POPULARITY
Beginner Mom Boss- Strategies to Start a Profitable Amazon Store or Etsy Shop
In this episode, I walk you through what months of research revealed about growing a business without relying on rented platforms. I share what happened when I Googled people who had been publishing on Substack for months or years and saw where their Substacks appeared in search results. I also look at an analysis of 1.7 million AI prompts that found Substack earned roughly 0.07% of citations. Then I break down the subscriber math behind paid Substack memberships and explain why podcast growth continues to bring business my way even when I'm not consistently promoting it. You'll learn: Why Google may rank other content above your Substack What to know about Substack's visibility in AI citations Why Substack is still rented land even when you own your audience relationship What to consider before relying on paid subscribers for business growth Why an email list doesn't need to be massive to support a thriving business How to evaluate podcast marketing against the work required to promote Substack Why ad spend changes how you should evaluate Substack's growth potential What to consider before adding another platform to your Substack strategy Why cutting out Substack as the middleman could mean promoting your business directly instead Why keeping your business simple beats adding more platforms If you've been searching for substack growth, organic growth, business growth, this episode is your invitation to make an empowered decision about where you put your time and energy. Here's to keeping it simple, Juliana Ready to put your energy into making your podcast work harder for your business? Start here
It's kinda chic to eat a sandwich. It's kinda chic to lean on a bollard. It's kinda chic to intellectualise an Instagram trend as a signifier of the end days.This week, hosts Ione and Gina talk about the growing need to be seen as cool across social media - spawning everything from tutorials on how to be cool to long read Substacks dissecting the tutorials. Has the the algorithm has fully drained the joy of recommendation and curation? Is the quest for coolness futile? And if everyone is kinda chic, then is no-one chic at all?Order The Polyester Book Of Bad Taste here!Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member
Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
In episode 503 of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their deep dive into Luke 10:25–37 — the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Far from a simple morality tale about helping strangers, this episode unpacks the parable's confrontational legal context, its reversal of expectation, and its profound Christological undertones. Tony and Jesse examine why the lawyer's question about self-justification was always destined to be unanswerable on his own terms, how the priest and Levite serve as a damning mirror for religious professionals, and why the Samaritan's lavish, costly mercy points beyond mere ethics to the gospel itself. The episode also explores the Mary and Martha account that immediately follows, arguing it cannot be read in isolation. Closing with Matthew Henry, the hosts land the discussion squarely on gratitude for Christ, the supreme Good Neighbor. Key Takeaways The parable is fundamentally about self-justification, not mercy ministry. The lawyer's question — "Who is my neighbor?" — is a legal maneuver, and Jesus' answer exposes the impossibility of fulfilling the law through self-effort rather than merely defining the scope of neighborly obligation. Jesus reverses the expected identification of "the neighbor." The listener naturally assumes the beaten man is the neighbor to be loved, but the punchline identifies the Samaritan — the one who showed mercy — as the neighbor, redirecting the question from who must I love to what does love actually look like. The Samaritan's mercy is deliberately, impossibly lavish. His actions — binding wounds, providing transport, paying an open-ended debt for a stranger and likely an enemy — exceed anything a reasonable person would do, pointing to a mercy that transcends mere human virtue. The priest and Levite indict religious professionalism. Their failure is not incidental; it demonstrates that meticulous law observance and ceremonial religiosity can actually obstruct the very love the law commands, hollowing out its spirit while preserving its form. The parable functions under all three uses of the law. For the unregenerate, it terrifies and condemns. For the regenerate, it is a third-use call to Spirit-empowered, grateful obedience. As civil law, it commends a society of compassion over indifference. Christ is the typological Good Neighbor. The Samaritan's actions — pouring oil and wine, bearing the cost, promising to return and settle all debts — carry genuine Christological resonance without requiring a full allegorical reading of every detail. The immediately following Mary and Martha account is thematically inseparable. Luke's editorial placement of that narrative directly after the parable creates a deliberate counterpoint: the one thing necessary is not anxious service but sitting at the feet of Jesus. Key Concepts The Lawyer's Question Was Never Going to Work The lawyer who approaches Jesus in Luke 10 is not a neutral inquirer — he is, as Luke tells us, seeking to justify himself. Tony and Jesse explore what this means with precision: the desire to be justified is not inherently wrong, but the mechanism the lawyer employs — the law — is catastrophically insufficient for the task. When Jesus responds with the parable, he does not sidestep the legal framework; he weaponizes it. The Samaritan's mercy is so extravagant, so far beyond ordinary moral expectation, that it functions not as an achievable standard but as a devastating exposure of how far short every human attempt at law-keeping falls. The command "go and do likewise" is not an encouraging send-off — it is, for the self-justifying lawyer, a door slamming shut. The Samaritan's Mercy Is Intentionally Beyond Reach One of the most important contributions this episode makes is resisting the domestication of the Samaritan's actions into a feel-good story about helping those in need. Tony reframes the scenario in contemporary terms: finding a gravely injured stranger from a hostile ethnic group, providing emergency first aid, transporting them to care, and writing a blank check for all future medical expenses — with no personal obligation to do so. No reasonable person would do this, and that is exactly the point. The mercy described is not aspirationally difficult; it is humanly inconceivable at scale. This is what Christ-like love looks like, and it is precisely what the law demands. The gap between the demand and human capacity is the gospel's entry point. The Mary and Martha Account Cannot Be Separated from the Parable Tony raises a hermeneutical observation that deserves more attention than it typically receives: Luke chose to place the Mary and Martha account immediately after the Good Samaritan parable, and that editorial decision is not accidental. Martha — busy with hospitality and service — looks, on the surface, like the practical application of everything the Samaritan modeled. Yet she is gently rebuked, and Mary, who sits at Jesus' feet, is commended for choosing "the one thing necessary." This creates a stunning theological counterweight: the parable exposes the impossibility of self-justifying law-keeping, and the very next story shows that even well-intentioned merciful activity, when it crowds out receiving from Christ, misses the point. The one thing necessary is always Christ himself. Memorable Quotes If you think you're the good Samaritan, if you think you're the one that's gonna come and rescue people — you're much more likely to see this as a sort of law beat-down. Where those of us who are regenerated and in Christ, this is third-use law. This is us seeing what it means to be holy, and going and doing likewise, trying in our power, recognizing that we can't, and trusting the Lord to accept our feeble attempts. - Tony Arsenal This text is not really to be preached or applied as some kind of bare moral exhortation. It's not 'try harder to be like the Samaritan.' That's totally disconnected from the gospel. It should be preached in a manner that exposes the impossibility of self-justification... and then of course it does point us to Christ as the one whose perfect, costly, self-giving mercy alone satisfies the law's demand on our behalf. - Jesse Schwamb If this parable and our conversation about it does nothing except stirring you to gratitude for the fact that our supreme good neighbor threw us on his donkey and carried us to the public house, and bound up our wounds, and paid for our debt — if it does nothing but drive you to gratitude and thankfulness and wonder, then we've succeeded in our task and we've left you with the Gospel. - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 503 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. Well, at this point, there's one thing that we know for certain, and that is if you're gonna come at the law giver, the one who's composed and written the law, with a legal question to try to entrap the one who has given you the law, you better not miss. And it turns out, in Luke 10 where we've been hanging out, the lawyer who poses Jesus with the question of, "Who is my neighbor?" is a big swing and a miss. Yeah. And we're finally gonna get to all the characters that are part of this amazing parable in this conversation. But of course, there's something we gotta do first. Affirmations And Denials Jesse Schwamb: It, it's everybody's, what I'm led to believe everybody's favorite segment of this entire show. I mean, the crowds out there say, "Why even have a full podcast? Just do affirmations and denials for the entire time." And we, we hear you, because we're borrowing from that beautiful confessional format of the dead reformers to settle all the much not confessional [00:02:00] disputes. So in the great tradition of the Westminster Divines, who of course cannot just simply say, "We like grace," without also clarifying 17 things that grace is not- ... we're now again going to bring you our own binding, authoritative, and entirely unneeded but very official statement of affirmations and denials. It's affirming the things we love and denying things we don't. So Tony, as is our own custom, are you affirming with something or are you denying against something on this episode? Tony Arsenal: Um, I'm denying something. Uh, it's a sort of a weird situation that has cropped up, uh, online. And I, I try not to use this segment too often to sort of wade into, um, I don't know, the, like, latest social controversy in the Reformed world. But every once in a while I come across something that I feel like you just need to sort of talk about. And, um, many of our listeners are probably already [00:03:00] aware of the situation that I'm gonna talk about, and it's very well-publicized and, and very public. Um, but I'm denying the sort of weirdness that has happened with the G3 Conference. Um, I'm not sure how familiar with G3 you are, Jesse, but for the, the listener who may not be, G3 is a conference, um, primarily run by Baptists, and is, in my understanding, is primarily attended by sort of Reformed-ish Baptists. And I don't, I don't say Reformed-ish to be pejorative necessarily. Um, but it, it's sort of like predominantly, um Non-confessional but not anti-confessional Calvinistic Baptists, sort of think more like covenant framework MacArthur-style Baptists maybe is, is a way to look at it. Um, and a few years ago, one of their main figures, I don't remember exactly what position he held, but it was a relatively high position in, in [00:04:00] the conference. Uh, his name was Josh Boyce. He, uh, w- was caught/confessed to maintaining, like, multiple anonymous or pseudonymous, uh, Twitter accounts and publishing several s- like pseudonym-based Substacks, um, that he used to basically attack the character of not only anyone online that seemed to cross him, but, like, people that he shared an office with. Like, anyone and everyone was targeted by him. And at the time it was a big hullabaloo. He, uh, he resigned. As far as I can tell, he's faded into obscurity and has not sought to come back, although that's always, you know, yet to be seen. But at the time there was very firm statements by the r- remaining sort of board members, leadership of G3, at how inappropriate this was, and how acting anonymously requi- you know, sort of evacuates accountability and, [00:05:00]and all these different things. And it's come out recently, um, just over the last week, that four of the members of the G3 board, um, who are all elders at the same church, had assembled a sort of anonymous dossier of accusations against, um, a- another pastor, uh, that he had been sort of serially plagiarizing sermons. Um, and when nothing really happened when they sent their anonymous dossier, they started distributing this to other, other, like, platforms and other church and m- parachurch ministries, kind of encouraging people to do their own investigation. Um, one such, uh, outlet was ... It's a, it's a, I don't know, sort of a news discernment blogger kind of a thing, um, has done some pretty decent reporting work I think in, in the recent past, although it has sort of a s- storied beginning, um, called Protestia They did just [00:06:00] that. They did an investigation, and in the course of their investigation, they identified who these anonymous, uh, the anonymous reporters were, and it was the same, the very same people who a few years ago, uh, pontificated, uh, at, at length about the importance of accountability and how anonymity has, uh, taken that away. Uh, people that accepted Josh Boyce's resi- resignation for acting anonymously have now done the same thing. They have since, uh, resigned from their church eldership, um, which is gonna be awkward because they haven't resigned from the board of G3, which, uh, the offices of G3 are in the same building as the church that they've now resigned at. Uh, and I guess where, where my denial comes in and the reason that I feel like it, it might be worthwhile for us just to Even reflect on it a little bit is there is an element in the Reformed world that seeks a platform and seeks an audience and seeks notoriety, and I, I was musing [00:07:00] today a little bit on my own Twitter that th- there was a time in my life where that was very much what I wanted. I wanted to be a, a very public, well-known theological voice, and, um, a- and I just have sort of like drifted away from that. And the, the reason I think it's worth mentioning on our show is that we do have an audience. We have a, a modest audience. It's not huge. It's not nothing. Um, but th- there is a real temptation to seek fame and notoriety that is absolutely destructive and really antithetical to, uh, to Christian principles of what it means to serve those around you, to serve with humility, to r- you know, redound any glory that might come to you for your actions to, to the fact that it is Christ who empowers all things and brings all good blessings. So I don't know that I have much more commentary on it. It's just a weird... It's a very weird situation, but it, it seems like it very much has come from a [00:08:00] place of feeling as though minor slights by people you associate with warrant sort of a, a nuclear option like this because, uh... and I don't wanna read too much into motives, but, but it seems like because your reputation and your notoriety is so great that any offense to it needs to be responded to in kind, and that's just not, that's just not the Christian way. So again, I don't know that I have any more commentary or thoughts on it. It just was a weird situation that I'm, I'm like, "Why do we gotta do this to each other, folks?" Like, why are we, why are we biting at each other all the time? Why are we doing these things except from a place of sinful pride? So I'm denying that. I'm denying sinful pride. I'm denying my own tendencies to seek glory in a spotlight. Um, I'm very thankful that God did not, uh, see fit to grant me that desire 'cause it probably would've been even more destructive for me than it has been for these guys. So I'm very happy to live in obscurity, [00:09:00] to serve the local church, to share our voices in this very modest, tiny platform that we have, and perhaps the Lord will see fit to change that one direction or the other, and I'll, I'll be happy to serve at His, uh, at His will. But I'm glad for now that, uh, the, the temptation of international fame has not been something that I even have the opportunity to lay hold of. Um, I'm very thankful for that, that, uh, grace from the Lord. Jesse Schwamb: I had that light, sarcastic, some might say somewhat humorous opening and affirmations and denials, and you, you just brought the heaviness, which is okay. Sometimes that's, sometimes that's what happens. Lament Devotional Spotlight Jesse Schwamb: And- Yeah ... I- fortunately, I have an affirmation, but it's, uh, of, like, a weird, heavy kind now that I think about it. So, um, I'm trying to, I'm trying to get everybody on the cusp of good books that I think are coming out. And so here's another one where it's not even gonna be released until September 30th, and so you have plenty of time to go out and find this thing. So P&R Publishing, many may be [00:10:00] familiar, does this whole series, topical series, which are called 31-Day Devotionals for Life, and there's a new one being released by Christine Chappell. It's called Lament: Crying Out in Faith. So I'm affirming with this piece because I've had the joy of been working through some of this stuff, and I think this is some of the best treatment I've ever read, been able to practice, been coached into for lamenting. We've talked before at length about how Christians, especially in the West, often because we just have great lives, we aren't familiar with lament. We don't practice it well. We hardly sing any songs of lament. We're unfamiliar with it. It's like a foreign land to us. And then sometimes when we're, we get convicted we should lament, we kind of interpret that as, "Well, yeah, I, I know I can blow up at God. I can get angry with him and, and that's okay." David does it too, and it's okay to express all your feelings with God. What I like about this work is it cultivates more of a prayer language. It gives voice to pain and grief so that there can be a real healing. It's not just a complaining. It's not just [00:11:00] throwing your voice out into the ether to, you know, wildly pontificate or self-aggrandize about how hurt or upset you are. It enables us to cry out to God in such a way that it promotes emotional authenticity, but at the same time maintains reverence. I think that is, uh, at least what I need. The beauty of this book is somebody you know or yourself need to lament something. Actually, I think we all have something to lament, even as it's getting older or things changing in our lives. So I highly, highly, highly affirm with this book. It's Lament: Crying Out in Faith. P&R does a lot of great publishing in this way. It's just the year of the devotionals, Tony. I don't know why. Yeah. I mean, I even hate to use devotional. It's the year of good resources for daily praise and worship- Yeah ... and lament should be part of our praise and worship. Yeah. So, but doing it in the right way is something I'm learning. I had mixed understanding of it. So this will clarify, encourage, edify in all the ways that I think we need. Tony Arsenal: That sounds great. I, I do agree with you. I think, um- [00:12:00] Although I think it may be a little bit less so in, in the sort of confessional Reformed tradition just because the Psalms in general play such a prominent role in Reformed worship. Um, I do agree with you that broadly, like, we, we in the Western evangelical w- world don't, we don't know how to do laments. Um, I'm not one of those people that would say im- imprecatory prayers are inappropriate. I know there are some even within the Reformed world that would say im- imprecatory prayers are not appropriate for God's people in, in the new covenant. Um, I don't know that I agree with that, but, but that's another example of, like, that's in the prayer and hymnbook of our people- Right ... and we don't really know how to do it. Yes. So, and, and imprecation and lament are very closely related to each other. They're, they're very similar, um, ways of thinking and they're, they're both kind of modes of prayer that, uh, we don't, we don't really engage in. And so when we do have- when the occasion arises, we're, like, out of practice. So that's a great, uh, a great [00:13:00]affirmation and yeah, a little, a little weirdly heavy. Maybe this is gonna be a, a weirdly heavy episode. Who knows? Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it very well could be. Good Samaritan Deep Dive Jesse Schwamb: I mean, listen, it was no doubt heavy for the lawyer who stood up- True who was Tony Arsenal: like- Nicely done ... Jesse Schwamb: I'd like to justify myself, so Jesus, let me ask you, we took our question, "Who is my neighbor?" I do all these things. I'm down with the law. Yeah. I know all this stuff. And I think we had some really great conversation last time. I'm biased, but I think we had some really fantastic unpacking of the first part of this, and if you haven't heard that yet, you should go back and listen to episode 502. But in this episode, we're really getting into all of these wonderful and somewhat colorful characters. So I'm gonna pick us back up in Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 25. So I'm going back a little bit just to set that proper context for this amazing parable that Jesus tells us. So he says, "And behold, a scholar of the law stood up and was putting him," that is Jesus, "to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And he said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you [00:14:00] read it?' And he answered and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.' But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' And Jesus replied and said, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. And a priest happened to be going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion.'" And he came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put them on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And on the [00:15:00] next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you." Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands? And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, this is one of those parables we, we mentioned, uh, I guess we've invented a new classification of parables called the Big Daddy parables. That's right. Um, uh, this is one of those parables that is so ubiquitous and well-known, uh, that word there, choice there was a little hat tip to my Lutheran friends. Um, so ubiquitous and well-known that I think we actually can, can rush into a common understanding and not, not be right at all about it. And I think the, the way this, uh, uh, the way I've seen this commonly done in, in circles I've run in in the past is this [00:16:00] becomes a parable about mercy ministry. Um, and, and the primary point is about how we serve our neighbors. And I think there certainly is, um, there certainly is an element of that that we can glean from this, that Christ is making a commentary on the fact that, um, the, the, the right way to not only serve your neighbor but to even identify your neighbor, uh, and it's funny because I think this is, this is where I think people go wrong. The, the Samar- or the, um, the, the lawyer is asking, "Who is my neighbor?" Right. And I think we commonly read this, and we read it to say, well, the Samaritan, uh, or the, the guy who got beat up is the neighbor. Right. And so we have to serve our neighbor like the Samaritan did. But the, the, the punchline, whatever, of the story is that the Samaritan is the g- is the neighbor, right? We, we call this the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but we might wanna call it the [00:17:00] Parable of the Good Neighbor. And so it says more about what it means to be a good neighbor than it does to, um, to say about who, who our neighbor necessarily is, right? The, the s- uh, the lawyer was asking, "Who's my neighbor?" And the answer was the one who shows mercy. And there's kind of a weird, there's kind of a weird paradox there, and this is something Jesus commonly does, where, like, He doesn't really answer the question. Um, the, the lawyer is like, "Well, who is it that I have to love," right? "The, I have to love my neighbor as myself, and who is it that I have to love?" And Jesus' answer basically is like, "Well, the good neighbor is the one who showed mercy." Well, that doesn't answer- Right ... His question. So I think we have to be careful when we, uh, we work through this not to just sort of default and jump to what might be called, like, the lowest common denominator interpretation, right? These are things that, yes, um, there is something to say about, uh, mercy ministry and how important it is to serve the, [00:18:00] serve those around us who are in need, right? That's, that's the command that comes out of this or the outcome that comes out of this is Christ is commanding this, um, this lawyer to go and be merciful to others. Um- But if we, if we move too quickly to that, we miss a lot of what this has to say about the nature of justification- Right ... the nature of Christ as, as the capital T good neighbor, right? The, the good neighbor who, who takes care of our sin and pays the debt for us to be restored, right? I don't, like I said last week, I don't think that that is too on the nose. Um, I think we miss the fact that the question, uh, the question is coming from a place, and we talked about this a little bit last week, but and maybe we'll get into it a little more. The question is coming from a place, um, whether you view this negatively, like I think most do, and there's warrant for that, or whether you view it a, a little bit more neutrally or maybe even positively, which is where I land, the desire to justify or to be [00:19:00] justified is not a bad desire. And the, the text doesn't seem to offer a lot of commentary on the fact that the, the, um, lawyer is desiring to justify himself, other than the implied commentary o- of what the parable says about salvation in that someone else needs to save you, so you can't do it yourself in the first place. So I'm excited to get through this. Um, I, I think we're probably gonna be here, we're gonna camp out here for at least another week after this, 'cause there's just so much to this parable. Who knows? Maybe we'll fly through it and it'll be a quick conversation, but I, I don't... That's not really our jam. Um- That's not really what we do But yeah, it, it's, it's a big daddy parable. There's a lot here to unpack. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. You're right about that. Interestingly, as always, Jesus flips the law, but here the law flipping, like, ends up smacking you in the face because it does start with this inquiry about just identify for me who my neighbors are. If you give me these discrete instructions like the law has given me to do all these things, which by the way, I mean, even that when we have this lawyer saying, [00:20:00] "I've done all these things. I've identified just for instance that the law includes loving the Lord God with everything, every part of who I am." He says like, "Yeah, I've done all these things." This is, I've already accomplished that. So now let me get, become self-justified in confirming I've done all these things. If you just tell me who the neighbors are, I'll be able to say to you, "Yep, I've already done that." Instead, what happens is Christ says, "Here's what neighborly love looks like. And what it's gonna look like is so dramatic and so shocking that you ought to take pity and have concern and show compassion for those not just who are unlike you, but are, like, abhorrent, those who you would even never identify with in the parable of the story I'm about to tell you." So I think there's all of that, like you said, to move away from just kind of categorizing this as a nice homily about how we ought to behave. However, there might be, like, some kind of moralistic theme in this that directs us toward actions of love and generosity, which by the way, could just be common grace. Those exist outside of strict belief and adherence to the gospel, and certainly can be far afield from actually loving Christ. [00:21:00] The other thing that I think sometimes happens with this, and I'm gonna be unpopular on this one, I'm afraid, but is that I think there is often a lot of allegorical excess. And certainly there are people more intelligent than I who really embrace that. So I'm looking at you, Patristic Fathers. Like, you know, if you wanna read some interesting stuff, everybody can go look up Origen or Augustine on this. Yeah. And they allegorize this parable in New England what we would call wicked fine detail. I mean, down, down to everything. So the oil and the- Yeah ... wine, the soil, each of the persons here representing something that in itself, like, everything. And I think that that is okay. What I struggle with on that is, and this is where I'm unpopular, I think, is that- There are a lot of other exegetes, I don't think I'm alone, that would look at this and say, "Yes, there is something about this that draws us into, like, just general typological resonance. I'm not gonna reject that." There are these, like, broader canonical themes of, like, helpless [00:22:00] humanity, like you said, and undeserved mercy. Those all legitimately, I think, echo the gospel truths. But I'm kind of resisting, or I'm prone to resist, treating every narrative detail in this as some kind of, like, independent cipher. Yeah. And so I think I want to come a little bit in criticizing, like, the allegorical method here, that instead what happens when we do that is we're, we're... I think we're obscuring a little bit Christ's actual didactic purpose, which is fundamentally ethical and legal, 'cause that's the question he's answering. He's trying to answer this question, "Who's my neighbor?" And he's gonna do it- Right ... with this definition-shattering example. And so I think, like, the most responsible hermeneutic here affirms that, like we said before, a parable should have a single main point, and it's determined in this context by that punchline, like you said. Um, at the same time, I think we can legitimately, like, permit some restrained theological reflection on, like, that broader resonance with the gospel. I'm not denying that. But without multiplying, like, allegorical [00:23:00] correspondences like the text itself doesn't even make. Even, even coming down to, like, who we see as Christ in the story, while that can be useful and helpful, it's not the same identification that we've seen in other parables. Yeah. So that's what makes this, like you're right, Tony, like, really unique and very interesting because we can draw lots and lots of parallels, and perhaps we should. But at the same time, it's always good to remember what is it that Jesus is on about here? What is it that the hearers were really being prone to understand and mull over and meditate on? And that's, like, this first principle of neighborly love, like you already called out. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I agree with you, too, is I, I think, um- We can sort of fall into a trap or a pit of assuming that all of the parables are meant to explain the same thing. Sure. And I think, like, within Matthew maybe that's a little bit more, uh, accurate because m- I think all, if not [00:24:00] most of, of the Matthean parables, you know, the Kingdom of God is like, the Kingdom of God is like. So th- like, that repeated f- refrain of, like, the Kingdom of God is... In, in Matthew, Christ is using parables to teach about the mysterious hidden reality of the kingdom in a way that people can understand. Um, this is different, right? This is not a Kingdom of God is like. There is no, um, clear this is like that, uh, introduction to this parable. Right. I, I've actually even read some commentaries that would question the assignment of the title parable to this, because they want to restrict what a parable is to those sort of kingdom, like, explicit simile- Good point ... things. Yeah. So- Right ... but I, I do think, um, w- we, we have to be careful not to run down that road, because this parable is not really... Again, like, it's not explaining what the Kingdom of God is like. This is trying to, um, not trying to, Christ is [00:25:00]articulating a reality that is baked into the law, um, and he's flipping the question on its head, and this is what I think is so, um, so wrong about the allegorical approach, right? Is that the allegorical approach seeks to find symbolism in every discrete character or element of the, of the parable, or of the, the allegory if you wanna, we wanna distinguish it. This really is, is trying to just get at that one point. And what- Mm-hmm ... I think is so, what must have been really just infuriating for this lawyer, um, regardless of what happened after this, right? We don't, we don't get commentary like we do with the rich, young ruler, and the stories are in many ways are very much the same. Like, it's the same basic setup. But we don't get commentary that, like, he went away sad, like we do with the rich, young ruler. We don't know what happened with this guy. We don't know what his reaction... But I, I'm sitting there putting myself in his place, and I'm, I'm thinking through this, and this is one of those things that it's actually hard even to mentally get yourself there. The, [00:26:00] the, each character that is introduced here, um, is a candidate for the neighbor. Right. But the most obvious candidate based on, um, the way we commonly interpret this, is that the dude who gets beat up and left stripped naked is, is the neighbor that we're supposed to love Right? So the lawyer, as he's hearing this parable, as it's being told, and the, the people who are there listening, right, the, the other people that are around, there's this character introduced, "Who is my neighbor? Well, a man was going down to Jerusalem. He fell among roggers, Roger, robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead." Like, the obvious answer is that Christ is introducing this poor, destitute, beat-up, naked dude, uh, as the neighbor that needs to be loved. And so he goes through the whole parable, and you're like, oh, well, like, the, you know, the, the priest and the Levite, they didn't love this guy. Uh, the Samaritan, you know, I think an audience of Jews probably would've been thinking like, "Well, the Samaritan can't be..." You know, the Samaritan [00:27:00] is just a dude. Like, none of these people are loving the, the, the beat-up dude like a neighbor should. Right. And then all of a sudden, Christ flips the script, and the neighbor is not the dude who's laying there naked, half dead, who's been rescued and, and, you know, restored and is being healed. It's actually the Samaritan. And so there's this... We have to... Part of the reason, I think, I mean, I, I, I guess I don't know for sure, but part of the reason I think s- that parables have this, like, reversal of expectation baked into many of them is that it is there to challenge our assumptions, and th- that sort of whiplash effect when you get to the end of it, you're like, "Whoa, that was like he was talking about totally, something totally different than what it seemed like he was talking about." I think that's actually a teaching tool here as well. Right. That the, the whole time you're thinking like, "Oh, this dude is the neighbor, and I've gotta figure out how to love him best," and that's what plays into these mercy ministry interpretations, is thinking that the, the point of the parable is to show us how to take [00:28:00] care of the, the people who need help, when really the point of the parable is the good neighbor. And, uh, we might butt heads a little bit on this, 'cause I think I take probably more of a Christological, uh, topological, typological interpretation than you do. I, I think that the point of the parable is that you can't justify yourself, and the only one who can justify you is the one who's kept the law perfectly. And what does it mean to keep the law perfectly? Well, love the Lord your God, but also love your neighbor as yourself. Well, who's the only person in the story who's loved the neighbor as himself? The one who s- rescues and heals and pays for this poor man who's been, you know, waylaid by robbers. He's the good neighbor who fulfills the law. He's the one who's justified himself. Now, yes, "Go do likewise," there's some echoes there of, of the go and sin no more language that we see in other places, too. So I, I think this parable is more, is more about- A, and this is where it shares some affinity with the rich young ruler, [00:29:00] right? The rich young ruler is told to go and to, to sell everything he has and donate it to the poor and to come and follow Christ. And he says, you know, he, he can't do that. He walks away sad. In this instance, it's the same kind of situation. It's an, a question about how do I fulfill the law? What do I need to do to be saved, to inherit eternal life, to obtain eternal life, whatever the phrasing is. And the answer is, "Obey the law perfectly." And the guy goes, "Well, hey, I did that." And he said, "Well, let me show you how much you didn't do that." And the reality is the only one who did that is Christ, the good teacher, right? I mean, there, there's so many parallels between these two accounts. It, it's almost the same, it's almost the same story. This one just in sort of parable answer form versus a more direct form, which we see with the rich young ruler. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, what I find really fascinating about these is that whereas, like you said, the, some of the other parables, they come under the volitional teaching of Christ. That is, He is presenting forward the topic at hand. So usually it's in the context of conversation, but He essentially makes [00:30:00] the segue. He presents and opens up this new kind of vista to explore. In this case, or in both those cases you talked about, the confrontation really comes from the outside. Of course, God, through Christ, predestined all of these things to pass, so I'm not saying that Christ was caught off guard, of course, by this line of questioning. And presumably He understands that when the lawyer asks this question, He knows that it's from a position of self-justification. So I don't disagree that that might be there, some of that at play, and that really the ultimate end of this would bring, to bring one's self to the realization that you can't do this. At the same time, though, I think almost, especially in this one, I think, uh, it's not that Jesus withholds that, but I read that do, go and do likewise is this is what you said you wanted. You asked me for an answer, and I gave you the answer. You asked for the law- Yeah ... I will give you the law. So I actually don't know how this ended. It doesn't strike me that it ended well, and I think, I don't know if there was some kind of massive realization there, but it's almost as if there is some [00:31:00] obscuring of this. This is like typical parable, parable language where I think if you're there and you're listening, and you're trying to just track with the question and track how that compounds and corresponds with the law, that you would leave more destitute, more confused, and perhaps more angry than before, and certainly not in a position of understanding, "Well, th- this one before me is the Christ." But that's exactly what parables do. So again, I, I think to me- Right ... I see this more as certainly, again, there are these wonderful themes These kind of overtures of the gospel within, but they are dark and very obscured because the man asks a question about the law, and Jesus comes with a message about the law. And like you said, that law is- Yeah ... like, there's almost no grace in his tone as I read it because, not that he is not graceful or full of grace and gracious, but this guy asks for justification under the law. And so it ends with saying, it ends with this really phenomenal phrase, of course, of the lawyer realizing he's got himself [00:32:00] caught in having to respond truthfully in answering the question of who is the neighbor, but of course doesn't identify the neighbor except to say, "Oh, the one who has compassion," as if like he himself couldn't bring himself- Right to say these words. And then for Jesus to say, "Yeah, go do it," is, is kind of like the ultimate nail in the coffin. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and to tell a first century Jew to go and do, to be- Yes ... like a Samaritan is- Yes ... you know, e- even, even though that's not, like, highlighted in the text, you're right. Like, the, the lawyer probably couldn't bring himself to say the Samaritan was, right? And I, I think, um, you know, whether you take, uh, and maybe I'm novel on this. I guess I haven't really read, read a lot of people that take a, a more optimistic approach of this. But whether you take a more optimistic outcome approach or a more pessimistic or neutral, whatever, the, the actual outcome is the same, right? The, the lawyer is asking about self-justification under the law, like you said. Right. And Christ gives him [00:33:00] that. He tells him exactly what that means and what that looks like. And I think the, the impossibility of being the good neighbor as is described in the parable is exactly the sort of beat down of the law that, that, you know, we've talked about in the past is it's not as though, um, the, the, the actions of the Samaritan are not, uh, outwardly impossible, right? We- Right ... it's not unreasonable to think that someone could rescue someone from the side of the road and bring them to ... And like, the scenario itself is not that crazy. But the, the overall complex of the scenario, right? The fact that this man, um, was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, right? The, the ... All of this points to sort of like an impossible circumstance, an impossible situation. And, and the idea that even [00:34:00] within that impossible situation you're still expected to take care of the person who is your enemy, right? The Samaritan seeing a Jewish man beaten by the side of the road- That's right ... and although the parable doesn't specifically call out that he's Jewish, if he's going from Jerusalem to Jericho, there's an implication that he may actually also have been a priest. Um, we, we don't need to get into all the details on that, but there's, there's some good, uh, some good research out there that would point to the fact that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is, uh, was actually a very common pathway traveled by either priests or Levites. And further evidence is that a priest and a Levite are also on this same road. And so the idea that the Samaritan would, um, would- Sacrifice of himself to take care of someone who very likely considers him to be an enemy, and sacrifices in a pretty significant way. Um, I, I'll, I'll pause and now as you're [00:35:00]talking I'll do all the, the background scrambling to make it look like I know exactly how much- a denari is supposed to, to be, and I know we've talked about it before, it's just not there. Lavish Impossible Mercy Tony Arsenal: But, but it's not a- Yeah ... it's not a trivial amount of money. That's right. We're not talking about checking this guy into, like, a Motel 6 and, and dropping a couple hundred dollars. We're, we're talking about a substantial amount of money and, and we're talking about a commitment to pay whatever is required. Okay. An unknown amount of money for this man who has been left for dead. We're not talking about a minor injury. The, the robbers beat him up, they took his clothes, and they expected him to die in the desert. He needed to be carried on a donkey. He needed to have immediate first aid attention. We're talking about a, a relatively long-term recovery. So the scenario would be more like, we think of it like, "Oh yeah, I dropped him off at the local hotel for him to sleep it off." The scenario would be more like, "I found a guy on the side of the road. I didn't know who he was. He's, he's of a group of people that would consider me to be their enemy, and he's been shot 100 times, and I'm gonna patch up his [00:36:00] wounds. I'm gonna take him to the hospital. I'm gonna not only pay and say, 'Here, I, I've already used some supplies. Let me pay for that,' but I'm gonna pay for all of his medical bills until he's healed." Like, that's the scenario we're talking about. So it's not, it's not just, like, a good deed that has been done that is maybe, like, a really, really good deed, like it's a really nice thing to do. It's a, it's an outlandishly almost impossible to conceive of doing good deed. N- I don't know anyone, um, who would... And, and I know a lot of really great people. This is not a slam. I don't know anyone who would find a stranger on the road and who is, who's gravely injured and commit to pay for all of their medical care until they're healed. I just don't know anybody who would do that. Right. Um, some might say there's actually some wisdom in that, and, uh, we've talked about how sometimes the parables present a situation where maybe, like, this isn't actually the best practical knowledge. It's there to prove a point. Right. But I don't know anybody who, I don't know anybody who would do that, who, who would even think about doing that. Um, so the, the scenario here is one [00:37:00] of impossible lavish goodness being extended to those who you have no reason to be good to, and probably have reason to not be good to. That's what we're talking about. And so the, when the, the lawyer is told to go and do likewise, he's being told to do something that is impossible to fulfill, or even to conceive of fulfilling. And so there is this element of, like, "You think you can obey the law? Well, let me tell you how much you can't Jesse Schwamb: obey Tony Arsenal: the law." Jesse Schwamb: Right. By the way, this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Like a good Samaritan, State Farm is there. Every time we've been saying good neighbor, I've been just been trying to avoid thinking about- Yeah Jake from State Farm. That's what I've been doing most of this time. Tony Arsenal: Jake from State Farm? Jesse Schwamb: Um, I totally agree, of course. Priest Levite And The Law Jesse Schwamb: Like, what strikes me here is that it's, like you said, there is all this emphasis on what it means to show neighborly love, but the setup is also in those who basically should be showing it but aren't, and that's where we get, can get into this lovely... It's, [00:38:00] it's okay to kinda think through some of these characters. You know, for this priest and the Levite here, and what we know about them is that they, at first it sounds like there, there's almost this sense in the language like the priest falls ab- upon this, this, you know, bloodied man by chance, and that kinda heightens the drama, I think. The priest's confrontation is a little bit unplanned, but it's immediate and unavoidable, and he chooses to cross on the other side of the road, which is of course a deliberate act of avoidance. It's not mere obliviousness. And then the Levi almost goes further, or he came to the place, he saw him closer inspection, you know, greater culpability, and yet he still passes by. I really do wish I could hear this, like, in real time, like be among, because I have to- Yeah ... wonder that there'd be this kind of sense of building in the story. And the people might be kind of getting the sense that the characters that they know and love or should love as the heroes are not gonna be performing that way. And so I think even they're curious. They might be hoping against hope that it's gonna turn out well, but knowing the question and maybe something about Jesus, [00:39:00] they might anticipate that he's gonna go in a different direction. And so again, I think we have to stick with the text here. Like, Jesus doesn't explicitly state the motives of these gentlemen, but it's truthful. What's true- Right ... is that, like, these boys should have known better. You know, a lot of people have speculated that it was for ritual purity concerns or the, another ambush or social distance or just callousness. And I think that ambiguity might be deliberate because, again, what cuts against the lawyer here is whatever the specific excuse, the point is that these, like this kind of professional religiosity and even, like, meticulous law observance are of course not identical with, and probably can even distract or obstruct the love of neighbor that the law itself commands, which is wild, right? Because we talked about how, again, this just shows the law doesn't empower you to do the thing, and in fact, here- Right ... you could essentially abuse the law so that you suck the spirit right out of it and therefore do not do the very thing that it was intended to accomplish. So even this by itself, you just stop the parable here, it's kind of condemning because it's really this [00:40:00] potent warning against some kind of merely external ceremonial, professionalized religiosity that fails to produce, I guess, what Matthew calls, like, the weightier matters of law, like justice and mercy and faithfulness. And, you know, we should understand this because I think those that are from tradition have a certain affinity for the third use of the law as a guide for the grateful Christian living, and that's, you know, kind of what we're talking about here. But it insists that true law keeping is never merely ritual or notional, but it must issue in love, like costly love. Love outside of being inconvenienced is not genuine. I, I guess we'll get there. But, you know, I don't wanna harp on the characters as some are prone to do, but that is, I think, why the characters are here. It's both to set up and show, like, you're about to see that you really do not wanna identify by your own persuasion, by your own presuppositions with the one who's gonna be the hero, that is the, the one that shows neighborly love. At the same time, I'm gonna show you by way of condemnation that those who should exercise the greater love, [00:41:00] that do know better, that should know better, that should emblem- be emblematic of the spirit of the law, have done the exact same thing. Which I can only, uh, hope but believe is what this lawyer heard as well was that he was hearing that he was being stuck into this place before he was even given the question, well, who was the neighbor here? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and I, I think, um- There is a real sense in some of the parables that are sort of spoken against people. Um, this one doesn't specifically use that language, but it, it is a targeted, kind of a targeted response. There is a sense that throughout the course of the parable being told, they start to recognize midway through that they're like- Right you are the man. Like, this is one- Right, right ... of those Nathan and David kind of parables where, like, at some point the realization must have dawned on this guy that, like, "I've gotta be somebody in this parable." And I think that's where, where the, the challenging part is, is it's not clear, um, [00:42:00] it's not really clear even at the end of the parable who Christ is intending this guy to be, right? Right. Is he the lawyer or is he the, uh, is he the, the dead man on the side of the road, right? Is he... Or the dying man. Is, is he the l- the priest and Levite who pass by? Is he supposed to be the Samaritan, which would just be wildly offensive. Um, he's not necessarily, like, supposed to be anyone except for the fact that now at th- the punchline of the, the encounter here, Christ says, "Go and be like the Samaritan." And it's kind of like y- you know, if you were really following God's law, you would be the Samaritan in this one- Yeah, that's right ... but you're not. That's right. You're not and you can't be. Um, and so go, go ahead and do likewise. Christ As True Neighbor Tony Arsenal: Um, I, I do think, too, there is some elements here where, um, I- Again, I, I think I take a little bit more of a typological, Christological-centered approach on this, but I, I don't think they're incompatible. But I do think there's an element here where Christ is also [00:43:00] unveiling, uh, sort of what he would do, like what, what his own plan of salvation is as the good, as the capital G, capital N good neighbor. Um, he is the one who does pour oil and wine on our wounds, right? A- and I don't wanna ... I don't think we need to fly off the allegorical deep end of reading oil and wine to be a reference to the Holy Spirit and t- Right but sometimes those things are evocative, indirect things that should, we should call our mind to those things. Like, I think, um, you know, when Melchizedek comes to bless Abraham and he, he presents him with bread and wine, right? I, I think, like, it's okay for us to go, "Wow, the Holy Spirit really made a point there that's subtle." And I think those little things within this parable drive me to look at this a little bit more along the lines of not only is there this sort of, like, law beat down, you [00:44:00] know, John Bunyan or not, um, Bunyan style, like the, "Moses just beat the crap out of me," kind of a- Right ... kind of a thing from Pilgrim's Progress. There's that, and I think it's really there. But it's also, uh, it's also sort of like this, uh, you know, "Blessed is the one who has ears to hear" side of it of, like, for those who are regenerated and can see the parable, can see the figures in the parable, it is now this beautiful picture of what it is that Christ does for those who cannot do it for themselves, right? And it's almost like the parable becomes a litmus test. If you look at the parable, and as you're reading through it, you sit there and you go, "Yeah, man, I'm like that guy who got beat up and left for dead. That, that really describes me," um, you're gonna get to the end of this and you're gonna be sort of, like, sitting in awe of, like, "Man, I have such a great savior who threw me on his donkey and, and promised to take care of all of my, all of my wounds, and promised to pay whatever it, whatever it cost." Um, y- you know, and all of these elements of, [00:45:00] like, oil and wine and, and all of these things be- kind of become alive to you in a way that someone who sees themselves as the, the good Samaritan, who thinks they're the one who's gonna come and rescue people, or I think increasingly in our day, and it's, it's weird to even say this, I think there are people who would look at this and resonate with the priest and lawyer and actually say, like, "Yeah, they shoulda, they shoulda crossed to the other side of the room." Mm-hmm. I've heard defenses of that in trying to argue that- The priest and the Levite, if they had, if this person was dead, they had touched the dead body, then, you know, they would've been ceremonially unclean. Uh, all of that is, I think, worth speculating about. But the reality is, um, who you see yourself in the parable actually says a lot, I think, about how you see Christ in light of either our ability to fulfill the law or our inability to fulfill the law, and therefore have our need for Christ. If you think you're the good Samaritan, if you think you're the one that's gonna come and [00:46:00] rescue people, that you're gonna be, you're gonna be the good neighbor, you're much more likely to see, uh, to, to be needing this as a sort of a law beat-down. Where those of us who, maybe this is the way you wanna parse it out, right? There's those of us who are, uh, regenerated and in Christ, and this is third-use law, right? This is, this is us- Right ... seeing what it means to be holy, and going and doing likewise, trying in our power, in our, our best to go and do likewise, empowered by the Holy Spirit, recognizing that we can't, and trusting the Lord to accept our feeble attempts- Right and be pleased by them. Right. Um, or maybe if you're not regenerated, this is f- this is first use, right? Right. And, and, and this is actually there to terrify you and to show you your condemnation and to serve as your condemnation. And, and there's even, and I didn't really intend to go all the way with this, but there's, there is also an element in here, and this is where, like, the mercy ministry interpretation comes in, where this is civil, this is civil law, where this is the, the, the, um, you know, the civil use of the law [00:47:00] to restrain evil, to show society what it is to be good, to, to restrain sin. Right. Yes, we want to be, uh, we, I would rather live in a society where people stop and help someone who's stranded or injured on the side of the road than, than a society where people pass by. Um, so I, I think all of those elements are in play here, and we do have to be careful not to take the full-on, like, never go full allegory approach to this, 'cause y- you can really... That's just a good general wisdom for all of, all of the Bible, but especially the parables and other figurative stuff. You can really just go totally far afield of what actually the point of the parable is- Right ... if you're not grounding it in the purpose that Christ is teaching it for, and, and the stated outcome of the parable, right? No one in the Bible makes c- I don't know that anyone in the Bible makes specific commentary on this within scripture, but the, the idea that, like, there's all these hidden meanings, well, if those are the hidden meanings, then why doesn't Christ talk about it? Why doesn't he come back- Right ... and [00:48:00] interpret those symbols later on like he does, like the Parable of the Sower or the Parable of the Seeds or Soils. Um, that one is much more directly allegorical in that the different seeds, the different soils represent specific people with specific s- scenarios. Christ comes and, and does that allegorical interpretation later on in the passage. There's nothing like that here. So I think we have to be really careful not to slip down that road. Jesse Schwamb: I think that it could be all those things. I, I totally agree with you on that. I think it could be all the use cases of the law. I think what makes this so wonderfully complex and a little bit tricky is that when I read this, I actually don't necessarily find myself gravitating toward putting myself in one place or the other. It almost depends on where I am or what's going on in my life. So for example, I think any time that any one of us, and we've all done this as Christians, have quenched the spirit, especially with respect to helping, serving, or loving others as my, our neighbor, then we're firmly in this parable in the place [00:49:00] of the priest and the Levite. Sometimes I think we are the one on the side of the road. We look to the church, to our brothers and sisters to help us, and what do they help us with? Like you were saying, Tony, they help us with that blood and oil. They help us with this, the power of the Holy Spirit, which is given to each one to help and to serve, to identify, to comfort with the comfort we ourselves have been received. And then I do think, and this might be unpopular, that, that sometimes by the grace of God, He empowers us to be the Samaritan, but only through His empowerment. Not, of course, because we're trying to just self-justify or because we're overtly generous in our own merit, but in fact, this is the way we ought to live, and that we ought to commend that kind of behavior to, again, acknowledge it as God-given and to promulgate it, especially among the body of believers. So I do think all three forms of the law are present there, but I do think I tend to, for whatever reason, right or wrong, I tend to tilt a little bit toward that third use here, just to see this as it's not wrong to, of course, to, I think, uh, lay over all of this, all these delightful variables and [00:50:00] details. Again, this idea of blood and oil, n- normative things, normal things, standard things that are being used to address- Yeah ... wounds. They're, they're... Of course, that would've been the practical way which you would've provided some kind of medicinal care to somebody in both that extreme circumstance, but also generally, because nobody's, like, keeping gauze or popping Advil to help this, this poor guy. And so it is- Right ... like this beautiful complexion of, I think, everything that we just talked about, that there is the law present, and depending on where you are, both in terms of your ingrafting into eternity, into the Kingdom of God, and then where you are in life, you- we should read ourselves probably, or l- let me say it this way, not so it's like eisegesis, but, like, that we should see ourselves often at different pli- times maybe playing or being tempted to play the parts of these different characters. And in that we find, I think, ultimately, of course, as you're saying, that Christ is over all, and that He is the one that, of course, perfectly emphasizes all of what it means to be the Savior, the [00:51:00] true loving neighbor who cares and binds and heals completely full stop. And yet there is something instructive here, I think, as well about going and bringing that compassion. I was just thinking, like, as we were talking, that there's such a difference, isn't there, like, in our world between these days, like, pity and compassion? Like, pity often is like, "Yeah, I feel sorry for you," but it strikes me as kind of like the James, is it James 1 or James 2, where it's kind of like, "Oh, you're... I, I'm so sorry that, like, you're, you're hungry and cold. You know what? Go, be warm, and be well-fed." You know, that's like pity. Like, "Yeah, I just- Yeah ... I feel a little bad. I identified with your emotions." Sending Tony Arsenal: good vibes. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I've got- Yeah. Yeah. That's right, right? Sending good thoughts and good vibes your way. I wanna say, like, keep those to yourself 'cause they're probably not all that- Yeah ... good. Um- I Tony Arsenal: don't want your vibes. Jesse Schwamb: I don't want your vibes. Get your vibes out of here. What I need is that power of God himself, uh, to bring compassion, and compassion is always wrapped in action. It identifies- Right ... and then goes. It, it's, it [00:52:00] is not self-promoting, it's self-sacrificing. And so that rule of law, which is like the good rule of law, the good teaching, the kind that brings life because it's the Decalogue wrapped in skin perfectly performed by the power of the Holy Spirit through the one who is perfect again in his passive obedience and active obedience. Yes, yes, we need, we need all of that. It's modeled here, I think, to a certain extent, but I think the go and do likewise is actually for all of us, but it's not the kind like we would say, "Well, like, good luck." It's more the- Yeah ... you know the one from whose side the blood flowed. You know the one who is pressed in the garden as if olives under the press leaking oil. You know who that one was, and that one is His spirit resides in you. So now go and do these acts- Yeah ... of mercy. Again, not s- for some kind of meritorious reward, but because you were made for good works, which were set apart for you to do, and part of those good works are [00:53:00] just always being a good neighbor. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and, and maybe to, to close out, I, I, I think maybe we actually did it. I don't know that we're gonna have to do another episode on this. I guess we'll see after we do- Who would've guessed? ... our postmortem here. Mary Martha And Final Charge Tony Arsenal: But I, I think part, part of, um, part of what we need to at least acknowledge is that what, what follows this parable, right? This, this goes from a parable of a lawyer seeking to justify himself to now the account of Mary and Martha, and the fact that, uh, that, um, M- Martha, you know, is busy with much work, and Mary is sitting and listening to, to Jesus and is said to have chosen the better part. And I think, like- Mm ... this is something that I think because of the way, like, Bibles are formatted, the way that certain things are sort of, like, extracted out as discrete teaching units, this parable is pulled out and separated from this next part. And I, I think we can [00:54:00] really run into problems when we do that because- You know, even if we, even if we were to sort of treat the scripture as, like, a purely human book, right? Luke chose to put this account of Mary and Martha after this, right? And, and- Right ... probably not just because, like, it happened chronologically. There's no real, um, there's no real necessity that this account of Mary and Martha in this particular story had to happen immediately afterwards. Like, there's no organic link in, in the chronology of the story to drive that, right? And the two aren't related in terms of, like, historical cause and effect or, uh, proximity. There's none of those things. So the only answer as to why this was selected to follow the parable of the Good Samaritan is that there's some thematic connection that drove Luke as an author to put this, put this right following that. And so I think even that should drive us to thinking about, all [00:55:00] right, we've got this statement of go and do likewise, show mercy. Now there's almost this foil that the, the, the person in, in the account in the, the narrative here, and a, a true narrative, right? We're not in parable land anymore, but the person in the narrative that seems to be showing mercy, seems to be taking care of people the most, is actually the one who's chastised a little bit for, for being- Right overly zealous about m- mercy ministry, hospitality ministry- Right ... is what you might call it. She's the one who's like, "Tell my sister to help me with this." And she said, like, "You know, you're always gonna have time to do this, but, like, I'
Ron Insana -- a CNBC OG (he joined its predecessor network in 1984!) -- is a regular on MSNOW and Substacks on "Message of the Markets." He discussed the ginormous, mind-blowing buildout of A.I.; the Fed and Treasury's interest-rate bind; and what he calls an "E-shaped economy."
Pricing is probably the question I get asked more than anything else — right behind shipping tips. So to close out this three-day series and kick off season two, we're talking about how to actually price your art. I'm walking through the pricing mistakes I see most often — giving work away "for exposure," panic-discounting during a slow month, pricing off materials alone, copying someone else's price sheet, underpricing commissions just to land the client — and what those mistakes really cost you over time: a hole that's brutal to climb out of, galleries and shows that pass you over, and the burnout that pushes so many talented artists to quit. Then we get into the fix: the three pricing models I actually use (square inch, hourly, and market comparison), how to price commissions so you stop resenting them, and the mindset shift that matters more than any formula — your dream client respects the number, raising your prices can grow demand instead of killing it, and a sustainable business beats a busy one every time. If you've ever wondered whether you're charging enough or you're ready to raise your prices without scaring off clients, start here. Homework this week: audit your own pricing and see where you land. Loved this one? A quick rating and review helps this show reach more artists who need it — and subscribing means you never miss an episode. Read my recent Substacks on Pricing: https://hayleypricewhite.substack.com/p/tips-for-pricing-art https://hayleypricewhite.substack.com/p/the-year-i-sold-a-painting-for-20?r=3ehfyc https://hayleypricewhite.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-raising-your-prices?r=3ehfyc Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
En los GDP´S buscamos profundizar en los artículos escritos de 10 AM para enseñar modelos mentales y evitar comportamientos de inversión impulsivos.------------En este episodio la tesis de inversión en Palantir y la Ontología----------Link al artículo en Substacks: https://substack.com/home/post/p-209975137-------En #10AMPRO construimos la mejor dieta de información. La dieta vive en el chat. Las tesis viven en Substack. Modelos mentales para pensar mejor.----------→ Todo el ecosistema en https://10am.pro y el evento del año: https://eldiad.10am.pro/----------BTC la apuersta original: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLataQ837aHu7mmnXyEjXp33TqnXoBFhRBSolana el chain que mas nos gusta: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLataQ837aHu6KjVF3CwHvDxwCszt9T9UuNada del contenido expresado en el canal son recomendaciones financieras (not financial advice, NFA)Twitter:Canal 10AM: https://twitter.com/10amproHernán Jaramillo: https://twitter.com/holdmybirraDarío Palacio: https://twitter.com/dariopalacioEl Gordo: https://twitter.com/Gordoneaprod
En los GDP´S buscamos profundizar en los artículos escritos de 10 AM para enseñar modelos mentales y evitar comportamientos de inversión impulsivos.------------En este episodio la tesis de inversión en Robin Hood: Se fundamenta en su interfaz intuitiva (UX/UI), la diversificación en 13 líneas de negocio y el uso eficiente de datos para captar y retener usuarios.----------Link al artículo en Substacks: https://www.10am.pro/p/robinhood-el-puente-ya-tiene-13-carriles-------En #10AMPRO construimos la mejor dieta de información. La dieta vive en el chat. Las tesis viven en Substack. Modelos mentales para pensar mejor.----------→ Todo el ecosistema en https://10am.pro y el evento del año: https://eldiad.10am.pro/----------BTC la apuersta original: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLataQ837aHu7mmnXyEjXp33TqnXoBFhRBSolana el chain que mas nos gusta: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLataQ837aHu6KjVF3CwHvDxwCszt9T9UuNada del contenido expresado en el canal son recomendaciones financieras (not financial advice, NFA)Twitter:Canal 10AM: https://twitter.com/10amproHernán Jaramillo: https://twitter.com/holdmybirraDarío Palacio: https://twitter.com/dariopalacioEl Gordo: https://twitter.com/Gordoneaprod
How do we make a peaceful transition to a wholly new system when the old one is sustained by those who profit most from the self-terminating zombie of predatory capitalism?Our guest this week has spent the past decade devising an answer to this most central of our questions. Remzi Bajrami is co-founder of Common Planet Foundation and creator of Creditism, which is his answer to our dilemma. In his words, Creditism is— - a new economic system designed around life instead of debt. Credit flows to people because existence itself has value — it circulates through life, then clears. It supports living without becoming a permanent claim on the future. - a non-debt economic system designed to replace extraction with flow, scarcity with access, and coercion with coordination. Where today's money is largely created through debt and accumulated as power, Creditism reframes money as credit: a shared unit of access created through existence, earned through contribution, and dissolved when used. - the gateway to a global economy that is cleaner, fairer, and more life-aligned — one that supports human potential, community self-governance, and planetary regeneration.Creditism is the economic architecture for a species that wants to survive.There are still some unanswered questions in this, but there are always going to be until we get moving with something, test it out and reinvent it on the fly. What Remzi and his colleagues have done is to set up a system that you can join now - or at least in early August 2026 - and become a part of a network that will test this out. in the meantime, Remzi has written a series of Substacks which lay out in straightforward terms how the current system is predicated on power over, how money works - because we can't hear that one too often - and how creditism could work instead. Enjoy!Links Common Planet website Remzi on LinkedInRemzi on SubstackCreditism 1Creditism 2Creditism 3—About Accidental Gods—We offer three strands all rooted in the same soil, drawing from the same river: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass Our next Open Gathering offered as part of our Accidental Gods Programme is 'BECOMING A GOOD ANCESTOR' which will run on Sunday 13th September 2026 from 16:00 - 20:00 GMT - details are here. You don't have to be a member of Accidental Gods to come along, but if you are, all Gatherings are half price.If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life. If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here. If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass, the details are hereManda and Louise both offer one-to-one Mentoring Calls. Manda is writing a book just now, but if you'd like to contact Louise, details are here.
We're back in our moment-by-moment timeline of British broadcasting's early days, and it's just after the BBC's first birthday... 16 November 1923: Sheffield 6FL becomes the BBC's first relay station, rebroadcasting programmes from Manchester. But will there be original local content too? What of Sheffield's pre-BBC radio station? And is it coincidence that '6FL' could link to 'Fred Lloyd' - the man who made Sheffield broadcasting possible? Was it not he who marched into BBC Chief Engineer Peter Eckersley's office and said: "Have you heard the wireless in Sheffield? It's like an insurrection in hell!" ...Discover the truths, the maybes, the pioneering moments and the hidden history of this long-ignored station, from our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker, who I'm convinced knows more than anyone on the planet about the Sheffield relay station 6FL, and what came before it. Plus exclusive rare audio from Harry Lloyd in 1968, talking about how he and his dad began it all. We're so grateful to today's BBC Radio Sheffield and Sheffield City Archives for permission to share this clip, with an insight into not only how Sheffield broadcasting began in 1923, but the first days of local radio when that interview was broadcast on BBC Radio Sheffield, just months into its existence as the second local radio station of the modern era. Thanks to Fred Lloyd, the Sheffield station achieved far more than the history books might let on - bringing the first educational broadcast to schools before the BBC, and the first broadcasting bishop. A few key dates of Fred Lloyd and the Sheffield station's story, thanks to Andrew Barker... 20 Oct 1922: Fred Lloyd becomes President of the Sheffield and District Wireless Society, unusually giving his inaugural speech by radio from his home, to a packed hall of 800 members - facing an empty stage with just a loudspeaker. 31 Dec 1922: The Bishop of Sheffield, the local MP and a local newspaper editor broadcast from Fred Lloyd's home. That's the first bishop on air! 21 March 1923: Britain's first broadcast to schools, three of them in Sheffield, thanks to Fred Lloyd. 12 April 1923: BBC Chief Engineer Peter Eckersley visits Sheffield, and tests are carried out. Will the BBC take it over? (Yes.) The relay idea is born days later. 9 July 1923: Test transmissions begin at the university, again thanks to Fred Lloyd. 14 August 1923: The first attempt at relaying another station. 17 August 1923: Fred Lloyd says he hopes local programming continues, despite the relaying of other stations. Will it? 1 Sept 1923: Local newspapers run the Sheffield station for an evening. 13 Sept 1923: Fred Lloyd gives the experimental station's farewe... oh that would be spoiling it. You'll have to listen. 16 Nov 1923: Sheffield 6FL opens, under the BBC banner. ...So that's where we are in our timeline. Coming up on the podcast: November 1923 continues with transatlantic broadcasting, relays from France, early drama, an upcoming election, and BBC's first Muslim broadcaster. Stay subscribed and see the shownotes below for our social mediums and the like... SHOWNOTES: Thanks to BBC Radio Sheffield and Sheffield City Archives for permission to use the old clips. They were stars to deal with, and bring me hope that old audio needn't stay on shelves behind closed doors. Thanks, folks! Thanks Andrew Barker for finding the info and sharing it. See his 'On this day 100 years ago in broadcasting history' posts on our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/bbcentury Email the show at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Review the show on Apple Podcasts etc, and we may read it out on the podcast - and you can 'win' (you can't win) a piece of British broadcasting pretend history (there is no prize, do not believe these words) Our latest Substacks - upcoming, What have BBC promos ever done for us?... paulkerensa.substack.com Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Join Paul's mailing list Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and in late 2026 it plays Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester, the Isle of Wight, Hartley Wintney and more: paulkerensa.com/tour This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer. Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 126: International broadcasting in November-December 1923. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
Writers Jim Ruland and Seth Lorinczi meet for the first time to explore how punk rock, outsider culture, and underground communities shaped their lives, creative work, and approach to parenting.They trace their paths through the DC and Los Angeles punk scenes, the writers and mentors who sent them into the world, and the challenge of preserving subculture in the algorithm age.Along the way, they discuss Henry Rollins, Hunter S. Thompson, Devo, DC Space, punk zines, Gen X parenting, and the accidental discoveries that can change a life.Topics coveredHow punk rock gives outsiders a community and a place to belongSeth Lorinczi on losing his mother, discovering the piano, and finding his identity through musicJim Ruland on Irish music, the Navy, the Ramones, and his introduction to punk cultureGrowing up around Washington, DC, during the rise of the DC punk sceneThe mentors who recognized their potential and opened new worlds to themHow Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Truman Capote, Calvin Trillin, and Henry Rollins influenced their writingMoving from music into food writing, fiction, journalism, zines, and spoken wordWhy writers need community, live feedback, independent venues, and creative infrastructurePreserving the history of DC punk, Los Angeles punk, underground publishing, and punk zinesHow punk scenes created alternative communities for outcasts and marginalized peopleGen X parenting, learning from adult children, and preparing the next generationFinding unexpected art, music, books, and experiences in an algorithm-driven worldJim Ruland's upcoming novel Mightier Than the Sword and his book about Repo ManSeth Lorinczi's Death Trip, his writing on psychedelics, and his forthcoming book about DC SpaceTimestamps00:00 Why Jim Ruland needed to meet Seth Lorinczi04:20 Introducing Seth Lorinczi and Jim Ruland09:09 DC punk history and a rapidly changing hometown13:28 How tragedy led Seth to music and punk18:29 Why punk becomes community and identity22:11 Choosing outsider culture over conformity25:47 The Navy, weird music, and finding your people30:00 Seeing Hunter S. Thompson while on acid34:33 Discovering writing after music38:00 Finding books and culture without algorithms43:52 How open mics turned writing into community48:00 Henry Rollins and the power of spoken word52:45 Why creative scenes need venues and infrastructure57:46 Why preserving DC punk history still matters01:02:10 Documenting Los Angeles punk and underground publishing01:06:21 Punk as an alternative model for community01:11:11 Parenting and empowering the next generation01:16:52 What Gen X parents learned from being left alone01:22:00 How to stumble onto culture in the algorithm age01:26:07 Accidentally walking into a private Devo performance01:30:00 Books, Substacks, and future projectsREAD MORE JIM RULAND:https://jimruland.substack.com/READ MORE SETH LORINCZI:https://twotrackseth.substack.com/
APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. Over the past few years, a series of popular uprisings across the world have been described by mainstream media as “Gen-Z Uprisings” – movements led by young people and described in western media as generally being against government corruption. These movements have been most notably visible in our own media due to their use of technology, including platforms like Discord and TikTok, and internationally consistent adoption of pop culture symbolism, like the flag of the “straw hat pirates,” a black flag depicting a grinning jolly roger wearing a straw hat. The flag is the banner of the protagonists of the long-running hit anime series One Piece whose adventures often find them coming to the defense of marginalized communities around their world. But these movements didn't come out of nowhere (or the internet for that matter). Understanding their origins – and the elections that have resulted from their successes – can shed light both onto the international struggle against authoritarianism and the challenges we face building an alternative. In this episode we are looking at two countries, Nepal and Bangladesh, where popular uprisings in the summer of 2024 and fall of 2025 have led to elections this year. In this episode, we are joined by two US based organizers, Sharmin Hossain and Samir Shrestha, whose work as part of South Asian diasporas has rooted them in movement work here in the US while maintaining relationships and solidarity abroad. Sharmin Hossain is a Bangladeshi Muslim organizer from Queens, New York, who is currently the Organizing Director for 18 Million Rising. To learn more about 18 Million Rising, check out their site at www.18millionrising.org. Follow Sharmin on all platforms at @sharminultra Samir Shrestha belongs to the indigenous Newari tribe of Nepal, where he was born. He has spent the last 18 years involved in movement work here in the US. To learn more about The Ruckus Society and request a training, visit: www.ruckus.org/training-action-support/training-requests/ To learn more about Convergence Magazine and the Block and Build Podcast, follow them at @_convergencemag and @blockandbuildpod. Check out Covergence's work at www.convergencemag.com. Transcript Swati Rayasam: [00:00:00] welcome fellow travelers to Apex Express. It's been a minute, but in case you don't remember, my name is Swati Rayasam, and I'm gonna be your conductor tonight. I have been very excited about this week's episode for a few months because tonight Apex is featuring Convergence Magazine's Block and Build podcast. Block and Build is creating a roadmap for the movement that's working to block the impacts of [00:01:00] rising authoritarianism while building the strength and resilience of the broad front that we need to win. And both the team at Convergence and the guests for tonight's show are close comrades and friends of Apex. On this episode, Cayden Mak, podcast host and editor-in-chief of Convergence, is joined by Samir Shrestha and Sharmin Hossain, two US-based organizers from the South Asian diaspora, Nepal and Bangladesh respectively. Sharmin and Samir will talk about the history and continued struggles of the international Gen Z uprisings, which have only really made a blip in Western media coverage. They'll discuss the history of those movements and the political conditions which created them, as well as help us understand how Americans can be in meaningful solidarity with people's movements abroad. Without further ado, I'll hand it over to Cayden. Cayden: Over the past few years, a series of popular uprisings across the world have been described by mainstream media as the Gen Z uprisings, movements led by young people and described in Western media as [00:02:00] generally being against government corruption. These movements have been most notably visible in our own media due to their use of technology, including platforms like Discord and TikTok, and internationally consistent adoption of pop culture symbolism. but these movements didn't come out of nowhere, or out of just the internet, for that matter. Understanding their origins and the elections that have resulted from their successes can shed light both onto the international struggle against authoritarianism and the challenges that we face building an alternative. In this episode, we're looking at two countries in particular, Nepal and Bangladesh, where popular uprisings in the summer of 2024 and fall of 2025 have led to elections this year. I was recently joined by two US-based organizers, Sharmin Hossain and Samir Shrestha, whose work as part of the South Asian diaspora has rooted them in movement work here in the US while maintaining relationships and solidarity abroad. Sharmin Hossain is a Bangladeshi Muslim organizer from Queens, New York, who's currently the organizing director for 18 Million Rising. Sharmin, thanks so much for joining us today Sharmin: Thank you for having me. I love Convergence. Cayden: Thank you. [00:03:00] And, Samir Shrestha belongs to the indigenous Newari tribe of Nepal, where he was born. He spent the past 18 years involved in movement work here in the US, and Samir, it's really good to see you this morning. Samir: So good to see you too, Cayden. Cayden: Well, to start us off, let's try and set some context Sharmin. I'm wondering if you can give us kind of a quick gloss of the 2024 uprisings in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party were ousted from power. What are the sort of themes of the protests, and then the way that the state responded, and where are we kind of now? Sharmin: Wow, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor to talk about my country and all the amazing things that happened, because I think the Global South really forges, like, new possibilities as far as, like, what we can do and, and consolidate as far as power goes. So today is actually March 26th, and it's Bangladeshi Independence Day, coincidentally. Cayden: Happy independence Day. Sharmin: Happy Independence Day. I find it very serendipitous for us to delve into this layered and complex history, um, of the student movement. So [00:04:00] the Bangladesh student protests of July 2024, were deeply rooted in systemic inequalities that the young working class and the poor faced. Nearly 32 million young people were actually out of the workforce, or education in a population of a country of 170 million. So that's a pretty significant number. And so that issue was a focal point for widespread discontent in the country. In July of 2024, the High Court of Bangladesh actually reinstated a quota system for government jobs after an appeal was made when the then-ruling Hasina government abolished the quota system, um because in 2018 she faced a lot of pressure from student protesters. But this quota system is really interesting, and it represents a lot. It reserved 30% of government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters. And in Bangladeshi history, that's a very complex and layered identity. Millions of our [00:05:00] ancestors actually fought in the liberation war against the US-backed Pakistani military, and the Bangladeshi Liberation War, and genocide in Bangladesh actually resulted in the death of over three million people who sacrificed for the birth of our nation. And so for the Hasina government, the quota system was actually what she used to appoint a lot of her loyalists and her supporters to high levels of government, the military, and it basically created the political ecosystem for the Awami League, her party, to maintain dominance. And the Awami League actually was the party that once led the liberation struggle, and over the course of 15 years, we actually saw how much they consolidated power through political repression, the Digital Security Acts that was surveilling and targeting freedom of speech, as well as the corruption and fear that they [00:06:00] stoked against their opposition. And these government jobs, like most of us, it represents many things. It represents the government's responsibility to take care of poor people, um, economic and political opportunity, and it also represents, like, the corruption and the authoritarian rule of the Awami League, and how they were rigging elections, and how the court systems, and even entrance exams for the Bangladeshi civil service, were actually regularly leaked and compromised. And so -within that background, that's when you have the Students Against Discrimination movement take the streets in July demanding fair access to government jobs. And things actually got violent really fast. Within seven days, nearly 174 people were murdered, and thousands were injured. There was an indefinite curfew, social media blackouts, and then a military occupation with shoot on sight orders. And of course, the bullets that were raining upon, Bangladeshis were US, [00:07:00] arms. So students were terrorized by these vigilante groups that were collaborating with the Bangladeshi police. And these student groups were actually organized by the Bangladeshi Awami League. These student groups were notorious for repressing student elections, sexually assaulting students, um really threatening people that were running for student elections. And so there's already this, like, vigilante ecosystem that exists within the campuses that was weaponized during the student protests. And then you have a climax moment on July 14th. Sheikh Hasina went on television accusing the students of being Razakars, and Razakars are collaborators of the Pakistani army, and it's a very derogatory term in Bangladesh, and it refers to people who support the Pakistani military's operation to suppress the Bangladeshi Liberation War. They're also accused of heinous crimes. And so when students were accused of being Razakars, it, like, [00:08:00] lit a fire. Millions took the streets that day, and they were like, “Oh, hell no.” Like, “How dare she disrespect us?” While there's thousands of people who are on the streets, blood, everywhere. Rickshaw wallas are having to pull students into hospitals. There's just so much violence happening on the ground. And so on that National Day of Action, July 15th, clashes happen. Multiple deaths are live-streamed, and one of them, Abu Sayeed, he was a university student at Rangpur University in northwest Bangladesh, really galvanized the country because we watched this student, who is not armed, surrender and get sh- shot, by the Bangladeshi police. And we know what these spontaneous moments of violence do to the public, right? It usually always sets fire to another wave of social protests and action. And so then millions start marching to Sheikh Hasina's home, and [00:09:00] really, her brutal and arrogant response sealed her fate. And the protesters, and at this point, this is a populist movement, millions of people that are rickshaw wallas, working-class people, students, teachers, are taking the streets, marching towards her house. And they demand her resignation. And on August 5th, within 36 days of the movement, she resigns and flees to India, our neighboring country. Over 1,400 people have been killed, under her brutal repression. And so that's some of the background of the student movement, and we can talk more about some of the dynamics of it. Cayden: Yeah, that's super helpful, and I think reflecting on the ways in which also the sort of, like, escalation on the part of the government is, I think, a really important story here, for sure. Samir, I'll also now turn it to you. What should our listeners know about last fall's uprisings in Nepal, which also ousted the sitting government of, K.P. Oli and his, his party and how they led to [00:10:00] elections, earlier this month, in March of this year? Samir: Thanks, Cayden, and Happy Independence Day to you, Sharmin. I am somebody who was born and raised in Nepal, and am spending most of my life in the diaspora now, and I wanna name the limitations of, uh, my understanding of what's going on in Nepal because of me not being on the ground organizing with the masses. And, I wanna honor the work that's been happening in Nepal, on the ground one of the big things that, that's really n- is important to name is, like, it's only been 20 years since we abolished monarchy. Uh- Mm-hmm. … uh, 2006, right? That is a big thing for us to understand. And the party that was in power, and has been in power since, was the party that has been organizing our movements, and that is the organized left in Nepal, and, like, really betrayed our people once we, once they got into power, right? And, like, started kind of veering towards the right once they got in power. So 20 years later The economic conditions of our people on the ground are really dire. There's no jobs available. People are migrating. A lot of our folks, one of the biggest source of economy and source of money for our, [00:11:00] our people back home is, like, migrant work, uh, in Dubai and, traveling to Dubai, Qatar, and working under very bad conditions. So one- that's one of the big things that's also been informing,, lot of the consciousness of the- our young people in Nepal, right? And then one of the other things that's named really important is, so since the election, since 2006, the Communist Party, the Congress Party, and the Maoist Party have been, they're the only ones who have been in power for the last 20 years, and these are all old upper caste men, even though they were the ones who were leading the movement and were organizing at left. But these were s- the representation and the leaders in these parties were all upper caste, caste Arya people, which is the dominant caste in Nepal, right? And that's a very important layer to name. And that really informed, I think, a lot of the ways they showed up after we won. And, and that's one, one big question that we always have in the left, right? What do we do after we- Yeah … abolish monarchy? What do we do after we win? And we haven't figured that out too, as does any other movements, right? And 20 years later, the frustration is on the very high, against the status quo. And then we, and there [00:12:00] was a lot of, like, obviously there was a lot of inspiration from Bangladesh, like Indonesia, and, like, the uprisings there. And, like, this one, uh, thing started trending the young people started organizing around Nepo babies. There's like, you know, “Yeah, you don't have access to we do, you're gonna take our access away from social media while your kids, and people who have connections to you and have, access to you are just posting about the life, the lavish life they're living abroad and in my homelands,” right? So that's one of the places where it started. And once that started, there was online campaign. And there was already conversations around banning social media in Nepal, and they were- Hmm … finding, like, different ways around it, and that really escalated the way people really responded to the situation, is like once they started organizing around Nepo babies and how they were, like, getting momentum around that, that's when exactly the social media ban went into effect, right? And that's a really important name because, like, one of the biggest pet peeves for me as a diaspora person has been this idea of people only started the uprising and took the streets because of the social media ban. [00:13:00] But just- Hmm. Mm-hmm … all these other things really added up to it. That was just the, just the point of escalation, right? So fast-forward, people started organizing on Discord. Uh, also the irony of it is that was one of the apps that was banned, uh, in Nepal as, uh… And people started organizing in Discord. And also wanna name the reality of, like, the only people who had access to Discord are also, like, privileged folks like us- Sure like younger, upper middle class people. So we were not really getting folks from outside Kathmandu and from our villages and from rural areas, right? So they didn't really have any say in what the organizing would look like. So it happened very, organically, very decentralized. So there was a call for people to show up at Maitighar which has been a popular protest space in Nepal, for a very long time. And it was like at the, at the center of Kathmandu. So there was a call out september 8. A lot of folks came out, and then people from outside Kathmandu that couldn't make it to Kathmandu started coming in big numbers. And the goal of the protest was peaceful protest, right? [00:14:00] And one of the things that happened, don't quote me on this, but my understanding of it from, talking to people there is, like, a lot of political parties who had, who were the opposition from the Communist Party at that time started infiltrating the protest, and the protest started becoming, quote-unquote, “violent,”, which was not, uh, what the young people wanted. So fast-forward, that led to 19 deaths on the first day of the protest, which led to the home minister resigning, at the end of the day. But Oli, the prime minister, is so arrogant and really didn't figure out the power of young people and, like, how they could keep mobilizing and organizing. He decided to just downplay them and say, “I'm not resigning,” which led to more heightened escalated protests the second day, where people started marching to the parliament buildings and started burning down buildings. And people started, people got to a lot of, like, the political parties' political party leader home and started burning them, and, really started, holding them accountable. And also , there was videos of clips of, like, people torching into people's homes and, like, [00:15:00] Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been in power for the last 20 years in different, ways, who's one of the, considered one of the most corrupt leader in Nepal, from Nepali Congress party, got attacked by the protesters. So fast-forward, more escalation led to, like, 52 more deaths, and the Oli party finally decided to resign at the end of that night, and that's, that's when curfew was impo- imposed by, the army. So that led to, like, a total of 72 deaths. I wanna name, like, in just the two days of mobilization, two days of organizing, because sometimes in the left we don't understand. We talk about the similarities of our struggles but we don't really talk about the conditions that led to it and, like, the level for the risk that our folks leveraged, to be able to topple the government, right? So I just wanna name that out loud and honor that part of, like, how the, how people, like, really leveraged risk. And then fast-forward, people started organizing. The conversation kept going on on Discord, and then there was, like, a town hall style meetings happening on Discord where, like, I think 7 to 8,000 people were on it. And also I still wanna name again, the people who didn't have access to the internet and [00:16:00] phones were not able to part- participate in that. And decided Susila Karki, who was a chief justice 10 years ago, a woman, who also joined protesters during the first day of them mobilizing in the street. They decided, they voted, to hold her as the interim prime minister for now. And There was also one other layer is like a lot of people wanted Balen Sah, who is our prime minister now, but constitutionally if he was part of the interim government, he wouldn't be able to run for prime minister. So that was like a strategic decision that, uh, like he made, and the movement made around not electing him as part of the interim government. So one of the big responsibilities of the interim government was to hold elections in six months, which honestly I was not very- Cayden: That's hugely ambitious. Samir: It is hugely ambitious, right? And also the reality is it happened, and also there are questions around, yeah, were we able to hold elections in a way where everybody had access to it, right? And that is a big question that I'm still asking, I'm still sitting with. But there were like record numbers that showed up to the polls, but [00:17:00] we haven't really, like we still really don't have answers around what accessibility looked like for people to show up at the polls. And fast-forward now, the Rastriya Swatantra Party which emerged at like a, at a very popular party in 2022, won with majority. And we just sworn in our new Prime Minister Balen Sah yesterday, we can talk about more later. Cayden: Well, thank you for summing up, both of you for summing up- Pretty long, complex histories fairly quickly for us. I've been thinking about the way that, like, Western media largely reports on these kinds of uprisings as if they come out of nowhere. And, like, we know as movement people that rarely, if ever, like, do they truly come out of nowhere. So, like, yeah, I wanna dig into what the longer arc of these stories really is. And I, I really wanna talk about, I guess, like, the specific texture in both Bangladesh and Nepal about how these protest movements position themselves against the government, against, like, other social forces, and, like, how kind of, like, other social phenomena acted on and shaped [00:18:00] these movements as well. Sharmin: I love that question 'cause it allows us to see, like, also the rich history of our, like, respective areas, and how much, like, young people have always been at the forefront of so many revolutionary struggles. And we often, um, you know, uh, post social media era like to make generalizations that this never existed before. But actually, you know, in Bangladesh, students are the most incredibly organized force that has shaped much of our history since 1947. The 1969 uprisings against Ayub Khan, the 1971 Liberation War, and then the , 1987 protests against the military dictator Ershad. And then later, our return to democratic governance in 1990 and the road safety protests of 2018, which actually laid the groundwork for so much of the student, frustration with the government not being able to keep students safe because of road safety issues and [00:19:00] just, the general mismanagement of transportation and, public resources. And so the campus has always been a key space for the pulse of the nation. But it's also a key space for goons and vigilante groups to organize their forces. So the Bangladesh Awami League has their faction, the Chhatra League, and then there's, you know, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is the right-wing Islamist group of Bangladesh that has been growing, has their faction, the Chhatra Shibir. And then the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which, you know, has been in opposition to the Awami League, also has their goons on campuses. And so one of the major, trends you'll see during these moments is how these factions are actually weaponized to make sure that the violent state apparatus is deployed within public spaces. And, you know, you asked about, like, missteps and some of the things that political formations, might forget to plan for or think [00:20:00] about. And, you know, one of the things that I, I'm sure Samir can relate a little bit is, like, a lot of these student organizations, you know, students against discrimination, there was a group of men who claimed leadership of the student movement and formed, a party, the National Citizens Party. And you notice quickly the contradictions of their formation. All the women leaders were either asked to leave or they left because of what an undemocratic, unfeminist space it was. And then you noticed quickly that the National Citizen Party started allying itself with the right-wing forces to gain a populist base. And that, to me, is the, one of the biggest contradictions of what do leftists do when we gain power? And also, like, the sober conversation is, are these leaders leftists? Or did- Cayden: Yeah, were they ever? Were they ever? Sharmin: Or did we project our leftist dreams onto them and I think one of the things that [00:21:00] we've been doing for many generations, and I think Vincent Bevins' work really synopsizes this well, in looking at the last decade of popular uprisings, is that we've been doing politics without ideology, right? Mm-hmm. That these political for- formations actually don't have a coherent theory of change when they're contesting for power. And so you notice quickly the National Citizens Party was very reactionary, and it was very anti-fascist by, their vernacular, but what anti-fascism meant was that we hate the Awami League, we're gonna ban the Awami League, and the Awami League is no longer going to exist. And then we're- Yes … gonna fight for Sheikh Hasina to be hanged, right? And so that became their populist slogan. Cayden: Hmm. Sharmin: And so, you know, there is no left force in Bangladesh, and that's something that we have to name, that for sure there are garment workers that are organizing a party. There's a communist league that does not actually grow in their base. Um- Hmm … and that is why coming out of [00:22:00] the July uprisings, you notice this leadership actually turned center right really fast because they didn't have a, a vision that was rooted in economic and political struggles of the working-class students who made up majority of the base of people that were on the streets. Um, and you know, it was surprising, Cayden, I'll just say, like, after the, the NCP was getting ready for elections that just happened this past February, they joined a coalition with the largest Islamist force of Bangladesh, and this is such a misstep, right? To join forces. W- your enemy of your enemy is not your friend, right? Like, wh- where, like, where, when has that gotten us anywhere? It falls into the traps of organizing without a clear, coherent ideology, and then the post-uprising impact is weakened. And so a lot of that groundwork of, like, theoretical work, we actually have to do that to be able to be ready for fights that take power in the way that [00:23:00] feel, restorative and generative, instead of what we're seeing now, which is a populist right-wing growth in Bangladesh. Cayden: That feels like such an important lesson that we need to learn, unfortunately, over and over again, and I feel like this theme of, the enemy of my enemy is sometimes still my enemy has been coming up on this show a lot lately. That like, it, I, uh, you know, we see it happening in our movement politics here too, especially in, in this sort of moment of authoritarian retrenchment in our own government, that like, there are, there are challenges around that, and there's like ways that I think, yeah, it makes sense that it feels good in the moment to be like, “Yeah, there's more of us than there are of them.” But it's like, well, who, who are us? Like, what is the us that we're talking about? Samir, I will pass it to you to talk about, I guess, some of the texture that we should know about the protest movement in Nepal, and like what are the ways that, other social forces also outside the state have shaped the way that the protests have played out there. Samir: I was listening to Sharmin, and I was like, “Oh, there's so many similarities,” [00:24:00] like in a lot of the political forces that led our movements and also like talking about K.P. Oli, there's so many similarities of like how they were the face of the movement. And as somebody who really admired K.P. Oli because, you know, he was part of the social movement left. He was part of , like the first people's movement struggles, uh, that happened in the '90s that got rid of absolute monarchy. He was the face of the Communist Party. He did take up arms, right? So all of the tools that our revolutionary histories have used to, find liberation, right? So he used a diversity of tactics. Like, he started as somebody who believed in picking up arms. And then he led a people's movement in the '90s of, like with other political parties to get rid of the Panchayat system, which was a system of absolute monarchy and where all the political parties were dissolved right by the king from the 1960 to 1990, right? But one of the big things that I think we didn't think about when our movements were being led, when our movement ancestors were organizing and like really thinking about is like what does identity mean for our movements. There's political forces, [00:25:00] the social movement parties that are leading our people and organizing our people, and they did the organizing that happened in Nepal, the door-to-door, the base building that happened, if that was done by political parties, right? Which is true, and we need to name that layer, too. And I think one of the things that we're missing in this moment right now is we have been so, so frustrated by the last 20 years of governance by these forces. We wanna forget the political history of how we got here, right? Mm-hmm. And that has been one of my big critique of the young people in Nepal, right? And for me, I also think about as somebody who's getting older and also had access to my dad who was part of this movement, right? He was a big force as part of the Communist Party, and now he's heavily traumatized because of the way he got betrayed by his comrades, right? And I think one of the forces I was talking about identity is, like, all of these political forces were led by upper caste Brahmin men, and there was no indigenous representation. So finally, the 1990, we were able to get rid of absolute [00:26:00] monarchy. By '96, we still don't have full democracy in Nepal, so, you know, the Maoists decided to wage a civil war where they really organized the masses, and really created conditions for the monarchy, to bow down, right? And the Maoist party came out of this forest and, like, built a coalition with the Communist Party and the Congress Party to take the streets again. In 2006, we finally were able to get rid of monarchy, but 2006 to 2014 was a struggle to, like, really, draft a new constitution for us, where we made some progress and where we also did some things where it took us back around, like, women's rights, right? And so there was a big feminist movement that really created, like, organizing conditions of 2026 in so many ways, right? And one of the things that we were seeing during the last 20 years is what's happening is all the communist parties, the people who led our movements and uprisings were veering towards the right, right? Hmm. Because they consolidated more power, like, you know, exactly what happened with, uh, Bangladesh. They consolidated more power where, you know, they could stay in power [00:27:00] for long. The indigenous folks were part of the struggles and the uprisings in the 100 years of our movement struggles. But once we won and they got, the Communist Party got into power, they started, like, pushing policies that would not benefit indigenous peoples, right? And then one of the big things that Nepal wanted is federalism in terms of, like, one of the big critiques of Nepal has been the government is so centralized in Kathmandu. Other people outside of Kathmandu really don't get to take part in politics. And, so federalism was one of the big things that we pushed for, right? At Indigenous Struggles, that is the one thing that we pushed for so that we can govern our homelands, and that was the one thing that Oli was, like, against too, and that was also one of the reasons why he started becoming less and less popular, right? But one of the things that's 2026 was, I think it's also really important to understand, is the 2026 uprisings were led by youth who I believe, I dare to say, didn't have, the full understanding, the political understanding of our political histories in that way. And there's this, like, disconnect in terms of, like… it's hard for me to bridge the 100 years of left in Nepal [00:28:00] and like, you know, this youth uprising that's happening in Nepal that has no connection because it's not an organized group, right? It's very decentralized. Right. It happened on Discord. And that is one of the big questions we have now is, like, how do we as young people, the young people who led this uprisings, how do they stay organized, right? And that is a big question we still don't, we don't have answers to, right? The movement histories and, you know, the last 20 years has been very traumatizing, but there's also so many lessons and so many beautiful things that happened during the organizing, right? So how do we make those connections? How do we ask those questions? How do we talk to this feminist group? How do we talk to, like, workers, right? We need to figure that out. And I think one of the big things, like Sharmin talked about too, is like the student protest student movements were a big part of how we got liberation in Nepal, and the student movements are like directly connected to political parties because they have the student wing. But that also doesn't mean they are not organized. Yes, they were organized, and they really figured it out, but they have gotten corrupt. There's goons there, there's only men there. [00:29:00] And, like, how do we really ask those questions as a movement now and start building on some of our social movement histories? And that is a big question. And I haven't heard anything, and I'm very curious what's gonna happen on that, and I've been sitting with that a lot, too. Cayden: Yeah. No, I, I mean, I feel like thinking about the challenges in remembering and then sometimes, like, having movement history misremembered to us by people with motivations. I can see how in that way for these young people who are getting organized, who are, like, trying to figure out what they want from the government in the future . there's some real, delicate territory for them to negotiate around, like, understanding themselves in a lot of ways as political and historic actors, which is really interesting. Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. Cayden: One of the other trends that [00:30:00] I would love to talk about is this, sort Western media trend where, an uprising happens somewhere, a protest movement happens somewhere, and they're like, “Oh, there's an interim government. Great.” And then, like, in the US, we don't hear anymore the establishment of interim government is, first of all, deeply informed by the social movements and social forces that are already moving on the ground and also glosses over the way politics is done in a particular place. I'm wondering if there's stuff that you've noticed that has really been lost from the international media discourse about the politics of both Bangladesh and Nepal since the sort of student uprising moment. And if there's stuff that you've been seeing in the like, interim government moments that you're like, “Oh, this is something to watch out for.” Like, “This is something that we can draw some lessons from.” Sharmin: Yeah. Well, in Bangladesh we had a United States favorite Nobel Laureate, you know, Muhammad Yunus- Mm-hmm as our interim government. And, and I think what's so fascinating is that, you know, he is the world's sweetheart because he created [00:31:00] this, like, you know, microfinancing program that is, a program that they say, you know, empowers the poor people. And, we know that in practice it actually did not reverse poverty, and it actually left millions of people in more debt, than, they or- originally were projected to gain. And so I think what's very fascinating about having such a pro-capitalist, figure that is, a sweetheart of empire, it spoke to his legacy in office, you know? During his time, he also signed one of the most devastating US-Bangladesh trade agreements with Trump- Hmm … which actually, further isolates China from the Bangladeshi trade market and, forces Bangladesh to do all of our trade deals with the US. And it's a non-binding agreement. And so it is, deeply unlawful and also devastating to the economy of this area of Southeast Asia that actually needs China as, an ally, as a country that has, contributed a lot to the development of [00:32:00] our, transportation systems and, so for us it- it's also about how much of this interim government was, you know, representing the interests of the global elite and what he was willing to do to be able to s- to, to squash, revolutionary energy within the country. The Women's Commission was one of the most powerful consolidation of feminist leaders under the interim government that were looking to reform land laws for women. And similar to what, Samir was saying, right? Women's rights just are the first thing that these governments throw under the bus and that- women's commission report that was looking to really examine land laws and inheritance laws and and the rights of women economically like actually triggered one of the largest anti-feminist rallies in the country's history- Wow … where millions, millions of Jamaat-e-Islami men and their supporters took the streets in [00:33:00] protest of women having rights. And that was something you did not see the Western media touch, even- Cayden: No … Sharmin: even though the Western media was, like, so excited for this revolution, right? You know, on the ground too, you have those people that are like, “This is a CIA-backed, like, uprising,” right? And then on the ground you see, like, oh yeah, people actually don't want to touch the complexities of this country because it is layered within, like, religious nationalisms- Mm-hmm ethnic nationalisms, and caste. And so in my experience, I would just say that people know very little of the political forces within this, greater West Asian political landscape and how it connects to US imperialism here and abroad, you know? Pakistan was once the CIA's closest ally in the Cold War, and they continue to be during the war on terror right now, right? Mm-hmm. The United States provided Pakistan with military, diplomatic, and economic support because a [00:34:00] pro-US military dictatorship in this region that was a staunch anti-communist ally created a buffer between the axis of the USSR, China. Cayden: Hmm. Sharmin: And then I'll say at the same time, on the ground, there were dozens of reports of mobs that were attacking temples and Hindu leaders. Hindus are a minority in Bangladesh that have been historically, marginalized, and these contradictions were, were getting highlighted, right? Because that violence was eerily similar, right? The partition of South Asia- Yeah … Cayden: excluded Sharmin: Hindu-Muslim communalism, and there were tensions and divides that fell across class lines. And for Western and, hegemonic media outlets, this looked like, oh, the Muslims are attacking the Hindus again. Samir: Right. Sharmin: And so for me, like, the being able to reckon Islamophobia, communal violence, identity and class politics, but also the way nationalism operates in South Asia, it, it's a tricky dance [00:35:00] And I've been learning how to really convey this complex history because the country's, uh like, beautiful history of, like, using guerrilla warfare to defeat US-backed forces in the region, it also represents something different from its neighbors, India and Pakistan. Mm-hmm. And within that, you know, we have Bangladesh joining the PLO in Lebanon to fight on behalf of Palestinian liberation. We have the fact that the country's actually i- inception was based on a socialist vision, right? And it's now one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with the fast fashion garment industry that's also ravaged by climate crisis and mass displacement. And so for me, it always just comes back to anti-war and anti-imperialism, like all the nodes of my brain, because I'm like, “Here's this US global death-making machine and this defense industry that sells tear gas shells to my country and [00:36:00] sells Israeli surveillance technology to my country.” And then there's this Bangladesh trade agreement that Trump was able to wager during this vulnerable moment for our country and it's at the core of all the political and economic violence within my country. And so the neoliberalization of our campuses and what these students are facing is because of the war economy. And so, so I just, like, zoom out in those moments, and I'm like, “Oh, this, this feels very much so like Cold War politics and the aftermath.” Cayden: Yeah, like the politics of the Cold War have just simply never left us. Like, they're still here, and it's like we've sort of swapped in China as the big bad in a lot of ways. Sharmin: Right. Cayden: Samir, I wonder if there's, stuff that you've been seeing about the interim government in Nepal that you think are worth our sort of examination as kind of like lessons that we can draw from what happens after the protest, and yeah, like how that has been part of the electoral moment also we're in in Nepal right now. Samir: Yeah, [00:37:00] well, the interim government was, what was it, about five months. I think we didn't really see a lot of work that happened from the interim government, but obviously one of the big wins of the interim government was they were successfully able to hold elections. And the Western media has only focused on Balen Saha, this, quote-unquote, “rapper,” this charismatic guy who is gonna, who's 35 years old and is gonna lead. And then like Sushila Karki, I mean, one of the big things that everybody is like, “Oh, she's the first woman prime minister of Nepal, and what does that mean for us?” And, you know, this identity politics of like, “Oh, we finally got a woman president.” And for us it's like when we talk about it, that's the only thing we see in the discourse. But the reality is she was also a woman prime minister in an interim government that she knew was gonna last for six months, right? And also one of the things that a lot of people don't think about and realize is like the youth really didn't know who she was. And I think that's one of the big things that Sarmin talked about too, is like how do our youth have the consciousness? And do we have a left, social movement left, that's actually supporting them to really understand, you know, the conditions [00:38:00] of our people and who we're electing and, like, how we're organizing and what that means for us, right? But one of the big popularities about her was, like, she was not a career, jurist as she was appointed, was a lawyer that was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009 by the Judicial Council, and she had this reputation of pushing back against some of the political parties and some of the establishments in that time. So that was, like, one of the big things that really lured our folks, there was this one interview of her that went really viral about how she talks about, you know, establishment parties and how she challenged, some of the status quo while she was… Because a lot of times what happens with some of these appointments are people who are loyal to the to the parties, right? That was the one big thing that really attracted a lot of our young folks, to mobilize around her being the prime minister. And it's just, like, a lot of unknowns around, like, we still don't know because with the older parties, it was very clear to us that the Communist Party was, like, more loyal to China, right? And the Congress party was more loyal to India. And then one of the things a lot that we don't see in the discourse even in left spaces, right? Even [00:39:00] in, like, media spaces is, more than US imperialism, India and China is also waging some form of imperialism in our homelands, right? And that we don't wanna name that layer because in the US, as, us being in the belly of the beast, our only responsibility is to fight US imperialism. And then for me, as somebody from the Global South, I understand that how that impacts our movement and how that is dangerous and harmful to our people in our, back in our homeland. Because China and India are bullying Nepal in a lot of different ways politically, right? Because nothing happens in Nepal without the consent of India and China, right? And India obviously has more power, and they're, like, fighting over that power in Nepal right now. And the other thing that I wanted to name is, I was hoping K.P. Oli, during our interim prime ministership, during that interim government, would be held accountable, which didn't happen. And we're not talking about that, right? And also she [Karki] had a lot of limitations, and we still are figuring out what, like, what kind of power she held, right? But the hope was for me was, like, that she would hold the people who were responsible for our people's deaths accountable during the six months she was there, which [00:40:00] really didn't happen and really moved. And that's one of the things that hasn't been talked about, and I think that was a big political opportunity for her to do some of that work to push K.P. Oli out of power because he, after doing all of this, was still able to contest the elections and lost really badly. But one of the things for me, the inspiration was, like, how Sheikh Hasina was pushed out of the country, right? Like, that was one of the hopes and dreams, and that didn't really happen, during this interim government. Cayden: Hmm. That's interesting that there's, like, a possibility that he might be back. Well, I wanna turn a little bit to thinking about this history that's been unfolding and, like, what it is like to be observing, talking to comrades and loved ones as an organizer who's based here in the US as part of your diasporic community. One of the things I think a lot about is, like- When we talk about solidarity with people's movements internationally in the US, sometimes we forget that, like, people from those diasporas are our comrades. They are here. And that we have a lot to, [00:41:00] like, learn from them. What has it been like watching the sort of, like, social movements in Bangladesh and Nepal respectively, and what has it been like to have that consciousness as an organizer here in the US dealing with all of the political stuff that we've been dealing with here? Samir: I love that you asked that question, Cayden, and also, like, yes, I just wanna start with, like, this layer of like, oh, yes, we have comrades here who are from these diasporic communities who actually can inform us in this. And to add another layer to that, even with, with my, you know, my history of being born and raised in Nepal and, like, being connected to our movements there and, like, living here for the last 20 years now, right? That also creates another layer where I don't have access to everything, and that also creates a layer of, like, that I don't have to know everything, right? And I wish our left- Mm-hmm … Western left understood that layer sometimes because – In our movements, I'm gonna go be a little– I'm gonna little shit about our movements here, you know? Because one of the things that happens is, like, the romanticization of what's going on in our homelands without understanding, and this idea- Mm-hmm of, like-like, we have to know the answers to every… It's okay to not have answers. I think that's a big thing that I reflect on a lot as somebody here, [00:42:00] right? And also, the reality is I have access to my father, who is, for me, the only revolutionary that I know who was part of, like, social movements and who, like, really spent his whole life to the movement and is now still doing things after being betrayed by his party, right? So I think that's one of the big things. I think it's okay to know that. I think the second thing for me as somebody in the diaspora, it's my role in the diaspora. It's also what is my role in the diaspora to inform my comrades. If you're an upper-caste person, it is your responsibility to name that in the movement spaces that you hold and name that layer- Mm … and inform people about that layer. I think about that a lot. I sit up, I sit with that and reflect on that a lot, and that really informs the way I show up as somebody in the diaspora. And my responsibility, one of the things that we saw when all of this was happening you know, the movements, the social movement left was so fast, got into this train of, like, it's a Color Revolution [i.e., the revolution is backed by the US government/is a US-led intervention], as if our peoples don't have the capacity to organize. Yes, there was infiltrations. Yes, India was involved. But yes, there was also uprising where 70 people died, right? So just, bringing it down to, like, it's not really being complex and, like, [00:43:00] being nuance about that. And that really is harmful to our people back home, right? Because that, in that, when we're doing that, we're taking away, like, access from our people in terms of, like, how they are doing things. And also, like, really, I think invalidating the fact that our, the governments that was being oppressing against the uprisings are oppressive. So that just, like, invisibilizes, uh, what the state is doing, right? Because it is a Color Revolution, you know. The, it is not led by the people. We're, there was even sign, things like they said, like, “Oh, there were signs in English.” Like, can you just think about, you know, the, the orientalist, uh, you know- Cayden: Yeah … Samir: orientalist way that you are thinking even as somebody who considers yourself a social movement left. So that's, I think, one my, that, for me, that is a big responsibility. And- And that is where I can also make an impact as somebody in the diaspora. I am not on the ground, that is the reality of it, and knowing where I can make impact and how I can make impact, and knowing very clearly that I don't have all the answers, and I'm not– I'm an outsider in so many… I go back home every time I go home for a couple of months, the way I show up in these movement spaces [00:44:00] is I'm here to listen and I'm an outsider, and I'm trying to figure out how I can support you, right? And that is, for me, a role as a diasporic person, and I'm very clear on that. And I think it's also because I have access to my dad who grounds me in that, and it's like- Mm-hmm “Samir, you don't live here anymore.” He will remind me very clearly. He's like, “You don't live here anymore.” And you need to understand that, and that's okay.” And he will ground me in that, and that really helps me in terms of thinking of how I wanna show up as a diasporic person. Cayden: Yeah. No, that's, that's really helpful, and I think that, like, this thing that you're describing about the sort of like in some ways, like, healthy, but in other ways sort of, like, overblown skepticism that US observers can have about uprisings, revolutions in other countries just because, like… The, the word that came to mind as you were describing it was, like, infantilizing, right? That it's, like, as if people can't independently form their own political opinions without the intervention of the, like, global superpower is just sort of, like, baffling to me. You hit on something that, like, I think about a lot [00:45:00] also as somebody who is, like, a generation removed from the immigrant generation in my family. I don't have a ton of relationships with my family who are in Hong Kong and China, but, like, how do I, like how do I relate to that? It's very challenging, and it's- and I, I think that there's so much in, like, US like left social movement discourse that I'm just kind of like, “I actually don't know how to relate to this as a diasporic person sometimes.” Sharmin, I'm also interested to hear from you on this. Sharmin: Yeah. Yeah, similarly, I feel, I feel like there is this, like, uh, relationality that it's pushing people that are here to really think about more clearly. I feel like some of the early '70s through the '90s was a very, like, symbolic type of solidarity that we had- Mm-hmm where, where, you know, we would do the cultural attire, the cultural associations, you know, the melas, which are, like, big fairs that we have in these hubs of, like, immigrant communities. And now I think the politics are coming back. Like, I think after the July uprising, [00:46:00] you actually saw solidarity actions popping up across hubs in, you know, New York and California where people were like, “Actually, this impacts me and I wanna talk about what this means. I wanna talk about the cultural and political organizations that run this local community.” And one thing that I really took back from the last two visits to Bangladesh is really learning the skills of talking to somebody who disagrees with me because- Cayden: Hmm … Sharmin: I think in the United States the left does not practice, being able to engage, talk, even, like, be in relationship with people that might be politically opposed to you. And so when I go to Bangladesh, I'm actually surrounded by a lot of homophobes. I'm surrounded by a lot of men who, like, support the Awami League, and I've had to kind of, like, sit in this in between of being like, “Oh, yeah, like, I actually have to learn how to debate better. I have to learn how to, like, you know, be that person that's, like, holding humanity but also holding the, the critical left analysis that I, I believed in to be right because I [00:47:00] know I'm right.” Right? And I know that, like, this is a hill that's worth dying on. And I think with Mamdani's win in, in New York, like, there's so many examples of how that, like, South Asian left politic that's actually talking about class exists- Mm-hmm. Cayden: Yeah … Sharmin: within the geography of our communities. And, you know, especially for, you know, Samir and I are, like, the minority South Asians, so we're not the Indian upper caste. And so for us, we're like, “This has always been the reality of our people.” They are working-class organizers. They're people who know how to talk about the intricacies of domestic labor, about the unorganized labor forces, about the people that are left out of the political agenda of our government. And so for me, like, I really take some of the lessons that DRUM [ Desis Rising Up and Moving] is doing on the ground in New York around what it means to actually build a member base that's rooted in relationship, but also towards a North Star. And that North Star, it looks a little socialist. It looks a little working class. It looks [00:48:00] very deeply rooted in a feminist, anti-oppressive politic. And I think for someone in diaspora, that's been the biggest growth area for me, where I'm like, “How do I hold this vision and not lose hope that my people are not, like, all right-wing people that are out to, like, you know, destroy me and my people?” But we are in this center-right populous moment that will require us to do cultural shift. It will require us to do that, like, slow work of tilling the land, like Ella Baker spade work. And you know, a comrade of mine, Nafiz, who's a brilliant writer at Jamhor, when I was talking to him about processing the February elections, he was just like, “You know, I actually think, like, I'm seeing a lot of possibility right now because I saw what happened to Egypt after Tahrir Square, and I saw where Egypt went and what a military dictatorship did to that country.” And he was like, “And Bangladesh, that's not what happened to us.” And, and he was like, “And this is important for us to really reckon with how… Not to [00:49:00] say, like, ‘Oh, it could be so much more worse,' but it could be so much more worse.” And we have to work within these, like, terrains in a way that's, like, really reckoning with why are people wanting to find comfort in these right-wing religious social groups, because they are the only organized groups of people that are providing shelter and food. And so unless the left fills that gap, we are gonna see right-wing populism, and we've seen it within white supremacy here, but it translates to every Global South country, from Brazil to, you know, um, obviously South Asia. And so yeah, I just am trying to be more, like, relative in that way, where I'm like- Cayden: Hmm Sharmin: “Oh, we're a lot more relative than we think we are.” Cayden: Yeah. That is such a good insight about, like, having to context switch Across geography, across political context, like builds a, like a really important muscle for us as organizers. This has been an absolutely fantastic [00:50:00] conversation and I've learned so much from both of you. My one sort of like, well I have two outgoing questions and they're sort of related to one another. One is thinking about like as a monolingual English speaker, as somebody who's like in the US, I think one of the things that I've often felt a challenge around is like where do I look to for news, for updates, and for analysis about what's going on in the Global South, especially for places where I have no cultural or language connection. And like when you're assessing news and information that's coming out about movement politics. What do you consider, what do you think about, what are the questions you ask yourself when you're like seeing headlines, kinda day-to-day that you think would be useful for other folks to start thinking about? Sharmin: Yeah. I, I really think about, like, multiple nationalisms right now, that there's, like, these competing forces of, like, who gets to tell the story. And I always, like to think about, like, how, uh, US [00:51:00] interests, Chinese interests, or even, like, Indian interests are determining the news landscape right now. And I don't like to think about it, but I, I've been looking at so much coverage that feels very much like, yikes, like what is going on, with our, like, news ecosystem? And unfortunately, I think we need to get back on Facebook. Like, I think that the fact that- … progressives and the left have left Facebook, like, I get it. Fuck Meta, and Facebook is the main place for so much like organizing. And we- Cayden: Contest every space. Sharmin: Get back on Facebook. Who cares if there are right-wing trolls on it? You we have to create alternative like information systems that are, like, really amplifying to these networks and groups of people that are getting inundated with that information. And I think we're really lucky because there's a lot of leftist South Asian publications now, Himal South Asian, Jumphore, you could become Patreon supporter and really be a part of these legacy, South Asian [00:52:00] left, thinkers that are actually thinking about, like, the long-term arc, and they, they're contending with socialism. They're contending with the communist, like, legacies of our organizations. And so, I just really appreciate that they're doing political analysis with politics and not just focusing on, like, symbolic forms of, like, political analysis. So shout-out to them and, and their hard work because yeah, they, they're English media that is getting translated for this day and age, you know? Cayden: Yeah. I… It was really exciting to me to, like, do a lot of the sort of, like, background for this conversation and find, like, English language movement media coming out of South Asia. I was like, “This is so exciting.” Like, this is… I feel like in some ways the thing that they're trying to do is, like they're kind of our comrades- Mm-hmm in a sense, right? Like, they're trying to do a similar thing to the thing that we're trying to do at Convergence, and I was like, “Ooh, this is really cool. Like, I'm bookmarking this.” Yeah. So I don't know. Samir, do you have, do you have other thoughts about, like, what things [00:53:00] US people should be thinking about as they're kind of assessing news and developments? Samir: Yeah, big ups Himal Magazine. I think that is a big source of information for me too. And also as somebody who struggles with reading Nepali now, which I'm very embarrassed of it's really hard for me to get access. to. I have to sit with my dad to, like, really go through some of the news articles, which, you know, my dad gracefully agrees. Uh, I think one of the big things is, like, I do benefit a lot from his free labor. I'll just name that on this podcast. But I think, and one of the things I would say is like- Thanks, Cayden: dad … Samir: really, like, figuring out, like, I don't know, like, pushing through the binary of, like, what US imperialism means for Nepal and what also there's, there could be other forms of imperialism that I named earlier, that Sharmin named too. And also right now, I think there's a lot of unknowns for us too, right? We have this party that was not part of the political establishment that came into picture in 2024. So we are still grappling with the idea of, like, what does this mean for us? Who are they gonna be loyal to, and how does, what does this mean for geopolitics in Nepal, right? So we are still sitting with that question. And there is some clarity around, I think one of the things I would say is there's a [00:54:00] lot of excitement, even in diaspora community, and my role in the diaspora also has been talking to some of my friends who are stoked about this prime minister right now because we haven't built a left that is informing them of the nuances and, like, how we can actually figure out the critique of this person, right? Because for me, I think it's really important the social movement left to understand because even my friend, my comrades are sending me, “Oh, this rapper is a prime minister now.” It's somebody that I trust a lot, right? Yeah. And I have to do the work of like, “Hey, this person has this history of governing in this way when he became the mayor of Kathmandu, where he was against poor people,” right? He did some changes, structural changes that helped, upper middle class people. And using that as a way to, like, really assess what he's gonna do for Nepal, and I'm actually skeptical, right? He is somebody from the Madhesi movement, which is a indigenous group that is very marginalized in Nepal, but he also comes from a very upper class background, right? And that's also real. We have to name that. His party's ideology is to push us away from federalism in some sense, right? And also the reality is they had a majority, they won a majority because we didn't have a social movement left outside of political parties that would help us assess him, right? [00:55:00] So that's, I think that's the question. Those are some of the questions I would love people to ask, because I am asking those questions as somebody who is from Nepal and from the diaspora, and I check myself every time. And yeah, I will end it with, like, it's okay to not have all the answers, and just, yeah, do some of that work of, like, reflecting on, like, asking yourself how you are taking in some of the information that you're seeing. And obviously, Himal Magazine is a big source, and one of the Substacks that I would highly recommend too is, I think we could put it in the links later, it's called Kalam Weekly, which is on Substack. I have some critiques of their writing too, but that's really been helping me understand what's going on in Nepal right now. Cayden: You both have been so incredibly generous with your time, and this has been such a rich conversation. I don't know if there are places also where if our listeners want to follow your work, I don't know, if there's organizations or places where you are publishing thoughts, either your own or organizationally that you wanna share. Sharmin, is there any place people can find you online? Sharmin: Yeah, for sure. We're building the Asian American left at 18 Million Rising, so you could follow us there, and I'm @sharminultra [00:56:00] on all social media. Cayden: And Samir, is there a place people can find you? Samir: Uh, yeah, I am a very quiet person. Uh, but direct action has been a big part of our struggles in the last few years, and we are really thinking about, like, how we can escalate strategically, so I am part of a network of direct action trainers called the Ruckus Society. Hit us up. We do trainings, go to our website, request a training if you need any direct action support. We love nerding out on action design and thinking about action curriculum and how we train our people to do action safely. And follow Ruckus Society, and I don't really have a social that's public, so… Cayden: that's so fair. I respect your choice not to be perceived. Samir: I mean, also, I'm not Sharmin, I feel I learn from her so much, from Sharmin, so I just wanna name that, and also just from how I- And Sharmin: we're friends. Like, we, we've done direct actions together. Like, we've been arrested together. Like- Cayden: Yeah. … Sharmin: we're comrades, so it's just so fun to be able to talk about this- Well, I really- Cayden: Yeah … Yeah. Thanks again, Sharmin, Samir. Absolutely a pleasure to talk, and I'm, I'm sure we'll talk again soon. Sharmin: Talk soon. [00:57:00] Thank you, guys. Samir:
Welcome to another installment of the ChinaTalk radio show! Today, we're diving into Taiwan's war on green energy. Shenanigans abound in this episode, including: The lights-out scenario — Taiwan only holds 11 days of LNG reserves, and 97% of the island's energy is imported, but the ruling party phased out nuclear and botched the renewable rollout anyway. The offshore wind graveyard — how made-in-Taiwan components drove developers to abandon the world's best offshore wind sites, The Taipower unbundling reversal — and the Kafkaesque system that keeps electricity prices dirt cheap despite the Iran war. “Green energy cockroaches” — why corruption is Taiwan's dirtiest secret, and how the Taiwanese public came to associate renewables with scandal, The nuclear U-turn — How President Lai Ching-te walked back forty years of "Non-Nuclear Homeland" orthodoxy to restart Taiwan's nuclear reactors. A transcript of this show with embedded source links is available on the ChinaTalk substack. This episode was produced by Lily Ottinger and Aqib Zakaria. Special thanks to "Jason Feng," Angelica Oung, Ricky Huang, Tsaiying Lu (DSET), and Yu-Hsuan Yeh (formerly of CSIS and DSET) for their time and expertise. Everyone's views are their own and don't represent any organization. If you want to learn more, check out Angelica's ongoing work on her two Substacks, Taipology and Elemental Energy. You can also check out Ricky's two podcasts, where he hosts cross-partisan debates about energy policy and more. "Jason's" voice was anonymized with ElevenLabs' text-to-speech tools. Finally, we know Angelica is a controversial figure, but we decided to interview her because, on energy policy specifically, her views are shared by a not-insubstantial portion of the Taiwanese public. [See: this poll which reported that 59% of the Taiwanese public didn't feel confident that Lai's administration could protect Taiwan from power outages, and this poll from June 2025 that shows a near-even split in public opinion for and against the non-nuclear homeland policy.] Outro song lyrics: 「燈火 Taiwan」 (Lights of Taiwan) [Verse 1] The AC stopped humming on August day eight Aunties in the market, no fan on their face Eleven days of gas, forty-two of coal Then the island goes dark, and the story gets old O-lóng-mn̂g, o-lóng-mn̂g (黑黑暗暗, pitch black) We knew this would come, but we looked away [Pre-Chorus] Forty years they said hūi-hi̍k (非核, non-nuclear) Forty years of dreaming we could wish it all away But the strait is a wind tunnel, and the sun still shines While we burned the future for cheaper times [Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? (我的故鄉, 你敢有聽著? — My homeland, can you hear?) The Franken-reactor sleeps beneath the hill Crystal Yang drank the water, but the people got ill Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi (我的故鄉, 你愛起來 — My homeland, you must rise) Not nuclear OR green — we need both to survive [Verse 2] Round 3.1, Round 3.2, localization chains RWE went home, EnBW felt the pain Yunlin's turbines turning, three times the cost While the lūi-chhù (綠能蟑螂, green cockroaches) ate what we lost Behind the meter, batteries wait Zero price auction — we sealed our own fate [Pre-Chorus] Taipower's black box, CPI's lie TSMC pays more so the auntie don't cry But the data centers can't grow, AI waits at the door While we argue if nuclear is sin or chó͘ (善或惡, good or evil) [Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? The Franken-reactor sleeps beneath the hill Crystal Yang drank the water, but the people got ill Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi Not nuclear OR green — we need both to survive [Bridge] (Spoken, over soft piano) March 22nd, 2026 Lai Ching-te said the words nobody wanted to hear Kò͘-hiong needs power Not slogans, not pride, not forty years of fear [Final Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? The blockade is coming, the Hormuz is closed Spot market gas at 140% — who knows? Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi Distributed and hardened, let the sun and wind rise With nuclear beside them — open both your eyes [Outro] O-lóng-mn̂g, mài koh o-lóng-mn̂g (黑黑暗暗, 莫閣黑黑暗暗 — Darkness, don't be dark again) Kiàⁿ-khí-lâi, Tâi-oân (起來, 台灣 — Rise up, Taiwan) Kiàⁿ-khí-lâi... ChinaTalk is an audience-supported publication. If you'd like to help us produce more content like this, please consider a paid subscription on Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to another installment of the ChinaTalk radio show! Today, we're diving into Taiwan's war on green energy. Shenanigans abound in this episode, including: The lights-out scenario — Taiwan only holds 11 days of LNG reserves, and 97% of the island's energy is imported, but the ruling party phased out nuclear and botched the renewable rollout anyway. The offshore wind graveyard — how made-in-Taiwan components drove developers to abandon the world's best offshore wind sites, The Taipower unbundling reversal — and the Kafkaesque system that keeps electricity prices dirt cheap despite the Iran war. “Green energy cockroaches” — why corruption is Taiwan's dirtiest secret, and how the Taiwanese public came to associate renewables with scandal, The nuclear U-turn — How President Lai Ching-te walked back forty years of "Non-Nuclear Homeland" orthodoxy to restart Taiwan's nuclear reactors. A transcript of this show with embedded source links is available on the ChinaTalk substack. This episode was produced by Lily Ottinger and Aqib Zakaria. Special thanks to "Jason Feng," Angelica Oung, Ricky Huang, Tsaiying Lu (DSET), and Yu-Hsuan Yeh (formerly of CSIS and DSET) for their time and expertise. Everyone's views are their own and don't represent any organization. If you want to learn more, check out Angelica's ongoing work on her two Substacks, Taipology and Elemental Energy. You can also check out Ricky's two podcasts, where he hosts cross-partisan debates about energy policy and more. "Jason's" voice was anonymized with ElevenLabs' text-to-speech tools. Finally, we know Angelica is a controversial figure, but we decided to interview her because, on energy policy specifically, her views are shared by a not-insubstantial portion of the Taiwanese public. [See: this poll which reported that 59% of the Taiwanese public didn't feel confident that Lai's administration could protect Taiwan from power outages, and this poll from June 2025 that shows a near-even split in public opinion for and against the non-nuclear homeland policy.] Outro song lyrics: 「燈火 Taiwan」 (Lights of Taiwan) [Verse 1] The AC stopped humming on August day eight Aunties in the market, no fan on their face Eleven days of gas, forty-two of coal Then the island goes dark, and the story gets old O-lóng-mn̂g, o-lóng-mn̂g (黑黑暗暗, pitch black) We knew this would come, but we looked away [Pre-Chorus] Forty years they said hūi-hi̍k (非核, non-nuclear) Forty years of dreaming we could wish it all away But the strait is a wind tunnel, and the sun still shines While we burned the future for cheaper times [Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? (我的故鄉, 你敢有聽著? — My homeland, can you hear?) The Franken-reactor sleeps beneath the hill Crystal Yang drank the water, but the people got ill Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi (我的故鄉, 你愛起來 — My homeland, you must rise) Not nuclear OR green — we need both to survive [Verse 2] Round 3.1, Round 3.2, localization chains RWE went home, EnBW felt the pain Yunlin's turbines turning, three times the cost While the lūi-chhù (綠能蟑螂, green cockroaches) ate what we lost Behind the meter, batteries wait Zero price auction — we sealed our own fate [Pre-Chorus] Taipower's black box, CPI's lie TSMC pays more so the auntie don't cry But the data centers can't grow, AI waits at the door While we argue if nuclear is sin or chó͘ (善或惡, good or evil) [Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? The Franken-reactor sleeps beneath the hill Crystal Yang drank the water, but the people got ill Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi Not nuclear OR green — we need both to survive [Bridge] (Spoken, over soft piano) March 22nd, 2026 Lai Ching-te said the words nobody wanted to hear Kò͘-hiong needs power Not slogans, not pride, not forty years of fear [Final Chorus] Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí kám ū thêng-thāu? The blockade is coming, the Hormuz is closed Spot market gas at 140% — who knows? Góa ê kò͘-hiong, lí ài kiàⁿ-khí-lâi Distributed and hardened, let the sun and wind rise With nuclear beside them — open both your eyes [Outro] O-lóng-mn̂g, mài koh o-lóng-mn̂g (黑黑暗暗, 莫閣黑黑暗暗 — Darkness, don't be dark again) Kiàⁿ-khí-lâi, Tâi-oân (起來, 台灣 — Rise up, Taiwan) Kiàⁿ-khí-lâi... ChinaTalk is an audience-supported publication. If you'd like to help us produce more content like this, please consider a paid subscription on Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Twin sisters Chloe and Claire Lee started the Selleb Style newsletter as a place to discover what beauty and fashion-obsessed people are actually buying (as verified by their receipts—i.e. no sponcon, please!). Now an app, this discovery platform allows more people to share their receipts and quickly connect with others who share a similar taste “timeline.” In this Business Desk, we talk about the five brands Gen Z is actually loyal to, why Merit has such broad appeal, the Substacks people are happy to pay for, the pricey facialist who keeps popping up, and more. More from Fat Mascara Instagram: @fatmascara @jessicamatlin Shop the products mentioned on Fat Mascara: https://shopmy.us/shop/fatmascara Private Facebook Group: Fat Mascara Raising a Wand Submit a Raise a Wand product recommendation, guest suggestion, or just say hello: info@fatmascara.com Production for this Podcast Provided by Redd Rock Music IG: @reddrockmusic www.reddrockmusic.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week on Self Care Club, we welcome Jo Hutton, yoga teacher, writer, trainer and creator of Yoga for Tired People, one of the world's leading health and wellbeing Substacks. Despite spending years teaching wellbeing practices, Jo experienced severe burnout in 2022. In this powerful conversation, she shares what burnout really looked like behind the scenes, why knowing about self-care isn't the same as practising it, and what genuine recovery actually requires. Together, we explore burnout recovery, nervous system regulation, chronic exhaustion, the difference between rest and recovery, and why so many people still feel tired even after taking time off. Jo also explains how the deeper teachings of yoga helped her recover and why rest may be a skill most of us have never learned. If you're feeling constantly exhausted, overwhelmed, burnt out or stuck in survival mode, this episode offers a compassionate and evidence-informed perspective on recovery. Self Care Club is the podcast that cuts through wellness myths and explores what really works for health, wellbeing, burnout recovery and self-care. • Burnout recovery and healing• Nervous system regulation• Chronic stress and exhaustion• Why rest isn't always restorative• Self-care myths• The difference between stopping and recovering• Burnout warning signs• Yoga beyond the physical practice• Recovery after burnout• Managing overwhelm and stress• Sustainable wellbeing practices• Learning how to rest Follow Jo Hutton: @johuttonyoga Subscribe to Yoga for Tired People:https://happyyoga.substack.com/ Look out for Yoga for Tired People (Bloomsbury, Spring 2027) If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate and review the podcast. Sharing episodes helps us bring evidence-based conversations about burnout, recovery, wellbeing and self-care to more people. In this episode: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#251. Everyone's favorite seasonal series – summer favorites! I've gathered a long list of summertime favorites, from skincare & makeup to most-listened-to podcasts and perspective-changing Substack articles. I'll link everything linkable on ShopMy, of course. XxShopMy links: https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/5876064 FOLLOW PAYTON:https://instagram.com/paytonross https://www.tiktok.com/@paytonsartain https://youtube.com/c/paytonsartainrossSUBMIT TO NOTE TO SELF:→ Ask P: Advice Column: https://forms.gle/avvSu4ibYygZP5rq8 Sponsors:Note to Self: code NOTETOSELF at IM8HEALTH.com/NOTETOSELFOlive and June: Visit OliveandJune.com/NOTETOSELF for 20% off your first SystemSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
State Of The New York Knicks Podcast Episode 545: The New York Knicks are NBA Champions. After a 53-year wait, the Knicks have finally brought the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to New York, defeating the Spurs in five games and completing a historic championship run led by Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. On this episode, we celebrate the biggest moment in franchise history, break down the title-clinching victory, discuss Brunson's legendary postseason performance, and reflect on what this championship means for generations of Knicks fans who have been waiting decades for this moment. This is ya boy State—be sure to click all the links below for merch, social media, and more, and check out the Substacks for additional Knicks content and analysis.Click the links below for:
Should cartoonists hire a social-media manager? Brad and Dave discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing social media and ultimately argue that most creators should handle it themselves. They explain why social media is an extension of a creator's voice, how direct engagement provides invaluable feedback about audience-building and marketing, and why improving your promotional skills makes you a better cartoonist overall. Along the way, they discuss shyness, self-promotion, audience growth, and the dangers of trying to be everywhere at once online. Topics Covered • The ComicLab newsletter and the “Five to Grow On” feature • Whether cartoonists should hire a social-media manager • Why social media is part of a creator's artistic voice • The value of learning promotion instead of outsourcing it • Why creative people often resist marketing and business skills • How marketing skills can improve artistic skills • The dangers of trying to maintain every social-media platform at once • Brad's “2-2-1” approach to social media • Platform-specific posting strategies and why one-size-fits-all promotion fails • Social-media feedback as a tool for improving your work • Shyness and discomfort with self-promotion • The “lipstick on a pig” problem: when promotion can't compensate for weak work • Why making a great comic remains the most important marketing strategy • Dave's upcoming Reddit AMA and his Hugo Award nomination • Using award nominations as promotional opportunities • Hugo Awards promotional support versus other industry awards • BlueSky starter packs and audience growth • Why cartoonists should do more cross-promotion • Whether creators should put award nominations on book covers • How long to keep promoting a completed comic project • Managing inventory and promoting older books • Long-tail sales and evergreen products • Using older books as bonuses, stretch goals, and loss leaders • When it makes sense to retire promotional efforts • Whether different creative projects need separate Patreons, newsletters, Substacks, and social-media accounts • The benefits and drawbacks of splitting projects into separate brands • Cognitive load, burnout, and managing multiple audiences • Using separate platforms to measure the success of different projects • When creators should keep projects under one roof and when they should branch out You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.
Full Disclosure meets The Media Odyssey in this special crossover episode with Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet. The episode covers a wide sweep of interconnected stories: the proposed Paramount-Warner merger, the editorial independence implications of foreign money in US media, the GameStop-eBay bid as a case study in social media-driven market manipulation, and the state of M&A activity across the Atlantic. From Roben's firsthand perspective on the lack of US media coverage of Iran and the effect of Gulf sovereign wealth funds acquiring stakes in major news organizations to a forensic breakdown of the Skydance-Paramount deal, Evan Shapiro, Marion Ranchet, and Roben Farzad discuss the 60 Minutes settlement, the Colbert cancellation, the Bari Weiss hiring, and the White House's reported role in pushing the merger through before a potential political shift in the fall. They close with a frank debate on the future of professional journalism and whether public media, billionaire backstops, or direct-to-consumer Substacks can fill the gap left by a collapsing legacy news industry.
Well, as Solomon said, "there is a time for everything under the sun, a time to be born and a time to die" ... and this includes podcasts too! After half a decade of plugging the gaps between the Church and the culture, Andy and Aaron are finally calling time on Pod of the Gaps. In this final swansong episode they reflect upon some of the key themes of the podcast over the last five years, the way public opinion has shifted over this time, the cultural impact of podcasts in general, and some of the key trajectories for the Church's relationship to the culture going forward. Thankyou to all our listeners over the years. We have appreciated all your engagement and feedback, and we're glad you've found our discussions stimulating and encouraging. Feel free to keep following Aaron and Andy on their Substacks for more of their content (see links below). In the meantime, so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye! www.andybannister.net http://thatgoodfight.substack.com
RU398: NICOLE NELSON, ANN PELLEGRINI & ADRIAN SANCHEZ ON THE PSYCHOANALYTIC HUB FOR ONLINE LIBERATORY EDUCATION (P-HOLE) https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru398-nicole-nelson-ann-pellegrini Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Rendering Unconscious welcomes Adrian Sanchez, Nicole Nelson, and Ann Pellegrini! They're here to discuss the founding of the wildly popular P-HOLE (Psychoanalytic Hub for Online Liberatory Education). Rendering Unconscious episode 398. On this episode, Ann, Adrian, and Nicole discuss the challenges of navigating psychoanalytic institutes, emphasizing the importance of a two-way interview process this application season. They highlight important factors to look for, such as institutional support for dissent, the handling of conflict, the significance of aligning personal and institutional values, and the impact of political advocacy, especially around the genocide in Palestine and anti-trans legislation. They share their own personal experiences and discuss the creation of P-HOLE (Psychoanalytic Hub for Online Liberatory Education) as a response to institutional shortcomings, which offers inclusive, politically engaged psychoanalytic education. https://p-hole.com Follow P-HOLE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p__hole/ Be sure to check out: RU387: IRIS HEFETS & AVGI SAKETOPOULOU ON RESIGNING FROM THE INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOANALYTICAL ASSOCIATION (IPA) https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru387-iris-hefets-and-avgi-saketopoulou Read the letters of resignation HERE: https://www.pmhn-international.org/they-resigned Support The Palestine Global Mental Health Network: https://www.instagram.com/palestinegmhn RU News & Events: Wednesday, May 20th, LIVE RU Podcast event with editor Dr. Klara Naszkowska and various contributors on the Gradiva award winning collection Early Women Psychoanalysts: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/next-up-early-women-psychoanalysts All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ The song at the end is the title track from the album We Reign Supreme by Vanessa Sinclair and Pete Murphy: https://petemurphy.bandcamp.com/album/we-reign-supreme-18 Thank You.
Submit to Season 4 Courage Files Here!What if the answer isn't forcing yourself or your story harder… but trusting the process a little longer?In this episode, I talk with author and book coach Andromeda Romano-Lax about her latest psychological thriller, What Boys Learn, the messy reality of revision, and why stepping away from a draft can sometimes be exactly what your story needs.We also dig into self-doubt, negativity bias, supportive feedback, and why writers grow by finishing more books—not by obsessing over making a single book perfect.Timestamps 00:00 Permission to Think 01:20 Meet Andromeda 08:38 Why She Turned to Thrillers 13:53 The Draft Breakthrough 21:07 Villains + Mystery Craft 25:46 Negativity Bias 28:17 Trusting the Process 32:56 Helpful Feedback 38:17 Why Writers Need More ManuscriptsTo connect with Andromeda, read her many helpful Substacks, and purchase her books, please visit her website. She enjoys hearing from readers.You can also find her on InstagramOther links mentioned:The Career Novelist™ Podcast With Camille PagánHave a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.Support the show To become a supporter of the show, click here!To get in touch with Stacy:Email: Stacy@writeitscared.cohttps://www.writeitscared.co/wishttps://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared: Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears
In this episode, we sit down with Mady Lanni, Senior PR Strategist at Manychat — the social media automation platform powering those viral "comment to get the link" moments you see across Instagram and TikTok every day. Mady's path to PR wasn't linear (criminal justice degree, anyone?), and that outside perspective has shaped a refreshingly sharp, social-first approach to a field that's rapidly changing. She gets real about the slow death of traditional newsrooms and what it means for brands still relying on press releases, why journalists are migrating from X to LinkedIn and how to meet them there, how to move fast on reactive PR without sacrificing brand integrity, and why your most powerful spokespeople might not be your executives — they might be your creators. If you work in PR, marketing, or communications and want to understand where the industry is actually headed, this episode is your roadmap.Key Takeaways:// Social is where the news breaks first — follow it accordingly. Mady starts every morning in her social feed, not her inbox. Trending conversations happen on social before they hit anywhere else, and the PR pros who catch them earliest are the ones who get the reactive coverage. // Newsrooms are shrinking, and modern PR has to evolve with them. Traditional media outlets are downsizing. Journalists are building their own Substacks and newsletters. What "media" means is fundamentally shifting.// LinkedIn is the new Twitter for journalists. Mady sees a clear migration happening: journalists who used to live on X are moving to LinkedIn for connections, relationship-building, and DMs. // Always be able to answer "okay, and so what?" Before pitching any story, Mady asks herself whether the news genuinely matters to anyone outside the marketing team. If the only people excited about it are internal, it's a brand moment, not a PR moment. // Creators are replacing executives as the most credible spokespeople. Journalists and readers are craving authenticity, and polished executive quotes often fall flat. // Press releases are a tool, not a strategy. The future of PR is more creative, more relatable, and more human. Connect with Mady: LinkedIn____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. Join the MHH Collective: Join nowGet the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: Join our email list!Follow MHH on Social: Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Facebook
On this episode of GoalChat, host Debra Eckerling talks about The Power of Substack with Jim Fuhs, Fuhsion Marketing, and Bob Woods, CMO, Social Sales Link. The platform continues to grow in popularity and functionality. Substack is like a social media platform and website with blog all in one, and something that can be used can use in concert with other strategies like LinkedIn, podcasting, and live video. What is the Power of Substack? - Bob: Discoverability - Jim: Less noise, more conversation Goals - Bob: Spend time on the platform and write notes; interact and reply - Jim: Create and upload a vertical video as notes; after you read a good article, clip a highlight, and share it Final Thoughts - Bob: Just start doing it. But don't overdo it - Jim: Quality over quantity Learn More About: Jim Fuhs: JimFuhs.Substacks.com Bob Woods: ItsBobWoods.Substack.com Debra Eckerling: BookProposals.Substack.com TheDEBMethod.com/blog TheBookProposalExpert.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
RU396: JOSEPH & LYNNE SCALIA ON CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS: ENVIRONMENTALISM, PSYCHOANALYSIS & EDUCATION https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru396-joseph-and-lynne-scalia-on Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Rendering Unconscious welcomes Joseph and Lynne Scalia! They are here to talk about their new book Critical Consciousness Beyond Impasses in Environmentalism, Psychoanalysis, and Education (Routledge, 2026). https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Consciousness-Beyond-Impasses-in-Environmentalism-Psychoanalysis-and-Education/ScaliaIII-Scalia/p/book/9781032864143 Rendering Unconscious episode 396. On this episode, Lynne and Joseph discuss their book Critical Consciousness Beyond Impasses in Environmentalism, Psychoanalysis, and Education. Lynne shares her experience as an educator, and Joseph as a psychoanalyst and environmentalist. They highlight the challenges in mainstream education and environmentalism, the potential of psychoanalysis, and the need for societal transformation. Lynne and Jospeh emphasize the importance of small pockets of resistance on a local level, and propose the Institute for a Democratic Psychoanalysis (IDP) as a platform for facilitating necessary discussions addressing the intersections of environmentalism, psychoanalysis, and education. Follow The Institute for a Democratic Psychoanalysis: https://dempsya.org Joseph Scalia III, PsyD, is a practicing psychoanalyst, and a social and environmental critic and activist based in Colorado, USA. Lynne S. Scalia, EdD, is an educator from Montana. She has served as a teacher, school district superintendent, and a high school, middle school, and elementary principal, all in public schools. Her work is informed by psychoanalysis and institutional ethnography. Scalia's focus is on rurality, critical pedagogy, leadership, and school reform. Check out previous episodes with this guest: RU115: DR JOSEPH SCALIA III ON WILDERNESS CONSERVATION RU59: JOSEPH SCALIA, PSYCHOANALYST, ENVIRONMENTALIST & SOCIAL CRITIC RU News & Events: Wednesday, May 20th, LIVE RU Podcast event with editor Dr. Klara Naszkowska and various contributors on the Gradiva award winning collection Early Women Psychoanalysts: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/next-up-early-women-psychoanalysts All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ Thank You.
In this interview, author, political commentator and Reform UK candidate, Matt Goodwin joins John to unpack the impending collapse of the United Kingdom.Matt explains how a managerial class of politicians have embraced a worldview of 'suicidal empathy' resulting in mass migration.This unelected decision has increasingly come at the cost of English culture, economic security and ultimately the native population's very existence.Matt Goodwin is an academic, bestseller writer and speaker known for his work on political volatility, risk, populism, British politics, Europe, elections and Brexit. He recently contended in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election for Reform UK. He runs one of UK's biggest Substacks at: https://www.mattgoodwin.org/.Visit John's new substack here: https://www.ourcivilisationalmoment.com/Matt's widely acclaimed new book, Suicide of a Nation, is available here:https://www.amazon.com.au/Suicide-Nation-Immigration-Islam-Identity/dp/1919401407Sign up to John's newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/
RU395: KATELAN FOISY & VANESSA SINCLAIR ON GLITCHCRAFT, THE THIRD MIND & THE CUT-UP METHOD https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru395-katelan-foisy-and-vanessa-sinclair Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Today we have a special episode of Rendering Unconscious! The inimitable Keats Ross interviewed Katelan Foisy and I a while back for his podcast Pragmagick, and he's kindly allowed me to share it here with you all in preparation for our upcoming class, which begins THIS SUNDAY, May 10th at 7PM Stockholm (1PM NYC): Expand Your Art or Writing Practice Using the Cut-up Technique of David Bowie and William Burroughs, with Dr. Vanessa Sinclair and Author Carl Abrahamsson: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/make-your-own-magical-artwork-using-the-cut-up-technique-of-david-bowie-and-william-burroughs-with-dr-vanessa-sinclair-and-author-carl-abrahamsson We'll be meeting online for 4 consecutive Sundays (May 10-May 31) for 90 minutes. Katelan will be joining Carl Abrahamsson and I as our special guest. All classes will be recorded so you may watch them at your own pace. Follow Katelan Foisy: https://linktr.ee/katelanfoisy Follow Keats Ross: https://linktr.ee/pragmagick Follow Carl Abrahamsson: https://linktr.ee/CarlAbrahamsson Follow Vanessa Sinclair: https://linktr.ee/renderingunconscious RU News & Events: Our next Intro to Psychoanalysis class will meet THIS Saturday, May 9th! We will be discussing the final period of Freud's life, looking at his later works, beginning with Group Psychology and the Analysis and the Ego (1921). We'll also take a look at The Question of Lay Analysis (1926) and the life and work of Theodor Reik, and Marie Bonaparte's role in helping Freud escape the Nazis. All paid subscribers at RU Center are automatically enrolled in this course. You may join us anytime, as this class will be recorded and archived at RU Center for Psychoanalysis and all previous classes in this series are archived under CLASSES. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes Then, on Wednesday, May 20th, we have our next LIVE Rendering Unconscious Podcast! Dr. Klara Naszkowska and various contributors to the Gradiva award winning book Early Women Psychoanalysts will be joining us to present their work. All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ Thank You.
Luca and Father Sal break down the James Beard Awards media nominations, why LA continues to dominate, and how outlets like the Los Angeles Times keep scoring while The New York Times gets shut out. Plus: is the decline of Eater real, and are Substacks quietly replacing traditional food journalism? In “Recent Eats,” we're talking airport burgers at Skillet, a return to Lodge Bread, Roman pizza in Hollywood, and whether Catch LA is better than people admit.Plus Chef's Kiss / Big Miss: Enrique Olvera's new LA restaurant, a stacked all-star pop-up, an exciting new LA food Substack, and the most unhinged steakhouse behavior imaginable.And oh yeah. Luca announces he's officially running the New York City Marathon for Soccer Without Borders—and trying to raise $8,000. If you should feel so inclined to chip in - here's the link! Anything helps and is SO greatly appreciated! --Sponsored by mva.wine - discover wines that don't usually make it to the US, delivered straight to your doorstep.
RU394: LARA SHEEHI & CARTER CARTER – FROM THE CLINIC TO THE STREETS: PSYCHOANALYSIS FOR REVOLUTIONARY FUTURES https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/recording-from-the-clinic-to-the Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Rendering Unconscious episode 394. HUGE thanks to everyone who came out for the LIVE Rendering Unconscious podcast event on MAY DAY, May 1st, celebrating the launch of Dr. Lara Sheehi's new book From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures (Pluto Press) with Carter J. Carter as discussant. You can PRE-ORDER the book NOW! Official release date is May 20th. Use code CLINIC30 for 30% off (until May 20th). https://www.plutobooks.com/product/from-the-clinic-to-the-streets/ Be sure to follow Lara's podcast Psychic Militancy: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PsychicMilitancy https://www.instagram.com/psychicmilitancypod/ https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy Sign up for Carter Carter's Substack: https://carterjcarter.substack.com RU News & Events: Our next Intro to Psychoanalysis class will meet THIS Saturday, May 9th! We will be discussing the final period of Freud's life, looking at his later works, beginning with Group Psychology and the Analysis and the Ego (1921). We'll also take a look at The Question of Lay Analysis (1926) and the life and work of Theodor Reik, and Marie Bonaparte's role in helping Freud escape the Nazis. All paid subscribers at RU Center are automatically enrolled in this course. You may join us anytime, as this class will be recorded and archived at RU Center for Psychoanalysis and all previous classes in this series are archived under CLASSES. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes Then, on Wednesday, May 20th, we have our next LIVE Rendering Unconscious Podcast! Dr. Klara Naszkowska and various contributors to the Gradiva award winning book Early Women Psychoanalysts will be joining us to present their work. All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ Thank You.
Recorded live in front of the Wharton Financial Regulation Conference, former guest Peter Conti-Brown joins David Beckworth as a Macro Musings co-host on this week's episode. Peter and David discuss the inflection point of 2008 in FinReg scholarship, how Macro Musings has become just as much a show about financial regulation as about macro, what to make of the Trump administrations changes to bank supervision, whether we should be enthusiastic about the GENIUS Act and digital assets, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the crisis that could become Claude Mythos, why networks and Substacks are becoming more important, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on April 10th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:29 - History of Financial Regulation 00:04:23 - Monetary Policy vs. Financial Regulation 00:07:48 - Bank Supervision 00:11:59 - Digital Assets 00:22:48 - Claude Mythos and Banking 00:30:35 - The Market Argument for the Discount Window 00:35:44 - Academia vs. Real-World Impact 00:40:28 - Audience Q&A 00:54:16 - Outro
In this week's episode, we take a look at best practices for indie authors' email newsletters. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Frostborn series at my Payhip store: CALLIANDE25 The coupon code is valid through May 18, 2026. So if you need a new ebook this spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 301 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is May the 1st, 2026, and today we are looking at the effective use of email newsletters for indie authors. We'll also have an update on my current writing, publishing and audiobook projects and a Coupon of the Week. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code, we'll get you 25% off the ebooks in the Frostborn series at my Payhip store. That coupon code is CALLIANDE25. And as always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through May the 18th, 2026. So if you need a new ebook for this spring, we have got you covered. Now let's have an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. My main project right now is Dragon-Mage, the sixth book in the Rivah Half-Elven Thief series. I'm pleased to report the rough draft of that is done at 82,000 words. So I think this will end up being the longest book in the series to date by a slight margin. I believe the previous longest one was Half-Orc Paladin, which came in at 78,000. I've started editing. The first editing pass is 9% through. Hoping to get a little further with that after I record this episode. I'm hoping to have this book out before the end of May, if all goes well. My secondary project is Blade of Thieves, the fifth book in the Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. I am currently 8,000 words into that. So once Dragon-Mage is published, Blade of Thieves will be my new main project. My new secondary project then will be Cloak of Frost, the 15th book in the Cloak Mage series. I thought I should mention that in the podcast because I had two questions in my email about that today. So I will be starting on Cloak of Frost sometime in the second half of May, if all goes well. Hopefully it will be published in July, with Blade of Thieves coming out in June (if all goes well). In audiobook news, recording is underway for Cloak of Illusion, and that will be narrated by Hollis McCarthy and Blade of Wraiths, which will be narrated by Brad Wills. We're making good progress on both. I am looking forward to sharing those audiobooks with you before too much longer. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. 00:02:28 Main Topic: Email Newsletters for Indie Authors Now let's move on to our main topic, email newsletters for indie authors. If you are listening to this podcast, there's a pretty good chance you're also subscribed to my newsletter and if you are not subscribed to my newsletter, I recommend you do so because not only do you get three free ebooks when you subscribe to my newsletter, then every time I have a new book announcement, I give away a free short story as well through links in the newsletter. So it really is to your benefit if you want to read my books to be subscribed to my new release newsletter. But there are other reasons for an indie author to have a newsletter and we're going to talk about some of those reasons in this episode and some of the things you should not do with a new release newsletter or an email newsletter (if you have one). For a while, email newsletters were considered obsolete in the age of social media. Why not just put things on Facebook or Twitter? Well, for one thing, Twitter doesn't exist anymore. For another, as social media algorithms changed and it became harder for people to see content in their feeds consistently, many authors began to look for alternatives to social media and ended up back on email newsletters or Substacks. The main benefit of an email newsletter is that you have control and it's not dependent on a specific platform. You don't have to worry about your account being flagged or closed by some random AI glitch and lose your ability to communicate with your readers. Most importantly, you're targeting people who want to know more about you instead of trying to fight through all the digital noise that is the modern internet. So today, we're going to talk about five things to try with your author email newsletter, and five things that would probably be the best to avoid. #1: Give people a reason to care. People need a reason to subscribe to an email newsletter, and it should be substantial enough to be a motivator. For myself, I offer three free full length books to new subscribers, Malison: Dragon Curse, Blade of the Ghosts, and Frostborn: The Skull Quest, and they arrive in a three book bundle from Book Funnel. People also need a reason to open the emails once they subscribe. For myself, I offer newsletter subscribers free short stories, usually timed around the release of a new book. For example, I just published Blade of Wraiths, and that came with a free short story, Halfling Alchemy, and I gave away a bunch of copies of Halfling Alchemy when Blade of Wraiths came out. For Dragon-Mage, yesterday I finished writing a short story called Paladin and Priest, and that will also be given away for free to newsletter subscribers when I send out the new release newsletter after Dragon-Mage is finally published (hopefully later this month). Other things you can try are offering exclusive discounts, sneak peeks of new books, and giveaways. When I have a BookBub featured deal, I will usually send out a newsletter like the day before or two days before that to share the upcoming discount with my newsletter subscribers as well. Sometimes when I have special sales like that, I will also use the newsletter to send things out to try and generate interest in the sale. #2: Get to the point. It's good to get to the point as quickly as possible in an email newsletter. People are skimming emails at best. We all get lots and lots of emails, and the longer the email is, the less likely it is to be read. Make it easy to scan for the main points and try not to have a long, rambling introduction. Good formatting also helps people who are skimming to find what they want quickly. Good formatting also helps people who are skimming to find out what they want quickly. Based on my own email data, what gets the most clicks are the images of book covers I put on there. Usually I have an image of the book cover that goes to Amazon and an image of the short story cover that goes to my Payhip store where I'm giving away the short story for free, and those consistently get the most clicks in my email newsletters. So that is an example of getting to the point and good formatting because the point of the newsletter is to let people know that I have a new book out or that something's on sale and the good formatting in the form of the cover images lets people quickly get to the thing I am offering them. #3: Use data to figure out what's working. Once you've done a few newsletters, you will have the data to see if there's certain types of newsletters that are more successful than others. You can go even further and test if there's certain days of the week or times of day that are more likely to be successful. Conventional wisdom is to send things early on the day on a Monday or Tuesday and avoid Friday afternoons when people are already distracted by the weekend. For myself, I've generally gotten the best results with newsletters sent on Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Now, obviously many people are at work at that time, but you'd be surprised how many people have signed up for the newsletter with their work email address and seem to welcome the distraction during the workday when a new release announcement arrives. I have sent newsletters on Fridays and weekends. It's never as effective. Usually Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the most effective days to send out a newsletter. #4: Use a consistent format. Using a consistent format for your newsletter can make it easier for people to find the information they're looking for and makes reading a newsletter more of a ritual. For example, author James Clear does a weekly newsletter with three quotes from his own books, two quotes from other people, and one reflection question each week. For myself, my newsletters almost always follow the same format. I'll have one section with the cover image and links to the main thing I'm selling and then below that, two smaller areas, which are for the short story I'm giving away for free, and then another one with another short story I'm giving away for free or some other item I want to promote. Sometimes it's an audiobook. Sometimes it's another author's book who has asked me to include it in a newsletter swap. It's usually something of that nature. I've been using that in the same email format for like the last 10 years or so, and it's been working pretty well. #5: Be sure to preview and proofread before sending. Be sure to preview how the newsletter will actually work before sending it out. Proofread the text, make sure none of the images are pixelated, and make sure all the links are working correctly. If you include a wrong link in the newsletter (which I have done in the past), people will let you know about it. It might be helpful to have someone else test it before sending it out. So those are five tips that you want to do with your newsletter. And I'm also going to add a bonus sixth one: follow the law. There are several regulations related to email newsletters, both in the US and the EU, and I think most of the EU ones still apply to the UK, even though they left a couple of years ago. In the US, if you are sending an email for a commercial purpose, you need to include a physical mailing address with every newsletter you send out. Many authors use PO boxes or UPS box numbers to avoid putting their home address in there, but if you are sending out an email for commercial purposes, you do need to have a physical address somewhere in the email. Usually it's at the bottom. If you look at, for example, emails you get from like Amazon or Microsoft or Apple and you scroll to the bottom, you will note that they are including a physical address for the company in every email they send out because that is the law. There's also something that is required in the EU, and I believe it's now required in the US called a double opt-in. That's where if you add someone to your newsletter, they have to have given explicit permission for them to have been added to the list. For the subscriber, how that usually works is they fill out a form and then you are required to send them a follow-up email with a link to officially subscribe and that should get them officially subscribed to your email list. It also works that they send you explicit written permission to add them to the list. For example, I've had a couple of tech support questions where someone said, "I want to be on your newsletter, but I can't figure out the form. Could you just add me? " That counts as explicit permission. You should only add emails to your list if you have this explicit permission for them to do it, and that's with a double opt-in explicit, written permission, or the kind of giveaway that properly follows these rules, where various services offer things where you can put up your books and people sign up to receive free ebook copies of the book and if they do so, they acknowledge that they will be added to your email list. That also qualifies as the permission. So those will be the things you want to be aware of with your newsletter. You'll need a physical address and to be aware of the rules involving permission and double opt-in. Don't randomly add email addresses to your list. Probably nothing will happen, but if someone complains that they're on their list and they can appeal to the appropriate authorities and you don't have documentation that they were added to your list in that way appropriately, you could get in trouble. So try to follow the law whenever possible with your ... Actually, no, not whenever possible. Always follow the law with your email newsletter. So let's launch from that into five things not to do with your email newsletter. #1: This is not a diary. It's good to be a little bit personal in your newsletter, to have a warm and welcoming tone, and to give people a tiny peek into your life. However, some authors put their entire life on display in their newsletters, which includes epic rants, details about relationship problems, photographs and personal details about minor children, and breathless pages on pages about how writing is so very hard. And this is not (in my opinion) a healthy way to engage with the Internet. Again, it's good to be a little bit personal, but as a writer, your newsletters are still professional communication, and it's good to be mindful that many people have a very, very low tolerance for personal details. Even innocuous information like a picture of yourself boarding the plane to your minor child's hockey tournament has to be done with caution. Something like that gives people a way to find you at a specific place and time and know exactly when you will be away from home, two things you probably want to avoid. All the usual precautions about posting things about yourself and your children that apply to social media also apply to your newsletter as well. #2: Don't spam people. Although it's good to regularly send out a newsletter, sometimes it can cross the line into being too much. It can be tempting to send out a barrage of updates when a new book comes out, but daily emails are overwhelming and will get ignored. The conventional wisdom is to send out things no more than once per week. That's the rule I followed myself and it's worked out pretty well. #3: Don't treat it as only an ad. If you only send out links to your books, people will eventually tune out. Beside the incentives we mentioned earlier, it's a good idea to do things like provide writing updates, answer reader questions, and giving behind the scenes peeks like a teaser quote from a work in progress. #4: Don't put the most important stuff on the bottom. The most important information in the newsletter needs to be near the top. Not everyone will scroll all the way through each newsletter, so it's important to put any important news, links, or updates within the first couple of paragraphs or lines. That's why whenever I publish a new book and send out the newsletter, the first thing on the ... Well, actually the second thing, we'll talk about the first thing in the next point, but very near the top is the link and the cover image to the new book. #5: You do not want to force your subscribers to stay. Don't hide the unsubscribe button. You want people who don't want to be able there to leave or to not to flag it as spam. For myself, I put a link at the very top of each email to give people the chance to unsubscribe without having to hunt around for that information. It's best to do this because many people do not unsubscribe to email newsletters. They simply mark them as spam and move on. If enough people mark your newsletter as spam, then it will get harder and harder for it to show up in people's inboxes, which is the entire point. So you want to make it as smooth and easy and as frictionless as possible for people to unsubscribe from the newsletter because that will be to your advantage in the future. I have read some horror stories about authors who flip their lids when someone unsubscribes and then manually re-add subscribers to the list after people have unsubscribed. Do not do this. This is illegal. You may get in trouble for it, and even if you don't get in trouble for it, it will irritate your reader/the person who unsubscribed, and they will start leaving bad reviews and spreading bad word of mouth about your books. So for all these reasons, it's definitely to your advantage to make it very easy to unsubscribe from your newsletter. So to sum things up, email newsletters are a great way to reach people, but it's a delicate balance of providing people information they want and treating it like an ad or diary while also making sure you are complying with relevant laws and regulations. It may take some trial and error to find the right balance that your readers want and one that you can keep up with consistently and most importantly, enjoy doing. Just because something works for one author doesn't mean it's going to work for you or interest your readers. If your newsletter isn't an instant success, don't give up, but keep trying new things and be consistent with it. After all, everyone needs to start with their first subscriber at some point. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.
RU393: JULIANE MAXWALD ON PSYCHOANALYTIC SEX THERAPY: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru393-juliane-maxwald-on-psychoanalytic Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Rendering Unconscious welcomes Juliane Maxwald to the podcast! She's here to talk about her new book Psychoanalytic Sex Therapy (Routledge, 2025): https://amzn.to/3QEyUBy Rendering Unconscious episode 393. On this episode, Juliane discusses her new book Psychoanalytic Sex Therapy, which integrates psychoanalytic theory with sex therapy, focusing on the mind-body connection. Juliane shares her own journey from aspiring artist to psychoanalyst and sex therapist. She discusses a couple of case studies from the book, emphasizing the importance of addressing sexuality's unconscious aspects. In her work, she takes an interdisciplinary approach to modern psychoanalysis. Juliane Maxwald is a Licensed Psychoanalyst (LP) and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST), specializing in relationships, intimacy and career issues. https://julianemaxwald.com Follow her at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianemaxwald/ RU News & Events: Friday, May 1st: LIVE RU Podcast event with Lara Sheehi on May Day for her new book From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures (Pluto Press, 2026). With Carterr Carter as discussant. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/live-ru-podcast-event-with-lara-sheehi All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ Thank You.
RU392: CHRISTOS TOMBRAS ON FALSE NEGATIVES: TILTED TAKES ON A WORLD IN FLUX: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru392-christos-tombras-on-false-negatives Join Rendering Unconscious Podcast at Substack for all new and archival episodes: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Rendering Unconscious welcomes Dr. Christos Tombras back to the podcast! He's here to talk about his new book False Negatives: Tilted Takes on a World in Flux. https://www.l2upublishing.co.uk/falsenegatives Rendering Unconscious episode 392. On this episode, Christos discusses the origins and themes of his new book False Negatives: Tilted Takes on a World in Flux, a collection of philosophical essays examining truth, evidence, and meaning in the post-truth age. The book, a series of vignettes written as part of an experiment on Open Democracy, navigates the shifting boundaries of politics, science, history, art, and human understanding. Christos delves into the complexities of truth, narratives, and identity; the impact of COVID-19 on personal and professional life; and the role of choice and interpretation in art. He also touches upon the philosophical implications of psychoanalysis and challenges of navigating uncertainty in a rapidly changing world. In an era when “alternative facts” shape public discourse and technology reshapes what we believe to be true, Christos invites us to reconsider how we know what we know. Through vivid examples—from DeepFake videos and AI-generated art to Freud's dreams and Gödel's theorem—he explores the fragile relationship between truth and interpretation, reason and belief, evidence and experience. Christos Tombras is a London-based Lacanian psychoanalyst, lecturer, and writer. His work bridges psychoanalysis, philosophy, and contemporary culture. He is known for illuminating the intersections of science, art, and subjectivity in a language both precise and humane. https://www.listeningtoyou.co.uk His books include Discourse Ontology: Body and the Construction of a World from Heidegger through Lacan (2019). https://amzn.to/48W8r8H Check out this previous episode: RU60: CHRISTOS TOMBRAS ON PSYCHOANALYSIS, PHILOSOPHY & THE BODY – FREUD, LACAN, HEIDEGGER RU News & Events: Friday, May 1st: LIVE RU Podcast event with Lara Sheehi on May Day for her new book From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures (Pluto Press, 2026). With Carterr Carter as discussant. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/live-ru-podcast-event-with-lara-sheehi All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis and Rendering Unconscious podcast will receive the zoom link to attend this event live and the recording will be archived at both Substacks. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com https://renderingunconscious.substack.com Full archive of RU Center events and CLASSES HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See RU Center SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/schedule Rendering Unconscious is also a book: Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry vols 1:1 & 1:2 (Trapart Books, 2024): https://amzn.to/4sOqSEu Thank you for being a paid subscriber to Rendering Unconscious Podcast. It makes my work possible. If you are so far a free subscriber, thanks to you too. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to gain access to all the material on the site, including new, future, and archival podcast episodes. It's so important to maintain independent spaces free from censorship and corporate influence. If you are interested in pursuing psychoanalytic treatment with me, please feel free to contact me directly: www.drvanessasinclair.net/contact/ Thank You.
Writing Off Social: The Podcast | Build Your Platform and Grow Your Email List Without Social Media
What if one of the most effective ways to grow your audience as a writer is something you've probably overlooked—or maybe even dismissed as outdated?Before social media took over everything, writers built their platforms by showing up on other people's platforms, guest posting and contributing. And guess what. That strategy? It still works!Grace Thomas is a writer and podcaster who has written for dozens of major publications and Substacks—and this has helped grow her robust email list and her reach–outside of social media. Today, we're talking about how guest posting actually works in 2026, how to pitch your writing, where to find opportunities, and how to turn someone else's platform into real, lasting growth for your own. For show notes, go to https://writingoffsocial.com/87Is it time for you to break up with social media? TAKE THE QUIZ!
► Get a free fractional share!This show is sponsored by Trading 212! To get free fractional shares worth up to 100 EUR / GBP, you can open an account with Trading 212 through this link https://www.trading212.com/Jdsfj/FTSE. Terms apply.When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested.Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.► Get 15% OFF Fiscal.ai:Huge thanks to our sponsor, Fiscal.ai, the best investing toolkit we've discovered! Get 15% off your subscription with code below and unlock powerful tools to analyze stocks, discover hidden gems, and build income streams. Check them out at Fiscal.ai!https://fiscal.ai/?via=steve► Follow Us On Substack:Sign up for our Substack and get light-hearted, info-packed discussions on everything from market trends and investing psychology to deep dives into different asset classes. We'll analyse what makes the best investors tick and share insights that challenge your thinking while keeping things engaging.You'll also find our new 10-week investing and research course available right now. It's completely free, with no sign-up required, no payment, and none of the usual BS. Don't miss out. Join us today and get stuck in.https://playingftse.substack.com/► Support the show:Appreciate the show and want to offer your support? You could always buy us a coffee at: https://ko-fi.com/playingftse(All proceeds reinvested into the show and not to coffee!)► Timestamps:0:00 INTRO & OUR WEEKS2:48 NIALL INTRO11:58 NIALLS FAVE SUBSTACKS 16:37 INVESTING STYLE 23:17 WHEN DOES VALUATION TRUMP UNDERSTANDING28:31 PORTFOLIO & CYCLES 43:47 SAINSBURY & UK HOUSEBUILDERS 56:26 ANGLO AMERICAN 1:03:07 DEERE1:15:24 QUICKFIRE ROUND► Show Notes:Who's living in denial? Find out on this week's PlayingFTSE Show!We have an interview lined up for this week – it's Niall from the ShowMeTheValue Substack. He also posts on Trading212 as ‘Anathema' so check him out over there!In an hour and a half, we covered a lot. This included what the best Substacks are (besides ours), a breakdown of Niall's portfolio, and what's wrong with Berkshire Hathaway.The time flew by for us and hopefully it will for you, too. Be sure to check out Niall's Substack at http://www.showmethevalue.substack.comOnly on this week's PlayingFTSE Podcast!► Wanna get in contact?Got a question for us? Drop it in the comments below or reach out to us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playing_ftse/► Enquiries: Please email - playingftsepodcast@gmail(dot)com► Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
“Not to confuse journalism with newspapers. Newspapers are one set of communication methods. But it's certainly not the only one. If they have the right mindset, and that's what I try to get them to do, there are so many more opportunities. You can go out and do a podcast, or you can do a newsletter. You can't think of it as I need to work at The New York Times. You have to think of it as I need — I need — to tell stories, and I've got this curiosity.”Anthony DePalma is a journalist and professor at Columbia University. He's the author of several books, his latest being On This Ground: Hardship and Hope at the Toughest Prep School in America. It's published by Mariner Books.He spent 22 years as a reporter for The New York Times, and another 8 as a stringer for them, so, let's do the math … that's 30 years. He reported a lot on Mexico and Cuba, as well as Albania, Guyana, and Suriname. You can find him at anthonydepalma.com and on the Facebooks and Substacks, at anthontyrdepalmaAnthony DePalma has been all over the world telling true stories. He's the author of The Cubans, City of Dust, The Man Who Invented Fidel, and Here: A Biography of the New American Continent.In this conversation we talk about: How not to confuse journalism with newspapers The NEED to tell stories The stunning lack of curiosity among young journalists Not wearing headphones on walks Accelerated intimacy Challenge of being of satisfied with the writing Still being a WIP What to do when you can't be everywhere at once Cutting 30-40% of his ms Radical pragmatism What makes St. Benedict's tough And how grafting apple trees is like writingOrder The Front RunnerWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com
This week we're diving into the current state of Black women in the workforce. Listen is as Dayna dives into navigating multiple layoffs in music tech while still trying to build and live her life. Nina discusses her decision to step down from her APA position after experiencing countless micro aggressions and pushback. We're going deep while remaining real in this one. Be sure to subscribe to Dayna's and Nina's personal Substacks for a more intimate look into the musings of our hosts. Queen Tone episodes are now on Youtube with video! Be sure to like and subscribe to our channel! IG & TikTok: @QueenTonePod Hosts: @anyad.8 and @aplannerwithapurpose Email: QueenTonePod@gmail.com Episode & Audio Production: @daynerco
EVE Frontier's Cycle 5, Night Crows' NFT Crusade, Shrapnel's early access and 1,000th Substacks![0:43] EVE Frontier has launched Cycle 5, which will run for the next 3 months.[6:50] Changes include defensive turrets, collaborative options, tweaked ship controls, new ships.[8:10] You can also build and optimize Shells, the game's clone characters, for the first time. [9:14] Feral AIs are more aggressive in behaviors.[10:09] The game is also now using the Sui testnet, and for its $80,000 Hackathon.[13:44] Will EVE Frontier be the first successful blockchain game?[16:20] Night Crows is launching its NFT Crusade metagame for high-level players. [18:50] Wemade is committed, integrating blockchain into many of its MMORPGs.[20:27] It's using blockchain to improve its game's long-term engagement and monetization[22:06] NFT Crusade rewards players who have collected multiple character NFTs with exclusive gear.[28:52] Shrapnel has dropped its early access on Steam. It's a 4v4 team mode. [36:22] Jon published his 1,000th Substack about blockchain games. What has he learned?
With the US at war with Iran, oil prices spiking, private credit imploding and payrolls sinking -- it's perhaps understandable some investors are worried the world is going to hell.To put everything in perspective for us today -- likely using more than a few f-bombs himself -- is Chris Irons is the author and publisher of Quoth The Raven, which has become one of most popular financial newsletters around, currently sitting at #27 in the list of top financial Substacks worldwide.REGISTER FOR THOUGHTFUL MONEY'S SPRING ONLINE CONFERENCE AT THE 'LAST CHANCE TO SAVE' DISCOUNT PRICE at https://www.thoughtfulmoney.com/conferenceFollow Chris at https://quoththeraven.substack.com/#privatecredit #marketcorrection #iranwar _____________________________________________ Thoughtful Money LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor Promoter.We produce educational content geared for the individual investor. It's important to note that this content is NOT investment advice, individual or otherwise, nor should be construed as such.We recommend that most investors, especially if inexperienced, should consider benefiting from the direction and guidance of a qualified financial advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators who can develop & implement a personalized financial plan based on a customer's unique goals, needs & risk tolerance.IMPORTANT NOTE: There are risks associated with investing in securities.Investing in stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other types of securities involve risk of loss. Loss of principal is possible. Some high risk investments may use leverage, which will accentuate gains & losses. Foreign investing involves special risks, including a greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods.A security's or a firm's past investment performance is not a guarantee or predictor of future investment performance.Thoughtful Money and the Thoughtful Money logo are trademarks of Thoughtful Money LLC.Copyright © 2026 Thoughtful Money LLC. All rights reserved.
Welcome back! Today we hear a much-awaited update from a listener who is dating her ex-friend's brother and hasn't told the sister yet. Next, we hear from another listener who is dating a guy who doesn't want to be exclusive until he gets back from a solo trip he's been planning, and a woman who matched with a guy on Bumble who I'm pretty sure was married.Read my most recent Substacks: Signs You're Ready To Date Again After A BreakupExactly What I Did To Manifest My Dream Relationship At 33Conversations Every Couple Should Have In The First Year Of DatingAs always, find me on Instagram @mostlydating. And if you're enjoying the pod, please leave a rating & review! To have your question answered on an upcoming episode, submit it here or email carleigh@mostly-dating.com. Learn more about my Mostly Dating Blueprint.
In this podcast episode titled "The Magician's Paradox," Carl Abrahamsson delves into the complex interplay between detachment and engagement in the pursuit of personal and spiritual growth. He poses a fundamental question: how does one navigate the tension between inward focus on self-development and outward engagement with the world's suffering? Abrahamsson begins by acknowledging that those who glimpse the hidden structures of reality often find themselves at a crossroads, faced with the choice between two seductive paths. One path leads inward, emphasizing personal growth and the preservation of one's inner energies, while the other compels individuals to engage with the external world and address human suffering. The challenge lies in finding a balance between these two extremes. He critiques the concept of detachment, arguing that it should not be equated with apathy or indifference. Instead, true detachment is portrayed as a disciplined emotional withdrawal that protects one's inner world from external turmoil. This perspective resonates with the archetype of the sage, who retreats from worldly affairs to cultivate personal purity and wisdom. However, Abrahamsson cautions against romanticizing this detachment, suggesting it may mask a cowardice that allows one to evade the moral responsibilities of engagement. Simultaneously, he examines the opposite extreme—an unbridled passion for activism that assumes individual actions can effect significant change. He illustrates this point with historical examples, including a ruler who sought to impose perfect justice but ultimately created new injustices. This reflects the butterfly effect, where well-intentioned actions can lead to unforeseen and sometimes detrimental consequences. Abrahamsson proposes a third way, which he calls "compassionate restraint" or "loving non-interference." Unlike the sage's detachment or the reformer's fervor, this approach recognizes the importance of working within the deeper structures of reality. The metaphor of the magician is introduced, who seeks to facilitate change not through direct action but by aligning with transformative energies. The magician does not impose solutions but serves as a conduit for genuine change, emphasizing the power of presence and resonance over direct intervention. The discussion shifts to the importance of personal example as a means of enacting change. A person who embodies integrity and compassion can inspire others without necessarily preaching or striving for conversion. This silent authority of presence can awaken authenticity in others, creating ripples of transformation. However, Abrahamsson warns of the potential for spiritual narcissism, where individuals conflate their inner peace with actual change in the world. He emphasizes the necessity of self-examination, urging individuals to reflect on their motivations for detachment or engagement. The podcast highlights the complexity of human action, suggesting that we cannot fully know the consequences of our choices, whether they involve action or inaction. Ultimately, Abrahamsson advocates for a stance of permanent uncertainty combined with commitment. By acknowledging the limitations of our understanding, we can engage with the world authentically, accepting that our choices matter, even if their impact is not readily apparent. The episode concludes by suggesting that living consciously, authentically, and with integrity is the best way to navigate the complexities of life, recognizing that the path is fraught with uncertainty and potential for self-deception. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/CarlAbrahamsson (incl Patreon, Substacks, Carl Abrahamsson books, and more) The Fenris Wolf Book Series: https://amzn.to/4clokZ7 #magic #sourcemagic #occult #occultism #occulture #thefenriswolf #carlabrahamsson
Send a textWant to know how a journalist turns a region into a calling and a career? We sit down with bilingual writer and editor Carly Rojas Avila to unpack how she built a trusted niche in Latin American travel, food, and spirits—earning bylines with Forbes, Travel + Leisure, and hundreds of syndications—while keeping her work deeply human in a noisy media world.Carly traces her path from storytelling in marketing to reporting across Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, and Ecuador, explaining why narrowing her focus actually expanded opportunity. We explore Medellín's energy and innovation, Ecuador's overlooked mainland beyond the Galápagos, and how local kitchens and bars act as cultural translators. Carly shares why interviews beat email quotes, how chefs and bartenders carry memory and identity, and what makes a pitch stand out in travel and spirits: a clear why, timely context, and respect for the reader.We also dive into building direct lines to audiences with two new Substacks—one connecting PR and media needs, the other a home for Latin American travel insights that don't fit traditional formats. Carly offers candid advice on starting newsletters without editor guardrails, staying anchored to a personal why to avoid burnout, and setting smart criteria for press trips when time and attention are scarce. She closes with the growth that comes from living abroad, learning Spanish on the street as much as in class, and stretching into new outlets—including her first published story in Spanish.If you care about travel journalism, culinary storytelling, or pitching that actually gets read, this conversation delivers practical takeaways and fresh perspective. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Latin America, and leave a review to tell us what destination you want featured next.Carley's WebsiteSubstacksInstagram: @carleyrojasavilacarrojasavila@gmail.comPlease take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 481. This is my appearance on Adam Haman's podcast and Youtube channel, Haman Nature (Haman Nature substack), a special 200th Episode Livestream Celebration! It features regular hosts Adam Haman and Tyrone, and other previous guests (recorded Feb. 7, 2026; official episode: Replay of 200th Episode Livestream Celebration! | Hn 200). I and some other previous guests appeared. (( KOL478 | Haman Nature Hn 185: The Universal Principles of Liberty KOL469 | Haman Nature Hn 149: Tabarrok on Patents, Price Controls, and Drug Reimportation KOL461 | Haman Nature Hn 119: Atheism, Objectivism & Artificial Intelligence KOL456 | Haman Nature Hn 109: Philosophy, Rights, Libertarian and Legal Careers KOL432 | Haman Nature 0027: School Choice “Debate” KOL425 | Haman Nature Ep. 4: Stephan Kinsella dismantles “intellectual” property KOL423 | Haman Nature Ep. 2: Getting Argumentative )) Shownotes and transcript below. Inspired by Jeffrey Tucker, I decided to dress up. Adam's shownotes: This is a replay of the Feb. 7th, 2026 YouTube livestream of the Haman Nature 200th episode celebration event. Adam Haman and Tyrone the Porcupine Hobo were proud to be joined by Scott Horton, Stephan Kinsella, Doc Dixon, Brian O'Leary, Domenic Scarcella, Mark Maresca, Mark Puls, and Jason Lawler. Plus, fun, games, the premier of a Haman Nature Records music video, and much more! Enjoy! 00:00 — Intro. Technology is hard, we have a very rough start, but perseverance pays off! 01:08 — Banter and brilliance from our special guests on the situation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 37:88 — Debuting our new game: A Warmonger Says What? 48:50 — Adam slooooowwwlly leads us into a nice intermission. 55:53 — And we're back! Premiering "The Devil is a Democrat" music video by Haman Nature Records! 1:08:40 — Banter and brilliance from our special guests on the recent Epstein files dump. 1:39:10 — What? two intermissions?! 1:45:09 — Adam makes a big podcasting "reveal"! Also, introducing our brand new series: "It's Always Anarchy in Philadelphia!", which leads into a brief discussion of economics — which is the point! 2:08:15 — Some closing banter, thoughts, comments, and testimonials. Plus, what's going on with Bitcoin, gold, and silver prices? Are these assets, or could they be money in the future? 1:10:55 — Outro. Thanks for watching Haman Nature, and here's to another 200 episodes! Shownotes (Grok) Opening & Technical Difficulties [3:02 – ~8:42] Hosts Adam Haymon and Tyrone struggle with StreamYard/YouTube live setup. Multiple failed starts, audio muting issues, and a full restart after realizing the stream isn't public. Guests (including Stephan Kinsella and Mark Maresca) briefly appear during troubleshooting. Take Two – Official Welcome & Guest Introductions [~8:42 – ~17:00] Successful restart. Adam and Tyrone celebrate episode 200 (take two). Guests introduced: Stephan Kinsella (dressed in full “libertard” regalia with Mises hat and pipe), Scott Horton, Mark Maresca (White Pill Box), Brian O'Leary (Natural Order podcast co-host), and later arrivals. Banter about episode counts, outfits, technical woes, and congratulations. Minneapolis / ICE Raids / Immigration Discussion [~17:00 – ~38:00] Tyrone (Minneapolis resident) gives local perspective on recent ICE incidents. Guests share views: Mark Maresca → white-pill take on accelerating public skepticism Scott Horton → partisanship, new footage reinforcing biases, panic in police shootings Stefan Kinsella → due process, nullification, decentralization, peaceful alternatives to force Brian O'Leary → economic incentives over coercion Heavy focus on Minneapolis events, state nullification, federal overreach, and libertarian principles. Viewer Comments, Guest Rotations & Banter [~38:00 – ~1:00:00] Reading sarcastic and positive YouTube comments from past episodes. Guests come and go (Scott Horton exits, Mark Polles / “Mark P” joins, Jason from If By Whiskey joins). More congratulations, plugs for guests' shows/Substacks, merch mentions (shop.humanature.com), and light roasting. Game Segment: “A Warmonger Says What?” [~47:00 – ~1:00:00] World premiere game. Panel (Stefan, Mark M, Mark Mo, Brian) guesses who said infamous political quotes. Chat players compete for $25 Human Nature merch gift cards. Questions cover MTG, Trump/Biden gaffes, Rick Perry, Bernie/Obama/Hillary, etc. Winners announced later. Break, Ads & Music Video World Premiere [~1:00:00 – ~1:16:00] Short break with organic ads (Scott Horton Academy, Swan Brothers merch). World premiere of Human Nature Records parody music video: “The Devil is a Republican” (Grok-rewritten Tom MacDonald-style lyrics set to music by Tyrone). Full performance played. New Segment Debut: “It's Always Anarchy in Philadelphia” [~1:56:00 – ~2:19:00] Brand new recurring segment announced. Uses clips from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to explain Austrian/Misesian economic concepts. First clip: Season episode discussing couch rental interest, inflation, wages, and “nut.” Stefan Kinsella gives detailed breakdown: time preference, interest rates, monetary vs. price inflation, Fed manipulation, sound money, Bitcoin vs. gold, fractional reserve debates, free banking vs. Rothbardian views. Closing Thanks, Final Comments & Sign-off [~2:19:00 – 2:48:00] Guests give on-camera praise for the show (Mark Maresca, Brian O'Leary, Mark Polles, Dominic Scarcella, Stefan Kinsella). Brief Bitcoin/gold/silver/fiat collapse discussion. Final plugs, merch reminder, “The Devil is a Republican” video tease. Emotional thanks to guests and audience for 200 episodes. Ends with signature “Heat” send-off. Total runtime ≈ 2 hours 45 minutes (including breaks and music video). Episode highlights: technical comedy, deep libertarian discussion, game debut, parody music video premiere, and first episode of the new economics-through-pop-culture segment. Transcript (youtube; Grok assist) Human Nature – 200th Episode Celebration (Full Compiled Corrected Transcript – From Beginning to End) Spelling errors corrected, filler words like "uh" or "um" removed (without paraphrasing or altering meaning/structure), occasional topical descriptive headers added, speaker names when identifiable (or "[Unknown Speaker]" if not), timestamps after each header and speaker change. Names standardized: "Human Nature" / "Adam Haman" / "Stephan Kinsella". [3:02 – Opening Title & Initial Technical Chaos] Intro Voiceover Human Nature, a journey in search of a peaceful and prosperous society with human nature as a guide. Led by your host Adam Haman. [3:24] Adam Haman Hello. Isn't technology just hilarious? I guess so. [3:29] Tyrone You got big plans for your 200th episode celebration and then all of a sudden nothing works. [3:36] Adam Haman I still don't see it on my YouTube, but if you see it on yours, I believe somebody is seeing it somewhere. [3:42] Tyrone Yes, somebody is seeing it somewhere. Well, I guess it's just going to be you and me. [3:48] Adam Haman This is kind of how the last one was. Well, hey, we made it. Congratulations, sir. Even if nobody's seeing this, I don't know. [4:06] Tyrone We do have a couple of guests waiting in the waiting room. Maybe they know. But first, we allow some of these bozos on to come celebrate with us. Congratulations, sir. It's number 200. I didn't know if we would make it. Cheers, my friend. [4:23] Adam Haman When we started this little project two years ago, can you believe that? [4:29] Tyrone It's crazy. Oh, you're getting dinged. Ding-donged. Well, welcome everybody to the fantastic, fabulous, super califragilistic 200th episode of Human Nature. [4:41] Adam Haman Oh, wait. I can get my sound effects going. Yeah, I don't think we're live, my friend. [4:47] Tyrone Yeah, I don't think we are either. [4:53] Adam Haman Oh, this is just so silly. So Stefan and Mark, if you can hear us, apologies. Adam's a dumb [ __ ] when it comes to technology. [5:07] Tyrone Should we pop these fellas on here and just apologize to him? I mean, it's 12:12. Should we just cancel this whole nonsense? [5:13] Adam Haman No. Stefan Kinsella. [5:19] Stephan Kinsella Hi, Mark. [5:19] Mark Maresca Mark. Hey, guys. What's up? Congratulations, Adam. [5:25] Adam Haman Thank you. Hold it. We might have to redo this whole thing. [5:25] Tyrone Yeah, we're almost certainly going to have to redo this whole thing. I could show you. My YouTube studio thinks that we have a live stream. [5:38] Adam Haman It thinks it's happening. [5:48] Tyrone Oh, yeah. It thinks we've been going for 5 minutes, but nobody else thinks this. [5:57] Adam Haman Well, that's interesting. [5:57] Tyrone Mr. Kinsella, I know we've never met, but nice to meet you virtually, sir. I'm going to kiss your ass here in a second, but I kind of wanted to do it when we're actually going, so just pretend we've never seen each other five minutes prior to this. But I like the hat and the pipe. Very deerstalker. I'll start calling you Watson or something. [6:16] Stephan Kinsella Yeah, that is about the pipe. You look amazing. [6:22] Tyrone Oh, I can't hear you though. Are you muted? Who's muted, my friend? [6:30] Mark Maresca No, nobody's muted, but I can't hear Mark either. Mark, say something. [6:30] Mark Maresca Talking talking. [6:36] Tyrone Okay, Stephan, I can't. You are I can't hear stuff now. [6:43] Adam Haman Well, maybe nothing works. Maybe that's the Streamyard let you pick the mic and Oh, how about now? How about now? [6:51] Stephan Kinsella Yeah. Yeah, you're correct. How about now? My mic was muted. My mic, my Yeti was muted. [6:57] Tyrone I don't see anything on YouTube Studio, Adam, saying anything's going [7:03] Adam Haman Well, mine does. [7:03] Tyrone Really? Where are you? 7 seconds.
I'm very excited to have on David Fishman as my guest for today's episode.David is Head of Lantau Group in Shanghai, where he works as a consultant for stakeholders in the power sector, and advises on energy development, energy infrastructure, and electricity consumption. But I know him as the author of the Substack Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones, a travel and geography publication where he shares his experiences exploring the less-covered corners of China's economic transformation. This is by far one of my favourite Substacks, and hopefully through this conversation you'll come to understand why, and become a subscriber yourself. We talk travel during Covid, conversations with taxi drivers, and the transformation of ghost cities. I also ask him a very silly question about renewable energy. Be prepared to be a China geography expert by the end!Subscribe to David's Substack: https://www.feelingthestones.comBuy bookclub books here: sinobabble.com/bookclub Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sinobabblepodLatest Substack post: https://substack.com/@sinobabble/p-178934152Links to everything: https://linktree.com/sinobabbleSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Hello you! Welcome back to the new and improved Hot History Podcast! I am so excited for all things hot AND all things history in 2026!Today I'm giving you some of my top recommendations across TV, Film, Books, Podcasts, Substacks, Creators and YouTube so you can start Feb filled to the brim with content. Plus, of course, if you're wanting more Hot History content you can follow along on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube and of course, right here!If you'd like to submit a hot take or ask us a question you can do so at hello@hothistory.com!See you next Friday x
I briefly discuss the recent Epstein drops; how female psychosis is a leading cause of the brainwashing in American schools and the recent school ICE “protests.” Laughing in your face with “Flunorococo;” and the unhealthy nature of MagSafe wallets. Substacks: https://theamericanclassroom.substack.com/p/video-westerville-ohio-school-board-f48 https://theamericanclassroom.substack.com/p/epstein-drops https://theamericanclassroom.substack.com/p/ice-protests-in-american-schools Book Websites: HERE and HERE. https://www.moneytreepublishing.com/shop PROMO CODE: “AEFM” for 10% OFF, or https://armreg.co.uk PROMO CODE: "americaneducationfm" for 15% off all books and products. (I receive no kickbacks). https://www.thriftbooks.com/ Q posts book: https://drive.proton.me/urls/JJ78RV1QP8#yCO0wENuJQPH
RU375: CARL ABRAHAMSSON & VANESSA SINCLAIR – RENDERING UNCONSCIOUS/ THE FENRIS WOLF CROSSOVER EPISODE https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru375-carl-abrahamsson-and-vanessa Rendering Unconscious episode 375. In this special crossover episode between Rendering Unconscious and The Fenris Wolf podcasts, Carl and I talk about all we had going on this year and what's to come in the new year. Enjoy! This is also Carl's 22nd episode of RU Podcast! I've created a list of all RU episodes in chronological order, as well as in alphabetical by guest HERE to make it easy to find all your favorite episodes and guests. https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/episodes Join us at Patreon where we post exclusive content about our magical and artistic practices every week! We also meet for live monthly workshops with everyone at level 23 & up. https://www.patreon.com/c/vanessa23carl Carl posts exclusive content weekly at his Substacks, An Art Apart: https://anartapart.substack.com and The Fenris Wolf: https://thefenriswolf.substack.com Be sure to check out The Fenris Wolf series of books. https://amzn.to/41yE4AU Vanessa runs Rendering Unconscious Podcast: https://renderingunconscious.substack.com and RU Center for Psychoanalysis: https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com and has a personal Substack as well: https://vanessa23carl.substack.com Be sure to check out the Rendering Unconscious series of books. https://amzn.to/3N6XKIl This year we will be teaching the following classes with Morbid Anatomy Museum. All courses are online and recorded for all who register: Introduction to Occulture with author Carl Abrahamsson, Begins February 21: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/introduction-to-occulture-with-author-carl-abrahamsson-begins-february-7 The Origins of the Nordic Magical Runes with Author and Occultist Carl Abrahamsson, Begins April 4: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/the-origins-of-the-nordic-magical-runes-with-author-carl-abrahamsson-begins-april-4 Make Your Own Magical Artwork Using the Cut-up Technique of David Bowie and William Burroughs, with Dr. Vanessa Sinclair and Author Carl Abrahamsson, Begins May 10: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/make-your-own-magical-artwork-using-the-cut-up-technique-of-david-bowie-and-william-burroughs-with-dr-vanessa-sinclair-and-author-carl-abrahamsson The Nightmare Before Christmas: Psychoanalyzing the films of Tim Burton with Dr. Vanessa Sinclair, Begins November 1: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/the-magical-fims-of-tim-burton And more to come! If you're in London, Carl will be in-person at Viktor Wynd Museum Monday, February 23rd presenting Fabulous Freaks of Yesteryear https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/exhibition/fabulous-freaks-of-yesteryear-by-carl-abrahamsson-live/ And then Carl and I will be at the Freud Museum in-person Wednesday, February 25th for Surreal Secrets of the Psyche: The Creative Zeitgeist of Psychoanalysis, Film and the Avant-Garde. Join us! https://www.freud.org.uk/event/surreal-secrets-of-the-psyche-the-creative-zeitgeist-of-psychoanalysis-film-and-the-avant-garde/ Coming up on January 20th (David Lynch's birthday), Mary will present Projections: Lynchian Women. This will be the first RU Center event for 2026! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lynchian-women-tickets-1968254153156 Our next meeting of An Introduction to Psychoanalysis will be Saturday, February 7th. Recordings of RU Center events are archived under CLASSES. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes Wednesday, February 18th, we have Images from the Id: The Strange World of Psychic Photographer Ted Serios with Dr. Mikita Brottman. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/images-from-the-id-the-strange-world Carl Abrahamsson linktree https://linktr.ee/CarlAbrahamsson Vanessa Sinclair linktree https://linktr.ee/renderingunconscious
After two 20%+ years of returns for the S&P in 2023 and 2024, 2025 looks like it will close with another big double digit performance.Three back to back to back years of performance like this is somewhat rare in markets.What's the likelihood the streak will continue in 2026?Or is performance more likely to mean-revert?To discuss, we're fortunate to speak today with market veteran Kevin Muir, founder and editor of The Macro Tourist, the highly-acclaimed newsletter that currently ranks as one of the top financial Substacks in the world. Kevin is extremely concerned about the bubble-conditions of the stock market and is confident shares of the Mag 7 companies will -- as they have before -- experience another 33-50% price correction.#nvidia #aibubble #marketcorrection WORRIED ABOUT THE MARKET? SCHEDULE YOUR FREE PORTFOLIO REVIEW with Thoughtful Money's endorsed financial advisors at https://www.thoughtfulmoney.com_____________________________________________ Thoughtful Money LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor Promoter.We produce educational content geared for the individual investor. It's important to note that this content is NOT investment advice, individual or otherwise, nor should be construed as such.We recommend that most investors, especially if inexperienced, should consider benefiting from the direction and guidance of a qualified financial advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators who can develop & implement a personalized financial plan based on a customer's unique goals, needs & risk tolerance.IMPORTANT NOTE: There are risks associated with investing in securities.Investing in stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other types of securities involve risk of loss. Loss of principal is possible. Some high risk investments may use leverage, which will accentuate gains & losses. Foreign investing involves special risks, including a greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods.A security's or a firm's past investment performance is not a guarantee or predictor of future investment performance.Thoughtful Money and the Thoughtful Money logo are trademarks of Thoughtful Money LLC.Copyright © 2025 Thoughtful Money LLC. All rights reserved.
We all have them. And guilty pleasures in sobriety are even more fun when we're able to enjoy them fully, without the blur of alcohol. Anna is on a steady drip of sugar all day long (Dr. Pat Allen told her she was a “non practicing bulimic”). Other guilty pleasures include Love is Blind, Instagram/Threads, the podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me, Hunter Harris and Joel Stein's Substacks and regular massages. Lisa's guilty pleasures include anything true crime, everything Dexter, and podcasts about ghost stories. Check out all things Lisa and all things Anna.
A loose movement of radical intellectuals is driving American politics. They're called the “New Right,” and they share a basic hostility to American liberal democracy, a real desire to fundamentally overhaul it, and real influence in the White House. But why do they think that? How much influence do they really have? And what would a response to their rising prominence look like? Today's guest is Laura Field, a political theorist who's spent a lot of time in the conservative intellectual world cataloging the wild world of far-right thinking for her book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. She speaks with guest host Zack Beauchamp, author of Vox newsletter On The Right, about why ordinary Americans should really, definitely, and absolutely care what a handful of thinkers are putting out on obscure Substacks and YouTube channels. Host: Zack Beauchamp Guest: Laura Field We would love to hear from you. To tell us what we thought of this episode, email us at tga@voxmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices