POPULARITY
Categories
This week on Gun For Hire Radio… Joe LoPorto joins us to discuss the State of NJ's latest desperate hail Mary move to further delay/deny the rights of law abiding citizens with their stay of mandate on our AWB and Magazine bans with the 3rd Circuit! Will it backfire? Please Listen, Learn, Like, Follow, Share, Donate, & Volunteer. The post The Gun For Hire Radio Broadcast: Episode 793 appeared first on Best Gun Range NYC and NJ Area | Gun Range Near Me.
What happens when journalists cover politics without understanding the religion shaping the story?Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way and the leader of A Public Witness, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain why religion reporting matters in an era of Christian nationalism, government-sponsored worship, and growing confusion about the role Christianity plays in American public life. Kaylor describes how political reporters can miss biblical references, theological claims, and denominational differences that are central to understanding events such as January 6, presidential elections, and the political influence of conservative Christianity.The conversation then turns to Kaylor's reporting on Christian worship services organized inside the Pentagon and other federal agencies. He explains the involvement of Pete Hegseth, Doug Wilson, Franklin Graham, Southern Baptist leaders, defense contractors, violent biblical rhetoric, and a prayer borrowed from Pulp Fiction. The episode also examines the constitutional difference between a private religious group using a government building and the government planning and hosting its own worship service.The final episode of Church & State 250 returns to the principle at the center of the series: America's most significant religious experiment was the decision to separate church and state. Kaylor argues that this separation protects religious minorities, government employees, and Christianity itself from the corrupting influence of political power.Guest BioBrian Kaylor, PhD, is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, an independent Christian media organization founded in 1896, and the leader of A Public Witness, a publication covering religion, politics, and culture. A Baptist minister with a doctorate in political communication from the University of Missouri, Kaylor is an award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and scholar whose work focuses on Christian nationalism, political rhetoric, religious liberty, church-state separation, and the ways Christianity is used to support government power. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Sacramental Politics, Baptizing America, and The Bible According to Christian Nationalists. His Government Worship Watch project documents worship services organized by the Pentagon and other federal agencies, making his reporting central to understanding the current relationship between Christianity and the federal government.Books MentionedThe Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power by Brian KaylorBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780827203501Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism by Brian Kaylor and Beau UnderwoodBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780827203389Relevant Links & ResourcesBrian Kaylor Official WebsiteURL: https://briankaylor.com/A Public WitnessURL: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/Word&WayURL: https://wordandway.org/
On the Iowa Business Report weekend edition:* Ben Murrey of Common Sense Institute Iowa shares data on state government spending over time* Nicole Crain of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry with optimistic numbers from the group's quarterly member survey* In our business profile, we'll introduce you to Zach Veigulis of Claimable, based in the Des Moines areaThe Iowa Business Report is presented by the Iowa Business Council, online at iowabusinesscouncil.org. Additional support comes from the Iowa Secretary of State, sos.iowa.gov/protectyourbusiness.
From today, companies will be obliged to make clear to customers when they are interacting with something artificial intelligence-driven. That's because transparency obligations included in the European Union's AI Act come into force today. Adam was joined by Niamh Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for AI.
John talks with former Spokesman for the State of Israel Eylon Levy. They discuss the precarious geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, focusing on the critical tension between the United States and the Iranian regime.
We go through every player on the Sixers roster and how they can adjust their game to work better with LeBron James. Then we go through some Rich Paul's most recent podcast. Get the new Ricky shirts here: https://www.rightstorickysanchez.com/p/new-shirts-push-off-power-and-hesRead Sixers Adam's Dom Barlow profile here: https://www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-analysis-dominick-barlow-stats-highlights-lebron-james-reaction-golf-jaylen-brown-trade-mike-gansey-nba/ The Rights To Ricky Sanchez is presented by Draft KingsBecome a MortgageCS Ricky VIP at mortgagecs.com/rickyGet 20% off any Body Bio order with the code in the podcast.Surfside Iced Tea and Vodka is the official canned cocktail of The RickyBet with DK Sportsbook: Gambling Problem? Call one eight hundred GAMBLER, one eight hundred MY RESET. Connecticut: call eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven, visit CCPG dot org. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino in Kansas. Bet tax pass-through may apply in Illinois. Twenty one plus. Void in Canada. Event contract trading with DraftKings Predictions involves risk of loss. Availability varies. Predictions offer void in New York. Bet to get Bonus bets that expire in seven days. Trade to get Predictions Dollars that expire in one year. Fifty dollars in rewards issued every seven days via click to claim for fourteen days. One non-withdrawable reward redeemable. Nationwide based on Sportsbook, Predictions, and Free-to-Play Sports Contest availability. Varies by State. Terms at d k n g dot c o slash offer. Limited time offer.
Back in the fall, Trump's NSPM-7 redirected the FBI, DOJ, and IRS toward "left-wing political violence," opening the door to labeling domestic groups terrorist organizations — despite three independent datasets (New America, CSIS, even the ADL!) showing right-wing violence outpacing left-wing violence by factors of 9-to-1 or greater. Last week, Rubio's "Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism" internationalized this McCarthy reboot. Central to the rhetoric of Rubio and Miller is framing leftist politics as being driven by envy and resentment rather than a response to inequality. Matthew traces this rhetoric, empirically contradicted by relative deprivation research, back through Nietzsche, Scheler, Schoeck, and Rand. Four days after the Ministerial, the State Department's Cuba report named 70+ Americans — from spies to wedding guests — as one undifferentiated network, a scapegoat machine now churning out congressional subpoenas, a federal grand jury, and a widening dragnet. Show Notes NSPM-7, full text — The White House NSPM-7 constitutional analysis — The Conversation New America, "Terrorism in America After 9/11" impact summary CSIS, "Left-Wing Terrorism and Political Violence in the United States" Just Security rebuttal of the CSIS report ADL, "Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2024" Rubio and Miller Ministerial remarks, full transcript Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals (1887), full text Scheler, Ressentiment (1912), full text PDF Schoeck, Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour — Online Library of Liberty Ayn Rand, "The Age of Envy" — Ayn Rand Institute U.S. Department of State, Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism (July 20, 2026) National Lawyers Guild, "The National Lawyers Guild Reaffirms its Solidarity with Cuba in the Face of Increasing McCarthyite Repression" (July 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today we jump back 15 years to two back-to-back episodes of the PWTorch Livecast from July 14 and 17, 2011.On the July 14, 2011 episode, PWTorch Livecast, host PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell was joined by PWTorch columnist Sean Radican at the beginning of the show to discuss Radican's latest reviews & DVD coverage, plus discuss the potential finish of John Cena-CM Punk at MITB. Caldwell then discusses with live callers every angle of the Cena-Punk match, potential outcomes, how they get to WrestleMania, The Rock's promo on Wednesday, whether Cena turns heel short or long-term at any point before or after WrestleMania, the talent pool dry for WWE within their own company due to booking issues and outside of WWE, why WWE needs a different creative approach, and much more.Then on the July 17, 2011 episode, PWTorch Livecast with host PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell and PWTorch columnist Greg Parks discussed with live callers the immediately-concluded Money in the Bank PPV from all angles including the epic Cena-Punk match, where they go from here, why the match worked, why WWE could set up a bigger angle or pull the rug out from under viewers on Raw, a potential end-game for Punk at WrestleMania (vs. Austin?), the Randy Orton vs. Christian match and State of Smackdown following a strong night, MITB match highlights, the overall PPV, and much more.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wade-keller-pro-wrestling-podcast--3076978/support.
The first week of Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp is officially in the books, and there is no shortage of storylines to discuss! On today's episode of State of the Steelers, we're breaking down the biggest takeaways from Week 1 in Latrobe, including Mike McCarthy's early impact on the team, the heated backup quarterback battle between Will Howard and Drew Allar, Aaron Rodgers building chemistry with DK Metcalf, Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard continuing to impress, Asante Samuel Jr.'s standout performances, and much more. We'll also discuss why fans shouldn't overreact to "football in shorts," why getting through Week 1 without any major injuries is a huge win, and what we're watching closely as the Steelers prepare for padded practices. Who has been your biggest surprise through the first week of camp? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Stijn Schmitz welcomes Joel Salatin to the show. Joel Salatin is a self described Christian Libertarian Environmentalist Capitalist Lunatic Farmer. Salatin describes a deeply distorted US agricultural landscape, where massive oversupply of corn and soybeans coexists with a historic cattle shortage. Half of domestic corn goes to ethanol, not food, and China's pursuit of self-sufficiency is eroding soybean exports, yet government bailouts keep older, risk-averse farmers locked into unprofitable cropping cycles. This parasitic dependence on subsidies props up unneeded production while stifling the market signals that would otherwise push farmers toward cattle, a switch he demonstrated could be highly profitable and capital-efficient. The fertilizer and energy shocks from Middle East conflicts further expose the fragility of input-dependent farming. Salatin noted that rising fuel costs drive farm bankruptcies and accelerate land consolidation into the hands of patient capital, including family offices and billionaires. He emphasized that genuine food security is not threatened by lack of production but by water scarcity and desertification driven by vegetative loss from overgrazing and continuous cropping. Instead, he champions a biological paradigm of farming that builds soil through cover crops, intensive rotational grazing, and on-farm composting to eliminate synthetic inputs. His own Polyface Farms exemplifies this model, integrating livestock, forest, and direct marketing to create a resilient, local carbon economy. Salatin contends that the path forward lies not in propping up the failing industrial system but in entrepreneurial adoption of regenerative practices that mimic nature's nutrient cycles and restore hydrological balance. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:51 – State of North American Agriculture 00:02:04 – Financial Struggles and Bailouts 00:03:02 – Cattle Herd Shortage Issues 00:03:55 – China Food Self-Sufficiency Plans 00:08:26 – Transitioning Soybean Farms to Cattle 00:11:40 – Conversion Costs and Payback 00:18:49 – Bailouts and Market Disconnect 00:24:20 – Screw Worm and Cattle Imports 00:29:00 – Localized Fertilizer and Carbon Cycles 00:35:15 – Impact of Fertilizer Shortages 00:41:23 – Water Issues and Vegetation 00:45:55 – Corn To Soybeans 00:47:00 – Energy Impacts on Farmers 00:55:00 – Water Rights & Investors 01:03:10 – Polyface Farms Operations Guest Links: Website: https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polyfacefarm X: https://x.com/JoelSalatin Joel Salatin, 68, dubs himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Admirers hail him as the world’s most famous farmer, the high priest of the pasture, and Virginia’s most eclectic thinker since Thomas Jefferson. Detractors label him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate. Armed with high school and college debate trophies, 16 published books, and a thriving multi-generational family farm, Salatin draws on decades of food, farming, and fantasy to captivate global audiences. Equally at home herding cows or keynoting for Wall Street CEOs, he covers profitable regenerative farming techniques alongside cultural debates like orthodoxy versus heresy. A staple on radio and podcasts for preppers, homesteaders, ecological farmers, and foodies, Salatin blends practical, can-do entrepreneurial solutions with passionate sustainability advocacy.
App Masters - App Marketing & App Store Optimization with Steve P. Young
Join the Exclusive Distribution First Workshop - Find. Rank. Scale. Get Tickets: https://luma.com/qcmhcnf3How do you build AI apps that go viral without spending a dollar on ads?In this episode, we're joined by Nicole Cheung, a serial app founder behind three viral consumer apps. Nicole has scaled her apps to millions of users through viral product design and organic distribution, without paid acquisition or external funding. Her latest app, currently in stealth, generates 300–400 million monthly social media views.We'll dive into the strategies behind building successful consumer AI apps, from validating ideas and designing onboarding flows to pricing, paywalls, retention, and creating viral growth loops that drive sustainable user acquisition.Whether you're launching your first app or looking to scale your next AI product, you'll leave with actionable insights from one of the fastest-growing founders in the space.You will discover:✅ How Nicole discovered and validated her app ideas✅ The story behind GlamUp and Sprout✅ How she built three viral apps without paid ads✅ The viral product design principles behind millions of users✅ Onboarding strategies that increased conversions✅ Paywall and pricing experiments that boosted revenue✅ Retention tactics that kept users engagedLearn More:60-page free growth playbook: https://tally.so/r/BzZpA4 Connect with Nicole: https://x.com/madebycol Work with us to grow your apps faster & cheaper:https://www.appmasters.com/You can also watch this video here: https://youtube.com/live/SdqUZGJM384*********************************************SPONSORSThe app growth playbook is changing fast.AppsFlyer's State of eCommerce App Marketing Report 2026 breaks down the latest trends, benchmarks, fraud insights, and market-by-market data every app marketer should know before planning Q4.Download it free from the link below: https://bit.ly/4uvoHGM*********************************************Tired of handing 30% of every in-game sale to iOS and Android billing systems? Appcharge is the DTC monetization platform trusted by King, Huuuge, Tripledot, and SciPlay – giving studios a direct line to their players, and up to 95% of every transaction. Web stores, payment links, and a full Merchant of Record service covering taxes, compliance, and global payments – all in one platform. Visit appcharge.com to learn more*********************************************Follow us:YouTube: AppMasters.com/YouTubeInstagram: @App MastersTwitter: @App MastersTikTok: @stevepyoungFacebook: App Masters*********************************************
JCVD and JCVD! State of the art filmmaking at it's best! Double the action! Double the kicks! Double the 90's Hong Kong Action Troupes! Double the splits!
>> Quer desbloquear episódios EXTRAS? Então, acesse a nossa outra página aqui no Spotify: Fábrica de Crimes Horas ExtrasOu você também pode apoiar e entrar no nosso grupo secreto do Telegram pelo Apoia.se, clicando aqui.Se quiser apoiar pela Orelo, clique aqui.>> O caso de hoje se passou na Florida e deixou marcas profunda na jovem Queena Phu e em sua família. O responsável quase se livrou da prisão perpétua. Vem ouvir todos os detalhes nesse episódio já disponível na sua plataforma preferida…>> E a INSIDER continua por aqui apoiando o FC. Vale lembrar que os Kits de Presentes pro seu Dia dos Pais estão te esperando aqui: https://www.insiderstore.com.br/collections/dia-dos-pais Corre para aproveitar o mês de agosto, porque a Insider te dá desconto no site usando o nosso cupom FABRICADECRIMES - tudo junto.Então pode usar o nosso cupom FABRICADECRIMES, na hora de boletar as roupas no carrinho ou você pode comprar diretamente nesse link: https://creators.insiderstore.com.br/FABRICADECRIMES>> Quer aparecer em um episódio do Fabrica? É muito fácil!Basta mandar uma mensagem de voz por direct no Instagram @podcastfabricadecrimes nós só publicaremos com a sua autorização. Vamos AMAR ter você por aqui :)Hosts: Mari e RobEditor: Victor AssisAviso: O Fábrica aborda casos reais de crimes, contendo temas sensíveis para algumas pessoas. O conteúdo tem caráter exclusivamente informativo e é baseado em fontes públicas, respeitando a memória das vítimas e de seus familiares. As eventuais opiniões expressas no podcast são de responsabilidade exclusiva das hosts e não refletem necessariamente o posicionamento de instituições, veículos ou entidades mencionadas. Caso você tenha alguma objeção a alguma informação contida nesse episódio, entre em contato com: contato@fabricadecrimes.com.br Fontes: OSPREY OBSERVER: Artigo — "Queena Inspires While Facing Her Journey of Healing" (fevereiro de 2026). Disponível aqui. https://www.ospreyobserver.com/2026/02/queena-inspires-while-facing-her-journey-of-healing/JOIN QUEENA: Site oficial de Queena Phu e sua família. Disponível aqui. https://joinqueena.comFOX 13 NEWS: Artigo — "The Life She Once Knew: Story of Bloomingdale Library Attack Survivor Published" (outubro de 2020). Disponível aqui. https://www.fox13news.com/news/the-life-she-once-knew-story-of-bloomingdale-library-attack-survivor-publishedWFLA-TV: Artigo — "Bloomingdale Library Attacker Kendrick Morris Resentenced to Life in Prison" (9 de março de 2017). Disponível aqui. https://www.wfla.com/news/bloomingdale-library-attacker-kendrick-morris-resentenced-to-life-in-prison/THE NET LINE: Artigo — "Kendrick Morris' Story — His Life, Crimes, and Sentence Detailed" (junho de 2022). Disponível aqui. https://thenetline.com/kendrick-morris-story/FINDLAW: Decisão judicial — Morris v. State (2015), Florida District Court of Appeal. Disponível aqui. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1711418.htmlPLANT CITY OBSERVER: Artigo — "Queena Still Serving as a Beacon of Courage" (abril de 2015). Disponível aqui. https://www.plantcityobserver.com/queena-still-serving-beacon-courage/AMBASSADOR INTERNATIONAL: Página editorial do livro — "The Life She Once Knew" por Vanna Nguyen. Disponível aqui. https://ambassador-international.com/books/the-life-she-once-knew/OBSERVER NEWS: Artigo — "Hundreds Turn Out for Former East Bay High Student Benefit" (junho de 2014).Disponível aqui. http://www.observernews.net/2014/06/04/hundreds-turn-out-for-former-east-bay-high-student-benefit/TWITTER: My response to this Tampa Bay Times article from last Wednesday. Disponível aqui. https://x.com/sgw94/status/831141173838434307/photo/1
We continue to look at the life and times of Uno no Sarara, aka Jito Tenno, female sovereign ruling in her own right. We look at some of the places she traveled to as sovereign and, ultimately, what she did to ensure that her grandson would succeed her. For more, check our podcast blog page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-154 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 154: Queen Uno no Sarara, Part II Light drifted in from outside the grand audience hall. It filtered through barred windows and screens, and glinted off of bright gold and bronze accents, as well as the polished stone floor. Upon a raised dais, surrounded by curtains, sat the tennou, arrayed in all of his youthful majesty. Before him were princes and high ranking nobles, dressed in their finest court clothing. Rich brocades of silk and black gauze hats only added to the pomp and circumstance of the moment. The nobles bowed and brought out a small tray. Upon it were seventeen scrolls, freshly made, representing the latest updates to the laws and punishments of the land. The nobles presented the work they had overseen, the culmination of a year's effort to further bring into line the organization of the state. Off to the side, behind a screen of her own, Uno no Sarara watched the proceedings. She thought back on all that had happened to bring them to this point. This glittering hall was a far cry from the plain wooden structures of the old Kiyomihara palace. And while she had never visited them, she could only imagine that this must rival the courts on the continent. Everything that she and her husband had worked and fought for—all of the battles they had fought, and all of the friends and children they had lost—she watched as it all came to fruition. The court was never going to be entirely peaceful—there would always be those striving for wealth and power, however they could attain it—but at this moment she no doubt felt as confident as she ever had that her efforts hadn't been for naught. No matter what happened from here, the State, and her line, would continue. So let's recap: We started with Part I of Uno no Sarara's reign back in episode 152, and then last episode we took a bit of a detour to go more in depth on the history of Ise and of the worship of Amaterasu more generally. We talked about how there is good reason to believe that Ise shrine's prominence—and even many of the stories about Amaterasu and her importance in the story of the royal family—were either created or at least emphasized during the reigns of Ohoama and Uno no Sarara. We ended with a discussion of the Jingikan, the newly created government organization developed to deal with so-called "Kami Matters", formally bringing the administration various shrines under the administration of the State. Specifically it seems to have focused on State sponsored rituals. I have no doubt that they took charge of the rituals at court itself, and they were likely involved in the worship at Ise Shrine, as well as the shrines of Tatsuta and Hirose. On the other hand, as with the spread of Buddhist temples, direct State control was likely limited, at least at this stage, likely focused on the most influential institutions. This episode I want to continue with Uno no Sarara's reign. She continued to make her mark on the court, tweaking how things worked, especially around the concept of rank. And then there were her various travels. These were mostly to her palace in Yoshino, but several other journeys, including a tour of the land of Kii—modern Wakayama prefecture—as well as a visit to her half-sister, Royal Princess Asuka. For all of that, however, the entry in the Nihon Shoki ends with what was perhaps one of the most direct and unique things she did: Ensuring a smooth transition of power to her grandchild, Prince Karu. And while in this episode we'll (spoiler alert) cover both this power transition and Uno no Sarara's eventual death, we won't be done with her reign and its impact after this episode. After all, there is still a lot going on around this time, and multiple different threads to pull on. I expect several more episodes to cover things, such as the creation of hunting and fishing preserves, Buddhist merit-making, crime and punishment, and more. There are also a few more people to talk about, such as Kakinomoto no Hitormaro, the court poet, and Fujiwara no Fubito and the establishment of the Fujiwara family as we know it. So let's take a look at Uno no Sarara and what she was up to. She was still very much putting her stamp on things, tweaking the codes and making edicts. One of the more impactful edicts would seem to be one where she had the government officials and people of the Home provinces all divided into nine classes. This seems to be introducing yet another rank system, though this one is a bit more technical than the ones that came before. For one thing, it divided everyone up into nine ranks. To do this, the court were going to take a look at a period of up to 6 years for those who already had rank and up to 7 years for those who did not. The court—presumably court appointed judges—would use that period to evaluate individuals and slot them into a new system of nine classes. Those in the first four classes would be given cap-rank based on their individual merits, the services that they had performed, and the importance of their house. There isn't really a mention about the other five classes, but as they were theoretically the lower classes of society, it may not have been quite so pertinent. BTW, of the three things that they were using to determine cap-rank, that last one, the importance of the individual's house, strikes me as the nod to the fact that the Japanese had not yet gotten away from the idea of "kabane" type hierarchy. Granted, it isn't like family was unimportant in the Tang court, the Japanese were just being much more blatant and direct about it. Once everyone was properly sorted into the appropriate cap-rank, new edicts were issued on the official court clothing, which we discussed in Episode 150, and if you check out the blogpost you should be able to see what that looked like. I would note that the cap-rank system would eventually go away and be replaced by a rank system also based on 9 ranks, which then were broken up into upper and lower and junior and senior, so very similar to what we see with cap-rank, with some slight changes. Uno no Sarara continued to make tweaks to the system, while working on the various large scale projects of the reign. She wasn't exactly a homebody, however. As she did all of this, she was regularly taking trips away from the capital. For example, between 689 and 697 she took at least 30 trips to visit Yoshino, sometimes taking as many as five trips in a year. These were often short—a couple of days and then back to the grind of the court. However, that's all that we get. Based on the dates, we can at least make a few inferences. For one, she was going down in all seasons, so she really must have enjoyed it, and it doesn't seem like it was attached to any particular official date or ritual. Perhaps it just got her away from the pressure of official life. Some of her travel appear to have been work trips. Her travel to Ise, which we talked about in the previous episodes, as well as things like traveling to visit the Castle of Takayasu and also to inspect horses at the embankment of Wani-no-kami. Those appear to have been both trips where she was keeping an eye on things. Other trips, however, provide fewer details. Mostly we know where she went. This included trips to Hatsuse, Kii, Takamiya, and Yonabari, in Uda. We are also told she ascended the Peak of Tou no Mine and later that she made another journey out to the Futatsuki Palace—presumably at the same place. And we also have a trip out to the country-house of Royal Princess Asuka. Now Hatsuse, Kii, and Uda are all places we've previously talked about. They are all on the Kii peninsula. Hatsuse—or Hase—and Yonabari, in Uda, are both due east of modern Sakurai, following the Yamato upriver and then branching off to the aptly named Yonabari river. These areas are well-referenced in the rest of the Nihon Shoki. "Kii" is a bit more ambiguous. Kii refers to the entire land of Kii, or Kii no Kuni—by the way, if you are familiar with the Japanese bookseller "Ki-no-kuni-ya", that name directly references the land of Kii as the family who started it were from Wakayama in Kii, where they served under the Kishu—or Kii—branch of the Tokugawa family during the Edo period. That said, there were others who also used the name "Kinokuni" as a locative name as well, and you will occasionally see it here or there, even outside of the famous bookstore. The land of Kii is basically all of the southern Kii peninsula. On the west side, it starts at roughly Wakayama, and includes the mountainous regions south of the Nara basin, wrapping around to the east side of the peninsula, to just south of Ise. Today it is split between Wakayama prefecture and parts of Mie prefecture, including the towns of Kihoku—literally "Northern Kii"—and Taiki—"Big Kii". Today, "Taiki" is part of the Watarai district, Watarai being the name of the location where Ise shrine was located. So you can see that Kii basically included everything from one side of the peninsula to the other. Most of the time, though, I would generally assume that travel to Kii is a reference to the nearby area of Wakayama, especially as there are other references to that area in the form of hunting and fishing restrictions, which we'll discuss more fully in a later episode. This particular trip to Kii sounds like it was a bit of a longer trip, incorporating several locations. We know that it took roughly eleven days—about a week and a half. That's enough time to do quite a bit of sightseeing. In fact, shortly before leaving, Uno no Sarara says that she is going on a "tour" of the land of Kii, and as such the land-tax and poll-tax for Kii would not be collected for a year, since, instead, they were expected to support her visit so that she could travel in appropriate style and so that temporary palaces could be made available for her use. Kii is an interesting place for Uno no Sarara to visit. It is mentioned occasionally throughout the chronicles, and its position puts it squarely in Yamato's sphere of influence. At the same time, its mountainous nature means that it was never quite as populated as regions like the Nara basin or the Kawachi plains, where the large, flat areas were better suited to wet rice paddy agriculture. In Kii, there are only a few areas really suitable for supporting large populations through agriculture alone, and even today the mountains make travel and construction in the area more difficult, so you don't have the highly concentrated population centers as in other regions. The area around modern Wakayama city provides some of the best land for agriculture, with some other coastal regions as well. But it is mountains that Kii is known for, and the mountains often have spiritual significance. Mt. Koya, or Koyasan, would be found in 805 as the center of Shingon Buddhism, but well before that you have the Kumano shrines, also known as the Kumano Sanzan—the three mountains of Kumano. There is a lot of evidence that worship at the three mountains of Kumano was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Buddhist traditions, but that this was a later influence on areas that were already important spiritual sites well before Buddhism arrived in the archipelago. The exact nature of worship is debated, but the area was important, with "Kumano" once treated as its own land, overseen by the Kumano Kuni no Miyatsuko. The deities of Kumano and the area more generally features in the Nihon Shoki in the legendary stories of Iware Biko, aka Jimmu Tenno. The Kumano shrines are, ultimately, a series of shrines in the Kumano region, roughly 20-40 kilometers from each other. There are three main shrines—Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha—known as the three mountains. There are numerous other shrines as well. There are three main deities worshipped, but then also another nine that are considered important as well, for at least twelve kami. The three main kami – Kumano Musubi no Ohokami, Hayatama no Ohokami, and Ketsumi Mikoto Ohokami – are also considered to be manifestations of Izanami, Izanagi, and Susano'o. Izanami and Izanagi are famously the progenitor kami of the archipelago, while Susano'o is the storm and ocean deity said to be the rambunctious and troublesome brother to Amaterasu Ohokami. It is quite likely that the connection with these other kami—who feature prominently in the later stories, was actually a later addition. Similarly, around the 9th century, the Kumano shrines were heavily influenced by Buddhism, which often co-opted indigenous kami worship by associating the native kami with incarnations of Buddhist figures. In this case: Thousand-armed Kannon, Yakushi—or the Medicine—Buddha, and Amithabha. I must say that associating Amithaba—or Amida—with Susano'o seems like a bold move. The deity who tossed a backwards flayed colt into Amaterasu's weaving hut is also the Buddha who made the promise that all who call on his name would find their way to the western pure land? I guess. Together, the kami of Kumano are known as the Kumano Gongen, and there is a pilgrimage trail, even today, that leads between the various shrines and peaks, as well as various temple complexes in the area. There is one other interesting connection with Kumano shrines, and that is the fact that there is a Kumano Taisha up in the Izumo region. Today, they claim that despite the names being identical, there are no actual ties between Kumano Taisha and the Kumano Sanzan. The Kumano Taisha of Izumo is actually considered the Ichinomiya, or most important shrine, of Izumo—even more important than the famous Izumo shrine, itself. It lies 30 minutes south of modern Matsue, and enshrines a kami known as Kushi-mikenu-no-Mikoto, said to be another name for none other than the famous Susano'o. Kumano Taisha claims to have been first mentioned in the Nihon Shoki back in the time of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou, in an entry from 659, though that entry simply states that the Izumo no Miyatsuko was to repair the shrine of the "Itsuki" kami, and doesn't specifically mention Kumano Taisha by name. There is an entry attributed to the Izumo fudoki, which claims a shrine was located on Mt. Kumano, identified with modern day Tenguyama. And then, Kumano Taisha appears in the Engi Shiki in the 10th century. Suffice it to say, there are many different ways that this can be interpreted. Scholars have attempted to look into the potential connections between Kumano Taisha in Izumo and the Kumano Gongen of Wakayama, but it does not appear that there is a fully formed consensus. I would note that we certainly see various important worship centers branching out throughout the archipelago, setting up branches elsewhere, and we also see the association of various local kami with other, more famous kami, making the claim that they are simply another name for the same entity. This would appear to be one way to bring different groups into communion with each other, as it were, and helping to gloss over the potential difficulties found in diverse belief and worship practices. As a side note, there is at least one other Kumano Taisha of note, found up in the Tohoku region. It claims to be the "Ise of Tohoku", with a focus on Izanami and Izanagi. It seems to claim a founding around the early 9th century at the Tenno's request. Given that, I think we can ignore it for our current discussion. To bring this all back around, it is unclear if Uno no Sarara's tour of Wakayama included the Kumano shrines at this time. Certainly Kumano would play an important role in the legends and stories that the court was putting together, but what structures were in place at this point in the story are unclear. Her tour may have focused much more on the area around modern Wakayama. Her tour of the area took a total of eleven days, which is more than enough time to have seen a fair bit of the area, and certainly would have been enough time to get down to the Kumano region, but we don't have any clear details that I see to say exactly what happened. Still, I do find it interesting to look at the juxtaposition of the Kumano shrine story with that of Ise. Both took on some aspects of the official stories of the founding of Japan and appear to have been important shrines for the court to some extent, and both the trip to Ise and the trip to Kumano were events such that local taxes were commuted for a time to help pay for the royal visit. But whereas Ise would go on to reject the merging of Buddhism with local kami worship, Kumano appears to have embraced it. Kumano worship took on a highly syncretic character, with Buddhism and Kami worship becoming inextricably intertwined, maintaining that character even today, despite numerous historical attempts to extricate the two from each other. Ultimately, Ise shrine would take pride of place as the national shrine of the royal family, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Kumano had been more ascendant. Getting back to our discussion of Uno no Sarara's various peregrinations: we also have what appear to be two trips up to Tou-no-mine—the modern pronunciation for the name which Aston transliterates as "Tamu no Mine". This is the peak where, about forty years earlier, Takara Hime is said to have built a circular enclosure and called "Futa-tsuki" or two "Tsuki" trees palace. It was also known as "Ama-tsu-miya", the Heavenly Palace. The modern Tou-no-mine is a mountain to the southeast of Asuka, however, there is also a theory that the Tou-no-mine and Futa-tsuki palace were actually on a small hill just due east of the Kiyomihara palace site. This is where we find walls, the Sakafune-ishi stone, and other examples of work from the time when the Futa-tsuki palace would have been built. That said, to get to Tou-no-mine, we are told it was a two day trip—one day out and one day back. That said, it wouldn't have all been spent traveling. In fact, Tou-no-mine, today, is under two hours walking distance. The site by the palace is much closer, and the entry for going to the Futatsuski is only mentioned on a single day. So none of that is particularly helpful, in my opinion. Ultimately, we know that it was a location near Asuka and that it was associated with Takara Hime, the last female sovereign in her own right—even though her reign was arguably run largely by her son, Crown Prince Naka no Oe. Speaking of whom, Naka no Oe was not only the father of Uno no Sarara, but also of Royal Princess Asuka. So when Uno no Sarara went to Asuka's country house, also known as the Denso or Tadokoro, she was actually going to pay a visit on her own half-sister. By the way, "country-house" is the Aston translation. A more direct translation might be something like "Field Place". It was a private estate belonging to powerful families, such as the local elites—or in this case the royal family. It is a rare glimpse into the living conditions of those royal princes and princesses who were not resident in the palace itself. I do find it interesting that it specifically identifies the royal princess and not some male relative or husband—and Uno no Sarara isn't really noted as visiting a lot of family members all over the place. I've seen a suggestion that Asuka may have been married to Prince Osakabe, one of Temmu's sons, but if so it is interesting that Uno no Sarara goes to visit *her* house and not *his* house. Princess Asuka is not mentioned much, but given this and a few other things—including being mentioned in the Man'yoshu in connection with a poem by the famous Kakinomoto no Hitomaro—she seemed to be someone important, even though we don't have a lot of information on what that looked like at the time. And with that, we've covered most of Uno no Sarara's travels. We discussed her near-constant trips to Yoshino, then there were official visits to inspect the fortifications and horses. Granted, that latter duty was also done just at the palace, in Asuka, so it wasn't necessarily terribly special. There was her expedition to Ise, which we discussed in a previous episode, and then down to tour the land of Kii. There were short jaunts out to Hatsuse and Yonabari. And the largely unexplained visits to Tou-no-mine and the enigmatic Futa-tsuki palace. Finally, there was a note about her calling on her half-sister, Princess Asuka. So that was what Uno no Sarara was doing when she wasn't at the court. Otherwise, whether it was in the Asuka Kiyomihara palace or in the new Fujiwara Palace, she was dealing with the business of the state. Much of what is recorded are fairly common things—banquets, archery competitions, and similar events that are interesting in aggregate, perhaps, but maybe not so helpful in figuring out the larger trends that were occurring at the time. There were edicts and changes, but we can talk about those separately. There were natural disasters, as well. Overall, she spent eleven years on the throne, from 686 to 697. In that time, she finished much of the work started by her husband, put her own stamp on the new government, and, perhaps most importantly, she set up her grandson for success. It is worth nothing that Uno no Sarara's posthumous regnal name is Jitou Tennou, and while that was probably not something she chose for herself, it may give us some insight into how the Chroniclers viewed her. Remember that the brothers, Naka no Oe and Ohoama, were given the names "Tenji" and "Temmu", respectively. Tenji is "Heavenly Wisdom", and he is counted as the brains behind the Great Change, the Taika reforms, and much of the shape that the state took from 645 onwards. Temmu is something like "Heavenly Warrior". The victor of the Jinshin no Ran was remembered for his military strategy, even though that was really only a small part of his overall reign. The characters of Jitou's posthumous title are two characters. The first, "Ji", means "to hold" or "to have". The other character is "tou" and generally means "relationship" or "to control". It can also refer to unification. This is often considered to mean that her role was seen as continuing to hold the throne and continue the work of her husband and his line, his progeny. In this case, that means strengthening the state that Ohoama had built, following through on his national projects, and ultimately ensuring that the throne passed seamlessly to Ohoama's grandson, ensuring that his line would continue. Of course, it probably should be noted that of course it was also her own bloodline that she was continuing as well, something that would become important in later years. And it is easy for us to look at this as simply editorializing by the Chroniclers, who were, after all, trying to craft a national narrative as well as record the history. In many ways the use of these posthumous titles allowed them to do that—to summarize an entire reign into something that could be easily remembered. And yet, based on the actions that she has taken, there certainly seems to be something to this description of Uno no Sarara and her motivations. We saw, early on, how she cleared the way for her own son, Crown Prince Kusakabe, getting rid of his potential rival for the throne, Prince Ohotsu, and thus potentially averting another conflict at the start of the reign. But then Kusakabe died, leaving her with his young son, and while placing a young infant on the throne might have become a thing in later centuries, that precedent had not quite been set just yet. Even as it was, Uno no Sarara likely had some concept that she could not know how many years she would get. A decade on the throne was nothing to sneeze at, and many sovereigns had much less. And so, beyond setting up the structure of government that her grandson would inherit, she also had a few more things to ensure. She would want him to be old enough to be taken seriously, and she would need to make sure that there were no other claimants that could complicate matters. There was only one other serious candidate that fit that description, and that was Prince Takechi. Remember, Prince Takechi was Ohoama's eldest son. He was also a maternal descendant of the Munakata, meaning that he didn't have the double-royal imprimatur that was presumably required to take the throne as the sovereign. And yet, Uno no Sarara was no doubt savvy enough to understand that those kinds of traditions changed quickly and easily in the past, as long as one had the right political backing. At the same time, Uno no Sarara appears to have leaned heavily on Prince Takechi's support. It was a risk, but his support for her efforts would help her do what she needed to do. Not only that, but if anything did happen to the young Prince Karu, Prince Takechi was the next in line. He was also the Dajou Daijin—the most powerful court position short of Uno no Sarara herself. For many reasons, it would have been difficult if the Queen felt she needed to take him out of the picture. Perhaps then it was fortuitous that in 696 the issue resolved itself, when Royal Prince Takechi passed away. This was no doubt a sad event, and yet it also may have set things in motion. Prince Karu had been born in 683, so he was fourteen years old—still quite young, but old enough. He was also surrounded by supporters, including his own mother, widow to the late Prince Kusakabe, Royal Princess Abe. While it isn't mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, we get a glimpse of how all this was planned in the Kaifuso, published in 751. There, in an entry for Prince Kadono, a son of Prince Ohotomo, we are told that after Prince Takechi's death, Prince Kadono met with Uno no Sarara and others and suggested a course of action. He encourage Uno no Sarara to pass on the kingdom to Prince Karu, despite his youth. If true, this is quite the statement from someone whose own father was killed in the Jinshin no Ran, which brought Ohoama and Uno no Sarara to power in the first place. It appears as though she heeded his advice, setting up what would come next over the following year. And so it is from the year after Prince Takechi's death that we start to really see entries focused on Prince Karu. In the second month of 697, for instance, we see that Tahema no Mabito no Kunimi was appointed to be Prince Karu's tutor. Likewise we see Michi no Mabito no Atomi and Kose no Ason no Ahamochi appointed as director and assistant director of the Spring Palace—the palace for the Crown Prince, the Heir Apparent. Interestingly, Aston notes that the Nihon Shoki never actually gives an entry for when Prince Karu was named Heir Apparent—it just seems to be assumed. Ten days after the new directors were appointed, a public great-congregation was held at the Crown Prince's palace—here called the Eastern Palace, and I'll admit I'm not sure if "Eastern Palace" and "Spring Palace" were different names for the same place or what. I assume these were all part of the newly built Fujiwara Palace, though the most important part is the implications for Prince Karu. He was being introduced to the court, it seems, with a large congregation at his residence where the court would be expected to acknowledge his position as the crown prince and heir apparent. Three months later, we are told that Uno no Sarara grew ill. The Ministers and various government officials made votive images of the Buddha in an attempt to make merit and help her to recover. While she would recover from whatever illness she experienced, I suspect that this was something of a wake-up call. Uno no Sarara was in her early 50s, and she wasn't getting any younger. She also lived at a time where she had to realize that many others hadn't made it as far, and perhaps her illness made her realize that if she was going to do something, she had better do it sooner, rather than later. And so, just a little more than a month later, on the first day of the 8th month, Uno no Sarara abdicated the throne in favor of her grandchild, Prince Karu, soon to become the next Tennou. This isn't the first time we've seen an abdication in the history of Yamato, but it is perhaps the first time we've seen it quite like this. When Takara Hime abdicated, I think we can agree that it was largely under duress. She had just seen her son lead a bloody coup against the most powerful court nobles, and that really does seem to have shaken her. No such bloody struggle was happening here, however. In fact, there is plenty to suggest that avoiding a bloody struggle was exactly Uno no Sarara's point. By overseeing Prince Karu's ascension while she was still around, Queen Uno no Sarara maintained significant control over the process. Part of this rested on the fact that when she retired from the position of Tennou she didn't just become some commoner or retreat to the position of Queen Mother or Dowager Queen or something similar. Instead, she took on a new titled: Retired Sovereign, or Dajou-Tennou. Technically this means that her own title was something like "Greater Sovereign", compared to Karu's "sovereign". This position was new, and may not have even been fully formed at the time of the initial abdication. Unlike when Takara Hime abdicated, effectively acknowledging that she wasn't actually in charge, Uno no Sarara was planning to remain an active force in government. Her grandson would be set up as the formal sovereign, or Tennou. He would be responsible for the rituals and ensuring everything was properly carried out, but his mother, the Dajou-Tennou, would have a tremendous amount of clout and control. By all accounts, this abdication and creation of the "Dajou-Tennou" position really does seem to have been specifically set up for this occasion, to ensure the smooth transition of power. This way, when Uno no Sarara eventually did pass away, there would be no question about who was seated on the throne. Given everything she had witnessed—from stories about her how her own father had come to power as well as the events of the Jinshin no Ran and then everything that happened in the aftermath of her own husband's death—I can understand why Uno no Sarara would have been pre-occupied with the idea of ensuring a smooth transition to the next sovereign. She likely could not foresee how this new position would be used in the future, and yet it would become something of a staple in the politics of the Japanese court. Initially, retired sovereigns were typically doing so for reasons similar to Uno no Sarara—to ensure a smooth transition of power from one to the other and to ensure that the next tennou could be established to avoid instability. However, it would become something even more. After all, why wait until your heir is actually ready? If you are going to be running things, anyway, why not remove yourself from the tedium of ritual while retaining your authority? And in later centuries we see the tennou retiring younger, leaving younger and younger heirs to hold the actual throne. There would also be a certain Buddhist aspect to it as well, allowing the retired tennou to be seen as a kind of Golden Wheel Turning Sovereign who was theoretically beyond the material cares of the day to day. The retired sovereigns would be referred to as "In", which is likely a reference to the suffix given to their compounds, rather than the common "Miya" or "Gu". And so the government under these retired sovereigns would become known as the Insei, or government by cloistered sovereigns, but that system was still in the future. For now, we are just seeing the seeds of what was to come, eventually. To understand this later phase of Uno no Sarara's life, we need to take our first few steps into a new source: The Shoku Nihongi. The Nihon Shoki ceases to describe anything after Uno no Sarara's abdication, and the official history of Prince Karu's reign—known to us as Monmu Tennou—is taken up by the Shoku Nihongi. This is literally the continued Japanese history, and we'll talk about it in depth at some point. For now, I would note that it was compiled in 797 – so literally a century after the last entry in the Nihon Shoki. That said, it likely had much better records to go off of compared to the Nihon Shoki, though it was still likely compiled with a view that was still quite friendly towards the royal family and the position of the Tennou. And so, when Uno no Sarara largely disappears from the narrative, I don't know that we should assume that she had truly gone completely hands off. After all, with everything we've seen, do we think that this is a woman who would just hand the reins over to a fourteen or fifteen year old boy? And yet the first time she appears is in 701, when she is making a trip to her favorite vacation spot: the Palace at Yoshino. That said, there were some pretty big events that happened during this period, after her abdication and assumption of the title of Dajou-Tennou. The biggest was the creation of the Taihou Code. Once again, this will need a fuller treatment, but the Taihou Code was an update to the Kiyomihara code. The Asuka-Kiyomihara code was 22 volumes, and focused on the laws, the "ryou", but not necessarily the punishments, or "ritsu". In contrast the Taihou code was 6 volumes of "ritsu" and 11 volumes of "ryou", for 17 volumes in total. Unfortunately, we mostly have scraps of indications here and there, and the codes that came afterwards, which were each based on what came before. For instance, we do know that they completely overhauled the rank system yet again. Unlike the Kiyomihara code, which took years to develop, the compilation of the Taiho code is ordered in 700 and completed by 701—likely because it was really more of an update and a compilation of what was already on the books. This was perhaps the most significant thing that happened while Uno no Sarara was still available to exert her influence. Karu was still only about 19 years old at this point. He would turn 20 the following year, 702. That same year, Uno no Sarara would travel all the way out to Mikawa no Kuni, which is the eastern half of the modern prefecture of Aichi. The royal procession, which started in the 10th month of 702, then made its way back through Owari a month later, and from there up to Mino, and then down to Ise and back through Iga. The royal procession is first recorded on the 10th day of the 10th month and returned on the 25th day of the 11th month—a round-trip time of roughly 45 days. Throughout we are told that various ranks and awards were given out to important individuals at each stop. Unfortunately, that trip may have taken a toll. A few weeks later, on the 13th day of the 12th month, Uno no Sarara grew ill. There was a great amnesty pronounced throughout the realm, and one hundred men took Buddhist vows on her behalf. They even read the Sutra of Golden Light in the Home Provinces. Alas, it was all to no avail. Uno no Sarara passed away on the 22nd day of the 12th month—or January 13th in 703. It was roughly six years from her abdication. She would have died with at least some knowledge that the realm was largely in order. Her grandson was on the throne and had been ruling for the past six years. He had attained the age of majority, and things seemed relatively stable. There was even a new, grand, permanent capital city, just like on the continent. But that closes out the life of Uno no Sarara. She lived in interesting times, experienced tremendous fortune and misfortune, and she put her indelible stamp on the state of Yamato and thus the future of Japan. There is still more to go over in this period—we have interactions with the Emishi, updates to society, and various impacts to Buddhism. We'll also take a look at some more important people from this period, including Kakinomoto no Hitomaru, the famous poet, and the poems of the Man'yoshu, and Fujiwara no Fubito, the son of Nakatomi no Kamatari and the one largely responsible for making the Fujiwara house the most influential house in the entire court. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.
For every dollar the world invests in protecting nature, it spends thirty dollars destroying it. In this episode of the Climate Correction Podcast, host Shannon Maganiezin sits down with two of the authors behind the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) State of Finance for Nature 2026 report to unpack what that staggering imbalance means for biodiversity, climate resilience, economic stability, and the future of finance itself. The numbers are sobering: in 2023 alone, roughly $7.3 trillion flowed into nature-negative activities, while just $220 billion supported nature-based solutions. Shannon is joined by Ivo Mulder, who leads UNEP's Climate Finance Unit and has helped unlock more than one billion dollars for sustainable agriculture, forestry, and restoration across developing countries. Ivo is one of the report creators. Ivo co-founded the Natural Capital Finance Alliance and the ENCORE tool, laying the groundwork for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. Also joining the conversation is Michael König-Sykorova, Senior Project Manager at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a leading expert in climate and nature finance data. Michael contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report and led key analytical components of the State of Finance for Nature 2026 report. He iwas lead author on this report and is also a founding member of the Climate Finance and Sustainability Centre at Makerere University in Uganda. The conversation begins with Michael walking listeners through the scope and methodology of the report, including how the team defined and measured nature-negative finance across sectors, what qualifies as nature-based solutions finance, and how the two sides of the equation can be meaningfully compared. He shares what the data reveals about trends over time, whether progress is moving fast enough, and how the report's findings were validated through rigorous peer review. Ivo then steps back from the numbers to explore what these findings signal about the trajectory of global finance. He examines whether nature-negative investments are starting to slow or still expanding, where the biggest synergies are emerging across the three Rio Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and land degradation, and what governments, public finance institutions, private investors, and financial institutions each need to take from this report. The discussion closes with a look at the financial instruments and emerging biodiversity finance mechanisms showing the most promise for scaling investment into nature-based solutions. The takeaway is clear: the challenge isn't only how much we invest in protecting nature. It's where the rest of our money is going. Redirecting even a fraction of nature-negative flows could fundamentally reshape outcomes for climate, biodiversity, and global resilience. Resources / Links: UNEP – State of Finance for Nature 2026 (SFN 2026) and State of Finance for Nature 2023 (SFN 2023). Interconnectivity between climate, nature & climate risk (including impacts on GDP) IMF 2024 'Embedded in Nature' SwissRe 2021 – The economics of climate change: No action not an option Klusak et al, 2021 – Rising temperatures, falling ratings: the Effect of Climate Change on Sovereign Creditworthiness. Bennett School, Cambridge University Nature Finance, 2022. Loss of nature is pushing nations towards sovereign credit downgrade and 'bankruptcy' Some catalytic finance solutions UNEP has set up and/or supported: UNEP: Why use catalytic finance to tackle tropical deforestation. About the &Green Fund + &Green: Financing sustainable palm oil in Indonesia Restoration Seed Capital Facility (RSCF): video about its structure & video about its support lines AGRI3 Fund: a guarantee fund to stimulate forest, food & famers in emerging markets. Responsible Commodities Facility: financing responsible soy in Brazil
Newscast from Capital Public Radio
With a new Prime Minister comes a new cabinet, and this week we saw Lucy Powell replace Bridget Phillipson as Secretary of State for Education. As the 8th Education Secretary since 2020, the education sector is understandably wary about yet another appointment to the role. While Lucy Powell's predecessor has not left the role with successful reviews, what can we expect with the change at the top? As ever, the question has bounded to the forefront: should secretaries of state have at least SOME experience in that sector before being placed in charge of the political journey of such an important area? So… who is Lucy Powell? What connections and experience does she have with schools? In which direction will she take education? What should be her first actions in office? What do those in education want to see prioritised? And what did Bridget Phillipson get so wrong? Join Matt Miles, Maud Waret and Liz Webb for Points of View live at 8pm and share your thoughts.
Thousands of migrants just flooded into the Spanish territory of Ceuta from Morocco in a scene of absolute chaos, and local officials are begging for a national emergency. The border fences totally collapsed as hordes of people, mainly Moroccans, smashed through gates, swam across with inflatable tubes, and poured into the tiny North African enclave. Civil guard officers described the situation as “absolute chaos,” with thousands crossing and at least three people dying in the attempt. Residents locked themselves inside as shops and restaurants shuttered. Spain is now deploying military units, diving teams, and vessels while the interior minister heads to Ceuta. Morocco used tear gas and water cannons, but the surge still overwhelmed both sides. This isn't new — a similar mass rush hit in 2021 — and the White House is pointing straight at Europe's far-left globalist policies that enabled it. Regular Americans watching this know exactly what open-border experiments look like when the numbers get real. Mass migration pressure, failed European border security, and the consequences of ignoring the warnings are all on full display. Pat also covered: BYU and college football season are right around the corner Day 48: Mitch is still missing — and his staff is staying very quiet eBay agrees to pay $56 million in a bizarre cyberstalking settlement Two teens supporting Sophie Cunningham were cursed out by Storm co-owner BBC documentary accuses Jared Leto of sexual misconduct with teens; he denies it Does this prove Europe still hasn't learned anything about securing its borders? Have you seen similar scenes closer to home that make you worry about where this is headed? If you want unfiltered truth and commonsense analysis that cuts through the noise, hit subscribe and turn on notifications. 00:00 Pat Gray UNLEASHED! 00:17 Football Season is Coming Up! 01:38 Middle-East Updates 03:30 Mitch McConnell is Still Missing (Probably Because He's Dead) 04:39 Mitch McConnell's Staff Refuses to Talk 08:01 Mitch McConnell's Wife Accepting Awards 09:36 More on Mitch McConnell's Current Condition 16:11 Moroccan Invasion of Ceuta, Spain 18:50 State of Emergency for Ceuta, Spain 22:33 Europe is Being Overrun! 33:26 Fat Five 51:40 eBay Pays Nearly $50 Million to Terrorize Couple 1:03:26 Talking about Mitch McConnell Again 1:06:35 WNBA Seattle Storm Fans on the Attack! 1:16:20 Thom Tillis is STILL Blocking the SAVE Act 1:20:04 Texas Senate Polls 1:21:58 Jasmine Crockett on How Bad Black People Have It 1:28:06 Jared Leto Accusations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
(2:00) Corey starts us off with a defense of Michael Alford (10:00) Student-athlete (15:00) Betting on FSU (24:00) How to make your kid an FSU fan (29:00) How to convince adults to respect FSU (37:00) Offensive potential greater or lesser than last year (45:00) Establish, stop run (56:00) Ashton Daniels, Charlie Ward and ball security Music: Cursive - The Avalance Of Our Demise Follow CumminsLifestyle on IG Upgrade your wallet today! Get 10% Off @Ridge with code WAKEUP at https://www.Ridge.com/WAKEUP #Ridgepod Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/7v4dbwf9 #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Savings provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Can 21 funds deliver useful global diversification—or mostly camouflage overlap, cost, and complexity? Don opens the Friday Q&A by giving one listener a sharper set of questions to take back to an advisor, including what each fund actually contributes and what would be lost by owning fewer.The questions then move from portfolio architecture to retirement reality. A listener learns why RMDs and Roth conversions should not wag the retirement dog, and another faces a sudden $15,000-a-month skilled-nursing bill that changes the investment plan for good reasons—not because of market timing.There's also a timely Roth-conversion opportunity for a young worker headed back to school, a warning about state charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities, and a sober return estimate for a balanced portfolio. Add one lovingly brutal critique of Competitive Don, and the listener mailbag is officially doing its job.00:39 Welcome to Friday Q&A02:50 Are 21 funds too many?05:40 Don't let RMDs wag the retirement dog09:13 Investing for a $15,000-a-month care bill12:44 A low-income-year Roth conversion15:30 Competitive Don gets reviewed18:04 State charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities19:05 What return should a 60/40 portfolio expect?Questions? Comments? Click!
Ellen Coyne and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:It was revealed this week that the planned Dublin Metrolink could cost up to €19 billion. The last Metrolink estimates from 2022 suggested €9.5 billion as the midpoint of a “credible” cost range of between €7.16 billion and €12.25 billion. The increasing cost echoes the National Children's Hospital and its umpteen budget increases – a saga that damaged the public's trust in the State's ability to deliver large necessary projects in a timely and cost-effective manner. The latest data from the Climate Change Advisory Council suggests the Government's target of 400,000 heat-pump installations by 2030 is all but impossible at this stage. They are calling for a twentyfold increase in the pace of delivery, plus a surge in general home retrofits. The German chancellor Friedrich Merz was welcomed to Dublin by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Tuesday where he delivered a speech on the need for a more austere approach to the common EU budget. The decision to speak entirely in German was not helped by malfunctioning translation devices given out to the Taoiseach and those present. The State has been urged to buy the lands of former Bessborough mother and baby home to create memorial park. This comes after planning permission was granted for more than 100 apartments on the Cork site. And more than 300 former members of the Christian Brothers will be summonsed through an advertisement in a national newspaper. The move was prompted by the fact that the Christian Brothers is an unincorporated association, meaning there is no legal entity that can be directly sued by people taking it to court.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we discuss how normal people use AI, Alphabet's Anthropic-fueled earnings, and skills vs. agents. Plus, catching AI-cheating students with a hidden prompt. Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode 583 Runner-up Titles “Do you think they named them red delicious because they knew they were delicious?” I thought they were First World Steal your Alpha-tier Cory uses only 100% free-range, organic AI. Copy, paste, go. Stolen fruit from the poisoned tree all the way down. It's a different kind of cold. It's a dry cold. Rundown AI IRL How people use AI in 2026: TV, homework, the DMV Professor's invisible prompt trap catches 32 students cheating on their midterm with AI Amazon confirms it's closing key AI site in San Francisco but says work on its top models continues Google Cloud is killing it Skill vs. Agents Atlas: Wiz's autonomous AI Agent for vulnerability research Don't Build Agents, Build Skills Instead Relevant to your Interests Alphabet Quadruples Profit to $112 Billion, Fueled by A.I. Investments Palo Alto Networks to Acquire Embrace, Adding Real User Monitoring to Its Observability Platform IBM CEO Says Company Culture Was Too Slow to Change Domo Announces Agreement to Sell Substantially All Assets and Certain Liabilities to Progress Software for $400 Million Google Cloud is killing it ChatGPT chats are showing up in Google Search — how to find and delete yours [Update] 2026 State of infrastructure in the agentic AI era Stripe in Talks to Buy Buzzy AI-Model Marketplace OpenRouter Sponsors Signadot: making sure AI-written code actually works. Conferences AI Connect, Aug 22nd, 2026 - Riga, Latvia, Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Graz, Sept 4-5, 2026 Cloud Foundry Summit, Sept. 21st to 22nd, Heidelberg, Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Rockies, Sept. 22 – 23, 2026, Discount Code: 26DODSWEDEFTALK WeAreDevelopers NA, Sept 23-25, 2026, Discount Code: DEVPOD26 25 Free Tickets DevOpsDays Dallas, Sept 28-29, 2026 DevOpsDays Vilnius, Sep 30 - Oct 1, 2006 DevOpsDays Istanbul, Oct 24th, 2026, Coté keynoting. VMware User Group, Orlando, Oct 20-22, 2026 Cloud Native Denmark, Nov 19th, 2026, Copenhagen, Coté keynoting. SDT News & Community Join our Slack community Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com Follow us on social media: Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, BlueSky Watch us on: Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté Sponsor the show Sponsor more podcasts with Failover Media Recommendations Brandon: Silo Season 3 Matt: Hyperion Coté: Cooking with Claude
Sean Martin catches John Sotiropoulos and Rock Lambros at the end of the OWASP GenAI Security Summit, held alongside Infosecurity Europe 2026 at ExCeL London. Both are deep in the standards work: John Sotiropoulos co-leads the OWASP Agentic Security Initiative and sits on the board of the OWASP GenAI Security Project, and Rock Lambros serves as Director of AI Standards and Governance at Zenity and co-leads the OWASP Top 10 for LLM 2026 update. The headline from the day is the launch of the Agentic Security Council, bringing Oxford University, Queen's University Belfast, CSIT, and other research institutions into the same room as practitioners and industry. John Sotiropoulos frames the reasoning bluntly: content on its own does not create change. Papers and Top 10 lists matter, but they only matter if the people building and defending systems can act on them. The number that reframes everything is twenty-two seconds. That is the average time from an initial access event to the next attacker action, down from eight hours. John Sotiropoulos puts the question directly to anyone still running a human-speed playbook: how do you respond to that? A panel on incident response with participants from AWS and Microsoft, a keynote from Microsoft's National Security Officer, and a walkthrough of the State of Agentic Security and Governance report all point at the same shift toward runtime security. Rock Lambros brings a different kind of grounding. For the first time in the four-year history of the OWASP Top 10 for LLM, the update draws on a corpus of reported incidents rather than opinion and community vote alone. It is one data point among several, but it is data, and that changes what the list can claim. A panel with the heads of AI security at Deloitte supplies the operational counterweight. As one of them puts it, security has to stop being the Ministry of No, because people will route around it and ship anyway. The report's adoption tiers and maturity levels exist for exactly that reason: security that lives only inside a PDF is not security. The invitation from both John Sotiropoulos and Rock Lambros is the same. Join the work. Research, red teamers, defenders, builders, and SecOps all looking at one view of what is actually happening is the only version of this that scales to machine speed. ⬥HOST⬥ Sean Martin, CISSP | Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine & Studio C60 | Host, Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast & Music Evolves Podcast | https://www.seanmartin.com/ ⬥GUESTS⬥ John Sotiropoulos, Deep Cyber | Co-Lead, OWASP Agentic Security Initiative; Board Director, OWASP GenAI Security Project | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsotiropoulos/ Rock Lambros, Director of AI Standards and Governance, Zenity; Founder, RockCyber | Co-Lead, OWASP Top 10 for LLM 2026 | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocklambros/ ⬥RESOURCES⬥ Infosecurity Europe 2026 is taking place June 2-4, 2026 | ExCeL London. Follow our coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/infosecurity-europe-2026-infosec-london-cybersecurity-event-coverage OWASP GenAI Security Project | https://genai.owasp.org Contribute to the OWASP GenAI Security Project | https://genai.owasp.org/contribute The Future of Cybersecurity Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7108625890296614912/ Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast | https://www.seanmartin.com/redefining-cybersecurity-podcast On Location | https://www.itspmagazine.com/on-location
The guys were on the sidelines for Day 1 of the NC State Football Fall Camp. They talk about who was running with the starters, who's hurt, and what surprised them. Plus, news broke yesterday that 3 former NC State players are in a lawsuit that could give them a 5th year of eligibility. They discuss the ramifications and think State might get involved if it's successful.
0:00 - Every year, the NFL releases a list of the Top 100 players as voted by the players. How many Broncos are on the list? What do their NFL peers think of them?16:43 - Kawhi Leonard is a minority owner of a...football team? Football club? Soccer team? Let's pick the correct verbiage here. Either way, this story WILL NOT GO AWAY. Adam Silver, how many more Pablo TorreBombs do you NEED?32:03 - Oh, by the way...the State of New York is suing Kalshi for $36 billion, claiming the company is running an illegal gambling operation. Yikes.Oh, by the way...the Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't signed Baker Mayfield to a contract extension yet. Yesterday, Baker spoke about the situation and didn't mince words at all. Oh, by the way...the NHL is suing Smoky Hill High School because their logo looks exactly like a version of the Buffalo Sabres logo. Hey NHL...come on, man. Everyone does this. High schools copy logo from professional sports franchises all the time.
As part and parcel of China's compressed modernization, processes of state-led rural urbanization through land expropriation and rural-to-urban relocation have been transforming rural Chinese people's lives in unprecedented ways. This has led to different, often adverse outcomes for the affected populations – China's “landless peasants” - as well as to the construction of divergent narratives about the role of the Chinese state's measures for them. To provide a so-far missing perspective to existing research, Isabel Heger-Laube reconstructs the role of the experienced changes from landless peasants' own narratives, drawing on the “big” and “small” stories collected through fieldwork in Huaming model town in Tianjin's Dongli district. By focusing on ordinary people's subjective processes of meaning making, this book not only puts into perspective objective assessments and persistent narrative tendencies, but also sheds new light on the puzzle of social stability in the wake of large-scale, state-led transformations in contemporary China. China's Landless Peasants and the Role of State-led Rural Urbanization: Narratives, Meaning Making, and the Puzzle of Social Stability was published open access with Würzburg University Press in 2025. Free e-book version. Dr. Isabel Heger-Laube (isabelheger@gmail.com) is a sinologist and social scientist with an interdisciplinary footing in social anthropology, sociology, and psychology. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 2024 and currently works as a scientific associate at the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). Alongside her work, she is pursuing a degree in psychosocial counseling. Her research interests include urbanization and social change, higher and adult education, aging and care, as well as narrative meaning making and identity formation. ORCiD. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Send us Fan MailThe countdown to the first day of school is on.If you're like most school leaders, your to-do list is growing by the hour. Schedules, staffing, professional development, open houses, and a flood of emails can make August feel like a race to simply get everything done.But what if the key to a successful school year isn't checking off more tasks?In this episode of The Empowered Educator Show, Dr. Mel challenges a common mindset that keeps many principals stuck in reactive leadership long after the first bell rings. Instead of focusing on everything that needs to be completed before students arrive, you'll discover a different way to prepare—one that can shape the entire school year.Through the lens of the Leader • Logistics • Learning framework, Dr. Mel shares practical insights, leadership stories, and research-backed principles that will help you think differently about the weeks leading up to the start of school.If you want to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose this year, this episode is for you.In This EpisodeWhy being busy isn't the same as being preparedThe hidden mistake many school leaders make every AugustThree simple shifts that can have a lasting impact on your school cultureResearch-based leadership insights that support sustainable successA biblical perspective on leading with wisdom and intentionalityA practical challenge you can implement before the first day of schoolResources MentionedHorng, E. L., Klasik, D., & Loeb, S. (2010). Principal Time-Use and School Effectiveness. American Journal of Education, 116(4), 491–523.The Wallace Foundation. (2021). How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research.Gallup. State of the Global Workplace (latest editions).ScriptureProverbs 24:3 – "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established."Support the showMillion Podcasts ListDownload Upside and use my code MELINDA35278 to get 15¢ per gallon extra cash back on your first gas fill-up and 10% extra cash on your first food purchase!Download Fetch app using this link, submit a receipt and we'll both score bonus points.Calling All Educators! I started a community with resources, courses, articles, networking, and more.I am looking for members to help me build it with the most valuable resources.I would really appreciate your input as a teacher, leader, administrator, or consultant.Join here: Empowered Educator CommunityBook: Educator to Entrepreneur: IGNITE Your Path to Freelance Successemail: melinda@empowereducator.com
As part and parcel of China's compressed modernization, processes of state-led rural urbanization through land expropriation and rural-to-urban relocation have been transforming rural Chinese people's lives in unprecedented ways. This has led to different, often adverse outcomes for the affected populations – China's “landless peasants” - as well as to the construction of divergent narratives about the role of the Chinese state's measures for them. To provide a so-far missing perspective to existing research, Isabel Heger-Laube reconstructs the role of the experienced changes from landless peasants' own narratives, drawing on the “big” and “small” stories collected through fieldwork in Huaming model town in Tianjin's Dongli district. By focusing on ordinary people's subjective processes of meaning making, this book not only puts into perspective objective assessments and persistent narrative tendencies, but also sheds new light on the puzzle of social stability in the wake of large-scale, state-led transformations in contemporary China. China's Landless Peasants and the Role of State-led Rural Urbanization: Narratives, Meaning Making, and the Puzzle of Social Stability was published open access with Würzburg University Press in 2025. Free e-book version. Dr. Isabel Heger-Laube (isabelheger@gmail.com) is a sinologist and social scientist with an interdisciplinary footing in social anthropology, sociology, and psychology. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 2024 and currently works as a scientific associate at the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). Alongside her work, she is pursuing a degree in psychosocial counseling. Her research interests include urbanization and social change, higher and adult education, aging and care, as well as narrative meaning making and identity formation. ORCiD. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies
July 31, 2026 - State health officials are looking to relax the training requirements for certified nurse aides. We hear pushback to the proposal from Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition.
Spain's Border Has Collapsed: Is the UK Next? 49,000 Forced Entry: Is the UK Next? | Spain Border Crisis Reaction #SpainBorder #Ceuta #BorderCrisis #JonGaunt #UKPolitics #StateOfEmergency #LiveTalk The situation in Spain has reached a breaking point. With 49,000 young men having already forced entry into the country, the border at Ceuta is under immense pressure. What does this mean for Spain, and more importantly, what does it mean for the UK? Join Jon Gaunt as he talks directly to top Talk Broadcaster Maurice Boland in Spain. They'll discuss the reality on the ground, the impact on local communities, and why many believe these illegal migrants will eventually attempt to cross the English Channel. Today's Debate: Should Andy Burnham get back to London immediately? Is it time to call a COBRA meeting and declare a State of Emergency? How can we protect our borders from the inevitable ripple effect of this crisis? We want to hear from YOU. Is this a national security threat? Drop your thoughts in the live chat. #SpainBorder #Ceuta #BorderCrisis #JonGaunt #UKPolitics #StateOfEmergency #LiveTalk #MigrationCrisis #BorderSecurity #MauriceBoland #JonGauntTV Spain border invasion, Ceuta migration crisis, Jon Gaunt live, Maurice Boland, UK border security, illegal migration Spain, State of Emergency UK, Burnham COBRA meeting, English Channel crossing, illegal migrants news, Jon Gaunt TV, This is political blogging and hard-hitting social commentary from Triple Sony Gold Award-winning talk radio legend, Jon Gaunt — former host on BBC, Talk Radio, and Sky News. On Jon Gaunt TV, we cut through the noise and say what others won't. No political correctness. No censorship. Just real conversations that matter.
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but it has never been short on independence or unusual stories. One of the original thirteen colonies, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the United States Constitution. It finally approved the document on May 29, 1790, becoming the thirteenth state to join the new Union. Rhode Island had already developed a reputation for going its own way. Colonial officials sometimes called it "Rogue Island," partly because smuggling was widespread in its busy ports and its merchants frequently resisted British trade restrictions. The colony was also known for religious liberty and for offering a home to people whose beliefs were unwelcome elsewhere. Until recently, the state's official name was the "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Rhode Island voters chose to keep that name during a 2010 referendum. Ten years later, however, voters approved removing "and Providence Plantations." Since 2020, the official name has simply been the "State of Rhode Island." Roger Williams established Providence in 1636 after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his religious views. He reached an agreement with Narragansett leaders Canonicus and Miantonomi for the land where Providence was founded. The agreement was later recorded in a deed dated 1638. Long before European settlement, the region was home to Native peoples, including the Narragansett, Niantic, and Wampanoag. Their communities, traditions, and conflicts with European settlers all became part of Rhode Island's history. With colonial settlements, rocky shorelines, old cemeteries, and centuries-old homes, Rhode Island has collected a surprising amount of folklore. Some stories grew from documented events, while others have been passed down as local legends. Here are several of the best-known examples... Podcast Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/american-folklore-rhode-island/ Ancestral Findings Podcast: https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast This Week's Free Genealogy Lookups: https://ancestralfindings.com/lookups Genealogy Giveaway: https://ancestralfindings.com/giveaway Genealogy eBooks: https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Follow Along: https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings https://www.youtube.com/ancestralfindings Support Ancestral Findings: https://ancestralfindings.com/support #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips
As an Ypsilanti City Councilmember, Amber Fellows proposed a one year moratorium on data centers and it was the first to pass in the state of Michigan. She also introduced Mayors for Peace, a resolution made by a coalition of mayors standing against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Amber is running for mayor of Ypsilanti and she sat down to speak with State of Water in the leadup to the primary this Tuesday, August 4. Learn more about Amber at https://www.amber4thepeople.com. State of Water is the official podcast of the Clean Water Campaign for Michigan, a program of Title Track. Watch the full episode video: https://youtu.be/yNG7X61IaeQ Many thanks to Leon Speakers and Mothfire Brewing Company for their sponsorship support. Episode 62 credits: Amber Fellows interviewed by State of Water host, Seth Bernard Produced by Chris Good Music: “Warble” by Brandon Fitzpatrick, The Lasso, Graham Parsons, Jordan Hamilton
07/31/26: Joel Heitkamp is joined by Wes Klein, a Mercer County rancher and concerned citizen, to discuss a petition that was filed. The petition asks the North Dakota Attorney General conduct an investigation into State's Attorney Patrick Waters and make a recommendation to North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong on if Waters should be removed. State's Attorney Patrick Waters also later joins the conversation with Joel to share his side of the story. (Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on X/Twitter @JoelKFGO.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Johnny Mac discusses the Sept. 10 “New York City, Still Rising” 9/11 charity comedy benefit at Madison Square Garden, noting Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson's involvement and that several announced performers (Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Ronny Chieng, and Davidson) also played the Riyadh Comedy Festival, while wondering if NYC Mayor Mamdani would attend and how he'd be received. He covers comedian Mary Beth Barone's support of Mamdani and her criticism of Democratic Party leadership. From Just for Laughs Montreal's State of the Industry, he highlights jokes and commentary from Jay Jurden and Gianmarco Soresi about various comedians and the festival. He then spotlights Seth Simons' FOIA-based Comedy Fee Tracker database (humorism.xyz) with reported booking fees for major comics. Finally, he gives “buy” recommendations: Mary Beth Barone, Stavros Halkias (new special coming), and Jimmy Fallon, citing a USA Today profile on Fallon's new short-form microdrama and recent ratings momentum. 00:17 9/11 Benefit Lineup01:50 Mamdani Supporter Spotlight02:33 JFL Industry Roast05:10 Comedy Fee Tracker07:53 Comedy Stock Picks09:07 Jimmy Fallon Fluff Piece Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/daily-comedy-news-with-johnny-mac--4522158/support.Daily Comedy News is hosted by Johnny Mac and releases every weekday. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite app. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network. For transcripts and show notes visit www.dailycomedynews.comDaily Comedy News with Johnny Mac is a daily podcast covering comedians, stand-up comedy, late night television, and the comedy industry. New episodes every morning. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Contact John at John@thesharkdeck dot com For Uninterrupted Listening, use the Apple Podcast App and click the banner that says Uninterrupted Listening. $4.99/month John's Substack about media is free.
State officials say the first felony arrest has been made under a new law named after a Makaha rancher who was fatally shot while confronting trespassers on his property back in 2024. On Maui, another teen - a 14-year-old boy from Lahaina - has turned himself into police after a riot at a Lahaina resort two weeks ago that left multiple people injured. A third teen has been arrested for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of luxury items from the Shops of Wailea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As part and parcel of China's compressed modernization, processes of state-led rural urbanization through land expropriation and rural-to-urban relocation have been transforming rural Chinese people's lives in unprecedented ways. This has led to different, often adverse outcomes for the affected populations – China's “landless peasants” - as well as to the construction of divergent narratives about the role of the Chinese state's measures for them. To provide a so-far missing perspective to existing research, Isabel Heger-Laube reconstructs the role of the experienced changes from landless peasants' own narratives, drawing on the “big” and “small” stories collected through fieldwork in Huaming model town in Tianjin's Dongli district. By focusing on ordinary people's subjective processes of meaning making, this book not only puts into perspective objective assessments and persistent narrative tendencies, but also sheds new light on the puzzle of social stability in the wake of large-scale, state-led transformations in contemporary China. China's Landless Peasants and the Role of State-led Rural Urbanization: Narratives, Meaning Making, and the Puzzle of Social Stability was published open access with Würzburg University Press in 2025. Free e-book version. Dr. Isabel Heger-Laube (isabelheger@gmail.com) is a sinologist and social scientist with an interdisciplinary footing in social anthropology, sociology, and psychology. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 2024 and currently works as a scientific associate at the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). Alongside her work, she is pursuing a degree in psychosocial counseling. Her research interests include urbanization and social change, higher and adult education, aging and care, as well as narrative meaning making and identity formation. ORCiD. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology
Blake Toppmeyer on BIG10 Media Days and the State of the PCSA! Our Top 5 Events for the Weekend! Tell Your Story, Erick All
Thank you Farmers AGAINST trump., EG, Marg KJ, Suzette Jensen, Jane B In NC
As part and parcel of China's compressed modernization, processes of state-led rural urbanization through land expropriation and rural-to-urban relocation have been transforming rural Chinese people's lives in unprecedented ways. This has led to different, often adverse outcomes for the affected populations – China's “landless peasants” - as well as to the construction of divergent narratives about the role of the Chinese state's measures for them. To provide a so-far missing perspective to existing research, Isabel Heger-Laube reconstructs the role of the experienced changes from landless peasants' own narratives, drawing on the “big” and “small” stories collected through fieldwork in Huaming model town in Tianjin's Dongli district. By focusing on ordinary people's subjective processes of meaning making, this book not only puts into perspective objective assessments and persistent narrative tendencies, but also sheds new light on the puzzle of social stability in the wake of large-scale, state-led transformations in contemporary China. China's Landless Peasants and the Role of State-led Rural Urbanization: Narratives, Meaning Making, and the Puzzle of Social Stability was published open access with Würzburg University Press in 2025. Free e-book version. Dr. Isabel Heger-Laube (isabelheger@gmail.com) is a sinologist and social scientist with an interdisciplinary footing in social anthropology, sociology, and psychology. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 2024 and currently works as a scientific associate at the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). Alongside her work, she is pursuing a degree in psychosocial counseling. Her research interests include urbanization and social change, higher and adult education, aging and care, as well as narrative meaning making and identity formation. ORCiD. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology
Anne Marie turns up missing, and her family and friends move Heaven, Earth, and a Secretary of State to get an investigation going. This episode includes AI-generated content.
Send us Fan MailTitle: What's New in Cloud FinOps - June 2026Hosts: Frank Contrepois and SteveOSummaryIn this episode, Frank and SteveO navigate through the latest cloud offerings and AI advancements, revealing how these updates impact performance, costs, and operational strategies across Azure, AWS, and AI applications. Stay tuned for insights into new VM generations, cost management tools, and cutting-edge AI features.Key Topics:Azure's new Cobalt 200V and 100V VMs deliver up to 50% better CPU performanceIntroduction of AWS's Metal 48XL/96XL and enhanced EC2 instances with sixth-generation Intel XeonLatest AWS Graviton 5 processors offering up to 25% better compute performanceEnhanced Amazon EC2 G7 instances powered by Nvidia RTX Pro 4500AWS Cost Management updates, including automatic cost anomaly investigations and new billing toolsAWS's support for region-agnostic throughput reservations in AzureThe rise of AI and automation in cost optimization: new tools, models, and use casesCloud vendors' announcements on energy-efficient storage, reserved pricing, and billing analysis toolsTimestamps:00:00 - Cloud news roundup: performance boosts in Azure VM series00:20 - Azure's new Cobalt 200V VMs: performance and AI workload optimization01:32 - AWS launches Metal 48XL/96XL: CPU advancements and network enhancements02:50 - Introduction of AWS M9G/M9GD instances with AWS Graviton 5 processors04:36 - AWS's latest EC2 G7 instances with Nvidia RTX GPUs for AI and visual workloads05:43 - Cost efficiency improvements with new pricing models and snapshot billing09:28 - Redshift advances with manual snapshot cost reductions10:12 - AI models on Bedrock: GPT 5.5, Codex, and OpenAI integrations12:24 - Innovations in cloud billing: cost explorer, cost anomaly detection, and billing account tools13:00 - Cost & Usage Report 2.0 enhances S3, Athena, and Redshift integration14:23 - Google Cloud billing updates: report export improvements and new filtering options15:19 - AWS's right-sizing and resource optimization enhancements16:12 - Cost explorer AI integrations and automated cost investigations17:10 - New AI-powered tools for cost anomaly root-cause analysis18:16 - Multi-project billing views and resource management in AWS19:04 - Advanced export configurations to streamline billing data handling20:06 - Google Cloud's spot VM real-time availability features21:36 - Enhanced tagging, resource management, and API capabilities in AWS and Google Cloud24:11 - Azure's VM retirements, storage, and reservation updates26:15 - Redshift's new upfront pricing options for reserved instances27:35 - Global provisioned throughput reservations now regional in Azure for flexibility28:44 - Storage charges optimizations and vector query cost reductions on S330:10 - Using finops.frankcontrepois.com for AI-driven FinOps34:08 - The importance of separating AI from automation in cloud efficiency strategies36:17 - Resources like the Phoenix Project and The Goal for understanding process optimization and AI impact37:34 - Support for new resource types and idle recommendation expansion in AWS Compute Optimizer38:50 - Cost and performance insights into specific resource wastage39:16 - AWS's State of Cost Efficiency Report: benchmarking and industry insights40:52 - AWS FinOps agents preview: automated cost and anomaly management workflows42:23 - Programmatic savings plan management and AWS workload optimization43:47 - Cost attribution and telemetry for large language models (LLMs) on Bedrock44:10 - AWS WAF's new AI traffic monetization capabilities for API access control45:45 - Azure Cosmos DB's new cost estimator tool for pre-provisioning modeling46:52 - Top three news picks: upcoming cloud innovations and AI advances47:35 - The growing role of FinOps and AI operational tools in cloud cost managementResources:FinOps toolThe Phoenix ProjectThe Goal by Eliyahu M. GoldrattConnect with the Hosts:Frank - LinkedInSteveO - LinkedIn
John Orlando from the PVDCast and Gerald Glassford step back into the ring as they go into depth on what's making news in the world of professional wrestling. Tune in as they preview WWE's SummerSlam as they go over the major matches, and talk about the state of the WWE as their creative constantly comes under fire. They also dive into AEW, and with their biggest show, All In, around the corner, how is the setup for their biggest match coming to London? The summer is hot, but is the action in the ring just as warm? Find out the thoughts of the guys as the State of Pro Wrestling is back in the PCC Multiverse!Gear up with your favorite Pop Culture Cosmos shirts and gifts in our TeePublic store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/pop-culture-cosmos.Questions for us? Hit us up at popculturecosmos@yahoo.com or @popculturecosmo on Twitter!Don't forget to Follow, Like, and Subscribe to our shows and leave us that 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!Presented by Pop Culture Cosmos, Zero Cool Films, ThriveFantasy, the novel Congratulations, You Suck (available for purchase HERE), Lakers Fast Break, Pop Culture Cosmos, Inside Sports Fantasy Football, DripShow Shop, The Happy Hoarder, and Retro City Games!
As part and parcel of China's compressed modernization, processes of state-led rural urbanization through land expropriation and rural-to-urban relocation have been transforming rural Chinese people's lives in unprecedented ways. This has led to different, often adverse outcomes for the affected populations – China's “landless peasants” - as well as to the construction of divergent narratives about the role of the Chinese state's measures for them. To provide a so-far missing perspective to existing research, Isabel Heger-Laube reconstructs the role of the experienced changes from landless peasants' own narratives, drawing on the “big” and “small” stories collected through fieldwork in Huaming model town in Tianjin's Dongli district. By focusing on ordinary people's subjective processes of meaning making, this book not only puts into perspective objective assessments and persistent narrative tendencies, but also sheds new light on the puzzle of social stability in the wake of large-scale, state-led transformations in contemporary China. China's Landless Peasants and the Role of State-led Rural Urbanization: Narratives, Meaning Making, and the Puzzle of Social Stability was published open access with Würzburg University Press in 2025. Free e-book version. Dr. Isabel Heger-Laube (isabelheger@gmail.com) is a sinologist and social scientist with an interdisciplinary footing in social anthropology, sociology, and psychology. She earned her PhD in Chinese Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 2024 and currently works as a scientific associate at the School of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). Alongside her work, she is pursuing a degree in psychosocial counseling. Her research interests include urbanization and social change, higher and adult education, aging and care, as well as narrative meaning making and identity formation. ORCiD. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics
In October 1997, Skip Clark was killed in York, PA. Police officers decided that the death was gang related, and that two gangs were out for each other after having a dispute. Tysheem Crocker was dragged into the conversation. The State argued that he and others plotted to retaliate against their rival gang, and that Skip was caught in the middle. Despite four witnesses testifying that they knew who the killer was and that it was not Tysheem, and despite the fact that his whereabouts were accounted for at the time of the crime, Tysheem was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/036-jason-flom-with-lorenzo-johnson/ https://www.change.org/p/mayor-c-kim-bracey-and-abolitionist-law-project-we-want-the-corruption-in-tysheem-crocker-s-case-investigated-and-all-relevant-documents-turned-over-that-pertain-to-the-case https://www.change.org/p/i-hope-this-helps-justice-for-tysheem-crocker?fbclid=IwAR05Aqx78BUzLsZeEH7Yo1GaAZvZruPvsFEdeMuUYTsTFei-xPQMnp8MfGMhttps://www.facebook.com/justuiceforTysheem/ n.com/COULD-HAPPEN-ANY-US/dp/0982814488https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B074SPJV6N/about Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
(3:00) Ashlynd Barker calls his shot? (17:00) Norvell sees immediate growth at QB? (26:00) Ashton Daniels on a similar path to early era Jordan Travis? (29:00) ...in that he absolutely must run to set everything else up (38:00) Thoughts on Micahi Danzy (48:00) Team heard from Anquan Boldin (55:00) Preseason ACC predicted order of finish (57:00) Corey theory Music: Citizen - Halcyon Blues Follow CumminsLifestyle on IG Upgrade your wallet today! Get 10% Off @Ridge with code WAKEUP at https://www.Ridge.com/WAKEUP #Ridgepod Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/7v4dbwf9 #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Savings provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
On this week's Bourbon Community Roundtable, our panel is tackling two massive seismic shockwaves rattling the very foundation of the spirits world. We jump straight into the first major headline: the shocking closure of Moonshine University. We break down what losing a premier educational hub like the Stave & Thief Society means for the future of spirits education, and whether this shutdown is the ultimate canary in the coal mine for a slowing craft distillery boom. Then, we turn our attention to the absolute biggest story in spirits retail: distributor giant RNDC filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and winding down operations. We unpack the domino effect of major supplier exits, razor-thin middle-tier margins, and unpaid invoices, analyzing the devastating fallout for small craft brands fighting for local liquor store shelf space. Finally, we throw down over what this massive distributor consolidation actually means for the three-tier system—debating whether this crisis will finally force lawmakers to rethink direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping laws, or if we're simply watching a maturing bourbon market undergo a painful, necessary contraction. Show Notes: The closure of Moonshine University: What losing a premier distilling school means for the spirits industry Assessing the value of bourbon certifications: Essential career springboard or mostly symbolic status? Unpacking RNDC's Chapter 11 filing: Supplier exits, thin margins, and the winding down of a middle-tier giant The ripple effect on small brands: Shelf space access, unpaid invoices, and the future of three-tier distribution Will distributor consolidation accelerate the push for direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping legislation? State of the bourbon market: Reading the room on consumer demand amid industry contraction and adjustments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Businesses love to say they are sustainable. Andrew breaks down why that word is no longer enough on its own. A new EU consumer protection regulation now requires companies to prove environmental claims with evidence, and it has helped drive more than 400 greenwashing-related enforcement actions across the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and India in 2026 alone. Andrew draws on his own university experience with food labeling regulation to explain how vague standards let companies technically comply while misleading the public, then walks through real cases including SEC fines against Goldman Sachs, DWS, and WisdomTree Asset Management, state attorney general lawsuits in New York, California, and Washington DC, and Canada's growing green hushing trend where companies quietly stop talking about sustainability to avoid legal risk. The episode closes with practical advice for listeners on spotting greenwashing before it fools them, plus a preview of tomorrow's conversation with sustainability consultant Zena Harris on cleaning up the entertainment industry's environmental footprint. Takeaways Over 400 greenwashing enforcement actions were recorded globally in 2026 The EU's updated consumer protection regulation requires companies to substantiate environmental claims The SEC fined Goldman Sachs, DWS, and WisdomTree Asset Management for ESG-related misstatements State attorneys general in New York, California, and Washington, DC have filed greenwashing lawsuits Canada is seeing a rise in green hushing as companies scale back ESG statements to avoid litigation Vague terms like eco-friendly, green, and carbon neutral require evidence, not marketing language Third-party verification is more reliable than a company's own sustainability claims Tomorrow's episode features sustainability consultant Zena Harris on the entertainment industry Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube
0:30 - Fauci takes the fifth 13:50 - Hawley embarrasses Fauci for taking the 5th 31:56 - State level charges 56:05 - Quince Strategy's Maximilian Garely asks: Has China cloned your congressman? 01:04:41 - Writer, author, and former Democratic fundraiser Evan Barker discusses her newly released book Nothing Left: Confessions of a Democratic Operative. 01:30:01 - Former Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland says the conflict with Iran may seem slow-moving, but argues the U.S. is hitting Iran where it hurts most: economically. KT is also the author of Revolution: Trump, Washington and "We the People" 01:37:02 - Real American Heroes 01:41:19 - Sports & Politics 02:02:17 - Drew Holden, who writes at his substack “Holden Court”, explains how Legacy Media’s Fauci Love Affair Might’ve Buried COVID’s Origins. You can follow Drew on X @DrewHolden360See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Taylor returns to break down fresh numbers from Applause's 2026 State of Home Services Benchmark Report, covering the new standards for technician performance like daily visit volume, reservice rates, routing efficiency, and Google review benchmarks. From there the conversation shifts to reputation, and why Google has changed its stance on review solicitation. Thousands of home services companies have watched real reviews disappear from their profiles overnight. Additionally, a new Google Maps update now lets customers leave reviews anonymously.
379: How to Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor (Derric Bakker) Episode SummaryNonprofit leaders and fundraisers are exhausted, and the instinct when results slip is to simply work harder. In this episode of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Derric Bakker, Founder & CEO of DickersonBakker, argues that today's struggle is not a down cycle teams can out-hustle but a structural shift in how people give, driven by demographics, the widening wealth gap, fraying community and religious ties, and donors who now expect the personalized experience every consumer brand delivers. Returning after his 2022 conversation (Episode #181), Derric makes the provocative case behind his new book: the relational behaviors long reserved for the top 1 percent of major donors, listening first, personalizing every touchpoint, stewarding consistently, and protecting trust, can become the operating system for fundraising at every level. He explains where AI makes that possible at scale, where it must never replace the human on the other end, and what a practical first step looks like, from rethinking donor survey data to reimagining portfolio size and gratitude. Listeners come away with a clear-eyed diagnosis of why the old model broke and a hopeful sense of the leadership and board decisions that move an organization toward a better way.About DerricDerric Bakker is the Founder & CEO of DickersonBakker, a fundraising consulting and agency firm that helps nonprofit organizations grow, thrive, and make a bigger impact, with a team of more than 50 working with over 100 clients a year. Across more than three decades in the sector, Derric moved through three chapters, roughly a decade as a frontline practitioner, a decade in consulting, and leadership of the firm he launched in 2010 that later merged to become DickersonBakker, and he is now entering a fourth focused on writing, teaching, and thought leadership as Andrew Olson takes the helm as president. Mentored early in his career by the legendary Jerry Panas, Derric built his expertise on relationship-based major gift fundraising, the foundation of his new book. Reflecting on the pace of change, he often points out that nearly everything about the work has been transformed by technology since he started, yet many of fundraising's core assumptions have stubbornly stayed the same.ResourcesConnect with Derric Bakker on LinkedIn and learn more about DickersonBakkerDerric's book: A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor — explore the book and discussion guides at betterwaychampions.orgRecommended reading: Nonprofit AI by Nathan Chappell (who, with Brian Crimmins, was a past guest on Episode #211, Is Philanthropy in a State of Crisis?)Registration is open for Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy - Learn more at institutepl.orgLearn more about Inperium, a nonprofit that helps health and human services organizations grow without sacrificing their mission: Inperium.orgLearn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire: ArmstrongMcGuire.com