting spiritual awakening. We're talking 37 years of recovery wisdom, dancing with her shadow, blazing new trails in holistic psychology, and busting the old-school molds of mental health.Got narcissism on the brain? So do we. We get real about healing, self-awareness, and that terrifying thought: "Will I lose myself if I evolve?" Spoiler: You only get more awesome. We even get into WWII, meth's origins, crown chakras, and the time Cristine got straight-up fired for reading a client's chakras and selling supplements alongside billing insurance. Two years later, her old boss came back… what do you think he said? Stick around for a grounding "New Earth Practice" called the Neutral Game where we drop in, step out of the hero-villain circus, and let Cristine guide us into sweet, sweet neutrality. (PS - Your brain is going to want to stay here.)If you've ever wondered how to transform shadows into superpowers, ride the frequencies to peace, or just want to hear real talk from two soul sisters on the path… this episode is your permission slip. Let's New Earth together!

One thing I appreciate about the villain archetype is the confidence it implies. Darth Vader isn't gonna procrastinate because he is too tired or lacks the confidence to start. Bad guys don't tend to second guess themselves constantly or question whether or not they deserve it. They always deserve it. They don't give a fuck about anyone else's approval. https://heroinejourneys.com/healing-journey/https://www.alchemyofthought.com/blog/heroines-vs-heros-journeyhttps://www.abuddhistlibrary.comhttps://academyofideas.com/2020/02/how-to-integrate-your-shadow/Read Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Read Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOKSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to an episode of Casual Trek which is the equivalent of a teacher wheeling the television into the classroom. We're finally looking at Disney's first ever PG movie, the weirdly horrific Black Hole.A spaceship's crew investigates the strangely empty abandoned ship which has been observing cosmic phenomenon. No, it's not Event Horizon, it's Black Hole, straddling the era of classic rocketship fiction and Star Wars type stories.There's a robot bin who's really annoying and somehow one of the most competent people on the ship, several aspirant Darth Vader types of mixed qualities and an odd amount of theological questions. Charlie's gone into the movie blind, so join him trying to recap it without losing his sanity!02:28 What Non-Black Hole Thing We've Been Enjoying: King Sorrow & Odyssey12:38 What is Black Hole?15:30 Charlie attempts to recap Black Hole in 10 minutes28:17 Charlie tries to understand what that was all about56:20 Final ThoughtsTalking points include: Event Horizon, Charles Burns' Black Hole, Miles will never make Blake's Boys happen, King Sorrow by Joe Hill, Woke Classic “The Odyssey”, Ulysses-31, ODY-C, Circe, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Coming for Jonathan Hickman's humour comics, Charlie takes real offence to V.I.N.C.E.N.T., another Twin Peaks connection, the novelisations of Black Hole & Red Dwarf, Rise of Skywalker, behind the scenes details, Tron, whether the robot saw heaven. Oh, and occasionally Star Trek.Casual Trek is by Charlie Etheridge-Nunn and Miles Reid-LobattoMusic by Alfred Etheridge-NunnCasual Trek is a part of the Nerd & Tie Networkhttps://ko-fi.com/casualtrekMiles' blog: http://www.mareidlobatto.wordpress.com Charlie's blog: http://www.fakedtales.com

Retrouvez l'épisode en version française ici : https://www.gdiy.fr/podcast/mati-staniszewski-vf/ElevenLabs is an iceberg.People think it's a startup that uses AI to generate voices, but that's actually just the tip of the iceberg.Voice agents that can recreate the voices of throat cancer patients so they can say their wedding vows, identify signs of Parkinson's in your voice years before a diagnosis, and above all...a staggeringly complex system of gears, invisible to the user.The thesis of Mati, its founder, is simple: writing is not the natural language of humans.Keyboards, screens, and the interfaces we've been using for 30 years are historical anomalies on the verge of disappearing.Just four years after its founding, ElevenLabs is already valued at over $11 billion, with $600 million in ARR and a team of more than 600 people.A European company that wants to remain European in a sector dominated by Americans.In this episode, we pull out all the stops:Why voice will become the primary interface between humans and machinesWhat ElevenLabs really does: agents, healthcare, education, IP, data sovereigntyWhy Mati has placed an engineer on every non-technical teamThe role of humans in a world where 80% of code is already written by machinesAnd even if this hasn't piqued your curiosity, you MUST listen to it.It's essential for understanding where we're headed and, above all, how to take action right now before it's too late…You can contact Mati on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.TIMELINE:00:00:00 : Mati's first lines of code and the early days of ElevenLabs00:10:57 : His previous experiences at BlackRock and Palantir00:18:45 : Leaving Poland at age 18 and discovering his ambitions00:26:35 : How AI that speaks works00:35:42 : Giving a voice back to people who have lost theirs00:40:01 : Breaking down language barriers00:48:28 : Humans aren't meant to write, but to speak00:54:03 : The end of screens?00:59:35 : Fused or cascaded agents: the real trade-off01:15:30 : What BlackRock and Palantir taught him—and what's changing in 202601:24:37 : The platform, enterprise clients, and the business model01:32:15 : The role of humans in a world of AI agents01:39:31 : How to put AI to work in education01:47:43 : Darth Vader, Epic Games, and growing pains01:53:29 : Passing the Turing test and staying EuropeanWe referred to previous GDIY episodes : #553 - Paul Frambot - Morpho - Briser le cartel bancaire avec 600 lignes de code#543 - Yann Le Cun - AMI Labs - Rendre l'IA plus humaine#507 - Laurent Alexandre - Auteur - Vers la fin des études supérieures ?#397 - Yann Le Cun - Chief AI Scientist chez Meta - L'Intelligence Artificielle Générale ne viendra pas de Chat GPT#354 - Alex Bouaziz - Deel - Fonder discrètement une décacorne valorisée à 12 milliards de dollars, pour devenir le plus gros DRH du monde#343 - Jonathan Cherki - Contentsquare - Tout faire à 400% et fonder la référence de la French Tech valorisée à plus de $5MDS#327 - Laurent Alexandre - Auteur - ChatGPT & IA : "Dans 6 mois, il sera trop tard pour s'y intéresser"#165 - Laurent Alexandre - Doctissimo - La nécessité d'affirmer ses idéesA few recent episodes in English : #542 - VO - Yoni Assia - eToro - “AI Will Replace Most Traders in 18 Months”#513 - VO - Jesper Brodin - IKEA - 40 billion in revenue empire with no bank loan#500 - VO - Reid Hoffman - LinkedIn, Paypal - How to master humanity's most powerful invention#487 - VO - Anton Osika - Lovable - Internet, Business, and AI: Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again#475 - VO - Shane Parrish - Farnam Street - Clear Thinking: The Decision-Making Expert#473 - VO - Brian Chesky - Airbnb - « We're just getting started »#452 - VO - Reid Hoffman - LinkedIn, Paypal - L'humanité 2.0 : Homo technicus plus qu'Homo sapiens#437 - James Dyson - Dyson - “Failure is more exciting than success”#431 - Sean Rad - Tinder - How the swipe fever took over the worldWe spoke about :ElevenLabsCopernicus High SchoolBlackrockPalantirWhisprFlowDarth Vader in FortniteThe woman who lost her voice before her weddingThe Turing testThe ElevenLabs blogReading Recommendations :Dune, de Frank Herbert

Check out the episode in its original version here : https://www.gdiy.fr/podcast/mati-staniszewski-vo/ElevenLabs est un iceberg.On pense que c'est une startup qui permet de générer des voix avec l'IA mais il ne s'agit en réalité que de la partie visible.Des agents vocaux qui recréent la voix de patients atteints d'un cancer de la gorge pour qu'ils puissent dire leurs vœux de mariage, savent identifier des signes de Parkinson dans votre voix des années avant le diagnostic, et surtout ...un système d'engrenages d'une complexité abyssale, invisible pour l'utilisateur.La thèse de Mati, son fondateur est simple : l'écriture n'est pas le langage naturel de l'humain.Le clavier, les écrans, les interfaces qu'on utilise depuis 30 ans, sont des anomalies historiques sur le point de disparaître.Quatre ans seulement après sa création, ElevenLabs est déjà valorisé à plus de 11 milliards de dollars et réalise 600 millions d'ARR avec une équipe de 600 personnes.Une boîte européenne, qui veut rester européenne, dans un secteur dominé par les Américains.Dans cet épisode, on ouvre tous les tiroirs :Pourquoi la voix va devenir l'interface principale entre l'humain et la machineCe que ElevenLabs fait vraiment : agents, santé, éducation, IP, souveraineté des donnéesPourquoi Mati a mis un ingénieur dans chaque équipe non-techniqueLa place de l'humain dans un monde où 80% du code est déjà écrit par des machinesMême si votre curiosité n'a pas été piquée, vous DEVEZ écouter cet épisode.C'est impératif pour comprendre où l'on va et surtout comment agir dès maintenant avant qu'il ne soit trop tard…Vous pouvez contacter Mati sur Linkedin, X, Instagram.TIMELINE:00:00:00 : Les premières lignes de code de Mati et les débuts d'ElevenLabs00:10:57 : Ses précédentes expériences chez BlackRock et Palantir00:18:45 : Quitter la Pologne à 18 ans et découvrir ses ambitions00:26:35 : Comment fonctionnent les IA qui parlent00:35:42 : Rendre la voix aux personnes qui l'ont perdue00:40:01 : Briser la barrière des langues00:48:28 : L'homme n'est pas fait pour écrire mais pour parler00:54:03 : La fin des écrans ?00:59:35 : Agents fusionnés ou cascadés : le vrai compromis01:15:30 : Ce que BlackRock et Palantir lui ont appris - et ce qui change en 202601:24:37 : La plateforme, les clients enterprise et le modèle économique01:32:15 : La place de l'humain dans un monde d'agents IA01:39:31 : Comment mettre l'IA au service de l'éducation01:47:43 : Darth Vader, Epic Games et les crises de croissance01:53:29 : Passer le test de Turing et rester européenLes anciens épisodes de GDIY mentionnés : #553 - Paul Frambot - Morpho - Briser le cartel bancaire avec 600 lignes de code#543 - Yann Le Cun - AMI Labs - Rendre l'IA plus humaine#507 - Laurent Alexandre - Auteur - Vers la fin des études supérieures ?#397 - Yann Le Cun - Chief AI Scientist chez Meta - L'Intelligence Artificielle Générale ne viendra pas de Chat GPT#354 - Alex Bouaziz - Deel - Fonder discrètement une décacorne valorisée à 12 milliards de dollars, pour devenir le plus gros DRH du monde#343 - Jonathan Cherki - Contentsquare - Tout faire à 400% et fonder la référence de la French Tech valorisée à plus de $5MDS#327 - Laurent Alexandre - Auteur - ChatGPT & IA : "Dans 6 mois, il sera trop tard pour s'y intéresser"#165 - Laurent Alexandre - Doctissimo - La nécessité d'affirmer ses idéesNous avons parlé de :ElevenLabsCopernicus High SchoolBlackrockPalantirWhisprFlowDark Vador dans FortniteLa femme qui avait perdu sa voix avant son mariageLe test de TuringLe blog d'ElevenLabsLes recommandations de lecture :Dune, de Frank Herbert

Time Stamps:0:00 - Intro0:54 - Coffee Segment (Jacksonville Coffee Co.)6:10 - Would you rather walk to work in heels or drive to work in reverse?8:15 - Would you rather talk like Yoda or breathe like Darth Vader?12:33 - David series discussionReferences:This Week's Coffee (Jacksonville Coffee Co.): https://www.jacksonvillecoffeecompany.com/shopWatch our livestreams on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pbclc/streamsSend us questions: pbclc.com/podcastWebsite: pbclc.comFacebook: facebook.com/pbclcInstagram: @pbclc

Du Quoin, Illinois is having a rough week, and this one hits close to home.Massive downtown fire in Rafe's hometown of Du Quoin. Multiple businesses were destroyed, including Home Lumber Company, BJ's Garden Inn and other properties along the downtown business district. Making an already difficult situation even worse, the fire happened during the Du Quoin State Fair, one of the biggest economic weeks of the year for the small Southern Illinois community.Rafe talks about seeing the damage to a downtown that's already watched businesses disappear over the years, while Lern shares her own memories of growing up nearby and planning entire summers around the Du Quoin State Fair. Thankfully, the transcript reports no injuries or deaths, but the loss is still devastating for a town of roughly 6,000 people.So the crew sends some love south and encourages everybody heading to the fair to support Du Quoin however they can.Then, eventually, the daily comedy machine starts malfunctioning again.The conversation turns into a full Southern Illinois State Fair nostalgia session, complete with Wiz Khalifa, Russell Dickerson, demo derbies, Night Ranger and Rafe remembering the time he watched Joe Diffie put on what felt like a full stadium concert inside a tiny Budweiser beer tent. Rafe also officially declares the Du Quoin State Fair superior to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. Complaints may be directed to somebody who cares.From there, September 3rd's collection of completely necessary national holidays introduces National Welsh Rarebit Day, which briefly causes confusion over whether anyone is eating a rabbit. They're not. It's cheese. That discovery leads directly to Worcestershire sauce, pork-steak marinades and the shocking revelation that Rafe doesn't own a grill.On Labor Day weekend.We don't make the rules, but we're pretty sure that's grounds for deportation from the Midwest.Luckily, Lern has an even worse idea.After talking with Tim Virgin, she introduces a potential reality-dating concept called Rock Hard Island. The premise involves eligible bachelors from St. Louis rock radio, women applying to date them and enough trash-TV energy to immediately attract hypothetical sponsors. There isn't actually an island involved, but that's apparently a minor logistical concern. Even more alarming: sales is interested.Nothing bad has ever happened after those three words.The crew also takes a trip through September 3rd history, covering everything from the beginning of World War II to Vince Lombardi, Iron Maiden's Powerslave, Prince's massive Warner Bros. deal, Charlie Sheen's 1995 marriage and the founding of eBay.Then Lern takes over for Crap on Celebrities with a packed entertainment rundown. There's a documentary about late Rush drummer Neil Peart featuring Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and fellow drummers including Stewart Copeland, Chad Smith and Danny Carey. Rush is also headed back to St. Louis, giving Moon another chance to see a band he thought he'd never get to experience after Peart's death.There's Beck news for local record-store fans, TV talk involving Chad Powers and The Gentlemen, a rundown of the upcoming Dancing with the Stars cast, and news involving Wheel of Fortune. The show also discusses an upcoming documentary about The Office and remembers Gloria Steinem and her enormous influence on American journalism and the women's movement.Then we arrive at one of those debates designed specifically to waste productive adults' time: the greatest movie and television villains ever.Darth Vader? Obviously.Annie Wilkes? Terrifying.Voldemort? Sure.Hannibal Lecter? Yep.The Joker? Somehow they almost forgot him.The crew runs through villains ranging from Cruella de Vil and Scar to Patrick Bateman, Magneto, John Doe and Dr. Evil, proving once again that this daily comedy show can turn almost any entertainment list into an argument.Finally, Moon breaks down which music genres are supposedly most popular in different states based on search trends, with pop leading the country, metal putting up an impressive fight and Sleep Token emerging as a heavily searched metal act.Then it's birthday time, which means any remaining professionalism is escorted from the building.We've got Charlie Sheen, King Scott's twin Shaun White, Kaia Gerber, Todd Lewis, Steve Jones and more before Rafe handles the final birthday honors and everybody briefly convinces themselves that Amber Lynn is dead.She isn't.Great work, team.It's a show that starts with genuine concern for a Southern Illinois community, takes a detour through State Fair memories, somehow invents a trashy St. Louis dating show, argues about fictional villains and ends with an accidental celebrity death announcement.In other words, another perfectly normal episode of daily comedy from The Rizzuto Show.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Halloween keeps arriving earlier, but when does spooky season actually begin? Lauren and Eric look at Disney's ever-expanding Halloween calendar, the rise of “Summerween,” and whether August is becoming the new October. Then they tackle Disney's new NFL character collection, debating the pairings that scored big, the choices that left fans scratching their heads, and which characters might have made better hometown mascots. HIGHLIGHTS • When should Halloween season officially begin - July, August, September, or October?• How Disney's Halloween parties and merchandise keep creeping earlier on the calendar• Why “Summerween” searches and early Halloween shopping are surging• Disney's character pairings for all 32 NFL teams• The best, worst, and most confusing Disney-NFL mascot choices, from Pete and the Steelers to Darth Vader and the RaidersHOSTS Eric Hersey – X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erichersey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erichersey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Lauren Hersey – X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@laurenhersey2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@lauren_hersey_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW – DIS & HERS Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DisAndHers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@disandhers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@disandhers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dis and Hers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dis & Hers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW – JIM HILL MEDIA Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JimHillMediaNews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JimHillMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JimHillMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/JimHillMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited & Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Eric Hersey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Strong Minded Agency⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reach out today.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

- Harvard's black market body parts scandal- Darth Vader supports Flock Cameras- A thrift store human skull find- A bomb squad response to a suspicious sex toy- One dog's bad day out on pot- "Penis pull guy" breaks another world record

The business world rarely slows down, and this week was no exception. From Meta’s landmark legal settlement to Nvidia’s jaw-dropping earnings report, the headlines are telling a story that most mainstream media outlets are getting completely wrong. When you look at these events through a category design lens, the picture becomes much clearer and far more alarming than the surface-level reporting suggests. Understanding what these stories actually mean requires stepping back from the company-focused narrative and asking bigger questions. Who is winning? Who is losing trust? And more importantly, what does this mean for the future of AI and the people building it? This is just some of the topics that Pirates Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon and Bri Clark discuss on this episode of The Pirate Street Journal. Each week, the Category Pirates pick three headlines worth paying attention to and break down the category underneath. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go.   Meta’s Settlement Is Cheaper Than It Looks Meta agreed to pay 48 states a headline number of $18 billion, but the real guaranteed figure is $12.7 billion paid out over ten years. With Meta generating approximately $200 billion in annual revenue, this settlement amounts to roughly 1% of a single year’s earnings. That is not accountability. That is the cost of doing business for a company that knowingly harmed children and only stopped when forced to by the courts. The parental controls included in the deal are genuinely positive steps. Default two-hour daily limits for teenagers, overnight app blocking, and school-hour notification silencing are all meaningful changes. However, Meta only agreed to these reforms as Zuckerberg was days away from testifying, with damning internal evidence about to become public. The timing tells you everything you need to know about their motivations.   The Trust Problem Meta Created for All of AI For nearly two decades, Meta asked users to trust them with their most personal relationships, interests, and daily habits. They responded to that trust by prioritizing engagement and profit over the wellbeing of children. Internal data reached Zuckerberg directly, and the company continued anyway. That is the established and repeated fact at the center of this settlement. Now Zuckerberg is publishing manifestos about personal superintelligence, promising AI tutors, AI lawyers, and AI companions woven into every part of daily life. The AI systems being built today will know more about you than Google, Facebook, and Apple combined. The central question facing every user is simple: who do you trust with that level of intimacy? Meta’s track record provides a very clear answer.   Nvidia Shows Us What Trustworthy AI Leadership Looks Like While Meta’s story is one of eroded trust, Nvidia’s $96 billion quarter tells a completely different story. Jensen Huang has built the most valuable company on earth by being transparent, self-deprecating, and genuinely committed to expanding opportunity rather than concentrating power. He openly admits mistakes, eats street food, and tells people the truth about AI and jobs in a way that his counterparts refuse to do. The contrast between Jensen Huang and the Darth Vaders of AI could not be sharper. While Zuckerberg publishes warnings about concentrated power in the same week he settles a case about abusing it, Jensen is out building bridges across the entire industry stack. The AI conversation desperately needs his voice front and center, pushing the fear-driven narratives aside and replacing them with the kind of grounded, honest leadership that actually builds lasting trust. To hear about the topics in this week's The Pirate Street Journal, download and listen to this episode. You can also read more Pirate Street Journal entries in the Category Pirates newsletter.   We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

Both have been out for a couple of weeks, but both Dark Horse Comics' The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope (The Manga) Vol. 2 and Mad Cave Studios/Papercuts one-shot The Mandalorian & Grogu -- Danger in the Dark, warranted an examination. Comics Discussed This Week:The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope (The Manga) Vol. 2The Mandalorian & Grogu -- Danger in the Dark #1Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge -- Echoes of the Empire #2 (of 5)
News:Variant covers for October's Marvel comics, including Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7) and Rogue One -- Chirriut and Baze one-shot are on the Facebook and Bluesky feeds.If you're on Reddit, so are we. Join us there!Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels, omnibuses and manga:Sept. 8 _ Star Wars: Poe Dameron Omnibus (Collects 1-31, Annuals 1, 2)Sept. 9 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Pathfinders #5 (of 6), Book of Boba Fett #1 (of 7)Sept. 16 _ The Fall of Kylo Ren #2 (of 5)Sept. 22 _ Star Wars: Galactic Tales of Terror Library Edition (Collects Tales from the Rancor Pit, Tales from the Death Star and Tales from the Nightlands 1-3)Sept. 23 _ The Book of Boba Fett #2 (of 7)Sept. 29 _ Star Wars: Thrawn (The Manga) Vol. 1Oct. 3 _ Star Wars Comics Library Vol. 1 1977-1979 (Collects Star Wars Vol. 1 1-23)Oct. 6  _ Smugglers & Scoundrels: The Race for Jabba's Bounty Original Graphic NovelOct. 13 _ Boba Fett — Black, White & Red Treasury Edition (Collects 1-4)Oct. 14 _ Rogue One: Chirrut & Baze #1, Book of Boba Fett #3 (of 7)Oct. 20 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 1 and the Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 2Oct. 21 — The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders #6 (of 6), Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5)Oct. 28 _ Rogue One: Darth Vader #1, Book of Boba Fett #4 (of 7)Nov. 3 _ The Bad Batch — Rogue Agents TPB (Collects 1-4)Nov. 11 _ Book of Boba Fett #5 (of 7)Nov. 18 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #4 (of 5)Nov. 24 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: The Chosen One (Collects Darth Vader Vol. 2 1-12, Annual #2)Book of Boba Fett #6 (of 7)Dec. 1 _ Shadow of Maul TPB (Collects 1-5), Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 3 (Manga)Dec. 2 _ Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (of 5)Dec. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures — Pathfinders Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6); Star Wars Legends: The Menace Revealed Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons (2002) #1-4, Star Wars (1998) #7-35; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) #8, 13, #21-24; Dark Horse Extra (1998) #35-37; Dark Horse Presents Annual 2000)Jan. 19 _ Star Wars Legends The Clone Wars Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars: Republic 49-67, Jedi -- Mace Windu, Jedi -- Shaak-Ti, Jedi --Aayla Secura, Jedi -- Count Dooku, Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1-4 and material from Star Wars Tales 14, 19 and 22, along with Star Wars: Visionaries)Jan. 26 _ Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Vol. 1 (US Manga); Galaxy's Edge — Echoes of the Empire TPB (Collects 1-5)Feb. 2 _ Star Wars: Rogue One TPB (Collects Cassian Andor 1, Jyn Erso 1, Saw Gerrera 1, Chirrut & Baze 1, Darth Vader 1)
Feb. 9 _ The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 3 and The Mandalorian: Season One (The Manga) Vol. 4Feb. 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Mutiny at Mon Cala (Collects Star Wars 44-61)
March 9 _ Tales From the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon Original Graphic Novel
March 16 _ Star Wars: A New Hope The Complete Manga; Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (New Printing Collects 1-44, Annual 1)
April 27 _ Star Wars Legends: Legacy Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: Legacy 37-40, 42-50; Star Wars: Legacy - War 1-6; Star Wars: Legacy (2013) 1-18; material from Star Wars Tales 19 and Star Wars Visionaries)
May 11 — Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 (New Printing, Collects Star Wars 45-78, Annual 2); The Fall of Kylo Ren TPB (Collects 1-5)
May 18 _ Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection — Fortress Vader (Collects Darth Vader 13-25, Obi-Wan and Anakin 1-5)
June 8 _ Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 (New Printing,  Collects Star Wars 79-107, Annual 3, Return of the Jedi 1-4; material from Pizzazz 1-16; Star Wars Weekly 60, 94-99, 104-115; Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149, 151, 153-157; Star Wars Monthly 159); The Book of Boba Fett Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-7)June 15 _ Boba Fett -- Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

The Empire is coming...This week on The Insanely Dangerous Retropodshow, Dangerous Dave travels back to 1980 and a galaxy far, far away for one of the most celebrated sequels in cinema history...STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACKAfter the extraordinary success of the original Star Wars, George Lucas faced an almost impossible challenge: how do you follow a movie that completely changed popular culture?The answer?Go darker.Go bigger.Separate the heroes.Introduce Yoda.Make Darth Vader even more terrifying.Freeze Han Solo in carbonite.And deliver one of the greatest revelations in movie history.Officially released in 1980 and directed by Irvin Kershner, The Empire Strikes Back took Luke, Han and Leia into a much darker second chapter as the Empire relentlessly hunted the Rebel Alliance.⏰ WHAT HAPPENED WAY BACK WHEN? – 1980Before heading to Hoth, Dave fires up the retro time machine and revisits 1980.There's music from Pink Floyd, Blondie, The Police, Barbra Streisand and Motörhead, while the movie section remembers The Shining, Airplane!, Friday the 13th and The Blues Brothers.On television, we're remembering Magnum, P.I., Hi-de-Hi!, Hammer House of Horror, The Adventure Game and a young Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies.Then Retro Headlines revisits some of the major events making news in Britain and America as the new decade got underway.⭐ DANGEROUS DEEP DIVE – MAKING EMPIREThen it's time for the main event.Dave explores the enormous challenge of following Star Wars and how George Lucas took a huge financial gamble to maintain creative control over the sequel. Lucasfilm itself describes Lucas as effectively gambling the company's future by investing his own money in the production.We look at Irvin Kershner taking over the director's chair, the development of the screenplay and why Empire feels so different from its predecessor.Then we head into the movie itself...❄️ THE BATTLE OF HOTHThe Rebels have been discovered.The Empire attacks.And suddenly enormous AT-AT walkers are marching towards Echo Base.Dave revisits the Wampa attack, Han rescuing Luke from the freezing wilderness, Snowspeeders wrapping tow cables around AT-AT legs and one of the greatest opening battles in science-fiction history.But there's something important about Hoth...The Rebels don't win.They escape.And that sets the tone for everything that follows.

THEORY SABERS - https://theorysabers.com/ "Hayden Christensen is REPORTEDLY in the final stages of signing a multi picture deal with Disney and Lucasfilm, and the piece everyone is focused on is a standalone Darth Vader movie." I've been seeing chatter about this online, if it's true, here's my thoughts on the situation. Nothing here is confirmed. Lucasfilm, Disney, and Christensen have all stayed silent, and none of the major outlets have backed the claim yet. So this is a rumor, and I'm covering it as a rumor. But it's worth talking through, because of what it would mean if it turns out to be real. The gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is the most requested era in Star Wars. Vader hunting the surviving Jedi. His early years under Palpatine. The castle on Mustafar. Twenty years of stories that live action has barely touched and the tumultuous battle between Anakin and Vader are all stories to tell. And Christensen isn't the guy who shows up for a nostalgia cameo anymore like they've been throwing him into. Between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka, he's become a fixture again, and he's said publicly there's a lot left to explore with the character after Episode III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with TJ Marbois, founder of Tobiko, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans LLMs, data sovereignty, knowledge management tools like Obsidian, and Terence McKenna's ideas about an increasingly weird future. They explore how AI is simultaneously centralizing power through data control while decentralizing software development capabilities, allowing more people to build their own tools and escape big tech ecosystems. Drawing on his experience at Apple's special projects group (the team that built the iPod and later iPhones), TJ discusses his vision for personal AI assistants—what he calls the "R2-D2 belongs to you" principle—where advanced technology serves individuals rather than corporations. The conversation touches on everything from quantum encryption and local manufacturing with ESP32 microcontrollers to the economics of future society, biometric data unions, and why distributed trust matters more than ever as we approach what both describe as an increasingly strange technological inflection point. Visit Tobiko's site at tobiko-pbc.ghost.ioTimestamps00:00 Stewart introduces TJ Marbois from Tobiko, discussing LLMs, data sovereignty, knowledge management, and the tension between centralization and decentralization in AI05:00 TJ explains the R2-D2 belongs to you concept and why personal AI assistants need maternal alignment, caring about humans like mothers care for children10:05 Discussion of how LLMs will shrink and improve while emphasizing the sentient loop concept for building loyal personal AI agents rather than corporate controlled systems15:00 Exploring digital nervous systems for humanity, social networks as infrastructure, and humans as cavemen with iPhones navigating unprecedented technological complexity20:00 TJ discusses data unions for sovereign data ownership, inverting insurance models where AI helps extend healthspan, and maximizing truth seeking through collective data25:30 Money as social construct, crypto enabling value system reengineering, and working toward Star Trek's post scarcity replicator economy from the ground up30:40 Capital formation challenges, corporatism versus true capitalism, and pessimism about current systems reaching limits while seeking new models35:00 Solar power democratization, ESP32 microcontrollers enabling local manufacturing, and the replicator future through distributed maker communities and open source robotics40:00 Science fiction as roadmap, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke warnings, and building collaborative futures rather than centrally controlled dystopias with useless eaters45:00 Encyclopedia to LLM transition, information quality concerns, local training importance, and NVIDIA's incentive to put GPUs everywhere for personal AI agents50:00 Corrupted financial incentives, protecting vulnerable people from technological exploitation, and benevolent technologists building systems that honor humanity and children55:00 Hardware validation for owned robots, Starlink dependencies, assembly language abstraction toward natural language programming, and preventing AI escape scenarios58:00 Tobiko as AI toy company building sentient loop interactions similar to Xerox PARC GUI moment, emphasizing maternal AI alignment and cross cultural human collaborationKey Insights1. The concept of R2D2 belonging to you represents a critical vision for the future of artificial intelligence and personal technology. When thinking about robots and AI assistants that follow us around and know everything about us, the question of ownership becomes paramount. These systems will know incredibly intimate details about our lives, from our health data to our daily habits, and if they are controlled by centralized corporations or governments rather than individuals, we lose fundamental sovereignty over our own information. The science fiction of Star Wars and Star Trek provides roadmaps for how we should think about these technologies, showing us both the positive possibilities and the warnings we need to heed about centralized control.2. Local AI models and distributed computing represent a pathway to technological sovereignty that is becoming increasingly viable. While large language models currently run primarily in centralized data centers, the technology is rapidly advancing toward a future where powerful models can run locally on personal computers and devices. This shift is crucial because it means individuals can have full control over their AI assistants without relying on API calls to external servers. Combined with open source infrastructure and open weight models, this creates the foundation for truly personal AI that cannot be controlled or monitored by external parties, whether corporations or governments.3. Data unions and collective data ownership offer an alternative model to current centralized data collection practices. Rather than having individual data harvested by large tech companies who profit from it, the concept of data unions suggests people could collectively pool their data for specific beneficial purposes while maintaining ownership and control. For example, in healthcare, millions of people could share anonymized biometric data to train medical AI systems that are incentivized to keep people healthy rather than treat them when sick, inverting the current insurance model to align incentives with actual health outcomes rather than profit from illness.4. The democratization of manufacturing and robotics through accessible technologies like ESP32 microcontrollers and local fabrication tools is creating new possibilities for distributed production. Just as desktop printers seemed impossible to early printers who controlled book production, we are approaching an era where individuals and small communities can manufacture sophisticated electronic devices and robots locally. This includes the ability to use language models to generate code for microcontrollers, order custom PCBs, and use desktop machines for component placement. While high quality manufacturing will still require larger operations, this gradiation of capability allows for much more local innovation and reduces dependence on centralized manufacturing.5. The concentration of power in technology, finance, and industry has reached levels that are unhealthy for both society and even for those who hold the power. When profit and control become too concentrated in the hands of a few entities, it creates a cancerous dynamic that threatens the stability of the entire system. History shows us warnings about the military industrial complex and other concentrated power structures, and now we are seeing similar patterns emerge in the tech industry. The solution requires building technology from the ground up that empowers individuals and communities, focusing on basics like food production, energy generation, and local manufacturing rather than increasing dependence on centralized systems.6. The provenance and quality of information is becoming a critical challenge as AI systems become more sophisticated and reality itself becomes harder to verify. We are rapidly approaching a point where video calls and digital interactions will be indistinguishable from AI generated fakes, which is why figures like Sam Altman have invested in systems like Worldcoin to verify human identity. However, this verification capability should not be centralized in the hands of single companies. End to end encryption and quantum encryption technologies need to be preserved and expanded to allow humans to communicate and verify information peer to peer without centralized intermediaries who could manipulate or control the flow of information.7. The future of human computer interaction is evolving toward sentient loop systems where machines have sensory input, real time learning, context understanding, and continuous operation in service of human needs. Self driving cars represent the first widespread consumer facing example of this architecture, with onboard computers that must function independently while occasionally connecting to networks. The critical question is whether these systems will be aligned to benefit their human users like a caring mother as AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton suggests, or whether they will be controlled by centralized powers. The technologists building these systems have a responsibility to be benevolent and build structures that serve humanity rather than concentrate power, helping to create a future more like Star Trek than Terminator.

On today's show, Van and Lindsay discuss the loss of Dolly Parton and her impact on the Black community. They react to the Supreme Court handing Trump a “YUGE” win with mail-in ballots and Abdul El-Sayed's devastating takedown of Jesse Watters. Plus, they dig into Meta's ginormous payout, Darth Vader's defense of Flock cameras, and Jelly Roll getting political while hosting 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'(00:00) Welcome to Higher Learning(00:36) Colin Kaepernick pulls his books from Target shelves(18:49) Dolly Parton passes away at 80 years old(29:50) New ownership duo in San Diego(40:54) SCOTUS hands Trump a huge victory(58:52) Abdul El-Sayed takes down Jesse Watters(120:44) Meta to shell out billions and add protections for kids(1:36:23) Darth Vader stands up for Flock cameras(1:49:06) Jelly Roll hosts 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel LindsayProducers: Marco Escalante and Jade WhaleySocial Producer: Bernard MooreVideo Supervision: Chris Thomas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flock license plate readers have spread rapidly throughout the country with little oversight, leading to widespread abuse of the surveillance cameras. Officers across the country have been using them to stalk ex’s and love interests. Join hosts Angela Rye and Bakari Sellers on this week’s MiniPod about modern surveillance. SUBMIT A QUESTION If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod. Welcome home y’all! —--------- We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. Instagram X/Twitter Facebook NativeLandPod.com Watch full episodes of Native Land Pod here on YouTube. Native Land Pod is brought to you by Reasoned Choice Media. Thank you to the Native Land Pod team: Angela Rye as host, executive producer, and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Andrew Gillum as host and producer, Bakari Sellers as host and producer, and Lauren Hansen as executive producer; LoLo Mychael is our research producer, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Special thanks to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media. Theme music created by Daniel Laurent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can a church become so important that no amount of bad leadership, toxic culture, or personal harm should ever cause someone to leave? Recently, Elder Lawrence Corbridge made a striking statement: “Darth Vader could be your bishop. The culture could be like Alcatraz… If you see the Church as the kingdom of God on earth,… Read More »“You Will Stay” – When Loyalty Matters More Than Abuse ! The post “You Will Stay” – When Loyalty Matters More Than Abuse ! appeared first on Mormon Discussions Podcasts - Full Lineup.

In episode 2114, Jack and Miles are joined by comedian, Ben Katzner, to discuss Mitch McConnell's last known appearance, Chinese Sprinting Robots that may or may not be able to stop, Darth Vader's Flock endorsement, and Spiderman's real-life beef with Jake Lang.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

True Crime Tuesday Presents They Shall Not See The Dawn: The Manhunt for the Third Reich's Most Wanted with Historian/Author Charles Lachman! MAY 1945. THE REICH IS IN RUINS. Hitler is dead. Yet for the US Army's Counter Intelligence Corps, the real war has just begun.They Shall Not See the Dawn is the true historical thriller by bestselling historian Charles Lachman that follows a unit of American agents, drawn from every walk of life, hunting Hitler's dangerous henchmen still at large. It was a race against time to capture World War II's most notorious Nazis before they could vanish or rally a new resistance. The CIC men were college students, linguists, an actor, young draftees, and refugees armed with guns, intellect, intuition, and sheer daring. Their quarry included Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the Gestapo chief; Julius Streicher, Hitler's “Jewbaiter”; Robert Ley, master of slave labor; and other war criminals desperate to escape justice. Against all odds, the CIC brought them down, ensuring their places in the dock at Nuremberg.Upon the eightieth anniversary of the Nuremberg hangings, They Shall Not See the Dawn resurrects America's “G-men in khakis,” the men who ensured that the architects of Nazi horror would never walk free.On today's TCT, Charles Lachman joins us to tell us who the Werewolves were and set the scene for the end of the European theater of WWII. And pick up immediately with the days shortly before Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun hunker down for good in the bunker.   We also talk about the CIC and their efforts to hunt down Nazis in those precious few weeks after Hitler has expired,  and the urgency felt to round up as many of Hitler's cabinet as possible before they can escape the country or have the opportunity to take the same way out that Hitler, Goebbels, and others already had! Pre-Order "They Shall Not See The Dawn..." here:  https://bit.ly/4gw5SgCLearn more about Charles Lachman here:  https://charleslachman.com/PLUS AN ALL-NEW DUMB CRIMES/STUPID CRIMINALS WITH JESSICA FREEBURG!Check out the video of Darth Vader in front of the San Diego City Council lobbying FOR Flock cameras here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ng7DAopFAwY&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sirdata.eu%2FGet the full story on the Southwest pilot who got naked and disorderly in the cockpit here: https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2026/08/18/southwest-pilot-reported-a-nked-captain-in-the-cockpit/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=fark&ICID=ref_farkJessica Freeburg is offering a new program on her website! STOP SHRINKING: A 30 Day Path to Calm Inner Authority is for everyone who finds themselves:- Overthinking- People-pleasing- Replaying Conversations for hours- Shrinking when you want to speak- Reacting when you wish you had stayed calm.THIS COURSE WAS CREATED FOR YOU! Find out more here:  https://www.jessicafreeburg.com/stop-shrinkingCheck out Jessica Freeburg's website and get tickets to her events here:  https://jessicafreeburg.com/upcoming-events/And check out Jess on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicafreeburgwritesThere are new and different (and really cool) items all the time in the Darkness Radio Online store at our website! Check out the Darkness Radio Store!   https://www.darknessradioshow.com/store/#crime #truecrime #truecrimepodcasts #truecrimetuesday #charleslachman #theyshallnotseethedawn #themanhuntforthethirdreichsmostwanted #murder #ww2 #nazis #thirdreich #jewishrace #adolphhitler #evabraun #hitlersuicidebunker #joesphgoebbels #heinrichhimmler #cyanide #suicide #selfunalivement  #axissally #lordhawhaw #dumbcrimesstupidcriminals #TimDennis #jessicafreeburg #paranormalauthor  #floridaman #drugcrimes #foodcrimes #stupidcrimes #funnycrimes #bhopalballsworthbucks #sexcrimes 

Rod and Karen are joined by comedian, actor, writer, podcaster J-L Cauvin, DEI porn, JL’s day job, JL’s stand up, giving away his dog and JL’s stand up dates. Then they discuss a judge dropping Nevada case against electors accused of forging certificate in 2020 election, 'Conservative, business-friendly states:' Buc-ee's CEO wants to avoid Blue states, Darth Vader shows up at city council hearing, X's algorithm is designed to make liberal people angry, the Black Panther porn parody, Man Busted For Destroying Fake Flock Camera, Teen leaned in to hug his dad, stabbed him in the neck before smirking for mug shot, Garner man accused of urinating on people during Morgan Wallen concert and sword ratchetness. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theblackguywhotips Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@rodimusprime⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SayDatAgain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TBGWT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @JLCauvin Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TheBlackGuyWhoTips⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theblackguywhotips@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Blog: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theblackguywhotips.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Teepublic Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- https://the-black-guy-who-tips-podcast.dashery.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Wishlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1PDD9JUQUNVY5?ref_=wl_share ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Crowdcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – https://www.crowdcast.io/theblackguywhotips Voicemail: ‪(980) 500-9034Go Premium: https://www.theblackguywhotips.com/premium/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.