Podcasts about Tunisia

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”  This is the story of the Allied campaign in North Africa.  Long under the colonial thumb of the belligerent European nations—namely, France, Italy, and Britain—North Africa becomes the sandy stage for months of ugly tank battles featuring characters like the Desert Rats (Britain's 7th Armoured Division), and the Desert Fox (Field Marshall Erwin Rommel). By the time American reinforcements arrive in Vichy French–held African ports for Operation Torch, the Brits and the Axis powers have been chasing each other across the Saharan desert for quite a while, the latest development being a heartening Allied victory at El Alamein, Egypt.  The newly arrived G.I.s must quickly learn brutal lessons about tank warfare, but they soon come into their own after battles like Kasserine Pass and El Guettar, while simultaneously being whipped into shape by none other than "Old Blood and Guts" General George S. Patton. As U.S. forces move east into Tunisia and Bernard “Monty” Montgomery's men continue moving west from Libya, we'll see if this continent-wide pincer maneuver will break Rommel's two-war winning streak, or if the Allies will finally score a hit against the thus-far (almost) unstoppable Germany.  ____ Connect with us on ⁠⁠⁠HTDSpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠ and go deep into ⁠⁠⁠episode bibliographies⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠book recommendations⁠⁠⁠ join discussions in our ⁠⁠⁠Facebook community⁠⁠⁠ get news and discounts from ⁠⁠⁠The HTDS Gazette⁠⁠⁠  come ⁠⁠⁠see a live show⁠⁠⁠ get ⁠⁠⁠HTDS merch⁠⁠⁠ or become an ⁠⁠⁠HTDS premium⁠⁠⁠ member for bonus episodes and other perks. HTDS is part of Audacy media network. Interested in advertising on the History That Doesn't Suck? Contact Audacyinc.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tao Zrafi claims he “broke cocktail menus forever” with his small bar in Illinois that boasts a menu of over 2,500 drinks. And yet it's far from the wildest idea the Drink Masters star has ever produced. He sits down with Greg and Sother to discuss building replicable formulas that can produce literally thousands of drinks, his venture into entrepreneurship by creating acid powders that can replace citrus juice, are shelf stable, and can be shipped anywhere in the world, and how growing up in Tunisia and cutting his teeth behind the bars of Montreal shaped a truly unique view on the world of cocktails.PLUS, BrewDog is for sale! Greg catches us up on the latest from the embattled microbrewery. And it snowed in New York, again and the city's id was on full display… for better and for worse.Follow Tao at @travelingbartendersFollow No School Tomorrow at @noschooltomorrow.barLINKSBecome a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegularsFor resources on dealing with ICE agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycallianceSupport the Salt Cure Fund at thesaltcurefund.orgThe Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we're talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.PodcastCheck out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Modern Syria has seen violence, repression, and autocracy, suffering through tragedy after tragedy over the past century. Yet the history of Syria is not just a tale of dictators and generals. From the 1800s to the 2020s, the Syrian people have engaged in a passionate struggle for justice, equality, and a better future. Whether fighting for national independence from French colonial rule, battling local landowning elites to share the country's wealth, or rising up against the Assad regime, the Syrian people have fiercely clung to their right to live with respect and dignity. Theirs is a story of protest and perseverance in the long fight to reshape the political destiny of their nation. Daniel Neep's new book, A History of Modern Syria, offers a gripping narrative of how Syrians have navigated the events of the last two centuries. Never losing sight of the fates of ordinary people, it provides a comprehensive account of how a nation born in conflict sustained a rich, complex, and diverse society that after the fall of Assad will chart a new path into the uncertain future. Daniel Neep is Non-Resident Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, and Senior Editor at Arab Center Washington DC. He has taught Middle East politics at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and the University of Exeter. He was previously Research Director (Syria) at the Council for British Research in the Levant and spent several years living in Syria and Jordan. He is also the author of Occupying Syria under the French Mandate: Insurgency, Space, and State Formation (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and articles in journals including International Affairs, Journal of Democracy, New Political Economy, and the Journal of Historical Sociology. Meet our discussant and chair Charles Tripp FBA is Professor Emeritus of Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include the nature of autocracy, state and resistance in the Middle East, the politics of Islamic identities, and the role of art in the constitution of the political. He is currently working on a project on the politics of memory in Tunisia. Jasmine Gani is Assistant Professor in International Relations Theory at LSE. She specialises in anti-colonial theory and history, and the politics of empire, race and knowledge production. She is author of 'The Role of Ideology in Syria-US Relations: Conflict and Cooperation' (2014), and co-editor of 'Actors and Dynamics in the Syrian Conflict's Middle Phase' (2022).

In this episode, we look at what the release of lawyer Ahmed Souab means for freedom of expression and the people of Tunisia. The Tunisian lawyer and critic of he current government, has been serving a five-year sentence after warning that judicial independence in Tunisia was collapsing. His detention sparked anger among political and civil groups who saw it as part of a wider crackdown on dissent.We also explore the myths, mysteries, and cultural significance of the Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State, Nigeria. After a six-year break, some 50,000 fishermen gathered at the Matan Fada River, each determined to catch the biggest fish.Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producer: Ayuba Iliya Technical Producer: Herbert Masua Senior Producers: Bella Twine and Blessing Aderogba Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Residents and students learn from others about original motivation, long-haul stamina, pearls and pitfalls of living in community, debt, vision for one’s next step to the nations, and helping the needy now tensioned with investing in education to help others later.

Courage is not loud. Sometimes it is a 13-year-old girl standing in a courtroom, promising to defend dignity no matter the cost.  Noura Ghazi's life was shaped by detention, disappearance, and resistance long before she became a human rights lawyer. Growing up in Damascus with a father repeatedly imprisoned for political opposition, she chose early to confront injustice through law rather than violence. From defending political prisoners during the Syrian revolution to marrying her husband inside a prison and later founding No Photo Zone, Noura has built a life rooted in resilience, civil rights advocacy, and unwavering belief in human dignity.  Now living in France as a political refugee, she continues her work supporting families of detainees, survivors of torture, and the disappeared. Her story is not simply about survival. It is about choosing mindset over fear, purpose over despair, and love even in the shadow of loss. This conversation invites reflection on what it means to remain Unstoppable when freedom, justice, and even safety are uncertain.  Highlights:  00:07:06 – A defining childhood moment reveals how a confrontation in a Syrian courtroom shaped Noura's lifelong commitment to defending political prisoners.  00:12:51 – The unpredictable nature of Syria's exceptional courts exposes how justice without standards creates generational instability and fear.  00:17:32 – The emotional aftermath of her father's release illustrates how imprisonment reshapes entire families, not just the person detained.  00:23:47 – Noura's pursuit of human rights education demonstrates how intentional learning becomes an act of resistance in restrictive systems.  00:32:10 – The early days of the Syrian revolution clarify how violence escalates when peaceful protest is met with force.  00:37:27 – Her marriage inside a prison and the global advocacy campaign that followed reflect how personal love can fuel public courage.  00:50:59 – A candid reflection on PTSD reveals how trauma can coexist with purpose and even deepen empathy for others.  About the Guest:   Noura Ghazi's life has been shaped by a single, unwavering mission: to defend dignity, freedom, and justice in the face of dictatorship. Born in Damascus into a family deeply rooted in political resistance, she witnessed firsthand the cost of speaking out when her father was detained, tortured, and disappeared multiple times. That lived experience became her calling. Since 2004, she has defended political prisoners before Syria's Supreme Security State Court, and when the Syrian revolution began in 2011, she fully committed herself to supporting detainees and the families of the disappeared. Even after her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil Safadi, was detained, disappeared, and ultimately executed, she continued her advocacy with extraordinary resolve.  Forced into exile in 2018 after repeated threats and arrest warrants, Noura founded NoPhotoZone to provide legal aid, psychological support, and international advocacy for victims of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and displacement across Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Her mission is not only to seek justice for the imprisoned and the missing, but to restore agency and hope to families living in uncertainty and trauma. Recognized globally for her courage and leadership, Noura remains committed to amplifying the voices of the silenced and ensuring that even in the darkest systems, human rights and human dignity are never forgotten.  https://nouraghazi.org/   https://nophotozone.org/   Book – Waiting by Noura Ghazi - https://www.lulu.com/shop/noura-ghazi-safadi/waiting/paperback/product-1jz2kz2j.html?page=1&pageSize=4   About the Host:  Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.  Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.  https://michaelhingson.com   https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/   https://twitter.com/mhingson   https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson   https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/  Thanks for listening!  Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.  Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!  Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Michael Hingson  00:09 Well, welcome everyone to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to chat with Nora Ghazi, who lives in, I believe, France right now. She was born in Syria. She'll tell us about that, and she has had an interesting life, and I would say, a life that has had lots of challenges and some treachery along the way. But we'll get to all of that, and I will leave it to her to describe most of that, but I just want to tell you all we really appreciate you being here and hope you enjoy the episode. So Nora, how are you? Noura Ghazi  00:49 Thank you, Michael, for having me in this great broadcast, doing well. Michael Hingson  00:57 Well, there you go. Well, why don't we start? I love to start this way. Why don't you tell us kind of about the early Nora, growing up and so on, where you grew up, what anything you want to talk about, regarding being a younger person and all of that and and however we want to proceed, we'll go from there. Noura Ghazi  01:17 Okay, so since I was a child, my childhood wasn't like normal, like all the kids at my age, because my father was like a leader in opposition party against the previous Syrian regime. Michael Hingson  01:34 So you were born in Syria? Noura Ghazi  01:37 Yes, I work in Damascus. I'm from Damascus, but I have some like multiple origin that I'm proud of. But yes, I'm from Damascus. So since I was five years old, my father was disappeared and because he was wanted with other, like fellows at his party and other, let's say aliens, parties of opposition against the previous regime. So he disappeared for six years, then he was detained and transferred to what was named the supreme security state court. So it was during my adultness, let's say so since I was a child like I had at that time, only one sister, which is one year younger than me, we were moving a lot. We had no place to live. So my mother used to take us each few days to stay at some, someone place, let's say so it caused to us like changing schools all, all the time, which means changing friends. So it was very weird. And at that age, okay, I I knew the words of like cause, the words of leader or dictatorship. I used to say these words, but without knowing what does it mean. Then, when my father detained, it was his ninth detention. Actually, my mother was pregnant with my brother, so my brother was born while my father was in prison. And while he was in prison, the last time he disappeared for one year, three months, he was in like a kind of isolation in security facility. Then he was referred to this court. So in one of the sessions of the trials, I had a fight with the officer who, like who was leading the patrol that bring my father and other prisoners of conscience. So at the end of this fight, I promised my father and the officer that, okay, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer and defend political prisoners, which I did at the end. Michael Hingson  04:05 So what? What was the officer doing? He was taking people to the court. Noura Ghazi  04:12 Yes, because Okay, so there is many kind of prisons now. They became like, more familiar to like public opinion because of, like 15 years of violence in Syria. So there was, like the the central civil prison in Damascus, which we call ADRA prison, and we have said, NIA jail, military prison. So those two prisons, they were like, holding detainees in them. So they they used to bring detainees to the court in busses, like a kind of military busses, with patrol of like civil police and military police. So the officer was like. Heading the patrol that was bringing my fathers from other prison. Michael Hingson  05:05 So you, so you, what was the fight about with the officer and your father and so on? What? How? Well, yeah, what was the fight? Noura Ghazi  05:16 It's very good question, although at that time, it was a very like scary situation, but now I laughed a lot about it. Okay, so they used to to catch all the prisoners in one chain with the handcuffs. So we used to come to hug and kiss my father before entering the court. So I was doing what I used to do during the trials, or just upon the trials, and then one of the policemen, like pushed me away. So I got nervous, and my father got nervous. So the officer provoked me. He was like a kind of insulting that my father is a detainee, and he is like he's coming to this court. So I, like I replied that I'm proud of my father and his friends what they are doing. So he somehow, he threats me to detain me like my father, and at that time, I was very angry, and I curse the father Assad just in on the like in the door, at the door of the court, and there was people and and Like all the the policemen, like they were just pointing their weapon to me, and there was some moments of silence. Then they took all the detainees into the court. So at this moment, while I'm entering the court behind them, I said, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer to defend political prisoners. Michael Hingson  07:02 What did the officers say to that? Noura Ghazi  07:06 Because they used to look to us as because we are. We were against father Assad and the dictatorship, so they used to see us, even if we are kids, as enemies. Michael Hingson  07:22 Yeah, so the officer but, but he didn't detain you. I was Noura Ghazi  07:27 only 13 years, yeah, okay, they used to to arrest the kids, but they didn't. Michael Hingson  07:37 So did the officer react to your comment? You're going to grow up to become a civil rights lawyer? Noura Ghazi  07:43 He was shocked, was he? But I don't know if he knew that I become a human yes, there at the end, yeah. Michael Hingson  07:54 And meanwhile, what did your father do or say? Noura Ghazi  07:58 He was shocked also, but he was very proud, and until now, he like every time, because I'm also like, very close to to his friends who I used to visit in prison. Then I become a human rights lawyer, and I was the youngest lawyer in Syria. I was only 22 years old when I started to practice law. So during the the revolution in Syria, which started in 2011 some of his friends were detained, and I was their lawyer also. So I'm very close to them. So until now, they remember this story and laugh about it, because no one could curse or say anything not good about father Assad or or the family, even in secret. So it's still, like, very funny, and I'm still like, stuck somehow in, like, in this career and the kind of activism I'm doing, because just I got angry of the officer 30 years ago. So at this, at that moment, I've decided what I will be in the future. I'm just doing it well. Michael Hingson  09:20 From everything I've read, it sounds like you do a good job. Noura Ghazi  09:25 I cannot say it's a job, because usually you you do a job, you get paid for your job, you go at a certain time and come back at a certain time. You do certain tasks. But for me, it's like a continuing fight, non violent fight, of course, for dignity, for freedom, for justice, right, for reveal the truth of those who were disappeared and got missing. So yes, until now, I'm doing this, so I don't have that. Are the luxury to to be paid all the time, or to be to have weekends or to work until like certain hour at night. I cannot say I'm enjoying it, but this is the reason why I'm still alive, because I have a motive to help and support other people who are victims to dictatorship and violence. Michael Hingson  10:25 So your father went into court and what happened? Noura Ghazi  10:31 He was sentenced. At the end, he was sentenced to three years in prison. And it's a funny story, another funny story, actually, because, like the other latines at that at that trial, like it was only my father and other two prisoners who sent who were sentenced to three years in prison, while other people, the minimum was seven years in Prison, until 15 years in prison. So my mother and us, we felt like we are embarrassed and shy because, okay, our father will will be released like in few months, but other prisoners will stay much longer. So it's something very embarrassing to our friends who whom their fathers got sentenced to like more. Michael Hingson  11:30 Did you ever find out why it was only three years? Noura Ghazi  11:33 We don't know because it's an exceptional court, so it's up to the judge and the judge at that time, like it's it's very similar to what is happening now and what happened after 2011 so it's a kind of continuing reality in in Syria since like 63 which was the first time my father was detained. It was in 63 just after the what they called the eighth March revolution. So my father was only 11 years old when he was detained the first time because he participated in a protest. So it's up to the judge. It's not like a real court with like the the fair trial standards. So it's it's only once you know, the judge said the sentences for each one. So two prisoners got confused. They couldn't differentiate like Which sentence to whom, so they asked like again, so he forgot, so he said them again in different way. So it's something like, very spontaneously, yeah, very just moody, not any standard. Michael Hingson  12:51 Well, so Did your father then serve the three years and was released. Or what happened? Noura Ghazi  12:58 He was released on the day that he should be released, he disappeared for few days. We didn't know what happened. Then he was released. Finally he came. We used to live with my my grandma, so I was the one who opened the door, and I saw just my father. So we we knew later that okay, he was moved again to a security facility because he refused to sign a paper that say that he will not practice any oppositional action against the authority. So he refused, yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  13:43 Well, I mean, I'm sure there's, there's a continuing story, what happened to him after that. So he came home, Noura Ghazi  13:53 he came out to my grandma. It was a big surprise, like full of joy, but full of tears as well. Michael Hingson  14:01 And you're you were 16 now, right? Noura Ghazi  14:04 I was when he was raised. I was 15, yeah, okay, yeah. And my sister was 14. My brother was two years and a half, so for him, okay, the father is this person that we visit behind bars every Monday, not this one who stay with us. So for him, it was weird. For my brother, he was very like little kid to understand. Then my father went to to see his parents as well. Then we came back to our apartment that we couldn't live more than few months because my father was detained. So at this night, everything was very, very, very new, like because before the three years he he was disappeared for six years, so there was. Nine years. We don't live with my father, so my brother used to sleep just next to my mom, actually my sister and me, but okay, we were like a teenager, so it's okay. So my brother couldn't sleep. Because why he keep, he kept asking why my father is sleeping with us while he's not with his friend at that place. And he was traumatized for many days. But usually when, like a political prisoner released, usually, like, we have a kind of two, three weeks of people visiting the family to say, Okay, it's it's good. We're happy for you that he was released. So the first two, three weeks were full of people and like, social events, etc. Then the, the real problem started. So my father studied law, but he was fired from university for security reasons at the the last year of his study, and as he was sentenced so he couldn't work, my mother used to work, and so like suddenly he started to feel that okay, He's not able to work. He's not able to fulfill the needs of his family. He's not able to spend on the family. The problems between him and my mother started. We couldn't as like my sister and me as teenagers. We couldn't really accept him. We couldn't see that. He's the same person that we used to visit in prison. He was very friendly. We used to talk about everything in life, including the very personal things that usually daughters don't speak with fathers about it. But then he became a father, which we we we weren't used to it, and he was shocked also. So I can say that this, this situation, at least on emotional and psychological level, for me, it lasted for 15 years. I couldn't accept him very well, even my my sister and and the brother and it happens to all like prisoners, political prisoners, especially who spent long time in prison. Michael Hingson  17:32 So now is your father and well, are your father and your mother still alive? Or are they around? Noura Ghazi  17:41 They are still alive. They are still in Damascus, Michael Hingson  17:44 and they're still in Damascus. Yes, how is I guess I'll just ask it now, how is Syria different today than it was in the Assad regime, Noura Ghazi  17:56 like most of Syrians, and now we should differentiate about what Syrians will talk. We're talking so like those Syrians, like the majority of Syrians, and I'm meaning here, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be very direct. Now, the Arab Sunni Syrians, most of them, they are very happy. They are calling what happened in in last eight December, that it's the deliberation of Syria, but for other minorities, like religious or ethnic minorities, of course, it's almost the same. For me, I feel that okay, we have the same dictatorship now, the same corruption, the same of like lack of freedom of expression. But the the added that we have now is that we have Islamist who control Syria. We have extremists who control Syria. They intervene even in personal freedoms. They they are like, like, they are committing crimes against minorities, like it started last March, against alawed. It started last July, against Druze. Now it is starting against Kurdish, and unfortunately, the international community turning like an attorney, like, okay. They are okay with with it, because they want, like their own interest, their own benefits. They have another crisis in the world to take care and to think about, not Syria. So the most important for the international community is to have a stable situation in Syria, to be like, like, no kind of like, no fight zone in the Middle East, and they don't care about Syrian people. And this is very frustrating for those who. Who have the same beliefs that I have. Michael Hingson  20:04 So in a lot of ways, you're saying it hasn't, hasn't really changed, and only the, only the faces and names have changed, but not the actions or the results Noura Ghazi  20:16 the faces and names, and most important, the sects, has changed. So it was very obvious for me that most of Syrians, they don't mind to be controlled by dictator. They only mind what is the sect of this dictator? Michael Hingson  20:35 Unfortunately. Well, yeah. Well, let's go back to you. So your father was released, and you had already made your decision about what you wanted to be, what how does school work over there? Did you go to a, what we would call a high school? Or how does all that work? Noura Ghazi  20:58 Yeah, high school, I was among the like the student who got the highest score in Damascus. I was the fourth one on Damascus when I finished. We call it back like Baccalaureate in Syria, which came from French. And I studied law, and I was also very, like, really hard, hard study person. So I was graduated in four years. Actually, nobody in Syria used to finish studying law in Damascus University only in four years. Like some people stayed more than 10 years because it it was very difficult, and it's different than like law college or law school or university of law, depending on the country, than other countries, because we only like study law. Theoretically, we don't have any practice because we were 1000s of students, it was the like the maximum university that include students. And I registered immediately in the Bar Association in Damascus, and I started because we have, like, a kind, it's, it's similar to stage for two years, like under the supervision of another lawyer who was my uncle at the first and then we we have to choose a topic in certain domain of flow, to write a kind of book which is like, it's similar to thesis, to apply it, to approve it, and then to have the kind of interactive examination, then we have the the final graduated. So all of them to be like a practice lawyer. It's around six years, a little bit more. So my specialist was in criminal law, and my thesis, what about what we call the the impossible crime. It was complicated topic. I have to say that in Syria at that time, I'm talking about end of of 90s, beginning of 2000 so we don't have any kind of study related to human rights. We weren't allowed even to spell this word like human rights. So then in 2005 and 2006 I started to study human rights under international laws related to human rights in Jordan. So I became like a kind of certified human rights defenders and the trainer also, Michael Hingson  23:47 okay, and so you said you started practice and you finished school when you started practice, when you were 22 Yes, okay, I'm curious what, what were things like after September 11, of course, you know, we had the terrorist attacks and so on. Did any of that affect anything over in Syria, where you lived, Noura Ghazi  24:15 of course, like, we stayed talking, watching the news for like four months, like until now we remember, like September 11. But you know, I now when I remember, it was a shock, usually for the Arab world, or Arab people like America is against the Arab world. So everything happened against it was like, this was like, let's say 2030, years ago. Everything that caused any harm to America, they celebrate it. So that. At that time, I was 19 years old, and okay, it's the first time we we hear that a person who was terrorist do like is doing this kind in in us, which is like a miracle for us. But then I started to to think, okay, they it's not an army. They are. There are civilians. Those civilians could be against the the policies of the US government. They could be like, This is not a kind of fight for freedom or for rights or for any like, really, like, fair cause. This is a terrorist action against civilians. And then we started, I'm very lucky because I'm from very educated family. So we started to think about, like, okay, bin Laden. And like, which we have a president from Qaeda now in Syria, like, you can imagine how I feel now. Like, I Okay, all the world is against al Qaeda, and they celebrated that the President in Syria is from al Qaeda. So it's, it's very it's, it's, really, it's not logical at all. But the funniest thing that happened, because, like, the name of Usama bin Laden, was keeping on every like, every one tongue. So I have my my oldest uncle. His name is Usama, and he lives in Germany for 40, more than 40 years, actually. So my brother was a child, and he started to cry, and he came to my mother and asked her, I'm afraid, is my uncle the same Usama? So we were laughing all, and we said, No, it's another Usama. This is the Usama. This is Osama bin Laden, who is like from is like a terrorist group, etc. But like this unfortunate incident started to bring to my mind some like the concept of non violence, the concept of that, okay, no civilian in any place in the world should be harmed for any reason, Because we never been told this in Syria and mostly in most of of countries like the word fight is very linked to armed fights, which I totally disagree with. Michael Hingson  27:56 Well, the when people ask me about September 11 and and so on. One of the things that I say is this wasn't a religious war. This wasn't a religious attack. This was terrorist. This was, I put it in terms of of Americans. These were thugs who decided they wanted to have their way with people. But this is not the way the Muslim the Islamic religion is there is peaceful and peace loving as as anyone, and we really need to understand that. And I realize that there are a lot of people in this country who don't really understand all about that, and they don't understand that. In reality, there's a lot of peace loving people in the Middle East, but hopefully we'll be able to educate people over time, and that's one of the reasons I tell the story that I do, because I do believe that what happened is 19 people attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and so on, and they don't represent the the typical viewpoint of most people, religious wise in the Middle East. And I can understand why a lot of people think that the United States doesn't like Arabs, and I'm not sure that that's totally true, but I can appreciate what you're saying. Noura Ghazi  29:28 Yeah, I'm talking about specific communities actually, who they are, like totally against Israel, and they believe that you us is supporting Israel. So that's that's why they have their like this like attitude towards us and or like that US is trying to invest all the resources in the in the Middle East, etc. But what you were mentioning. Is really very important, because those 19 persons, they like kind of they, they cause the very bad reputation for for Muslims, for Middle Eastern because for for for other people from other countries, other culture or other religion, they will not understand that, okay, that, as you said, they don't represent Muslims. And in all religions, we have the extremist and we have those peaceful persons who keep their their religion as a kind of direct connection with God. They respect everyone, and normally in in in Syria, most of of the population like this, but now having a terrorist as a President, I'm not able to believe how there is a lot of Syrians that support him. Mm, hmm. Because when Al Qaeda started in Syria at the beginning, under the name of japet Al Nusra, then, which with July, who is now Ahmad Al shara, was the leader, and he's the leader of the country now most of Syrians, especially the the the Sunni Syrians, were against this, like terrorist groups, because the most harm they cause is for for Sunnis in Syria, because all other minorities, they will think about every Sunni that they, He or she, like, believe and behave like those, which is totally not true. Michael Hingson  31:47 Yeah, I hear you. Well, so September 11 happened, and then eventually you started doing criminal law. And if we go forward to what 2011 with the Syrian revolution? Yeah, and so what was, what was that revolution about? Noura Ghazi  32:10 It was okay. It started as a reaction against detaining kids from school. Okay, of course, this like the Syrian people, including me, we were very affected and inspired about what was happening in Egypt and Tunisia. But okay, so the security arrested and tortured those kids in their south of Syria. So people came out in demonstration to ask for their freedom and the security attack those protesters with, like, with weapons, so couple of persons died. So then it was, it started to be like a kind of revolution, let's say, yeah, the the problem for me, for lot of people like me, that the the previous Syrian regime was very violent against protesters and the previous president, Bashar Assad, he refused to listen to to to those people, he started to, like dissipated from the reality. So this like, much violence that was against us, like, I remember during some protest, there was not like, small weapon toward us. There was a tank that bombing us as protesters, peaceful, non violent, non armed protesters. So this violence led to another violence, like a kind of reaction by those who defected from the army, etc. And here, my father used to say, when the opposition started to to carry weapon in a country that, like the majority of it, is from certain religion, this could lead to a kind of Jihadist methodology. And this is what happened. So for for people like us, which we are very little comparing of like, the other beliefs of other people like we were, we started to be against the Syrian regime, then against the jihadist groups, then against that, like a kind of international, certain International, or, let's say original intervention, like Iran and Russia. So we were fighting everywhere, and no one. No one wanted us because those like educated, secular, non violent people, they. Form a kind of danger for every one of those parties. But what happened with me is that I met my late husband during a revolution at the very early of 2011 and having the relationship with me was my own revolution. So I was living on parallel like two revolution, a personal one and the public one. And then, like he was detained just two weeks before our our wedding. He was disappeared, actually, for nine months, then he was moved to the same prison that my father was in, to the central prison in Damascus that we got married in prison by coincidence. I don't know if coincidence is the right word in this situation, but my late husband was a very well known programmer and activist. So we were he was kind of, let's say, famous, and I was a lawyer and lawyer that defend human rights defenders and political prisoners. And the husband was detained, so I used to visit him in prison and visit other prisoners that I was their lawyers. And because my like, we have this personal aspect that okay, the couple that got married in prison and that, okay, I'm activist as a lawyer, and my late husband was a well known programmer. So we created a very huge campaign, a global campaign. So we invested this campaign to like, to shed the light about detention, torture, disappearance, exceptional courts, then, like also summary execution in Syria. So then, after almost three years of visiting him regularly, he disappeared again in 2015 and in 2017 I knew that he was sentenced to death, and I knew the exact date of his execution, just in 2018 which was two days ago. It was October 5. So this is what happened then. I had to leave Syria in 2018 so I left to Lebanon. Michael Hingson  37:27 So you left Syria and went to Lebanon? Noura Ghazi  37:33 Yes, the The plan was to stay only six months in Lebanon because I was wanted and I was threatened like I lived a terrible life, really, like lot of Syrians who were activists also, but the plan was that I will stay in Lebanon for six months, then I will leave to to UK because I had A scholarship to get a master in international law. But only two months after I left to Lebanon, I decided to stay in Lebanon to establish the organization that I'm I'm leading until now, which was a project between my late husband and me. Its name is no photo zone, so it was a very big decision, but I'm not regrets. Michael Hingson  38:23 You, you practice criminal law, you practiced human rights, you visited your your fiance, as it were, and then, well, then your husband in prison and so on. Wasn't all of that pretty risky for you? Noura Ghazi  38:42 Yes, very risky. I, I lived in under like, different kind of risk. Like, okay, I have the risk that, okay, I'm, I'm doing my activism against the previous regime publicly because I also, I was co founder of the First Family or victim Association in Syria families for freedom. So we, we were, like, doing a kind of advocacy in Europe, and I used to come back to Syria, so I was under this risk, but also I was under the risk of the like, going to prison, because the way to prison and the prison itself were under bombing. It was in like a point that separate the opposition militias and the regime militias. So they were bombing each other and bombing the prison and bombing the way to prison. So for three years, and specifically for like, in, let's say, 2014 specifically, I was among, like, I was almost the only lawyer that visited the prison, and I, I didn't mind this. I faced death more than 100 time, only on the way to prison, two times the person next to me in the like transportation. It's a kind of small bus. He died and fell down on me, but I had a strong belief that I will not die, Michael Hingson  40:21 and then what? Why do you think that they never detained you or or put you in prison? Do you have any thoughts? Noura Ghazi  40:29 I had many arrests weren't against me, but each time there was something that solve it somehow. So the first couple of Earths weren't actually when, when my late husband was detained, he he made a kind of deal with them that, okay, he will give all the information, everything about his activism in return. They, they canceled the arrest warrant against me. Then literally, until now, I don't know how it was solved. Like I, I had to sleep in garden with my cats for many nights. I i spent couple of months that I cannot go to any like to family, be house or to friend house, because I will cause problem for them, my my parents, my brother and sister, and even, like my sister, ex, until like just three months before the fall of the Syrian regime, they were under like, investigation By the security, lot of harassment against them so, but I don't know, like, I'm, I'm survive for a reason that I don't really realize how, Michael Hingson  41:52 wow, it, it's, it certainly is pretty amazing. Did you ever write a book or anything about all of this, Noura Ghazi  42:02 I used to write, always the only book like, let's say, literature or emotional book. It was about love in prison. Its name is waiting. And I wrote this book in English and basil. My late husband translated it. Sorry. I wrote it in Arabic, and Basset translated it into English in prison. So it was a process of smuggling the poems in Arabic and smuggling the them in English, again out of the prison. And we published the book online just after basil disappearance in 2015 then we created the the hard copies, and I did the signature in in Beirut in, like, early 2018 but like, it's, it's online, and it's a very, like light book, let's say very romantic. It's about love in prison. I'm really keen to write again, like maybe a kind of self narrative or about the stories that I lived and i i I heard during my my journey. Unfortunately, like to write needs like this a little stable situation, but I did write many like legal or human rights book or like guides or studies, etc. Michael Hingson  43:34 Now is waiting still available online? Noura Ghazi  43:37 Yes, it's still available online. Michael Hingson  43:40 Okay? It would be great if you could, if you have a picture of the book cover, if you could send that to me, because I'd like to put that in the notes. I would appreciate it if you would, okay, for sure. But anyway, so the the company you founded, what is it called Noura Ghazi  44:02 it's a non government, a non profit organization. Its name is no photo zone. Michael Hingson  44:07 And how did you come up with that name? Noura Ghazi  44:12 It was Vasil who come up with this name, because our main focus is on prisoners of conscious and disappeared. So for him, it was that okay, those places that they put disappeared in them. They are they. There is no cameras to show the others what is happening. So we should be the the like in the place of cameras to tell the world what is happening. So that's why no photos on me, like, means that prisons or like unofficial detention centers, because they're it's an all photo zone, right? Michael Hingson  44:54 And no photo zone is is still operating today. Noura Ghazi  44:58 It's still operating. We are extending our work, although, like we have lots of financial challenges because of, like, funds issues, but for us, the main issue, we provide legal services to victims of torture, detention, disappearance and their families. So we operate in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. We are a French woman led organization, but we have registration in Turkey and Syria, and like in seven years now, almost seven years, we could provide our services to more than 3000 families who most of them are women, and they are responsible about kids who they don't have fathers. So we defend political prisoners. We search the disappeared. We provide the legal services related to personal and civil status. We provided the services related to identification documents, because it's a very big issue in Syria. Beside we provide rehabilitation, like full rehabilitation programs for survivors of detention or torture, and also advocacy. Of course, it's a very important part of our our work, even with the lack of fund, we've decided in the team, because most of the team, or all the team, they they were themselves victims of detention, or family members of victims, even the non Syrian because we have many non Syrian member in the team. So for us, it's a cause. It's not like a work that we're doing and getting paid. So we're, we're suffering this this year with the fund issues, because there is a lot of change related to the world and Syrian issues, which affected the fund policies. So hopefully we'll be, we'll be fine next year, hopefully, and we're trying to survive with our beneficiaries this year, Michael Hingson  47:02 yeah, well, you, you started receiving, and I assume no photo zone started receiving awards, and eventually you moved out of Lebanon. Tell me more about all of that. Noura Ghazi  47:16 During my journey, I I got many international recognition or a word, including two by Amnesty International. But after almost two years, like just after covid, like the start of covid, I was thinking that I should have another residence permit in another country because, like, it became very difficult for Syrians to get a residence in Lebanon. So I I moved to Turkey, and I was between Lebanon and Turkey. Then I got a call from the French Embassy in Turkey telling me that there is a new kind of a word, which is Marianne award, or Marianne program, that initiated by the French president. And they it's for human rights defenders across the world, and they will give this award for 15 human rights defender from 15 country. And I was listening, I thought they want me to nominate someone. Then they told me that the French government are honored to choose you as a Syrian human rights defender. So it was a program for six months, so I moved to Paris with my cat and dog. Then they extended the program and to become nine months. And at the almost at the end of the program, the both of Lebanese and Turkish authorities refused to renew my residence permit, so I had to stay in France to apply for asylum and a political refugee currently. Michael Hingson  49:10 And so you're in France. Are you still in Paris? Noura Ghazi  49:13 I'm still yes in Paris. I learned French very fast, like in four months. Okay, I'm not perfect, but I learned French. Michael Hingson  49:25 So what did your dog and cat think about all that? Sorry, what did your dog and cat think about moving to France? Noura Ghazi  49:33 They are French, actually, originally, they are friends. Michael Hingson  49:36 Oh, there you go. Noura Ghazi  49:38 My, my poor dog had like he he was English educated, so we used to communicate in English. Then when I was still in Lebanon, I thought, okay, a lot of Syrians are coming to my place, and they don't speak English, so I have to teach him Arabic. Then we moved to Turkish. So I had to teach him Turkish. Then we came to. France. So now my dog understand more than four languages, Michael Hingson  50:06 good for him, and and, of course, your cat is really the boss of the whole thing, right? Noura Ghazi  50:12 Of course, she is like, the center of the universe, Michael Hingson  50:16 yeah, yeah, just ask her. She'll tell you. And she's Noura Ghazi  50:20 very white, so she is 14 years. Oh, it's old, yes. Michael Hingson  50:29 Well, I have a cat we rescued in 2015 we think she was five then. So we think that my cat is 15 going on 16. So, and she moves around and does very well. Noura Ghazi  50:46 Yeah, my cat as well. Michael Hingson  50:49 Yeah. Well, that's the way it should be. So with all the things that you've been dealing with and all the stress, have you had? Noura Ghazi  50:59 PTSD, yes, I started, of course, like it's the minimum, actually, I have PTSD and the TSD, and I started to feel, or let's say, I could know that the what is happening with me is PTSD two years ago. I before, like, couple of months before, I started to feel like something unusual in my body, in my mind. At the beginning, we thought there is a problem in the brain. Then the psychologist and psychiatrist said that it's a huge level of PTSD, which is like the minimum, and like, we should start the journey of of treatment, which is like the behavior treatment and medical treatment as well. Like, some people could stay 10 years. Some people need to go to hospital. It's not the best thing, but sometimes I feel I'm grateful that I'm having PTSD because I'm able to deal with people who are in the same situation. I could feel them, understand them, so I could help them more, because I understand and as a human rights defender and like victim of lot of kind of violations, so I'm very aware about the like, let's call it the first aid, the psychological first aid support. And this is helpful somehow. Okay, I'm suffering, but this suffering is useful for others Michael Hingson  52:47 well and clearly, you are at a point where you can talk about it, which says a lot, because you're able to deal with it well enough to be able to talk about it, which I think is probably pretty important, don't you think? Noura Ghazi  53:03 Yeah, actually, the last at the first time I talked about it very publicly in a conference in Stockholm, it was last October, and then I thought it's important to talk about it. And I'm also thinking to do something more about PTSD, especially the PTSD related to to prisons, torture, etc, this kind of violations, because sharing experience is very important. So I'm still thinking about a kind of certain way to to like, to spread my experience with PTSD, especially that I have lot of changes in in my life recently, because I got married again, and even the the good incident that people who have PTSD, even if they have, like good incident, but it cause a kind of escalation with PTSD, Michael Hingson  54:00 yeah, but you got married again, so you have somebody you can talk with. Noura Ghazi  54:06 Yes, I got married five months ago. The most important that I could fall in love again. So I met my husband in in Paris. He's a Lebanese artist who live in Paris. And yeah, I have, I have a family now, like we have now three cats and a dog and us as couple. But it's very new for me, like this kind of marriage, that a marriage which I live with a partner, because the marriage I used to is that visit the husband in prison. I'm getting used to it. Michael Hingson  54:43 And just as always, the cat runs everything, right? Yes, of course, of course. So tell me about the freedom prize in Normandy. Noura Ghazi  54:55 Oh, it was like one of the best thing I had in my life. I. Was nominated for the freedom prize, which is launched by usually they are like young people who who nominate the the nominees for this prize, but it's launched by the government of Normandy region in France and the International Institute for Human Rights and peace. So among hundreds of files and, like many kind of round of, like short listing, there was me, a Belarusian activist who is detained, and a Palestinian photographer. So like, just knowing that I was nominated among more than 700 person was a privilege for me. The winner was the Palestinian photographer, but it was the first time they invite the other nominee to the celebration, which was on the same date of like liberating Normandy region during the Second World War. So I chose, I thought for my for couple of days about what I will wear, because I need to deliver a message. So I, I I came up with an idea about a white dress with 101 names in blue. Those names are for disappeared and detainees in Syria. So like there was, there was seven persons who worked on this dress, and I had the chance to wear it and to deliver my message and to give a speech in a very important day that even like those fighters during the Second World War who are still alive, they they came from us. They came from lot of countries. I had the privilege to see them directly, to touch them, to tell them thank you, and to deliver my message in front of an audience of 4500 persons. And it's like I love this dress, and like this event was one of the best thing I had in my life. Michael Hingson  57:21 Do you have a picture of you in the dress? Yes, I would think you do. Well, if you want, we'd love to put that in the show notes as well, especially because you're honoring all those people with the names and so on. Kind of cool. Well, okay, so, so Syria, you're, you're saying, in a lot of ways, hasn't, hasn't really changed a whole lot. It's, it's still a lot of dictatorship oriented kinds of things, and they discriminate against certain sex and and so on. And that's extremely unfortunate, because I don't think that that's the impression that people have over here, Noura Ghazi  58:02 exactly I had a chance to visit Syria, a kind of exceptional visit by the French government, because, as political refugees were not allowed to visit our country of origin. And of course, like after eight years, like out of Syria after six years without seeing my family. Of course, I was very happy, but I was very traumatized, and I I came back to Paris in in July 21 and since that time, I feel I'm not the same person before going to Syria. I'm full of frustration. I feel that, okay, I just wasted 14 years of my life for nothing. But hopefully I'm I'm trying to get better because okay, I know, like much of human rights violations mean that my kind of work and activism is more needed, yeah, Michael Hingson  59:03 so you'll so you'll continue to speak out and and fight for freedom. Noura Ghazi  59:10 Yes, I continue, and I will continue fighting for freedom, for dignity, for justice, for civil rights, and also raising awareness about PTSD and how we could invest even our pain for the sake of helping others. Michael Hingson  59:29 Well, I want to tell you that it's been an honor to have you on the podcast, and I am so glad we we got a chance to talk and to do this because having met you previously, in our introductory conversation, it was very clear that there was a story that needed to be told, and I hope that a lot of people will take an interest, and that it will will allow what you do to continue to grow, if people would like to reach out to you. And and help or learn more. How do they do that? Noura Ghazi  1:00:05 We you have the the link of my website that people could connect me, because it includes my my email, my personal email, and I always reply. So I'm happy to to talk with the to contact with people, and it also include all the all my social media, Michael Hingson  1:00:23 right? What? What's the website for? No photo zone. Noura Ghazi  1:00:27 It's no photo zone.org. No photo zone.org. Michael Hingson  1:00:30 I thought it was, but I just wanted you to say it. I wanted you to say it. Noura Ghazi  1:00:35 It's included in my website. Michael Hingson  1:00:37 Yeah, I've got it all and and it will all be in the show notes, but I just thought I would get you to say no photo zone.org Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a wonderful time to have a chance to talk, and I appreciate you taking the time to, I hope, educate lots of people. So thank you very much for doing that, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. We'd love you to give us a five star rating. Give us a review. We really appreciate ratings and reviews. So wherever you're watching or listening to this podcast, please give us a five star rating. Please review the podcast for us. We value that, and I know that Nora will will appreciate that as well. Also, if you if you know any guests, and Nora you as well, if you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest on the podcast, we would really appreciate it. If you would let us know you can reach me. At Michael M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to hear from you. Love to hear your thoughts about the podcast. So Nora, very much my I want to thank you again. This has been great. Thank you very much for being here. Noura Ghazi  1:01:56 Thank you Michael, and thank you for those who are listening, and we're still in touch.

In February 1943, the United States Army saw its first major battle of World War II.They confronted the German Afrika Korps in the mountains of Tunisia at Kasserine Pass. It was, to put it bluntly, a disaster and one of the most humiliating defeats in the history of the American Military. However, in the aftermath of the defeat, the Americans shocked everyone by completely turning things around in just a matter of weeks.Learn more about the Kasserine Pass and the American Army's baptism by fire on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Get your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Ds7Rx7jvPJ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Kaufman is an archaeologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.His work lives at a rare intersection: field excavation + ancient languages + hard science. He studies the peoples, states, and empires of the Middle East and North Africa—from the Bronze Age to the present—combining archaeological evidence with historical texts and Semitic inscriptions to understand how power, identity, and institutions are built (and rebuilt).He's directed or supervised excavations across Tunisia, China, Italy, Israel, and New York, and his research has been supported by major institutions including NSF, National Geographic, China's NSFC, and the Getty. In the lab, he uses materials-science tools to reverse-engineer ancient technology—especially metals—so the past becomes something you can test, not just imagine.In this episode, we follow Kaufman's core obsession: the human experience under pressure. What part of the human experience are you trying to understand right now?*EPISODE LINKS:*- Brett Kaufman's UIUC Website: https://classics.illinois.edu/directory/profile/bsk- Phoenicia, Carthage, and Popular Government in the Pre-Classical Mediterranean: The Other Democracy by Brett Kaufman: https://amzn.to/4qLAQEx*OUTLINE:*0:00 Preview0:53 Host intro2:40 Speaking Dead Languages: Phoenician, Punic, Hebrew3:48 When History Lies7:35 Fieldwork: How Archaeology Actually Happens9:32 Who Decides Where We Dig? 11:27 Ethics12:25 Tunisia After the Arab Spring13:59 How Long Does an Excavation Last?15:21 When Your Hypothesis Is Wrong16:03 Is Archaeology Dying?17:00 What Is the Point of Archaeology?18:28 Tourism, UNESCO, and Shared Heritage20:04 Why Archaeology Doesn't Make Money21:39 Should There Be More Archaeologists?23:37 Luck, Tenure, and Academic Stress24:54 Fear of Failure26:18 What Brings Humans Together?27:04 Us vs. Them30:27 Breaking Social Constructs31:36 Was the Past Actually Better?32:33 The Agricultural Revolution: Teeth Rot & Arthritis33:49 Hunter-Gatherer Emotions, Medieval Institutions, Star Wars Technology40:57 Bronze in Mesopotamia & the Andes42:21 Is There Objective Truth?43:50 Good vs. Evil1:12:18 Feasting, Ritual, Taboo1:13:51 How Brett Kaufman Finds Meaning1:14:18 Nine Animals & a Neolithic Household1:16:57 Why Young People Feel Lost1:21:22 Responsibility as Meaning1:27:12 Fear of Failure1:31:41 Ignore Bullies1:33:15 Why Civilizations Collapse1:34:43 Climate Oscillations & Scarcity1:37:17 Climate Volatility1:40:22 Can Archaeology Predict the Future?1:42:21 Idealism vs. Pragmatism1:44:40 Different Human Species Sharing Tools1:46:42 Animal Welfare & Habitat Loss1:47:44 The Third Epidemiological Transition

Il protagonista di questa puntata di "Pillole di Sanremo" è Sayf che debutta a Sanremo 2026 con il brano "Tu mi piaci tanto".Emoji:

Have you longed to integrate your Christian faith into your patient care—on the mission field abroad, in your work in the US, and during your training? Are you not sure how to do this in a caring, ethical, sensitive, and relevant manner? This “working” session will explore the ethical basis for spiritual care and provide you with professional, timely, and proven practical methods to care for the whole person in the clinical setting. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qpah9kh1lttg6cm1jjop9/Bob-Mason-Ethics-of-Spiritual-Care-revised.pptx?rlkey=0emve2ja8282nv8xc4uinq1hg&st=9033htwx&dl=0

Here we are in Stockholm talking with Raya, who is based in Tallinn. We have shared a warm, honest conversation with Raya Bouslah: born in Tunisia, now building a dancing life in Estonia, and finding her way across lindy hop and blues.Raya started right before Covid and never stopped (well, apart from when the Covid was in its bloom). She talks about how dancing helps her stay sane and how social dance became a special way to meet people and bond. She gives a shout‑out to Rostom, who first nudged her into the scene. We also talk openly about social anxiety: the first class felt great until the moment everyone was asked to grab a partner, then everything tightened. She stayed anyway. Which she reflects on as being a great way of moving through ansxiety. Classes being in Estonian sometimes felt alienating, yet social dancing opened a different part of her brain, almost like a contract of safe space.We look at human connection on the dance floor and how often it gets sexualised, then turn toward the kind of connection that feels respectful, joyful, and clear. Raya shares memories from Bluesila and leaves thoughtful advice about finding your own language of dancing.Subscribe & ReviewFollow the podcast and leave a review to help me grow

The Guardian's community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, reports on the plot by two IS terrorists to massacre Jews in Manchester, and how it was thwarted by an undercover sting. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Cisgiordania: annessione di fatto, accusa l'Anp.Unione Europea e USA: scontro di narrazioni a Monaco.Sudan, dopo due anni la città di Dilling torna alla vita.Centinaia di migliaia di persone si uniscono alle proteste contro l'Iran in tutto il mondo.India: Vertice globale sull'Intelligenza artificiale.Colombia – Petro chiama le piazze sul salario minimo. Introduzione:  L'ordine mondiale sta cambiandoQuesto e molto altro nel notiziario di Radio Bullets a cura di Barbara Schiavulli

Rassegna stampa economico-finanziaria del 14 febbraio 2026, strutturata per macro-temi e basata sulle principali testate giornalistiche nazionali.Investimenti e MercatiIl Sole 24 Ore / Milano Finanza * Andamento Borse: Piazza Affari chiude in calo dell'1,71% (45.430 punti), maglia nera in Europa a causa del forte peso del settore bancario. * Titoli Bancari: Ondata di vendite generalizzate e prese di beneficio; il comparto aveva segnato una crescita del 50% negli ultimi 12 mesi. * KPI Macro:   * Inflazione USA: Scende al 2,4% annuo in gennaio (sotto il 2,5% atteso).   * Spread BTp/Bund: Stabile a 60-61 punti base; rendimento BTp decennale al 3,36%.   * Commodity: Oro sopra i 5.000 $/oncia (+2%); Petrolio Brent a 67,8 $/barile. * Export: L'export italiano nel 2025 ha raggiunto i 643 miliardi di euro (+3,3%), superando le performance di Francia (+2%), Germania (+0,9%) e Spagna (-0,4%). * Criptovalute: Analisi sulla rischiosità del Bitcoin come asset alternativo nei mercati emergenti rispetto alle valute nazionali instabili. Industria e AutomotiveIl Sole 24 Ore / Il Messaggero / La Stampa * Transizione 5.0: Il Governo valuta la cancellazione del vincolo "Made in UE" per l'accesso ai benefici dell'iperammortamento fiscale. * Neutralità Tecnologica: Fratelli d'Italia spinge in Europa per superare il "totem" dell'elettrico al 100% nel 2035, proponendo l'inclusione di biocarburanti e carburanti rinnovabili. * Crisi Settoriale: Allarme deindustrializzazione per i settori automotive, farmaceutico e chimico a causa delle nuove normative UE su emissioni e acque reflue.Fisco e NormativaIl Sole 24 Ore / Italia Oggi * Riorganizzazione Agenzia Entrate: Dal 1° aprile prevista una nuova struttura per il contenzioso tributario, con uffici dedicati a Iva, imposte dirette e crisi d'impresa. * Cooperative Compliance: Nascita della "Casa della Cooperative Compliance" per favorire il tutoraggio fiscale delle PMI sotto i 500 milioni di euro di fatturato. * Semplificazione UE: La Commissione Europea punta a un risparmio di 15 miliardi di euro annui per le imprese tramite la riduzione del 30% degli atti tecnici nel 2026. Banche e CreditoCorriere della Sera / Milano Finanza * Profitti Record: I primi sei gruppi bancari italiani hanno registrato nel 2025 utili per oltre 27,7 miliardi di euro (+16,2% rispetto al 2024). * Tassazione Extraprofitti: Matteo Salvini propone di aumentare il contributo delle banche per finanziare la riduzione delle bollette energetiche. * Authority: Avvio del dossier per la riforma della Consob.Energia e Geopoliticala Repubblica / Il Messaggero / Avvenire * Piano Mattei: Mobilitati 1,4 miliardi di euro nel 2025; coinvolti partner come Eni, Enel, Acea e Leonardo per progetti in Etiopia, Egitto, Tunisia e Algeria. * Nucleare Europeo: Francia e Germania avviano colloqui per l'estensione dell'ombrello nucleare francese al continente. * Deterrenza USA: La portaerei Gerald Ford inviata verso il Medio Oriente per aumentare la pressione sull'Iran. * Venezuela: Licenza USA concessa a Eni e altre major per riprendere le estrazioni petrolifere dopo l'arresto di Maduro.Sport BusinessCorriere della Sera / Il Fatto Quotidiano * Rai Sport e Olimpiadi: Sciopero delle firme dei giornalisti Rai contro la gestione del budget e l'uso massiccio di collaboratrici esterne (costo passato da 1,7 a 2,34 milioni di euro). * Giochi 2030: Polemiche e ritardi sui costi per le Olimpiadi invernali in Francia.Lavoro e Formazionela Repubblica / Il Sole 24 Ore * Imprenditoria Straniera: 1 imprenditore su 10 in Italia è nato all'estero (quasi 800.000 totali nel 2025, pari al 10,8%). I cinesi guidano la classifica per numero di imprese. * Pubblica Amministrazione: Consip lancia un piano gare da 165 miliardi di euro per il quadriennio, con focus sull'Intelligenza Artificiale per migliorare i servizi ai cittadini.Executive Takeaway (Insight per C-suite) * Resilienza Export: Nonostante l'incertezza sui dazi USA, il Made in Italy segna un record di 643 miliardi di euro nel 2025, dimostrando una competitività superiore ai competitor europei. * Svolta Nucleare UE: Il dialogo Parigi-Berlino sulla difesa atomica segna l'inizio di un'autonomia strategica europea meno dipendente dalla protezione NATO/USA. * Transizione 5.0 in Bilico: Le restrizioni sulla consegna dei beni nel 2025 e i dubbi sulle coperture (stimate oltre 5 miliardi) impongono cautela nella pianificazione degli investimenti industriali. * Consolidamento Fiscale: La riforma dell'Agenzia delle Entrate e la nascita della "Casa della Cooperative Compliance" puntano a un rapporto più trasparente e meno conflittuale tra fisco e grandi/medie imprese. * Post-PNRR: L'individuazione di un "tesoretto" di 23,8 miliardi utilizzabili oltre la scadenza del 2026 offre respiro finanziario per progetti infrastrutturali di lungo periodo.https://open.spotify.com/show/2vuXfhCcC77Gjr5bEaWn75

Episode 225: Student Movements and Transnational Connections in Tunisia's 1968 In this podcast, Burleigh Hendrickson discusses his book, Decolonizing 1968: Transnational Student Activism in Tunis, Paris, and Dakar (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2022). The book was awarded the French Colonial Historical Society's 2023 Alf Andrew Heggoy Prize for best book published in the preceding year dealing with the French colonial experience from 1815 to the present. Decolonizing 1968 focuses on the postcolonial relationships between France and its former colonies during the global protests of 1968. Combining multi-sited archival research with the oral histories of former activists, his research makes visible the enduring links between France and its ex-colonies at the end of formal empire. Burleigh Hendrickson an Assistant Professor in the department of French & Francophone Studies at Penn State University. A scholar of French Empire and decolonization, his research and teaching apply transnational and comparative approaches to the history of the Francophone world, with emphasis on the Maghreb and West Africa. He is also interested in cultures of protest, knowledge production, and historical claims for human dignity. He is the past recipient of Mellon research and writing fellowships from the Council for European Studies and the Social Science Research Council (IDRF), as well as a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship and the Society for French Historical Studies. More recently, he received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to France to carry out research on his second book project, “Losing Empire: Dignity and Indignation from the Enlightenment to the Arab Spring.” This episode was recorded on the 9th of November, 2023, with Luke Scalone, at the Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEhttps://www.cematmaghrib.org/MAT). We thank our friend Mohamed Boukhoudmi for his interpretation of the extract of "Nouba Dziriya" by Dr. Noureddine Saoudi for the introduction and conclusion of this podcast. Production and editing: Lena Krause, AIMS Development and Digital Resources Liaison.

This week's episode of Eye on the Triangle focuses on connection through creativity. From international voices in the Tunisia 88 Alumni Choir to insights from NCMA curator Caroline Roocheleau, we examine how art, music, and history shape communities and preserve stories that transcend borders. ★ Support this podcast ★

Those who hope to honor God and advance Jesus' Kingdom face powerful opposition from spiritual, physical, and psychological enemies. Successful launching and long term fruitfulness depends on recognizing and, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, waging war against those enemies.

Rassegna stampa economico-finanziaria dell'11 febbraio 2026, strutturata per macro-temi e basata sulle principali testate giornalistiche nazionali.Investimenti, Industria e MercatiTestate: Il Messaggero / Milano Finanza / Il Sole 24 Ore / Corriere della Sera * Fincantieri (Difesa): La controllata Wass ha ottenuto una commessa record in Arabia Saudita per la fornitura di siluri leggeri MU90. Il valore dell'operazione è stimato tra 200 milioni di euro e 300 milioni di euro. Si tratta del più grande contratto nei 150 anni di storia di Wass. Il comparto Underwater globale è previsto in crescita fino a 400 miliardi di euro entro il 2030. * Big Tech e IA: Alphabet (Google) ha raccolto 32 miliardi di dollari in un'unica emissione obbligazionaria per finanziare investimenti in data center e intelligenza artificiale. Morgan Stanley prevede che le emissioni corporate legate all'IA raggiungeranno i 400 miliardi di dollari nel 2026, contro i 165 miliardi del 2025. * Golden Power: Si registra un forte aumento delle acquisizioni straniere di imprese italiane strategiche, secondo i dati dell'Osservatorio Golden Power 2025. * Competitività Europea: Italia, Germania e Belgio hanno siglato un documento comune per spingere sulla semplificazione normativa e l'integrazione del mercato unico entro la fine del 2026. All'iniziativa hanno aderito complessivamente 17 Paesi membri.Banche e CreditoTestate: La Stampa / Corriere della Sera / Milano Finanza * MPS (Risultati 2025): L'istituto senese ha chiuso l'esercizio 2025 con un utile netto di 2,75 miliardi di euro (+17,7% su base annua). Includendo il consolidamento di Mediobanca, l'utile sale a 3,04 miliardi. * Dividendi e Rendimenti: La banca distribuirà il 100% dei profitti agli azionisti con una cedola di 0,86 euro per azione, garantendo un yield del 10%. * M&A: L'AD Luigi Lovaglio accelera sul piano di integrazione con Mediobanca, con l'obiettivo di generare sinergie per 700 milioni di euro. Il mercato scommette su un possibile delisting di Piazzetta Cuccia tramite Opa. * Euro Digitale: Il governo italiano e la BCE confermano l'accelerazione sul progetto dell'euro digitale per rafforzare la sovranità monetaria europea.Fisco, Giustizia e NormativaTestate: Il Sole 24 Ore / Il Messaggero / Corriere della Sera / La Stampa * Compensazioni Fiscali: Nel 2025 (dati parziali a novembre) le compensazioni nei modelli F24 hanno raggiunto i 53 miliardi di euro, con una crescita del 5,5% rispetto al 2024. L'Irpef rappresenta il 55,2% del totale, l'Iva il 42,5%. * Caso Santanchè: Nuova indagine per la ministra del Turismo per bancarotta impropria legata al fallimento di Bioera spa. Il tribunale stima un patrimonio netto negativo di 8 milioni di euro. * Riforma della Giustizia: Marina Berlusconi ha pubblicamente sostenuto il referendum del 22-23 marzo sulla separazione delle carriere dei magistrati, definendolo necessario per garantire la terzietà del giudice. * PNRR e Giustizia Amministrativa: Il Consiglio di Stato ha centrato tutti gli obiettivi di riduzione dell'arretrato in anticipo sulla scadenza di giugno 2026. La durata media di un processo in materia di appalti è di 107 giorni in primo grado e 157 giorni in appello.Lavoro e FormazioneTestate: Corriere della Sera / La Stampa / Il Sole 24 Ore * Food Delivery e Gig Economy: Prosegue l'inchiesta della Procura di Milano su Glovo per presunto caporalato digitale. In Italia operano circa 30.000 rider, l'88% dei quali vorrebbe un compenso base di almeno 2,5 euro per consegna. Le commissioni richieste dalle piattaforme ai ristoratori raggiungono il 30%. * Contratti Pirata: Carlo Sangalli (Confcommercio) denuncia la presenza di oltre 250 contratti nei settori terziario e turismo non rappresentativi. Questi "contratti pirata" coinvolgono 160.000 dipendenti in 21.000 aziende, con salari inferiori fino al 30% rispetto ai contratti leader. * Inflazione e Crescita: L'inflazione italiana è tra le più basse in Europa, sostenendo il potere d'acquisto. Le previsioni di crescita del PIL per il 2026 si attestano intorno all'1%.Energia e GeopoliticaTestate: Corriere della Sera / La Stampa / Il Foglio * NATO: Decisione storica per la redistribuzione dei comandi: l'Italia assumerà la guida del Comando di Napoli e il Regno Unito quello di Norfolk (Virginia), segnando un disimpegno tattico degli USA a favore degli alleati europei. * Guerra Energetica in Ucraina: Maxim Timchenko (CEO di Dtek) denuncia 220 attacchi russi contro le centrali a carbone dall'inizio del conflitto. Nonostante la guerra, Dtek ha investito oltre 1 miliardo di euro in un impianto eolico da 650 MW. * Costi Energetici per le PMI: In Italia l'elettricità costa ancora il 29% in più rispetto al periodo pre-Covid, con un differenziale del +79,6% rispetto alla Francia. * Immigrazione: Il Parlamento UE ha approvato una lista di 7 Paesi sicuri (tra cui Egitto, Tunisia, Bangladesh e Marocco) per accelerare i rimpatri. Il governo italiano valuta l'introduzione del "blocco navale" per gestire pressioni migratorie eccezionali.Sport Business e MediaTestate: La Stampa / Il Giornale * Tennis: Mediaset si è aggiudicata i diritti per trasmettere in chiaro le ATP Finals con un accordo pluriennale. L'evento rimarrà in Italia fino al 2030. * Crisi Rai: Polemiche per la perdita dei diritti sportivi e il possibile mancato rinnovo del contratto di Alberto Angela, giudicato troppo oneroso dai vertici aziendali.Executive Takeaway (Insight per la C-suite) * Consolidamento Bancario: L'eccezionale redditività di MPS (payout 100%) e le manovre su Mediobanca indicano l'avvio di una fase di aggregazione nel settore finanziario italiano che punta a creare campioni europei del wealth management. * IA ed Emissioni Bond: La corsa al debito di Alphabet (32 mld $) conferma che la leadership tecnologica richiede oggi una capacità di spesa massiccia (Capex) immediata, con il mercato dei bond IA previsto triplicare nel breve termine. * Rischio Contrattuale e Dumping: La proliferazione di "contratti pirata" (160k lavoratori) impone alle aziende una due diligence rigorosa sui fornitori di servizi per evitare rischi reputazionali e sanzioni legate al lavoro povero. * Autonomia Strategica NATO: La guida italiana del Comando di Napoli aumenta il peso geopolitico di Roma nel Mediterraneo, aprendo nuove opportunità industriali nel settore della Difesa e dell'Underwater. * Efficienza Fiscale: Il volume record di compensazioni (53 mld €) segnala un utilizzo massiccio dei bonus edilizi residui, ma l'aumento dei controlli suggerisce prudenza nella pianificazione fiscale per il 2026.

Join the Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx I'm taking the win. For a while now I've been wishing I could do these episodes more often, study more topics, play more wargames, read more books, see more movies… This time, it worked. I didn't play that many games, but I played a few while digging into a new topic: the American entry into WW2's ETO through Operation Torch. The combined American-British amphibious invasion of the western half of North Africa was something I knew a little about, but—as always happens with me—I learn a lot more through this experience. I learn some more details about what happened, and a lot more context. That's the part of history that I find most fascinating. In this case, the wider context had a lot to do with Vichy France and its colonies. The formation of this new, odd government, who was responsible, how it operated, and America's complicated, troublesome relationship to it. One book really brought that home, but it showed up in everything, including podcasts, movies, and the games themselves (at least somewhat). Films • Patton • The Big Red One • Casablanca Books • When France Fell (Neiberg) • Patton: A Biography (Axelrod) • An Army at Dawn (Atkinson) • No Ordinary Time (Goodwin) Travel No, I didn't make it to Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia to see this places in-person. That would be amazing. I'd love to see the Atlas Mountains and sunset from there that Churchill insisted that FDR see during their famous conference. The closest I've come is getting to see the US Army Desert Training Center that Patton himself picked out from his knowledge of the American Southwest, and trained troops that would later be part of Operation Torch. To be honest, it's now a pretty run-down place. Clearly the modern army trains elsewhere. Yet it's still an interesting part of history, and what wargamer doesn't enjoy seeing some tired, old tanks? -Mark Charlemagne will be my next topic. I'm not sure how many games there are about him and this period, but it ties in to my trip to Aachen, I'd like to learn more, and want to take a break from WW2. Here's a geeklist with my preliminary ideas about it.

About the Lecture: The Israeli, a novel by veteran journalist Phil Kurata, is set in the years 1947 to 1965, after the end of World War II, when in the Middle East, newly independent countries were shaking off the colonial powers of Britain and France. It reimagines the life of famed spy Eli Cohen. Beginning in Alexandria, Egypt, it transitions to a nascent Israel and then to Syria, where Cohen spies for the Israelis. Steeped in the food and the culture of the Middle East at that formative period, it takes a hard-eyed view of racism and prejudice on both the Israeli and Arab sides. It takes the reader on a deep dive into the intractable and often vicious conflicts that split the region today. About the Speaker: Phillip Kurata is a novelist and former journalist who grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and earned a bachelor's degree in French literature and a master's degree in Asian Studies from the University of Kansas. He studied at the University of Tunis in the mid-1960s, and—as a fluent French speaker—he returned to Tunisia as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a public health educator. He got into journalism while studying Chinese in Taiwan, writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He later worked for United Press International, Agence France Presse and Voice of America in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, France, and Washington, DC. Phil served for many years as a writer with the U.S. Department of State, based in Washington, DC. His first novel, The Reluctant Agent, was published by Washington Writers' Publishing House as the Fiction Prize winner. His most recent novel, The Israeli, published in 2024, is a fictionalized story of the legendary Israeli spy, Eli Cohen, and examines the destructive power of ethnic hatred. Dr. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie is a forensic psychiatrist with special expertise in military and veterans' issues. She has been Chief of Psychiatry at Medstar Washington Hospital Center since 2018. She retired from the Army in 2010, after holding numerous leadership positions within Army Medicine, including Psychiatry Consultant. She trained at Harvard, George Washington, Walter Reed, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and has completed fellowships in both forensic and preventive and disaster psychiatry. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Georgetown University, and George Washington University School of Medicine. An internationally recognized expert, she brings a unique public health approach to the management of disasters and combating mental health issues. Her assignments and other missions have taken her to Korea, Somalia, Iraq, and Cuba. She has over 250 publications, mainly in the areas of forensic, disaster, suicide, ethics, military combat psychiatry, and women's health issues. Recent volumes include: “Forensic and Ethical Issues in Military Behavioral Health”, “Women at War”, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Diseases in Combat Veterans”, “Intimacy After Injury: Restoring Sexual Health on Return from Combat”; “Psychiatrists in Combat, Clinicians Experience in the War Zone”, “Gay Mental Healthcare Providers and Patients in the Military: Personal Experiences and Clinical Care” and “Clinical Management of the Homeless Patient: Social, Medical and Psychiatric Issues." **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=3

Medical missionaries often feel powerful emotional burden from moral injury, and it is a leading cause of departure from the mission field. But we have learned proven methods of preventing and dealing with moral injury. Use God’s powerful methods to protect yourself and your team, and to grow in wisdom and spirit!

Send us a textIntro: Some Enchanted Evening by Perry Como (1949)30. Manana (Is Soon Enough For Me) by Peggy Lee (1947)29. The Gypsy by The Ink Spots (1946)28. 'Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk (1947)27. A Night in Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie (1944)26. Near You by Francis Craig (1947)

From the deserts of Tunisia to the boardrooms of global tech giants, we meet Karim Beguir, the mathematician who turned two laptops and 2000 dollars into Africa's biggest AI firm. We hear how his company, Instadeep, caught the attention of Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and how it helped to track dangerous new variants in the Covid pandemic using large language models.If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Ed Butler Producers: Niamh McDermott and Hannah MullaneBusiness Daily is the home of in-depth audio journalism devoted to the world of money and work. From small startup stories to big corporate takeovers, global economic shifts to trends in technology, we look at the key figures, ideas and events shaping business.Each episode is a 17-minute deep dive into a single topic, featuring expert analysis and the people at the heart of the story.Recent episodes explore the weight-loss drug revolution, the growth in AI, the cost of living, why bond markets are so powerful, China's property bubble, and Gen Z's experience of the current job market.We also feature in-depth interviews with company founders and some of the world's most prominent CEOs. These include the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and the billionaire founder of Epic Systems, one of the world's largest medical record software providers, Judy Faulkner.(Picture: CEO of Instadeep, Karim Beguir, at a photoshoot in Paris in 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

In this episode of The Midweek Takeaway, we're joined by Andrea Cattaneo, CEO of Zenith Energy, to discuss the company's latest legal update and what it signals ahead of major arbitration hearings scheduled for April 2026. Andrea explains the role of investment treaty protection, why Zenith has strengthened its international legal team at this stage, and how the wider dispute with Tunisia has shaped the company's strategy across multiple arbitration processes. We also touch on the background to Zenith's Tunisia acquisitions during the COVID period, the claims being pursued, and why the company believes it remains positioned for a significant outcome as the case moves toward its final phase.Disclaimer & Declaration of InterestThis podcast may contain paid promotions, including but not limited to sponsorships, endorsements, or affiliate partnerships. The information, investment views, and recommendations provided are for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial products related to the companies discussed. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentators; however, no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion. Listeners are encouraged to perform their own research and consult with a licensed professional before making any financial decisions based on the content of this podcast.

Send us a textWhat if a theme park felt like one sweeping coastline, where every turn on the path opened to another country across the water? We set our sights on the Mediterranean and build a Disney-style destination that blends living folklore, IP favorites, and seaside hospitality—sparked by the bright kick of a limoncello mule.We start with two complementary master plans. One, Solaria Kingdom, assembles five distinct lands—Italy, Greece, Iberia, Arabia and Persia, plus a Star Wars nod to Tunisia—around lagoons and layered sightlines. The other shapes a horseshoe park on Valencia's coast with a rotating marble-and-gold wishing star as the icon, visible from every land and designed to harmonize with Greek temples and Spanish bell towers. Both approaches favor connected views: castles and stars that “translate” architecturally from different vantage points, giving each land its own face while preserving a unified world.IP comes to life through culture-forward design. Star Wars: Villains of Mos Eisley embraces Tatooine's cinematic roots with a sandcrawler shop, a build-your-own remote pod racer, and a Boonta Eve race that pits four vehicles side by side on a desert track. Italy's Porto Fantasia pairs Pinocchio with Luca in a Vespa ride through a bustling port town, all horns, laundry lines, and festival banners. Greece rises to a peak with a Mount Olympus coaster diving in and out over the sea and a waterfront of tavernas serving fish, gyros, pastries, and strong coffee. Wish anchors the emotional center: a Rosas castle with live Storytellers Hall productions and an interactive Wish Station where guests send their wishes skyward and return later for a keepsake moment.We round out the shoreline with an Iberian fishing village animated by marionettes and street performers, a respectful split of Persian and Arabian spaces—including jewel gardens and shaded water features—and the Valencia Grand Prix, a Cars 2 racing district with family-speed thrills and pit-lane eats. A low-rise Stella Marina hotel sits right on the edge with a private gate and boat access, making arrival feel like part of the story.Ready to stroll the bay, ride a Vespa past café tables, and chase a pod racer across the dunes? Press play, share with a friend who loves park design, and tell us which land you'd visit first. If this tour sparks ideas, leave a review, subscribe for more creative builds, and send us your wish for the next land we should design.

Hear about travel to Tunis, Tunisia, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jeff Ohlfs about his recent visit to this arid Arab country in North Africa. Why should you go to Tunis? Jeff says, "I don't think a lot of people think too much about traveling to Tunisia. It's an incredible country, friendly people. It's an Arab country. And all that goes with it, and it's reasonably inexpensive, and it's just right there off the boot of Italy." ... https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-tunis-tunisia/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there's one recurring theme each year, it's to expect the unexpected. "Sinners" earned a record 16 nominations for the 98th Academy Awards. And then there was the blockbuster "Wicked: For Good," which was shut out. It was a day of extremes and surprises when the Oscar nominations came out on Thursday. In this week's episode, co-hosts Bruce Miller and Terry Lipshetz talk about the biggest snubs and which films could dominate when statuettes are handed out on Sunday, March 15. And we wrap the show with the new "Game of Thrones" spinoff series on HBA, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Complete list of 2026 Oscar nominees Best picture: "Bugonia," "F1," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value," "Sinners," "Train Dreams." Lead actress: Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet;" Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You;" Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value;" Emma Stone, "Bugonia;" Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue." Lead actor: Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme;" Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another;" Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon;" Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners;" Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent." Supporting actress: Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value;" Inga Ibsdotter LilIeaas, "Sentimental Value;" Amy Madigan, "Weapons;" Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners;" Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another." Supporting actor: Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein;" Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another;" Stellan Skarsgård, "Sentimental Value;" Benicio del Toro, "One Battle After Another;" Delroy Lindo, "Sinners." Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another;" Ryan Coogler, "Sinners;" Chloé Zhao, "Hamnet;" Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme;" Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value." Original song: "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters," "Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams," "Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless," "I Lied To You" from "Sinners," "Sweet Dreams Of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!" Original score: "Bugonia," Jerskin Fendrix; "Frankenstein," Alexandre Desplat; "Hamnet," Max Richter; "One Battle After Another," Jonny Greenwood; "Sinners," Ludwig Göransson. Animated film: "Arco," "Elio," "KPop Demon Hunters," "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain," "Zootopia 2." International film: "The Secret Agent," Brazil; "It Was Just an Accident," France; "Sentimental Value," Norway; "Sirât," Spain; "The Voice of Hind Rajab," Tunisia. Documentary feature: "The Perfect Neighbor," "The Alabama Solution," "Come See Me in the Good Light," "Cutting Through Rocks," "Mr. Nobody Against Putin." Casting: "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "The Secret Agent," "Sinners." Best sound: "F1," "Frankenstein," "One Battle after Another," "Sinners," "Sirāt." Cinematography: "Frankenstein," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "Sinners," "Train Dreams." Original screenplay: "Blue Moon," Robert Kaplow; "It Was Just an Accident," Jafar Panahi, with script collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian; "Marty Supreme," Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie; "Sentimental Value," Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier; "Sinners," Ryan Coogler. Adapted screenplay: "Bugonia," Will Tracy; "Frankenstein," Guillermo del Toro; "Hamnet," Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell; "One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson; "Train Dreams," Clint Bailey and Greg Kwedar. Live action short film: "Butcher's Stain," "A Friend of Dorothy," "Jane Austen's Period Drama," "The Singers," "Two People Exchanging Saliva." Animated short film: "Butterfly," "Forevergreen," "The Girl Who Cried Pearls," "Retirement Plan," "The Three Sisters." Documentary short film: "All the Empty Rooms," "Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud," "Children No More: Were and Are Gone," "The Devil Is Busy," "Perfectly a Strangeness." Visual effects: "Avatar: Fire and Ash," "F1," "Jurassic World Rebirth," "The Lost Bus," "Sinners." Production design: "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "Sinners." Film editing: "F1," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "Sentimental Value," "Sinners." Makeup and hairstyling: "Frankenstein," "Kokuho," "Sinners," "The Smashing Machine," "The Ugly Stepsister." Costume design: "Avatar: Fire and Ash," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "Sinners." About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is the retired editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa and Terry Lipshetz, a senior producer for Lee Enterprises based in Madison, Wisconsin. The show was named Best Podcast in the 2025 Iowa Better Newspaper Contest. Theme music Thunder City by Lunareh, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: FV694ULMCJQDG0IY

Episode 223: Ottoman Continuities and the Development of Modern Education in Tunisia This project traces the changing role of Ottomanism in relation to the emergence of modern educational institutions in Tunis. The development of the Tunisian education system demonstrated continuous Ottoman links, despite colonial co-optation over time. The social milieus formed in modern educational spaces facilitated ties to the Ottoman Empire. In short, this is a regional history rooted in a single city, which challenges colonial and nationalist historiographies. Over time, modern education led to a democratization in forms of belonging to the Ottoman Empire. It was no longer only court elites who had access to other statesmen, but rather those educated in the new schools who negotiated changing notions of being Ottoman in Tunis.  The first school aimed at modernizing education was founded in 1840: the Bardo Military Academy. This school created a modernized army, including a modernized Mamluk class, whose members would shape education reform later as well. Those educated there formed an inner circle of reformists around Khayreddine Pasha (though he himself was not a Bardo graduate). Here, Mamluks, as well as local Arabs, were educated in a way that emphasized bodily discipline, modern sciences, and European languages. This school was modeled on European military schools, but retained a distinctively Ottoman shape, just like its parallel institution in Istanbul. It was a product of the reforms of Ahmed Bey and, further, was clearly influenced by ideas from modernizing reforms like the Nizam-i Cedid and the Tanzimat. By 1875, the new Mamluk class played a key role in founding the Sadiki School. This institution, though later co-opted by French colonial interests, represented a distinctly Tunisian-Ottoman mode of modern education from the outset. The short-lived Ottoman language program at Sadiki represented an early democratization of the language outside of the Beylical Palace. More importantly, as a result of Sadikian education, French became a language of cross border communication between Arabs and Turks as well. When the first generation of Sadikians grew up, they became the nucleus of the Young Tunisian Party, modelled on the Young Turk Party. Beyond the walls of official schools, Sadikians generated a great deal of educational opportunities through two main institutions: first, the Khaldounia, an institution that aimed to teach modern subjects to Zaytounians.; and second, the Sadiki Alumni Association, which hosted many lectures and extracurricular activities outside of the tight control of the French colonial cultural project. In these spaces, Pan-Islamist ideas flourished. Even as ethnic difference between Turks and Arabs became a cornerstone of colonial propaganda in the 1910s, many of those educated in these spaces maintained the notion that Turks and Arabs were brothers sharing a common cause. Education was further a gendered issue, and one that became tied to moral questions articulated in an Ottoman-Islamic idiom. The first Franco-Arabic school for girls, located on Rue du Pacha, was founded in 1900. It featured a curriculum modelled largely on the Sadiki School, though moderated to produce mothers rather than civil servants. Though run by the wife of a French colonial official, this school and schools like it which followed were far from purely colonial institutions. In conferences and in the press, Tunisians emphasized the importance of educating girls, arguing that it was a religious matter. The education of girls became a matter of preserving an Umma that was rapidly changing shape as the Ottoman Empire came to an end over the early decades of the twentieth century.  Between 1840 and 1923, various educational institutions played key roles in renegotiating what Ottoman belonging meant in Tunis. Despite French colonial rule extending through most of this timeline, many Tunisians maintained a sense of being part of the Ottoman Empire. Initially the domain of statesmen, being Ottoman gradually became a more accessible identity to broader swaths of Tunisians because of changes to the education system.  Erin Kelleher is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies. Focusing on social and cultural history, her work looks at on the relationship between Ottomanism and education reform in Tunisia from the mid-nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. She spent the 2024-2025 academic year as an AIMS fellow based in Tunis, Tunisia. Previously, she spent a year in Meknes, Morocco as a CASA fellow and spent several summers studying Modern and Ottoman Turkish in Istanbul. She holds an MA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from the University of Washington. This podcast was recorded on the 7th of May 2025 at the Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) with the historian Luke Scalone. We thank Bacem Affès, composer and oud soloist, for his interpretation of « Isteftah » in the introduction and conclusion of this podcast. Production and editing: Lena Krause, AIMS Development and Digital Resources Liaison.

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Whether you’re a seasoned team member or preparing for your first trip, short-term mission trips have the potential to make a meaningful global impact. In this conversation, we’ll highlight five key principles that help ensure our efforts contribute to lasting, sustainable change in the communities we serve.

Manon Kerjean tells us why Pierre Niney's performance in "Gourou" recalls the punchy rhetoric of American coaches in Yann Gozlan's latest film. But first, we discuss the big winners at this year's Lumières awards, selected by the foreign press in Paris, as François Ozon's adaptation of "L'Étranger" picks up the top prize. Manon also tells us why Erige Sehiri's film "Promised Sky" provides an insight into the socio-political reality in Tunisia and raises powerful points about families, both biological and chosen. Plus we check out the film adaptation of the beloved French comic "Les Légendaires".

In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Hayfa Sdiri, Chief Impact Officer at RIVET, about funding youth-led innovation through microgrants. Hayfa shares how RIVET partners with global brands to empower young people as co-architects of solutions across education, sustainability, health, inclusion, and poverty reduction. About Hayfa Sdiri Hayfa is an activist, entrepreneur, and community builder. She has served as a Youth & Innovation Programme Analyst to the United Nations for over four years, and founded Entr@crush, a platform for new entrepreneurs. A strong advocate for youth-led innovation in her home country of Tunisia, Hayfa was named as one of BBC's 100 women of the year in 2019. About RIVET RIVET channels the collective economic power of young people to fund their work as social innovators. RIVET collaborates with brands on products and experiences that reach young people where they are. When consumers choose to shop, share, or join a RIVET-branded program, they trigger corporate donations from our brand partners that help fund their own generation's social impact ideas. Shop good, Do good. It's that simple. Follow Adam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/askadamtorres/ for up to date information on book releases and tour schedule. Apply to be a guest on our podcast: https://missionmatters.lpages.co/podcastguest/ Visit our website: https://missionmatters.com/ More FREE content from Mission Matters here: https://linktr.ee/missionmattersmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The unifying youth culture across the Arab region is characterized by a proud new Arab identity and the changing standards of beauty with the rise of "Arab beauty" (A beauty), which celebrates Arab features and aesthetics. The founder of Mille World and Mille Creative, Sofia Guellaty, talks about her journey launching the first Arab youth platform in the Arab world, the role of media professionals as "editors of conversations," and the emergence of a new, proud Arab identity among both Gen Z and millennials. She discusses how she uses fashion and pop culture as a tool for "soft power" to talk about liberation, representation, and diversity, moving away from superficial content. She reflects on her early career, her shift from being fascinated by the West to "unbashedly proud to be Arab," and the challenges faced by Arab talent, including visa issues and the lack of an Arab-centric market. The conversation also delves into how her platform, Mille World, aims to address the lack of authentic Arab youth representation by giving a voice to young creatives who want to define their own stories, not be perceived through a "western gaze". Explore Mille World