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Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by author and critic W. David Marx is a gripping retrospective that examines our culture today — and questions where we might be headed. David joins us to talk about living in Tokyo, the internet, merging art and commerce, nostalgia, smartphones and more with cohosts Chris Gillespie and Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and Chris Gillespie, and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W. David Marx Status and Culture by W. David Marx The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib Immediacy: Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism by Anna Kornbluh Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s by John Ganz Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn Tiffany
This week, Liberty and Emily discuss The Cuffing Game, Beasts of the Sea, I, Medusa, and more great books! Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and never miss a book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. We've got the chops to match the book lover in your life with their next favorite read. And it only takes a few clicks to gift Tailored Book Recommendations! Simply head to mytbr.co/gift to get started. Books Discussed On the Show: The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen, David Hackston (translator) The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten, Alison McCullough (translator) I, Medusa by Ayana Gray Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W. David Marx And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo I'll Make A Spectacle of You by Beatrice Winifred Iker Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker I'll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker Hungerstone by Kat Dunn Who Counted the Corpses: Vlad Dracula and History by James M. Donovan The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1) by Antonia Hodgson For a complete list of books discussed in this episode, visit our website. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century (Penn Press, 2025) brings to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions. Volume 1 adopts "Greater Philadelphia" to indicate a regional scope, but not one limited by a fixed geographical boundary. Instead, "Greater Philadelphia" refers to the interdependence between the city and its periphery across parts of three states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The Greater Philadelphia Region represents a collection of stories fundamental to the Philadelphia area's history and evolution based on the belief that regions work best when residents, divided in space but linked in multiple ways through social and economic connections, possess shared knowledge about the people and the places that surround them. Volume 2 begins with Philadelphia's role during the American Revolution, as the nation's first capital until 1800, and as home to one of the North's largest free African American communities in the antebellum period. From the Civil War to woman suffrage, from the Lenape people to the Gray Panthers, from Black Power to Occupy Philadelphia, the book chronicles the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Greater Philadelphia and the Nation demonstrates how Philadelphia, and its periphery across southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware, create, challenge, and sustain the nation. Volume 3 reveals the influence of empires and nations on Greater Philadelphia while also emphasizing the dynamic role the region and its people have played in shaping the modern world. Exploring the immigrants who peopled the Delaware Valley, the faiths they practiced, the environment they shaped, the wars they waged, and the global connections they forged, Greater Philadelphia and the World reveals a city and its surroundings that has been continually molded by its links to the Atlantic, the Americas, and the Pacific. Omari Averette-Phillips is a PhD Candidate in History & African American Studies at UC-Davis. He can be reached at okaverettephillips@ucdavis.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century (Penn Press, 2025) brings to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions. Volume 1 adopts "Greater Philadelphia" to indicate a regional scope, but not one limited by a fixed geographical boundary. Instead, "Greater Philadelphia" refers to the interdependence between the city and its periphery across parts of three states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The Greater Philadelphia Region represents a collection of stories fundamental to the Philadelphia area's history and evolution based on the belief that regions work best when residents, divided in space but linked in multiple ways through social and economic connections, possess shared knowledge about the people and the places that surround them. Volume 2 begins with Philadelphia's role during the American Revolution, as the nation's first capital until 1800, and as home to one of the North's largest free African American communities in the antebellum period. From the Civil War to woman suffrage, from the Lenape people to the Gray Panthers, from Black Power to Occupy Philadelphia, the book chronicles the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Greater Philadelphia and the Nation demonstrates how Philadelphia, and its periphery across southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware, create, challenge, and sustain the nation. Volume 3 reveals the influence of empires and nations on Greater Philadelphia while also emphasizing the dynamic role the region and its people have played in shaping the modern world. Exploring the immigrants who peopled the Delaware Valley, the faiths they practiced, the environment they shaped, the wars they waged, and the global connections they forged, Greater Philadelphia and the World reveals a city and its surroundings that has been continually molded by its links to the Atlantic, the Americas, and the Pacific. Omari Averette-Phillips is a PhD Candidate in History & African American Studies at UC-Davis. He can be reached at okaverettephillips@ucdavis.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Lauren's guest is W. David Marx, author of Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century. David also wrote the books Ametora and Status and Culture, and is kinda famous in Japan for his association with the men's fashion scene. They discuss fashion's position in pop culture over the past 25 years, A Bathing Ape, China, Korea, Japan shopping culture, Supreme, preppiness, Grape Nuts, and plenty more. 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
Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century (Penn Press, 2025) brings to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions. Volume 1 adopts "Greater Philadelphia" to indicate a regional scope, but not one limited by a fixed geographical boundary. Instead, "Greater Philadelphia" refers to the interdependence between the city and its periphery across parts of three states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The Greater Philadelphia Region represents a collection of stories fundamental to the Philadelphia area's history and evolution based on the belief that regions work best when residents, divided in space but linked in multiple ways through social and economic connections, possess shared knowledge about the people and the places that surround them. Volume 2 begins with Philadelphia's role during the American Revolution, as the nation's first capital until 1800, and as home to one of the North's largest free African American communities in the antebellum period. From the Civil War to woman suffrage, from the Lenape people to the Gray Panthers, from Black Power to Occupy Philadelphia, the book chronicles the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Greater Philadelphia and the Nation demonstrates how Philadelphia, and its periphery across southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware, create, challenge, and sustain the nation. Volume 3 reveals the influence of empires and nations on Greater Philadelphia while also emphasizing the dynamic role the region and its people have played in shaping the modern world. Exploring the immigrants who peopled the Delaware Valley, the faiths they practiced, the environment they shaped, the wars they waged, and the global connections they forged, Greater Philadelphia and the World reveals a city and its surroundings that has been continually molded by its links to the Atlantic, the Americas, and the Pacific. Omari Averette-Phillips is a PhD Candidate in History & African American Studies at UC-Davis. He can be reached at okaverettephillips@ucdavis.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century (Penn Press, 2025) brings to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions. Volume 1 adopts "Greater Philadelphia" to indicate a regional scope, but not one limited by a fixed geographical boundary. Instead, "Greater Philadelphia" refers to the interdependence between the city and its periphery across parts of three states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The Greater Philadelphia Region represents a collection of stories fundamental to the Philadelphia area's history and evolution based on the belief that regions work best when residents, divided in space but linked in multiple ways through social and economic connections, possess shared knowledge about the people and the places that surround them. Volume 2 begins with Philadelphia's role during the American Revolution, as the nation's first capital until 1800, and as home to one of the North's largest free African American communities in the antebellum period. From the Civil War to woman suffrage, from the Lenape people to the Gray Panthers, from Black Power to Occupy Philadelphia, the book chronicles the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Greater Philadelphia and the Nation demonstrates how Philadelphia, and its periphery across southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware, create, challenge, and sustain the nation. Volume 3 reveals the influence of empires and nations on Greater Philadelphia while also emphasizing the dynamic role the region and its people have played in shaping the modern world. Exploring the immigrants who peopled the Delaware Valley, the faiths they practiced, the environment they shaped, the wars they waged, and the global connections they forged, Greater Philadelphia and the World reveals a city and its surroundings that has been continually molded by its links to the Atlantic, the Americas, and the Pacific. Omari Averette-Phillips is a PhD Candidate in History & African American Studies at UC-Davis. He can be reached at okaverettephillips@ucdavis.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Time Riders: Part 3 What happens when you mix clock-block with priapism? Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 16 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Ain't Nobody Got Time For That Shit! Mark and Becky sat in the small cottage, looking around in wonder. They were still in Seventeenth Century France, but found themselves surrounded by technologies that they hadn't even heard of. The walls were lined with clocks, some of which were mechanical, some seemed to be digital or binary, while others told time in ways they couldn't fathom. Sitting across from them at the stout, round oaken table, Chester Edgerton smoked a pipe and observed them casually. "How; how can you have this all out on display?" Mark asked, still gaping. "I mean, isn't it against the rules to have this sort of tech from the future lying around where the locals might bump into it?" "That's the beauty of it, my' boy," he said cheerfully, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "They can't see it." "Well, I get it if you try to restrict entry to your house," Mark pressed, wanting to understand. "But what if you're gone and bandits break in? Becks and I can account for banditry in this day and age, for sure." "Mayhap," the man replied. "But I brought you through the door that leads to my actual house. The front door, the one the local peasantry sees, leads into a simple cottage, typical of the period, and owned by a pudgy man of indeterminate nationality." "Your; house is in two places at once?" Mark asked, trying to understand. "No, it's the same place," Chester answered simply. "Two different times, however. We're sitting in my actual abode, Twenty-First Century." Mark shook his head. "That's some weird Tardis shit right there." "Only at first." Chester allowed. "I notice you have all your windows shut," Becky remarked. "You said we're in the Twenty-First Century, but I take from further ahead than Mark and I are from, so you're not showing us?" "Clever girl," mused the man, smiling. "While I won't absolutely stop you from looking or even going outside, I would warn you that if you do and see something you don't like, you're committing yourself to that future, no matter how hard you try to undo it." "We'll stay put then," she said readily. "You were kind enough to bring us here and sort of explain how we might acquire goods in the time stream?" He nodded. "I know it might seem counter-intuitive, but the simple fact of the matter is that if people are going to insist on time travelling, the least they can do is be well-prepared for it so they don't hurt themselves or others." He leaned forward. "The first question you need to ask yourself is, why are you so intent on time-travelling to begin with? Is it simple curiosity? Are you planning to make a living somehow? Are you just trying to get laid?" He looked at Mark during this last question and the young man blushed, while Becky giggled and patted his hand. "Mark was a dud in Physics in his last year of high school," she explained. "Come to think of it, he was in little or no danger of getting into any post-secondary education facility." "Thanks." Mark muttered. "But, then he found his time machine, something called a Holmes Field Device, and he resolved to go back in time a few months and convince me to give him an A in Physics with the promise of earth-shaking sex." "This story sounds worse every time I hear it." Mark complained. "Fortunately, I acquiesced, rather than disemboweling him for breaking into my home, and not only did we become lovers, but now we're adventuring the time stream together." "Hmm, a teacher and a student, eh?" mused the man, smiling at them as he smoked. "Teachers and students are plentiful, of course, but they're usually from the far, far future and on very strictly-controlled excursions into the past. Hands-on history classes, if you will." "That makes history sound kinda fun." Mark said. "Oh, I daresay it is," agreed Chester. "Nothing quite as exciting as going back to the Cretaceous Period and taking a ride on the back of a trained Styracosaurus. Or watching Dromer races." "Isn't that screwing with the timeline?" Becky inquired. "I mean, humans weren't around for another sixty-three million years following the demise of the dinosaurs." "It's all very carefully regulated on remote islands," Chester explained. "It does nothing to mess with the ecosystem and the specimens are trained to interact with humans, for the most part." "Riding one of those big horned dinosaurs would be a kick." Mark mused, grinning. "You've already got a perfectly good horn I like to ride," Becky giggled, squeezing his hand again. "Besides, this is where our host tells us that it won't be possible for us any time soon." "You're a very perceptive young lady," he allowed. "We can't have just anyone mucking up the time stream, you know. It's especially difficult when people who lived before time travel was commonly accepted try to get involved. They inevitably get exposed to technologies they shouldn't be aware of, or events that weren't known during their own time;” "I'll give you a tiny example," he said, leaning forward now, as if he was confiding a secret. "Have you heard of the Tunguska Incident?" "Sure, the Tunguska region in Siberia, 1908," Becky answered, nodding. "A large meteor slammed into the ground, creating a blast equal to sixty megatons and flattening everything for nearly a hundred miles around." "No, that's what you need to think," he corrected, pointing the stem of his pipe toward them. "It was, in fact, an advanced weapon that was stolen from a future date, and before temporal agents could recover it, the thieves blew it up to cover their escape. Granted, there are people in your time who have conspiracy theories about nuclear blast, nearly forty years before the first atomic tests, but they're wrong as well. It wasn't a nuclear device, simply a weapon with an incredibly high conventional yield by your age's standards." "So; why can you tell us this now?" Becky asked. He grinned and spread out his arms in a gesture of farce. "Who would believe you?" "So how did you know that we were time travelers?" Mark asked as they followed their host and guide through the woods. "Well, I heard snippets of your conversation," Chester said as he led the way. "But to be honest, even though your outfits might pass with locals for 'reasonably authentic', you couldn't possibly hide your origins from a fellow time-traveler. Mark claimed to be Spanish, he doesn't look at all Spanish, certainly not from this era. Miss Rebecca is remarkably tall for a woman." "Well there's something I don't hear very often back home!" she giggled. "And you're both in strangely good health, with unblemished skin and full heads of hair," Chester added. "I was relatively certain, and then I heard you discussing your relative inexperience, so I sought to introduce myself." "I'd' have thought that you wouldn't introduce yourself to newbies," Mark stated, helping Becky over a log. "Isn't it safer to keep your chatter to people who know what they're doing?" "It's actually the exact opposite," replied Chester. "The best thing you can do around veteran time travelers you don't need to talk to is to not talk to them. Their timelines are probably very intricate and you don't want yours getting snarled up with them. Newbies, as you call them, probably still have linear experiences that are simple to understand and educating them about what awaits is the simplest way to keep things from getting weird." Getting up to leave the cottage, Mark asked; "So this device the time cops gave me," Mark stated, holding up his chronometer. "It's actually pretty useful then, because it warns me when I'm getting too close to myself or something I've affected." "That was very generous of them," Chester said in a serious tone. "They don't do that for just everyone who shows up suddenly in the time stream. Sometimes they let matters work themselves out, if you know what I mean." Chester's Forest Farewell. The meadow they stepped into, had a mature lush forest further back. They reached a small clearing in the forest they'd been tromping through and stopped for a bit, sitting on a fallen tree trunk. Chester looked at them both and slapped his hands on his thighs. "Now then, I've brought you here so that you can witness a casual event that is due to happen just outside the woods. Nothing major, but it will give you a taste of what can await you. I have something to attend to and should be back in a few hours. Just stay out of sight and don't leave the tree line." "You're leaving?" Mark protested. Chester turned to look at him. "It might be that the events you will see unfold work better for me if I am nowhere near them," the man replied. "Fear not, I shall return. Enjoy yourselves." And then he walked into the woods and was gone. Mark looked around and finally sighed. "Helluva way to mentor someone," he muttered as he stood to take in a panoramic context. "Take 'em somewhere and then just fuck off? Nice." "He's not your mentor, Mark," Becky chided, sitting on a log and smiling at him. "He's a fellow time traveler who is doing you a favor. He's given you plenty of valuable information free of charge already, something I doubt he does frequently." "Well, okay," Mark allowed. "So, we just wait until we see something happen?" "No idea when that'll be, he didn't really tell us, did he?" Becky pointed out. "Yup," Mark sighed. "So, now what?" Becky tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, like there was something wrong with his brain. "Here's an idea. How about you come over here and fuck me?" Mark was so determined to be bent out of shape for having no instructions that he'd overlooked the completely obvious. He laughed and stepped forward, pulling Becky to her feet. They were holding their hands between them and staring into one another's eyes, smiling. "Now this is what time travel is all about," she purred, her eyes shining with delight. "You're going to fuck me in the woods in Louis the Sun King's France, Mark. For all we know, this is some sort of royal ground and we're trespassing. How many people can say they've done that?" "Just the lucky ones;” he replied, beginning to unfasten the clasps on her dress, freeing her chest from its confines. As the dress fell away, she was left standing on in a low-cut, blouse-like shirt and some panties, having chosen to forego the usual layers of buntlings and knickers. She bit her lip as he pulled her blouse over her head, exposing her glorious tits. Kneeling now, he slowly slid her panties down, feeling a thrill as her hairless, smooth cunt came into view. She stepped out of the tiny thong panties, letting him drink in the sight of her. Yes, he'd been with her for over a week now in France, but he never tired of seeing her beautiful body. "Your turn now, my lord." Becky whispered as she began removing his clothing, peeling away the layers until he was as naked as herself. She stood up again and moved close, her nipples gently kissing against his chest. Unable to hold back any more, Mark pulled his teacher to him and kissed her deeply, making Becky moan into his mouth. Their hands wandered over one another's now-familiar forms, seeking to stimulate, tease and pleasure. His hands found her pert ass cheeks and he squeezed them, causing her to moan again. "Hmm, can't wait to get some grass stains on this dress," she murmured, looking up into his eyes. "And maybe a few on my knees." She slowly knelt in front of Mark, kissing and nipping at his skin on the way down. His swelling phallus was in front of her face now and she licked her lips hungrily before taking gentle hold and kissing it. Mark closed his eyes and shivered, loving the feel of her lips on him. Everything about his teacher was incredible. He was just sorry it had taken so long to realize it. Becky now had the head of his cock inside her warm, wet mouth, swirling her tongue around flicking the tip of her tongue against him. She giggled as his rod throbbed and grew longer and harder. She loved how turned on he could get by her, it made her feel so primal and sexual. She then slid her mouth a little further down his shaft before pulling back, shivering in delight at the sight of his glistening skin. Mark's fingers were in her hair and flexing gently as she began to bob back and forth, taking more and more of him into her mouth. She hummed lightly, vibrating her lips around him and making him groan. Her hand rested on the shaft, pumping as it followed her lips, making a gentle twisting motion on the sensitive skin. Becky loved sucking cock, and Mark's was ridiculously perfect for her, in just about every possible way. She hoped that wouldn't be a problem down the road. She took gentle hold of his hips with both hands and moved back and forth along his shaft, breathing through her nose as she deep-throated him. Mark groaned in pleasure, his fingers flexing into her scalp and tugging her hair. She looked up at him, maintaining eye contact, which she knew he found so erotic. She could feel his skin growing warm and knew now was the time to stop and change things up if she intended to have his cock inside her. There was indeed one good thing about them being out of sync, with her current self three months behind him; they already knew she wasn't pregnant in his current timeline, so he could cum deep inside her as much as they liked. She pulled her mouth off his with a wet 'pop!' and smiling seductively. "I'm thinking maybe my girl wants to say hello too;” she purred. Mark nodded and spread out her dress before lying down on it, his rock-hard cock standing straight up and throbbing. Becky crawled over him, straddling his face, her creamy, wet cunt mere inches from his mouth. She faced down his body, giggling and he snaked his tongue out to taste her, but she kept her prize just out of reach. "So that's how it is, eh?" he said from below her before suddenly wrapping his arms around her thighs and pulling down on them and causing her to lurch unexpectedly (for her) onto his eager mouth. Becky shuddered and moaned loudly as his tongue snaked along and massaged her nether lips, before flickering against her throbbing clit to make her gasp and almost double over. "No fair;” she panted, trying to regain control of herself, but Mark seemed inclined to cheat. He kept her pinned to him, leaving her to squirm helplessly above him while he lashed her with his tongue. "Uh, you bastard; yes, right there; Oh, God, Mark;” Her pleas exhorted him to even greater measures. He was determined to make her cum on his mouth at least once before they fucked. And he seemed to be pretty damned good at making her cum with oral sex, he had to say. Becky squirmed on top of him, playing wither tits, pinching and pulling on her pink nipples, her eyes squeezed shut, because it almost felt too good if she was looking at him. His eager tongue snaked deep inside her hungry cunt, making her wetter still. He had this maddening technique where he formed shapes or letters inside her with his tongue, reaching almost every nook and cranny of her. She whimpered, knowing he intended to make her cum and she was more than happy to oblige. She leaned forward while sitting on his face, reaching out to his twitching cock, caressing and massaging it gently; she didn't want him to cum, she just wanted to keep him stimulated. She felt the thrill of anticipation, knowing it would soon be inside her, pumping in and out, throbbing and finally releasing his creamy essence into her, something she accepted gladly because of the temporal mechanics between them. Mark sucked her clit into his mouth, rolling it around and making her shudder, groaning deeply as something started to build within her. She pushed down onto his face with her hips, grinding eagerly, while her clit throbbed. Then her released it and pushed his tongue deep inside her again, probing and lashing her until she was writhing and panting heavily. "Oh, God, Mark;” she gasped, sweat streaming from her sensual form. "Oh, fuck, yes, please; Uh, so close, baby;” He pushed into her as hard as he could and she jerked and squeaked arching her back. Her whole frame was wracked with pleasure as she cried out loudly, the orgasm crashing through her until she almost couldn't breathe. She shook violently, her eyes rolling into her head before she collapsed on top of him, her body limp and her chest heaving. Her limbs felt like tingling lead, but she managed to lift one to find his cock, determined to keep him hard until she had recovered. She stroked him gently while he kissed at her gooey nether lips, his face glistening with her cum. Fortunately, Becky was insatiable and recovered quickly, slowly rising and then sidling forward down his body so she could look back at him and smirk. "How about it, big boy?" she asked coyly. "You ready for the main event?" Mark grinned and nodded while she slithered down his body, finally hovering over his hips while facing his feet. She took hold of his throbbing cock and teased it against her slippery entrance before sinking down, making them both sigh in relief. "Hallelujah;” she moaned as he bottomed out inside her, filling her completely. "Oh, that's exactly what the doctor ordered." Mark nodded and took hold of her silken, pert ass cheeks and gripped them firmly, making his teacher purr. Becky loved having her ass played with, and while she began to sink up and down slowly on his cock, he massaged the peach-like orbs, eliciting moans from her when he spread them wide, giving her a delicious stretch. "Hmm, get me nice and ready back there," she cooed as she moved up and down on him. "Because once you're done in my cunt, I want you in my ass and I want to feel your cum in it." Mark nodded eagerly, because he loved fucking Becky's ass. Her cunt was incredibly tight, but even that couldn't match her exquisite back passage, which gripped him so strongly and always made him cum so hard he thought he might faint. His fingers teased against her little puckered, pink knot, sending the most divine tingles through her luscious body. Becky undulated on him, picking up the pace and counting on Mark to control himself until her was in her ass. She bit her lower lip, working herself on that thick, throbbing tool, pulling up until it was almost out of her and then sinking back down in one long stroke, filling her completely. Her heart was strumming in her chest as she thrilled to the notion of the oncoming climax. She was hissing now, struggling to hold on just a few seconds longer, to draw out this wonderful pleasure for them both. But then she felt the point of no return and willingly stepped over it, moaning loudly as her cunt fluttered and she began to cum, hard. She wailed and rocked on her lover, bathing his middle with her excitement. Her head lolled for several seconds as she came down from her orgasm, but she remembered that she still had Mark inside her and needed him, promised him, that he would be cumming in her ass. Slowly, lethargically, she raised herself until his cock fell out of her, still rock-hard and yearning for more. For such a young man, he had exceptional control. She inched forward, until she felt his pulsing head teasing against her notch. She reached underneath herself and took hold of the shaft, holding him steady while she pressed down, slowly but surely. She heard him groan as the head popped through her tight ring suddenly and then he was sliding inside her. It was Heaven. She sat still for several seconds, just reveling in the feel of him filling her ass. She felt the need to be sensual, and she leaned backward, until she was resting her back on his torso, her head next to his. But her knees were still bent and she groaned like she was going to burst, the angle of his penetration in this position more than she could bear. Whispering for him to wait patiently, she slowly, sinuously slid her legs out from beneath herself and straightened them, relaxing in pleasure as they rested on Mark's thighs. "Sorry, that would've downright killed me right now," she whispered to him, her glassy, heavily-lidded eyes looking into his. "And I wanted to be down her to kiss you and let you fondle me as you fucked me and came in me." "Sounds like a plan," he agreed readily, his strong, but gentle hands coming up to rest on her opulent tits. Her began caressing and massaging them in circles while Becky started moving her ass on top of his cock, squeezing him inside her tight confines. "God, I love your ass, Becky." "Umm, it loves your cock, Mark," she purred, undulating on him, the throb of his tool being felt through her whole body like another heartbeat. "You always make me cum so hard;” They squirmed and ground together, with Mark tilting his hips up to push inside her while Becky squeezed him, the lovers shuddering as they kissed feverishly. His hands were squeezing her tits now, pinching and pulling on the nipples again to make her groan with the delicious sting. But Mark felt his climax approach and he knew it wouldn't be long before he was pumping his cum inside her. Becky moaned into his mouth as she felt his cock swelling and twitching erratically, a sure sign he was about to cum. She squeezed him tighter, feeling the buildup inside herself, yearning to share that unreal ecstasy. The groaned into one another mouths at first, but then the kiss was broken as they panted, fighting for air, their voices carrying around the woods they were in. He pushed up hard inside her, pulling down on her tits while she squeezed with all her might, his cum almost searing hot inside her, filling her up. Mark went limp, breathing heavily and clearly spent, not that he minded. Becky could barely move, bound in ropes of silken bliss that kissed every nerve in her body. Her own heartbeat plus the relentless throb of Mark's rigid cock, still oozing inside her, almost meant she didn't know how to center herself. But they relaxed together finally, kissing gently, eyes closed while they clasped hand on top of her tits. Tongues softly tangled, tasting one another while they let their rapture slowly ebb. Minutes passed and they lay silently, waiting for Mark's cock to soften so Becky could sit up. Finally, she giggled, squeezing his hands. "Feels like somebody doesn't wanna go to sleep," she said cutely, wiggling her ass on him, feeling her ass refusing to relinquish its hard-earned prize. "What're we gonna do?" "Iono," he said drowsily. "We just wait, I guess. If I try to have another orgasm right now, I'm pretty sure he'd just spontaneously combust inside you." "Alas, poor cock," she cooed, stroking his cheek. "I guess we happily wait, then." They closed their eyes and relaxed, waiting for Mark's erection to subside so that they could get up without difficulty. Their hands remained at rest on her tits while they nuzzled their cheeks together. Then there was a 'click!' sound. Arrest in Flagrante delicto. Becky's eyes snapped open and she goggled up at a man dressed in rather colorful and opulent period clothing, staring down at them as he pointed a flintlock rifle at their face. Looking around, she now saw they were surrounded by men carrying pikes and muskets, all of whom stared at the naked couple with varying level of interest. The man directly over them moved his musket muzzle, indicating they should sit up. Mark's eyes were open by now and he glanced around in confusion as well, clearly not understanding what had happened. The man's eyes narrowed and he moved the musket muzzle again. Becky, sensing the danger they were suddenly in, tried to move, but shivered; she was still impaled on Mark's solid cock, which had shown no signs of softening and kept her pinned against him. She couldn't get up. "Great time to develop priapism, Mark;” she said sourly. "Maybe Louis the Sun King's France just isn't for us after all," Mark sighed as he hiked along behind Becky, who had been stuffed hurriedly back into her dress while he was allowed to put on his breeches again. Neither of them even had shoes on as they followed the soldiers. Their hands were tied behind their backs. "This is twice now that we've;“ "I know, Mark, I was there," Becky said somewhat tersely, wondering if Chester Edgeworth was now someone she had to add to her shit list. She hated adding names to the shit list. "I guess we were so busy fucking that the event our host meant for us to witness has found us." "Tais-tois!" one of the men guarding them said as he walked nearby with a musket. "Vou ne pouvez-pas parler!" Becky scowled at the man and continued trudging. She wasn't really embarrassed about being caught fucking, it wasn't the first time it had happened to them here in France. But at least this lot had the decency to let her have an orgasm first before taking them prisoner. She couldn't even enjoy the grass stains on her clothes! They had exited the woods and were now tromping through a field, heading toward a much larger cluster of soldiers. Mark couldn't help but notice that a lot of them were wearing red. "Shit;” Becky muttered as she saw them as well. "That's all we need." "Huh?" Mark asked, but he was silenced when a soldier shoved him roughly from behind with his musket, indicating he was to stay quiet. They approached the encampment and Mark soon realized there were several hundred soldiers. The tents were spread out around one rather illustrious red tent of grand size. He then saw a cluster of cavaliers milling about and they seemed to be headed in that direction. Soldiers stared at them as they entered the perimeter of the camp, usually at Becky. Mark and Becky found themselves hauled in front of the cavaliers, who parted, making way for a single man on horseback. He was at least middle-aged, with a somewhat grey pallor to his skin and thin, hawk-like features. His expression was a rather lemony one, as if he felt inconvenienced by this entire incident. For all that, though, his dark eyes glinted with intelligence. He was wearing the flowing red habits of a high-ranking member of the Catholic church, although he had a burnished breastplate on his chest as well. "You stand in the presence of his Eminence, the Cardinal Richelieu," announced the captain of the troops that had taken them prisoner. Mark's eyes went wide. He didn't speak French, but he'd seen enough Three Musketeers movie reboots to know who Cardinal Richelieu was and exactly what sort of deep shit they were suddenly in. "Show respect!" Becky dropped to one knee and bowed her head, looking at the ground. Mark rapidly followed suit, since she probably had a better grasp of the situation than he did. He could feel everyone's eyes and on them and it was beginning to weigh heavily, like a yoke around his neck. His face flushed, but he said nothing. "Who are these persons?" the cardinal asked finally. "Your names, my children." "My name is Rebecca, your Eminence," Becky said humbly, still not looking up. "And you, good sir?" the Cardinal asked, looking over at Mark now. "M; me llamo Marco del strade, tu Eminencia." Mark stammered. "A Spaniard," mused the Cardinal, pursing his lips. "In the presence of a peasant girl. And you both have unusual accents, I admit." "Your Eminence," said one of the captains, looking at them suspiciously. "This man, why is he here traipsing about Champagne like this? With this peasant girl? We found them in the woods, doing unspeakable carnal acts to one another." The Cardinal's eyebrow arched and he looked on in seeming distaste. "You don't say." "Very likely he is a spy for King Phillip, your Eminence!" said the captain, almost sneering. "No, your Eminence," Becky said suddenly, her voice full of concern. "I assure you, he is no spy!" Mark hadn't heard or understood everything the Frenchmen were saying to one another, but he understood 'espion' and his teacher's reaction indicated that he was in some kind of trouble. Go figure. "And what grounds can you give me to believe you, child?" the Cardinal asked with feigned interest. "Please," she begged, her head still bowed. "You have my utmost assurances he is no spy, he's an idiot!" This made the men around them laugh and even Richelieu grunted in amusement. "Both of you rise." Mark saw Becky get to her feet and he did the same. All around them, men with pikes and muskets were watching them warily, some of them levelling weapons at the pair. Clearly they took the Cardinal's safety seriously. Richelieu observed them with interest. "The girl is very unusual," he mused. "Tall, very healthy and very beautiful. Very, very beautiful. I know only one other of such unmatched attractiveness." Mark wasn't sure where this was going, but he doubted it was good. The Cardinal's interest in him was waning. "And yet you say you found her acting in a most carnal and un-ladylike manner in the woods, hmm?" Richelieu continued. "Well, it certainly won't do for her to be out here alone in the countryside, rutting like a nymph, would it? Perhaps her majesty could make use of the girl, once we fix her atrocious accent." "My what?" Becky snapped, looking offended now. "Put her in the cart, we'll bring her to the capital, with regards to the Queen." Richelieu declared, turning his horse about and riding off. Men began to try and wrangle Becky into one of the carts, many of them laughing and leering as they took the opportunity to grope her. Gut shot. "Hey, stop that!" Mark said angrily, surging forward, but he suddenly found himself confronted by a captain, who stared at him impassively. There was a sudden and frightfully loud 'crack!' sound and Mark halted suddenly, his eyes wide. Becky's head snapped around at the noise and her eyes went wide. Blinking, Mark slowly looked down and saw there was a very red puncture hole in his abdomen. Sounds slowed down, taking on an almost syrupy quality and he started to feel confused. Becky screamed and tried to force her way to him, but she was being hustled away by many guards. The man who had shot him wandered off, sliding his flintlock pistol back into a holster, clearly no longer caring about Mark. Everyone seemed to be wandering off now. He felt cold, and vaguely nauseous. The ugly red wound in his stomach pulsed, blood welling from it slowly. He felt himself toppling over, white light bathing the field around him. He could still see things, but they seemed distant. He tried to focus on something, finally identifying Becky's voice as she screamed for him. He could just make out the soldiers wrestling her into a cart while she struggled and kicked savagely, her face contorted in rage. "I'll Get You For This, Richelieu!" she roared as Mark's world was absorbed by the soft white light. "You Just Made The Shit List Of High Doom!! See If I Ever Dance A Sarabande For You, Pal!" Mark bolted upright suddenly, gasping. His eyes were wide and he was covered in sweat. His heart thundered in his chest and he fought to control his panic. The white light was slowly replaced by close walls of grey stone. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing. His hands bunched against sheets that were covering him. Finally, he could breathe normally and he tried to organize his thoughts. He still felt confused, everything a total jumble. "Calm yourself. Think!" He'd been fucking Becky in the woods. Apparently they were waiting for Cardinal Richelieu to go by, which he guessed passed for a historical event, seeing the man. But the Cardinal's soldiers heard the two of them and took them prisoner. Then they took Becky and Mark tried to stop them and got shot in the stomach; His eyes snapped open and he was frozen in place. He forced himself to look down at his middle, seeing that he was still covered in a sheet. His hand was trembling as he moved it slowly toward the heavy, dun-colored blanket, sweat trickling from his brow as he felt fear rise in his throat. He flung away the sheet suddenly, unable to bear not knowing. He wasn't bleeding. There was no puncture wound, only a strange, round scar about two inches in diameter. Eyes wide, he slowly lifted his head and looked around, now noticing his environs; he was indeed in a small bedroom, the curtains drawn to keep out the light and very little in the way of décor. Just a chair and a table in one corner, some other surfaces with candles spaced around the room. His bed was solid and comfortable. "Ah, there you are," Chester Edgerton said as he came through the door. "I was beginning to think you had no intentions of waking up." "Where;” Mark said somewhat feebly. "Back at my place," Chester answered, sitting down in the chair and settling in for what was no doubt going to be a long and perhaps trying conversation. "I found you lying in the middle of the field nearly a kilometer from where I'd left you and you were very close to dead." "How did I;” "You should have died," Chester continued. "But ultimately you wouldn't have, due to a time lock, I'm assuming. You weren't meant to die there in that field. Luckily for you, there are still plenty of ways to get yourself killed for doing absurd things." "Why did you leave us in the first place?" Mark asked. "I've been around Richelieu and several of his captains at various points in the time stream, and it's getting difficult to manage," Chest replied, shrugging. "Best way to deal with that issue is to simply not be present." "So why leave us there?" "To see Richelieu, of course," the man said simply. "One of history's truly great men, certainly more so than that twit of a king he serves. I was just trying to ease you into the idea of witnessing historical events. It never occurred to me that you'd be found because you made your teacher yodel like a Swiss Miss when you flagranting the delicto with her. I admit I hadn't planned for that nonsense." Mark blushed. "So, what, I wasn't meant to die here, so my body just healed itself?" Chester laughed. "Oh, no, dear boy, nothing of the sort. I came back to the woods, as promised, as when you weren't there, I began noticing the tracks of many solid shoes and boots in the vicinity. Not to mention the clothes you left behind." "Yeah, sorry, I was kinda tied up at the moment." Mark muttered. "In any event, I followed the tracks, noticed that Richelieu had broken camp and then found you. You'd been lying there for nearly three hours, you should have been dead from blood loss, but you weren't. I brought you back here, removed the ball from your stomach and then healed you." "You can do that?" Mark asked. "I thought you said you were a dealer in chroniques." "It helps to have a few irons in the fire and some hidden talents if you're going to mess around in the time stream," Chester replied. "But I was under no obligation to complicate my life and save you." "I guess I'm glad you did," Mark sighed. "Thanks. But wouldn't I have healed anyway?" "Yes, but maybe not fully," replied the enigmatic dealer. "You might've been found by some local peasants, brought back to their hovel and spent life as a weakened vegetable until you died of the Plague. People die in the past all the time, Mark, and everyone in their own era thinks they just disappeared and mourns them. It's frightfully common." "Can I; can I see the tools you used to heal me?" Mark asked hopefully. "Nope," Chester replied, shaking his head. "They're from your future by a few hundred years, the only reason I used them at all was because you were out cold." "Uh, how long was I out, anyway?" "Almost a month," Chester answered, smoothing a corner of his pencil moustache. "I had you fully healed and ready for action by the next day, to be honest, but you just refused to come to. So, I just left you to it, figuring you would wake up when you felt like it." "Oh, shit," Mark breathed, realizing something. "Where's Becky?" Chester raised his hands. "Why would I know? I wasn't there. What do you remember?" Mark tried to concentrate while Chester got up and poured a glass of water. Mark drank it thirstily and placed the glass on the table. He found himself wishing that he'd taken French instead of Spanish in school. He'd thought Spanish might be more useful, but all it did was get him shot. Fuck that. "I don't really speak French, so this is hard. Umm; they thought I was a spy because they thought I was Spanish." "Because you've been presenting yourself as Spanish while you're here," Chester mused. "In spite of your outrageous accent. France has been at war with Spain on and off for some time now." "Whatever," Mark grumbled. "They seemed really interested in Becky." "To be expected, she is quite lovely. I dare say I've only known one woman in this entire era to match her beauty." "Well, I think I heard them say 'capital', and then I think 'la reigne', which means queen, right?" "Indeed it does," Chester agreed. "My bet, then, is that your teacher has been taken by the Cardinal to be presented as a gift to her majesty, Queen Anne, to serve as one of her ladies-in-waiting." "Why would he do that?" Mark asked, frowning. "I've seen enough Three Musketeers movies to know that the Cardinal and the Queen hate each other." Chester smiled. "It's a game he plays with her. As the years go on, Anne is, sadly, getting 'a little long in the tooth', to borrow a phrase. She remains dignified and regal, but her best days are behind here, where attractiveness is concerned. Richelieu now takes great delight in surrounding her with women of magnificent beauty, seemingly a gesture of devotion, but really meant to hurt the queen's feelings." "What a dick." Mark muttered. "You have no idea," Chester said dryly. "If they got her back to the city roughly a week after she was taken, then she's been with the royal court for three." "Meaning that she's either loving life as a lady-in-waiting, or she's killed and eaten them all," Mark said heavily. "I guess I have to go get her." "I can't imagine this not being amusing," Chester said, smirking. "But out of morbid curiosity, how, exactly, will you affect this rescue?' "I dunno," Mark said, shrugging. "But I can't leave her. She'd kill me." "She probably thinks you're dead, I feel obliged to point out." Chester mentioned. "She saw you suffer a mortal wound at point-blank range. You should be dead and only an as-yet undetermined temporal snarl has kept you alive. I wouldn't count on that again if I were you." "Well I can't do nothing!" Mark insisted in frustration. Chester tilted his head, observing his guest for a moment. "Do you love this woman?" Mark blushed furiously. "I; no, I don't love her, or if I do, then I'm not in love with her. There's a difference, ya' know." "Well and truly said, Boccaccio," Chester chuckled. "Well, if there's no stopping you, then I'll see what I can do to discretely help you." "Why?" Mark queried. "I've got a friggin' time machine. All I need to do is get there, zip in and zip out." "Correct me if I am wrong," interjected his host. "But did you not tell me, early on in our association, that your current self is from three months in the future of the Miss Rebecca that I know." Mark nodded. "And you plan to add another layer of temporal travel on top of that wedding cake of disaster?" Chester mused. "Rebecca could be subtly altering the timelines in Paris now with her very presence, involuntary as it might be. Your oh-so-carefully laid plan could simply not work because of a slight temporal consideration." "So you're saying no time machine." Mark stated flatly, not impressed. "I'm saying the idea is bad. Atari Jaguar bad," Chester replied. "If you intend to do this hare-brained thing, allow me to assist you in what moderate ways I can." "What, you've got some funky tech or weapons you can loan me?" "We'll see about that, but more importantly, I guess I'll call in a favor. A certain person who moves in the circle of the royal court owes me a small boon, and I can use it to assist you. They happen to be an accomplished master of intrigue and getting out of sticky situations, with a blade if necessary." Mark's eyes lit up. "Is it D'Artagnan?" "Only if you want to get Clock-Hammered out of existence," Chester laughed, shaking his head. "Everybody wants to meet Charles de Batz, thinking they're going to see D'Artagnan of Three Musketeers fame, and then it just turns out he's a bad-tempered Gascon who loves to punch people who bother him. He's punched more time-travelers than Jesus, I'm pretty sure." Chester then went over to a drawer and rummaged around inside it, finally pulling out a yellowing envelope that was sealed with wax. "I assure you, the agent I am referring you to will be much more effective than D'Artagnan. I will send you with instructions about where in Paris to meet them and offer them this envelope. Warning, though, if they see it is opened, they will simply refuse to help and go away to where you cannot find them. Are you strong enough to keep from opening the letter?" Mark nodded. "Well, then," Chester announced, opening a bottle of wine and pouring two cups. "Shall we drink a toast to your success, o Macro del Strade of Seville?" Palace Mission. Mark was sitting on the back of a hay wagon, wondering if he could really pull this insane plan off. In addition to the letter, Chester Edgeworth had indeed furnished him with a few small devices and curious that they hopefully would help him, though it cost him almost all the rest of his money. Chester pointed out he was a businessman and didn't intend to take a loss just because some idiot created a time crisis for himself. Fair enough. Mark tried not to play with the little bud that sat deep in his ear; Chester had sold it to him, saying that it could translate languages, speaking into Mark's ear whatever he was focusing on. It could also possibly formulate phrases; if he spoke in English, it could tell him the closest translation to what he was saying. This model was old, though, and only spoke the French of this period. Chester didn't want him getting any clever ideas with a more powered-up version, since if something bad happened, it might come back on him. The reasoning initially annoyed Mark, but the more he thought about it, he reminded himself that he was here to rescue Becky. Nothing else. He thought about the conversation he'd had with their host while drinking wine and planning his initial move, heading to Paris. "So why did you begin time-travelling at all?" the man had asked. "Well, I;” Mark started saying, unsure of how to answer. "I found a time machine. Seems perfectly logical to use it." "Granted, but what's your personal motivation, Mark?" he asked. "Is it to see glorious historical events, are you a treasure hunter, a thrill-seeker who wants to run with the Dromaesaurs?" Mark blushed now. "Honest? I thought it'd be cool to have sex with women from history." To his amazement, Chester didn't laugh uproariously, he simply smiled and shrugged. "More common than you would think, especially amongst men your age, who are full of hormones. Let me ask, then; was getting laid in your own time-period difficult?" "Not really, no." "Well it's not any easier in the time stream, just so you know," Chester pointed out. "In some periods of history, it can be even harder, where religious fervor runs rampant and sexual repression is the law of the land. I assume you wouldn't go as far as to rape a girl." Mark shook his head. "Lots of men do when they find out that having sex in the past is harder than they anticipated," Chester said almost sadly, shaking his head. "You're one of the better ones. But for all that, the problem remains; getting into bed or a rug with Cleopatra is pretty much next to impossible. You might as well hope to seduce Scarlett Johansson when you're no one in particular." "Hey, I got Becky, didn't I?" Mark had protested. "Dumb luck, really, and she's a remarkable woman. Have you had sex with any women aside from Becky since you came to the Sun King's France?" He shrugged. "A few, I shared 'em with Becky." "Peasants, I assume?" "Mostly, yeah," Mark admitted. "There was one sophisto girl, but Becky did the talking and charmed the knickers off her for us." "If it weren't for Becky, you'd be completely out of your league here, boyo," Chester said simply. "And trust me, it won't get easier. Even history buffs who think they know everything get caught and pay the price. There's the history you know, the history you don't know, and the history that you don't know that you don't know." "What?" "What year did World War Two end?" Chester asked. "Simple. 1945." "So you know that. What year did the Crimean War start?" "I've heard of it, but I don't know anything about it." "Something you know that you don't know. Okay, tell me about the League of Ages Twelfth Nicean Temporal Council." "The what?" "Exactly," Chester had said emphatically, leaning forward and pointing with his wine glass to make a point. "An incredibly important historic event that you've never even heard of, but it happened all the same. Can you imagine trying to do something that conflicted with that? You wouldn't even know what clock-hammered you, or why; because only a practiced temporal traveler would be aware of the event at all. Time travel can be tedious." "It's certainly becoming less and less fun by the moment." Mark grumbled. "Probably the smartest thing you've said since you found that Holmes-Field Device," Chester agreed. "Life would be a lot easier if casual nitwits like yourself walked the other way when a time machine appeared in their path." "But don't you make a living selling to people like me?" Mark asked. "Hardly," Chester almost snorted. "Nitwits like you rarely have anything to even pay me with and usually require drastic amounts of assistance. No, my friend, the majority of my income is derived from customers who hail from the far future where time travel is an established industry and carefully regulated. Now those people are my bread and butter." "Did Becky and I really stand out?" Mark asked somewhat dully. "More and more with each passing moment," Chester answered. "You're too tall, too healthy, you have all your teeth, and your accents are absurd." Mark said nothing. "And by the way," added his host. "Those little packets of Airborne that you both carry in your pockets? The little Vitamin C boost things to ward off the sniffles? I can guarantee you that those will in no way, shape or form protect you from illnesses in this era. Only thing it'll do is turn your piss such a bright yellow that people will think you're possessed and the Inquisition will burn you." Mark ended up leaving the packets as a curio that Chester could sell to people from the future who wanted to snicker at how dumb people from the turn-of-the-millennium were. Carting to Paris. He had arranged transport to Paris with the wagon he was now on, making sure the farmer put some extra perk in his horse's step by offering him twice as many sou as was normal. The journey, which would normally take a week, with good weather, was promised to six days because of the extra money. Whatever the difference was between six-day speed and seven-day speed, Mark sure couldn't tell it. His communication with the farmer had been sluggish, certainly, mostly on his end, because he would try to say exactly what his little translator bud told him and he probably sounded like he'd had a stroke when he was speaking. The farmer laughed at his speech, but still did as he was asked. Mostly they slept at the side of the road in the piled hay, but one night they stayed in a roadside inn. Mark's funds were running out fast, even though the food he ate was paltry and rather unappetizing. He had to reach Paris. They then trundled through the town where Mark and Becky had first come to; and Mark hid himself in the straw, figuring it was best to not be seen by people whom he might be familiar with. Even if the innkeeper's two daughters would no doubt readily fuck him again. He fought the temptation to ignore Chester's instructions and simply go get his Holmes-Field Device and use it to rescue his teacher. But he disciplined himself and refrained, he was in enough trouble as it is. Then he meditated; Known knowns. Known unknowns. Unknown unknowns. Fuck. The days and nights passed with Mark trying to keep himself from growing crazy by practicing his French and thinking of his plan. He had no idea whatsoever about what to do once he reached Paris. Get inside the royal palace? He couldn't exactly Google the plans for it, could he? "Regardez la!" the farmer said finally, calling back to Mark and pointing toward the west. As the sun was rising behind them, he could make out a sprawling sea of darkness in the distance, the silhouette of which prickled the sky. Endless plumes of smoke hung over the city as deep grey gave way to dawn behind them. He thought it might actually be pretty. And then the wind wafted over them from the west, bringing the unique scent of fabled Paris. "Jesus!" Mark croaked as he turned green, leaning over the side of the wagon and puking his guts out while the farmer roared with laughter. They entered the city. Mark wandered through the choking maze of streets, gaping at the chaos of architecture around him; houses seemed to almost be built on top of houses, to the place where some of them were leaning over almost drunkenly. The cobblestones of the road were wet and sticky with effluence, there was no way to avoid it. The stench was beyond belief. How had people ever lived like this? He had asked on repeated occasions where he could find La Rue de Grenuie, the place Chester had told him he would find the agent he'd referred to. Mark was reasonably certain most people were being helpful, even if they stared at him like he was an alien. He might as well have been, he was a head taller than just about everyone, clearly well-fed and had all his teeth. Mark had seen jack-o-lanterns with more teeth than most of the denizens of Paris' infamous streets. He took many wrong turns, because where he thought people had told him to go was often a dead end. Eventually, by divine providence, he found himself on the street he'd been asking for, evidenced by an ancient, worn rectangle of wood that said the name in faded green letters. Certain he was on the right track, he headed down the crowded street, stuffing his purse into the front of his breeches, since Chester had told him Paris was home to countless scoundrels who could remove his wealth without him even noticing. The crowds began to thin out somewhat, and the street got narrower, as if that was possible. The cobblestones were also surprisingly dry, not sticky or running with the sewage of the city behind him. Before long, it was barely wide enough to accommodate one person and he felt very uneasy about the rickety buildings that loomed over his head, almost blocking the sky. He then stopped in front of a black iron fence, pitted with age and with a chain wrapped around it. He tilted his head and unwrapped the chain, finding that the gate now swung open freely and with decidedly little noise. He stepped in, closed it behind himself and then fixed the chain back in place as best he could. He found himself walking through a tunnel, the buildings about him now made of stone. Dank and foreboding, he resisted the urge to run, not knowing what lay ahead. Eventually, he came to a small, bare courtyard. It might have been thirty feet by thirty feet and was devoid of almost all decoration. High brick and stone walls concealed it from the chaos of Paris. It was surprisingly quiet, as if the city dared not disturb the austere serenity. There was a single, grey stone bench in the middle of the courtyard. Facing away from him, clad in a great cloak, was a person, the hood thrown over their head to keep the merciless sun off them. Mark swallowed and took a deep breath before beginning to move forward. Was this Chester's agent? If he was, Mark had to be careful, because he'd been told the man was dangerous. He approached slowly, finally coming to a stop some five paces away, still facing the stranger's back. "Hello," he said faltering French. "My name is Mark. I have; sent; to you; today; for big help. I is need big help." "That you do, my friend," replied the person in a strangely lyrical voice. Then closed a small book of devotionals wwhich had clearly been studied and stood, still facing away. "That much is obvious, because your French is painful." Mark blushed in embarrassment as the translator bud told him what the person had said. Still concealed beneath their voluminous midnight-blue cloak, the mysterious person turned around and approached him. He resisted the urge to take a step back as the shrouded presence stood right in front of him. He couldn't help but notice the person was on the taller side, strange for a Parisian. Gloved hands pulled down the hood and Mark's eyes widened in amazement. Shining golden hair spilled in luxurious tresses down the person's back. The eyes were a dazzling blue, glinting with intelligence. The smile was serene, the teeth within white and perfect. Lady Alexandra. <
Year(s) Discussed: 1682-2025 Philadelphia is at the heart of American history from before there was even a United States, but how did this region come to play such a large role in the Revolution and Early Republic periods and what influence has it had in building the present-day nation? Historian Howard Gillette joins me in this episode to answer these questions and to discuss his work on the three-volume Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century. More information can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Time Riders: Part 1 The Timeless Art of Shagging. Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 16 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Give A Monkey A Gun. Mark's bedroom interrogation. Mark sat in the chair in his bedroom by his computer desk, trying to look chastised, but he was worried that a tiny hint of an evil smirk was crossing his lips. He hung his head in the hopes it would be less noticeable. Standing in the room with him were two stone-faced men in black suits and dark glasses. They stared at him silently for several minutes before glancing at one another. Finally, the shorter one sighed. "Okay, Mark," he said heavily. "Once more, from the top. I want you to give us as detailed an account of what happened as you possibly can. Leave nothing out." "Everything?" Mark asked quietly. "Everything." "Well, as long as you think you have the time." Mark quipped, sitting up straight and leaning back in his chair somewhat casually. The tall man frowned. "Was that a joke?" "Not a very good one, apparently," Mark muttered. "Stick to the facts," the man said firmly. "We hate jokes." "No kidding," Mark mused, settling in to relay the events he had already explained to them twice that evening. "Alright, let me start at the beginning." "Not funny, young man;” growled the shorter agent. "I found the thing in the park. What did you say it's called?" Mark asked. "A Holmes Field Device." "Right," Mark agreed, nodding. "I found the Holmes Field Device in the large lilac bushes over in Grosvenor Park." "Why were you in the bushes?" interrupted the tall man. Mark gave him a wry look. "I was making a drug deal. I was supplying uranium to Libyan terrorists. I was hiding the body of a transvestite hooker I killed. What does it matter? It's not your worry or jurisdiction, if you're telling me the truth, is it?" "Fair enough," said the shorter agent amicably. "Please proceed, Mark." Mark nodded. "It was really small and compact at first and I didn't know what it was. But it kinda gave off a hum and it almost had a glow, I dunno. I pulled it out of the bushes and over to a secluded area where there was still some light from nearby lamps. Anyway, I must've tripped a catch or something on it, because the thing folded out on itself into what looked like a platform and grew these weird-ass frames with displays and dials and buttons and shit. It was like something out of Star Trek." "I can see how it might appear advanced to you," the shorter agent said, nodding. "To my partner and I, it's rather primitive, but that's not your problem. Please proceed." "Once I was sure that no one was around or likely to come through, I began fiddling around with the dials," Mark continued. "At first I was confused, because it didn't seem to do much, except spit up weird numbers on the analogue screens, but then I thought about it and realized they were dates. They were just; off." "Not off," the shorter man said. "Just dates set by a different calendar, if you will. The Holmes Field Device was developed by Ashleigh Holmes, the younger brother of the more famous Sherlock and Mycroft, but he was perhaps even more brilliant. He modified the Gregorian calendar to account for leap years and Daylight Savings, changed the accounting of seconds, minutes, hours and so on to eliminate the need for such inconsistencies. The Holmes Calendar will be adopted eighty three years in your future, but it is so accurate that it won't need to be modified until the year 12,645 AD." "Huh." Mark said in response, not caring much. "Oh, and he also invented the temporal displacement device you found," the man added. "Although it'll be another two hundred and eight years before that comes to light." "Anyways," Mark continued, killing the history lesson. "Once I figured out they were dates and times, I tried setting the time back a few hours. After that, I started pushing some buttons. Things got blurry for just a split second and then the sun was blinding me. I was still alone, but I stepped off and looked around, still in the same spot, but obviously at a different time of day. I looked at the clock on my cellphone and it seemed to have adjusted to say it was six hours earlier, just like I'd set the dials." "Your phone adjusted accordingly. Electronics will do that." "I was really excited to look around but realized I didn't want to be caught and I suddenly thought I should be careful." "What a novel idea," the tall man said dryly. "Go on." "Well, I went back to the Holmes Field thing and set it to take me back to the time I'd come from. And it did. Then I began thinking about what sort of things I might be able to do if I was careful." "And this is where it got interesting, yes?" the shorter agent remarked. Mark explains his connection to Becky. Mark nodded. "Maybe I could change things. Not big things, but little things. It suddenly occurred to me the D that Miss Fischer gave me on my Physics exam earlier in the semester had kept me from getting into the university of choice I'd applied to. So I decided to see if I could fix that somehow;” Mark crept through the bushes under the cover of dark, oddly certain than no one was going to see him. He couldn't explain why, but he felt a confidence that he would not be discovered because he hadn't been there before. It didn't make sense, but maybe that was a good thing. He knew where Miss Fischer lived, he'd seen her pull into the small, stand-alone house in her Rav4 on many occasions. He slipped onto her property through her back yard, instinctively knowing that her rear door would be unlocked. It was already ten o'clock, but there was no school the next day so she was still likely to be up. A stick snapped in the yard one lot ever. His head snapped around to see if he'd been spotted, but he didn't see anything. A dog began barking. Stupid animal scared the shit out of him. He moved quietly across the lawn to the back door, opened it slowly and found himself in a small kitchen. It was dark except for a small night-light and he paused, listening for movement, hearing no one nearby. He stared in bewilderment at the sheer amount of organic cereals and grains that lined the counters around the room, along with fresh fruits and other nutritious snacks. No wonder she always seemed so perky, even if she was shy and retiring. Beyond the kitchen, he could see the living room and small dining room were still lit. He padded across the linoleum floor silently, hearing nothing. He peeked into the dining room and through it into the living room. No one. There was a yoga mat on the floor in front of the long, flat-screen TV. The decor consisted of low tables and beanbag chairs others. Damn, this woman was crunchy. He heard water running upstairs and some off-key singing. He crept up the steps to the second floor, preparing himself for what would no doubt be an awkward situation, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to do this, whether he liked it or not. There was a shower happening and he now recognized Miss Fischer's voice. She seemed to be alone and her vehicle had been standing by itself in the driveway. If she was already showering, she wasn't going out again. Mark approached the bathroom, noticing the door was wide open. He guessed that made sense, since Miss Fischer had told the class more than once that she lived lamentably alone. She took the teasing from her students good-naturedly, but now he could confirm it. She was a bachelorette. She was singing and he could hear the shower water splashing off her body as he hid beside the door. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, calming his nerves before subtly peeking around the door and into the bathroom. There was no tub, just a walk-in shower. His eyes went wide when he realized that her shower stall was composed of fog and steam-proof glass, giving him an almost completely uninterrupted view of the activities within. Except for the droplets of water that trickled down the treated glass panes, he could see his teacher in all her naked glory. Miss Fischer was facing away from him, running her fingers through her long, wet blonde hair, swaying her body back and forth, her amazing ass glistening wetly. He tuned out her rather painful singing of a Beyoncé song and let his gaze travel up and down her womanly form. His heart thundered in his chest, to the place where he was worried she might hear it. Miss Fischer always dressed rather modestly at school and he was shocked to see what a rocking' bod she had. Clearly she hadn't been lying about the yoga and the CrossFit she claimed to do. Her skin was fair, but not pale. Her shapely back tucked into a small waist, which in turn blossomed out into fit hips which were anchored by her amazing ass. Her long legs tapered down to tiny ankles. If he hadn't been so astonished and exhilarated, he would have had a massive hard-on by now. "C'mon, turn around;” he found himself urging her silently. Miss Fischer obliged and Mark thought he might faint. She'd always been pretty, of course, but Mark doubt that anyone at school would have guessed what a sex-pot their Physics teacher was. Where the hell had she been keeping those tits? Did she fucking strap them down? They were large, yet perky. The tiny pink nipples sat atop them proudly, announcing the arrival of their mistress right behind them. Her stomach was flat, but still soft, begging to be kissed. He forced himself to look lower and saw that her cunt was shaved except for the small strip of trimmed hair above. The nether lips were even and not quite plump, but still dismissed any worries of a bony thigh-gap. Her clit hood barely peeked out over the top. "Fucking fuck;” he thought, his mind racing. "Who knew Miss Fischer was so insanely hot?" He watched rapt, utterly forgetting that she might see him if she happened to look his way. The blonde seemed to have no interest in life beyond those glass panes, however, as she caressed her body slowly, making sure she was cleansed of her organic craft shower gel. Her manicured hands glided up and down her lovely body while she closed her eyes, letting the water from the showerhead rinse it away. As Mark watched, she kept her eyes closed but bit her lip gently, one of her hands moving up to slowly and gently caress her tits while the other snaked its way down her stomach and between her legs to begin playing with her cunt. A quiet sigh escaped her mouth and Mark felt his cock rapidly swelling inside his jeans. The teacher pressed her forehead against the glass, her eyes still closed. Her hand massaged her ample tits while the hand between her legs moved up and down slowly, massaging the lips. Mark swallowed and adjusted his cock inside his pants as he watched intently, unable to believe he was being treated to this incredible show. Another moan escaped her lips as she pleasured herself and began pinching one of her nipples. It took all of Mark's willpower to not pull his cock out and begin stroking it on the spot, because he had other plans. Miss Fischer, not so constrained, continued to finger her cunt until she was panting. She stopped suddenly and reached up to pull the detachable showerhead off its arm and brought it down to her body. She hummed as she let the stiff streams beat against her shoulders and then her tits. Mark could see her already hard nipples getting ever harder. She then slowly moved the showerhead down her sensual form, over her trim stomach and between her legs. She let out a loud sigh as the water battered her lips and clit. She turned herself around again, pressing her ass cheeks against the glass while she put the showerhead under her cunt to continually stimulate it. Her cheeks squirmed rhythmically around on the glass pane as she jet-fucked herself. Mark watched in disbelief as one hand came back behind and spread her cheeks to play with her little, puckered knot. Miss Fischer let out a grunt as her middle finger slid inside her ass while the showerhead continued to bombard her cunt with its tiny jets. Mark gripped the front of his pants again, unable to resist, giving himself a squeeze. He sincerely hoped she wouldn't last much longer, because he wasn't sure he would if she kept this up. Fortunately for Mark, his teacher did not seem terribly interested in delaying her reward. The squirming became more pronounced and she groaned as her body began to tremble and then shake. Her finger was working itself in and out of her ass faster and faster while the showerhead was almost crushed to her cunt lips. She let out a gasp and a cry before falling to her knees, her body almost spasming as she came. Mark gritted his teeth as he watched, desperately willing himself to not massage his cock and join her in autoerotic bliss. The restraint would be worth it. He removed his hand and settled for squeezing the doorframe while watching his teacher. Miss Fischer slowly leaned forward until her head was on the floor, her ass in the air. She moved the shower jets slowly up and down over her molten sex while her finger teased her ring. He listened to her panting and sighing as she started to come down from what was a clearly badly-needed orgasm. Mark couldn't wait much longer or he'd lose his nerve. He quietly stepped into the bathroom and started to head toward the shower. Miss Fischer had finally moved up back into a kneeling position, still facing away from him and taking slow, deep breaths. She then got to her feet and replaced the showerhead back in its arm above her. She rinsed her face and body again before turning off the water. Silently, Mark waited off to the side while she slid open the door and stepped out somewhat awkwardly, trying to get her long, wet hair out of her face. She groped around blindly for several moments and Mark realized she'd forgotten where she put her towel. He handed her a hand towel which she absently took and wiped her face with before pushing her hair back. Mark meanwhile handed her a full-sized body towel. "Thank you, Mark," she said pleasantly. "I'm always; Mark!" This last bit was exclaimed loudly and she slammed herself back against the opposite wall from him, her eyes wide with utter shock. Both towels she'd been holding flew from her grip, leaving her naked and dripping wet. He had no idea why, but he tried to maintain eye contact with her. "Uh; hi, Miss Fischer," he said somewhat awkwardly before swallowing. "Uh; nice shower you've got there." Some of her wits seemed to return and she realized she was standing naked in front of one of her students. She moved her hands about haphazardly, making several comical attempts to cover herself, eyes still wide and mouth agape. "Wha; wha; y; you;” she stammered. "Yeah, I didn't exactly expect to be here either," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "First of all, don't scream or anything. I'm not here to' "Then why are you here, you little pervert?" she hissed, finally regaining control of her vocal chords. "Get the fuck out and I'll possibly consider not calling the police!" "I; can't;” he admitted weakly. She frowned and looked down at his legs, choosing to ignore the rather obvious bulge in the front of his pants. "Your legs work just fine, young man, but I'll tell you what's not going to after I've kicked you there if you don't get out of my house." "No, I;” he began but then realized he didn't quite know how to articulate what he wanted to say. What the hell had he been thinking, doing any of this? He finally bent over and picked up the large body towel she'd lost and handed it to her. "Maybe; I guess you should put this on first;” She snatched it away from him and wrapped it around her body, but if he'd been hoping this made her more amenable to his presence then he'd been wrong. What did happen was her eyes began to blaze with fury as she composed herself. "So help me, Mister Simmons," she growled as she advanced on him menacingly, her near-nudity forgotten. The towel did very little to conceal her buxom figure. "If you don't tell me right this instant what the hell you are doing in my house, watching me take a shower, I'll show you exactly what CrossFit has done for me, along with the jiu-jutsu classes. You'll be wishing I'd called the cops." Mark held up his hands, hoping to calm her. "There's no need for that, teach, I' "Don't call me that off school grounds," she snapped, still moving toward him until it was Mark backed up against the wall. "Ex-plain your-self;” Mark swallowed again, fearing for his well-being. He'd been so much smoother when he thought this over in his head earlier. "You; you failed me on the Physics exam." She paused in her menacing advance for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Your exam isn't for another two months. Irrelevant. Why are you creeping on me?" "I know it isn't," he said hastily. "But; you're going to fail me." "Then maybe you should be back home studying instead of breaking into my house," she snapped, getting ready to beat him senseless. This wasn't like him, but that was no excuse for endangering her. "Last chance and then it's night-night time with my fist in your brain." Mark squeezed his eyes shut, trying to compose himself. His heart was pounding so hard that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to get another erection again. "It; I can't explain it if I think you're going to kill me! Please stop threatening to kill me and I'll tell you." She stopped cornering him and paused, looking annoyed and skeptical. "This'd better be good, because you're either going to find yourself punched unconscious by a girl or talking to the cops. Explain and then you get your choice." "It's; actually really good," Mark breathed. "I'm not me. I mean, I'm me, but not the me you know." "A doppelganger?" she asked dryly, not amused. "Lay off the sci-fi and anime, Mark, it's making you too stupid for physics." "No, I;” he paused and took another deep breath. "I'm Mark from this coming up summer." "Oh, you're a time-traveler now, are you?" she mused snidely. "So tell me, since you already know; do I eat your heart or your liver tomorrow with my afternoon salad?" "Look, look;” he said, trying to keep his voice from pissing itself in fear as he reached into his wallet. "Look, here's my new voter ID that I got just after my birthday." He held it out for her to look at. She glanced at it and then up at him, clearly not impressed. "Ya' know, other kids fake their ID's to say they're old enough to drink. This one just says you're now eighteen. No wonder you're failing physics, you can't even fake an ID right." "Uh, no, I;” Mark stammered, frustrated with how badly he was fucking up. "I can't help when I'm from, I'm from three months in the future." "And you're here to tell me I'm secretly pregnant with the man who will lead us to victory over the AI machines?" she sneered. She cracked her knuckles. "It's a pity, you actually were a pretty good-looking kid before I did this to you;” "No," he blurted out. "I came here to convince you to change my grade because the university I wanted to go to rejects me over that grade!" She paused for a moment. "Okay, so why didn't you just study?" He shrugged nervously. "I don't know. I can't do anything about that now. Except like this." Miss Fischer stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. This was the weirdest home invasion and rape she'd ever heard of. "What?" "Maybe; it was stupid of me to fail," Mark said. "But that's my past. I can't change it directly. But I was hoping to come here and convince you to let me pass anyway." "If for some reason I were inclined to believe that you were from the future, which I don't, by the way," she stated. "Why would I change your grade if you don't deserve it? Maybe you shouldn't be going to university next year, maybe you need to, oh, I don't know, quit doing juvenile shit like this and grow the fuck up before you go out into the world?" "Can we; can we talk about this somewhere else?" he asked nervously. "No, I think we're good right here," she said flatly. "You're backed into a corner and can't escape. But if I let you live, clearly you might have a job as a science fiction writer. Tell me more and keep it good." "No, you'll kill me." Mark said, sweating profusely. "I'm definitely going to kill you," she pointed out. "But if your lie amuses me, I might make it quick and painless. Your choice. And go." Mark didn't know if she was kidding or not, but he decided to treat the threat as real. "I; I came here to seduce you and convince you to change my grade." Miss Fischer paused, her eyes widening. She said nothing for several seconds but then mirth creased her pretty features and she began to snicker. Seconds later, she was laughing loudly and uncontrollably. "It's not funny." Mark grumbled, scowling darkly. "Yes, yes it is;” she wheezed, her outrage clearly giving way to utter amusement. "Oh, God; I almost wish this was true. There'd be so much less blood to get out of the grout on my floor;” She stood up and looked at him again, her eyes shining with tears. "So let; let me get this straight; you came here to sex me up so good that I'd give you a passing grade you don't deserve?" She burst out laughing again, leaning against the sink to hold herself up. In spite of his predicament, he noticed her magnificent cleavage down the top of her towel. Miss Fischer seemed to have forgotten. "I was a lot smoother in my plan for all this." he muttered. "Oh, I'm sure you were, Mark," she said almost sympathetically as she looked up at him again, tear stains on her cheeks. She smiled and he couldn't help but notice she was beautiful. He really had no idea of how to proceed, even if the was committed at this point. "So how's your plan working out so far?" "Fairly rotten," he said. "I didn't know where I'd find you when I came in and then I saw you in the shower and just; well, I couldn't help but watch." What he was saying slowly dawned on her and he could see she was getting irate again. "You stood there and watched me masturbate?" she hissed, her eyes flashing. "You little pervert!" "Take it as a compliment!" he said hastily, wincing. "You're really really pretty!" "And this is where you tell all the other boys at school, right?" she growled. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think anyone at school has any idea what sort of a knockout you are, miss. I mean, you dress pretty conservatively. Any of the girls who saw what I just did would be really jealous." "Well, thank you for that, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to creep on me!" she shot back. "Honestly, why am I still letting you live, you little felon? Are you hoping the courts will take it easy on you because you're not eighteen yet?" "I am eighteen," he insisted. "I'll prove it." "You're going to let me cut you open and count the rings?" she asked. "No, I;” Mark began, his mind racing. "Your dresser!" "What?" "Your dresser in your room," he said, nodding. "In the back of the third top drawer, there's hand-written note from you to yourself about tonight. And to prove to yourself that it's true, you wrote down something only you know about yourself." She paused and frowned at him for several seconds before stepping aside and allowing him out of the corner. She pointed out toward the hallway. "March, mister. I'm not letting you out of my sight." Mark exited the bathroom and walked down the hall to one of two bedrooms, which was currently dimly illuminated by a small Himalayan rock-salt lamp. She made him stand in the middle of the room and wait quietly while she began rummaging in the drawer he had mentioned. She seemed to have forgotten she was only wearing a towel or had stopped caring. "You're mother's going to weep at your closed casket funeral after I bite your eyeballs out for staring at my ass." Miss Fischer said as she kept digging around while bent over. Mark coughed and looked away from her ass. She finally stood upright, holding a small envelope she'd withdrawn from the back of the drawer. She frowned as she examined it for several seconds, as if she didn't recognize it. She looked at him again, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You swear you've never been in my house before?" He nodded, placing one hand over his heart and the other in the air. "Never, miss." She considered and then unsealed the envelope, pulling out the single, folded page and began reading. Whatever she red caused her to sit, almost flump very suddenly on the edge of her bed, her eyes wide with disbelief. She looked at him and held the letter up in a trembling hand. "Is this true?" Mark shrugged. "You wrote whatever is in there, I have no idea. The only thing I can tell you that's true is what I already told you, Miss Fischer. I'm Mark from the summer and I've come back in time to convince you to change my grade so I can go to university." She sat on the bed, looking dumbfounded. She said nothing for several seconds, staring off at the far wall blankly. She then looked back at him again and held up the page. "I wrote this. I wrote this after I; after you and I;” He nodded. "I'm assuming you did it to prove all this to yourself." "How is this possible?" she asked, still lost. "How are you even here, if you're from the future and I'm not just bug shit nuts and hallucinating all this?" "I; I have a time machine." Mark replied. "Really," she said, nonplussed, her shock fading rapidly. "Just like that. A kid who can't pass high school physics has a time machine and can operate it." "Well, yeah, that's how I ended up here." Mark reasoned. "Show it to me." "I will," he said, nodding. "But first, I need to make sure you're going to pass me in that exam. Otherwise, all this means nothing." "What, so let you fuck me and give you a passing grade?" she asked, scowling. "Why should I do all the work?" Mark frowned. "First of all, you wouldn't be doing all the work, miss, thank you. Second, it's supposed to happen this way or I wouldn't be here." "Bullshit," she snorted. "For all you know, I sent you home with your dick in your hand and no passing grade." "Then what was written on that paper that shocked you so much?" he countered. Miss Fischer said nothing for several seconds but then looked back up at him. "You're; you're sure you're eighteen right now? Because you aren't eighteen in my class." He nodded. "And you'll show me this time machine," she pressed, desperate to convince herself. "After we;” Mark nodded again. Miss Fischer exhaled heavily. "Give me a moment, this is a lot to take in." "How so?" he asked. She scowled up at him. "I'm about to fuck one of my students who's apparently a time-traveler and trade a passing grade for sex. What do you think is weird about this?" He shrugged. "My whole evening's been weird, miss. I found that thing that turned out to be a time machine, then I' "You just found it today?" she exclaimed. "And the first thing you did was decide to come back and fuck your physics teacher?" "Yeah, I kinda need that grade." Mark admitted. She scowled again. "So you came back in time and the principal reason isn't even to fuck me?" Mark pulled at his face for a moment as he tried to explain. "It's like I said earlier, miss. No one at school knows how hot you are because you never show it. If you did, every guy and bi girl in the school would want to fuck you." "Maybe I dress like that so I don't have a pack of little horn dogs lusting after, oh;” she murmured, catching herself and realizing she just defeated her own argument. Fluid time was rough to argue against. She sighed again. "So, uh; how do we do this?" Mark scratched his head. "I dunno. Nothing about this evening has gone the way I planned it, but we still ended up here. I guess we need to improvise." Miss Fischer considered. "Well, you've seen me naked and doing myself, so I think we need to redress the scales," she sighed. "So strip down and let me see what I'm selling my academic integrity for;” Mark felt an uncomfortably warm flush of embarrassment at her suggestion, but proceeded nonetheless. He had planned on getting naked with her anyway, even if had been under more sensual and controlled circumstances. Clearly he'd flopped at being the Casanova he'd intended on for seducing her and getting that perfect grade. He started by removing his t-shirt, pulling it over his head while watched impassively. Mark was proud of his body, since he played sports, but was suddenly very self-conscious now that he'd seen how stupidly hot his teacher was. He put a hand against the wall and steadied himself while he used his feet to pull his sneakers off. Then he undid his button and unzipped the fly on his jeans before letting them drop slowly, revealing his black boxers. "Well, at least you're not wearing tightie-whities," Miss Fischer mused. "That would've been a deal-breaker, for sure." Mark paused, blushing as he realized he was about to pull down his boxers and fully expose himself to his teacher. He had to admit, this had never occurred to him before tonight. "Well don't wuss out now, Don Juan," she said somewhat impatiently. "This was all your idea, after all." Mark squeezed his eyes shut, hooked his thumbs into his boxers and pulled them down. All she heard was silence for several seconds. Finally there was a whistle from Miss Fischer. "Okay, I can work with that. Come over here, Mark." As he walked toward her, she stood and allowed her towel to fall away, revealing her body again. Mark's eyes went wide as she willingly revealed herself to him. He was no longer spying on her, this was something completely different. Miss Fischer stood directly in front of him, her body scant inches from his. She could see in his eyes that he was bewildered by her sudden change in attitude. "Well, obviously I'm not going to tell you what the secret thing only I would know was, but the note also said I should just throw caution to the wind and enjoy myself," she said lightly, walking two fingernails up his chest and over his shoulder. "And I try very hard to take my own advice." "So," she declared, looking up into his eyes, her blue ones glinting. "We are going to fuck. A lot. In return, I'm giving you an amazing grade on your exam, no matter how bad you do and you're showing me this time machine my letter confirmed exists. Do we have a deal?" He nodded. He was still nervous, but things seemed to have worked themselves out, even if it hadn't at all gone as he expected. But maybe that was time at work or some deep shit. "My note also said I had such a great time that I insisted we keep fucking," she purred, her palm now running down his chest and over his stomach, perilously close to his nether regions. "How does that sound." He swallowed again. "That; sounds great. So, do I keep travelling back here through time to meet you?" "Well, yes," she said rather obviously. "I can't fuck the underage Alex in my class and I can't even give away that I know, right? He has to remain a blissfully unaware fuck-up." "Yeah," Mark said somewhat awkwardly. "Stupid kid;” "Oh, don't be like that," she said cheerfully, teasing her fingers over his cock and making him shudder. "If you hadn't been a lazy grot this semester, you wouldn't have needed to come back to change your grade, wouldn't have seen me in the shower and known that I'm secretly a hottie and then fucked me and got an amazing grade, right?" "Yeah, I; I guess." Mark admitted. "So we just need to set it up so that I keep coming back to meet you and we do this until we catch up with real-time in the future I come from?" "Yep, you're my new fuck-buddy," she said sweetly, now moving closer to him so that her nipples caressed his skin. "Speaking of, you've got some work to do;” With that, Miss Fischer moved back to the bed and laid on it, her legs still over the side. She looked up at him seductively and spread her legs, exposing her cunt, which was glistening wet. "You may not have earned that passing grade all semester," she said in a husky voice. "But you're sure going to work for it now;” Mark moved forward, aware of the fact that his cock was swelling rapidly and knelt by the bed between her legs. He leaned in close and was instantly enchanted by the sight of her slick snatch, which she now spread open with two fingers. Mark leaned forward and pushed his tongue against his thick, slippery lips, guessing that she was not in the mood to be teased. His tongue snaked up and down before slithering over her clit, causing her to shudder and press her hips against his face. "Uh, yes!" she gasped, grasping his hair with the free hand and stroking his scalp. "Thank God, you're not a virgin." "No miss," he murmured as he kissed his way around her cunt, his tongue lapping at the lips. She tasted almost sweet and floral, such a big change from that slag Brenda. "I know my' "Call me Becky, darling," she sighed, slowly undulating her hips rhythmically against his face. "If we're going to be lovers like this, save the 'Miss Fischer' stuff for roleplay." "Yes miss; I mean, Becky." he replied from between her legs. He now put his hands on her thighs to brace himself and began licking her in earnest, for once looking forward to earning perfect marks on an exam. He could feel his hard-on pulsing and moved her leg slightly so it pressed up against him, causing him to shiver. Becky felt it and moved her shin back and forth slowly, teasing him. "Oh, yes, Mark;” she moaned, her fingers gripping her hair. She was sitting up on one elbow so she could look down at him and her leg that was not brushing against his cock was now on the bed, bent and spreading her wide. He couldn't believe how wet she was. It wasn't water from the shower, she was really turned on. Whatever she'd said to herself in that note had released a sex demon in her. He swirled his tongue around her clit before burying it inside her cunt hungrily, eager to drive her into a frenzy. Becky clenched her teeth and ground her hips against his face now with a dreadful eagerness. Her skin was warm and getting moist as he tongue-fucked her. One hand snaked underneath her snatch and the middle finger began teasing her tight, pink knot. "Shit!" Becky gasped, shuddering as he slid the finger into her tight back tunnel. "You saw me fingering my ass in the shower! Uh, fuck yes! Do it!" Mark sucked on her cunt while he wriggled his finger in her ass, feeling her shin massaging his cock eagerly. As angry as she'd been earlier, he was also thinking about her rather shy and retiring persona at school and decided to take a gamble. Without saying anything, he stood up, bringing his face away from her crotch and his finger out of her ass. She gasped and whined, looking up at him in needy confusion, but he then reached down to take her arm and pull her off the bed and set her on her knees in front of him. Becky took his cock in her hand and still slid her tongue around the throbbing head while looking up at him through heavy-lidded eyes, glassy with desire. She teased him for a few more moments before sliding her lips all the way down his shaft, taking him completely inside her mouth. Mark groaned and clutched her wet, blonde hair, shivering. Becky began slowly bobbing back and forth, her mouth forming a perfect, wet seal around him. Her hand followed her mouth along his length, stroking and twisting the glistening skin gently. She hummed and moaned, vibrating his cock with her mouth and making him shudder again. The fingernails of her free nails gently grazed over the skin of his thighs, tingling. "Jesus, Mi; Becky;” he gasped. "You're amazing at sucking cock!" "Umm, I would hope so," she purred, pulling her mouth off him long enough to smile up at him while her hand pumped his shaft to keep the rhythm. "I watch a lot of videos and practice on some pretty life-like dildos, I'd like to think I'm doing something right." "You are." Mark sighed as she attacked his cock again with her mouth. "You're the best one I've ever had." She made an 'Hmm' sound around his cock, clearly enjoying what she was doing. She teased his sac with the hand that wasn't massaging his cock and reached around to caress and squeeze his ass cheeks. He couldn't believe what a libertine she was turning out to be, and he was the only one at school who knew! When she pulled her mouth off him again and looked up at him, he could see there was a deep and smoldering lust in the blue eyes, a need for deep sexual pleasure. She squeezed his cock with her hand and her voice was almost molten with lust when she spoke to him. "I'm getting on the bed again and you're going to fuck me," she said huskily. "You're going to make me cum real hard if you want that perfect exam score." She clambered back on the bed, lying on her back and spreading her legs for him again. Mark followed her onto the mattress, kneeling between her legs. She massaged her cunt eagerly with one hand while he lined himself up with her nether lips. She spread them wide open, revealing her glistening inner pink. "Fuck me, Mark," she purred, eyeing his pulsing cock. "Fuck me good and hard;” He pressed the mushroom head of his cock against her pliant lips, sliding it up and down, teasing her for a moment and brushing over her clit. She sucked in her breath and hissed, her fingers stroking along his length as he toyed with her. Then she groaned loudly as he pushed his hips forward and slid deep inside with one solid push. Her inner walls gave way around his iron-hard shaft but squeezed him tightly. She felt great around him, as tight or tighter than any other girl he'd ever fucked. "Yes," she hissed, her hand pulling him down to lean over her while one leg slung over his back and hooked itself there. "Hmm, that's a solid cock you have there, Mark. Now fuck me stupid;” He leaned forward and put his hands on either side of her body while keeping his weight suspended above her rather than pressed down. He looked into her eyes and began to push back and forth, moving his cock in and out of her. Becky bit her lip as she looked up at him, her fingernails digging slightly into his waist. She clenched her cunt around him as he pushed in and relaxed as he pulled back. "Oh, God, I've missed the real thing;” she moaned, her head falling back as she let the feelings of pleasure flow over her. "Yeah, speaking of," Mark said, remembering this important point. "I'm not using a condom here, so I'll need to pull" "No you don't," she panted as she thrust her hips against him. "You've got a fucking time machine, Mark. Think about it! Was I pregnant when the semester ended?" He thought about that as he kept thrusting into her, having a hard time concentrating on anything other than how tight and wet her cunt felt around him. "N-no, I don't think so;” "Then cum in me!" she gasped. "I'm already better at this time stuff than you are! Now fuck me harder if you want that grade!" Mark nodded and thrust harder and faster against his teacher, watching her glorious body shake as he fucked her. Her incredible tits wobbled and she squeezed one of them, moaning loudly. Her soft bed barely made a sound beneath them as he pistoned his hips up and down. After a disastrous beginning, his evening was going better than he could have possibly imagined. "Uh, now from behind," she breathed, starting to turn over. "Fuck me from behind;” Mark grabbed her hips as she slithered around into her new position on her hands and knees and ground his cock against her cunt and ass, gripping her tight. Becky groaned shamelessly and squirmed her ass back against him, biting at her knuckle. She arched her back as he found her cunt and slid back inside her. She clearly wasn't interested in any slow buildup, because she began grinding back on him eagerly, getting him in as far as she could. He could feel the wetness of her cunt dripping on his thigh. He kept his firm grip on her hips and began pounding against her, shuddering as she squeezed and clenched around him with fervor. "Definitely tighter than Brenda!" he thought as he thumped his hips to her ass cheeks. Becky was panting heavily as she buried her face in the pillow, her ass arched in the air. She gripped the pillow cover between her teeth almost tearing at it. A sheen of glistening sweat had formed on her soft, creamy ivory skin. She squeezed him with each thrust, his cock feeling bigger and bigger each time she did it. She'd missed this so badly, sacrificing her personal pleasure for the job. Maybe now she didn't have to. She almost snarled in delight as he reached forward and wrapped her hair in his fist, pulling back and craning her neck. For an eighteen year-old boy, he was being marvelously assertive now that they'd found their rhythm. Becky loved having her hair pulled, but her favorite part was yet to come. She pushed back hard and forced Mark onto his haunches. She straightened herself until she was sitting on his lap, facing away. Becky began bouncing up and down, panting as she sank onto his cock, taking it deep inside and squeezing it. Mark moaned and his hands came around to clutch her tits, squeezing them hard. Her hands joined his in massaging and molesting them while they fucked. She had him pinned in one spot beneath her and she alone controlled the tempo now. She moved her long blonde hair to one side and he understood immediately. He began kissing and biting at her neck, causing her to shudder and sending slivers of pleasure down her spine. She writhed and bounced on his lap with abandon, reveling in the sensation of a real cock deep inside her after all this time. She resisted the very strong urge to turn her head to the side and kiss him. Not just yet. When she felt the inklings of deep pleasure building inside her, she moved off his cock and pulled him around onto the bed, lying him on his back. Her eyes were fairly blazing with lust as she straddled him, lining her gooey cunt up with his throbbing hard-on. They both moaned loudly as she sank down onto him, his cock burying itself up to the hilt. Her fingernails dug into Mark's shoulders while she pinned him and she hissed as his hands found her tits again. "Yes, darling;” she grunted as she began grinding herself down on him, shuddering at how deep he was inside her. "Fuck me, thrust that cock up inside me, Mark. Fuck;” Mark pumped his hips up dutifully, matching her pace. He loved the cowboy position and clearly she did as well, but he knew he wouldn't last very long at this rate; she felt too good and was too tight for him to not bust before long. His hands fondled and mauled her lovely tits before he pulled her down closer and took one of the pink nipples into his mouth, sucking on it greedily. Becky keened and shivered in delight. Mark sucked and rolled his tongue around the pink bud, even biting and tugging on it, much to her pleasure, seemingly, because she got even wetter and tighter around his cock while they fucked. He could hear the wet sucking sounds her cunt made as it swallowed his cock, feel her warm, sticky wetness on his thighs. He'd never imagined it would feel this good. He'd been certain earlier that most of his time would be spent conning his shy teacher into doing this at all, forget the grade issue. But Miss Fischer was a sex-starved fiend, seemingly, and she was going to make him cum harder than he ever had before. Her golden hair fell around her lovely face, which was mere inches above his. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on working her hips against him, up and down, his cock nearly all the way out of her before she took him back deep inside her steaming, slick tunnel. They were both covered with sweat and ragged gasps were all they could manage as they gripped one another and writhed lustily, desperate to cum together. Mark gritted his teeth and was squeezing her tits again while Becky pushed down harder and harder on his cock with each thrust. She began whimpering and shaking and Mark could feel her cunt clenching tighter and tighter with each moment. "Oh, shit;” she gasped, her whole body shuddering now as she pushed down feverishly. "Oh, God, Mark, I'm' She sat up straight and arched her back, teeth gritting as she fought to hold on for those last few precious moments; Becky almost screamed and Mark moaned loudly as the floodgates burst. His throbbing cock began pumping cum deep inside her and her cunt spasmed around rippled around him. Everything went black for Mark as he was enveloped by a tingling warmth of an intensity he'd never known before. He could feel his cock and even his balls spilling his entire offering into her slick, tight depths, both of them still thrusting against one another madly. Becky finally collapsed on top of Mark, her chest heaving. Her body was limp, almost like a wet dishrag. Mark lay beneath her, equally exhausted. His still-hard cock was buried in her cunt, and they could both feel their mingled essence oozing out of her and trickling down his shaft. Her soft, warm body felt divine against his. Slowly, sluggishly, he wrapped his arms around her and she hummed contentedly at the embrace. She finally opened her eyes and smiled before kissing his nose. "I think you earned that perfect exam score," she purred. "Definitely earned it." "That's good to hear," he mumbled, still lost in lethargic pleasure. "I'd better start failing all your quizzes too." Becky giggled and hugged him close, sighing. She finally brought her head up again, resting it on her elbow and looking at him. "We'll be laying here for a bit yet, but we also need to talk about doing this again. A lot. The letter said so." Mark nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that, Becky. Then it's up to you to make sure my past self doesn't suspect anything." "I'm sure I can work that out," she mused. "He's pretty annoying, unlike your sexy self." He smiled. "Hard to believe how much difference three months and a time machine can make." "Hmm, and you still have to show it to me before we part ways for the night," she said lightly. "The letter says you kept your word and showed it to me. So let's shower up and then you can take me to see it, okay?" Mark nodded. This was, thus far, the best evening ever. They were walking back to Becky's house, arm-in-arm, laughing and talking like lovers. Not only had Mark shown her the time machine, he had actually shown her how it worked by bringing her back to earlier in the night. They'd hidden in the neighbor's yard and watched Mark's earlier self creep to her back door. Becky had stepped on a stick that broke loudly and caused Earlier Mark to look around warily, but a barking dog covered the mistake. "I was wondering what that sound was," he chuckled. "Never would've guessed it was you and I." "Yes, but you need to be careful, Mark," she said, trying to sound serious as they said on a quaint swing in her backyard, holding hands. "I don't know how all this works, but getting that close to your earlier self can't be good. You need to remember where and when you've gone to avoid yourself." He nodded. "I promise to not visit you more than once a day, at night. You'll clear an area on your basement floor where the Holmes Field Device can show up undetected by anyone else, away from prying eyes." She nodded. "We'll need to fine-tune the dials and so on to get exact coordinates, but I think the device moves somewhat slowly against the earth's rotation, so you can actually travel physical distances as well as through time if you're extremely careful." "Wow, Becky," he said, shaking his head. "You're already better at this than I am by a factor of a thousand." Becky smiled. "I want to say it's because I'm a physics teacher, but that'd be a lie. It's just solid math and common sense, really." She turned in to face him in the loveseat of the swing and brought his hands up to rest against her heart. She stared deep into his eyes, the darkness of night protecting them from prying eyes. "You have my word, Mark, that you'll receive that perfect test score," she said quietly. "In return, you'll do extra studying with me on the nights you come back and fuck me, so that just maybe you'll actually deserve any offer you might get." He nodded. "And I promise I'll find some way to take you on a time excursion." She smiled and brought his hands to her lips, kissing the fingers gently. "We're going to be fucking so often, Mark. We'll be sick of each other by the time the semester ends." He smirked. "Doubt that, teach. You're the best fuck a guy could ask for. And I can't even tell anyone." Becky giggled and lowered his hands, letting them linger on her soft tits beneath the shirt she now wore. She sighed at his touch and then leaned in to press her lips to his, finally kissing him. They rocked slowly on the swing beneath the moonlight, kissing silently for several seconds before Mark gently pulled back and smiled. "I'd better get going," he said, his voice tinged with regret. "Couple of more seconds of that kissing and I wouldn't have been able to leave." Miss Fischer nodded. "I know. See you tomorrow night?" He grinned. "That's the plan. Have a good night, teach." "It already was, thanks to you, Mark." Becky said, blowing him a kiss and then waving as his silhouette retreated out of sight. Silence. Becky leaned back into the slowly rocking swing and stared at the stars overhead for some time. Finally she giggled and stood, skipping back into the house cheerfully. She had a letter to write. Back to the interrogation: The two agents were silent as they assessed the young man, who waited stoically for some sort of reaction from them. He found himself waiting several minutes, which he was not surprised by. "So?" Mark said finally. "Totally hot story, right?" "Yes, we're both agog and atwitter," the tall man said dryly. "Young man, the Temporal Enforcement Agency takes a dim view of using any device, registered or otherwise, being used for reckless personal reasons, forget showing such anachronistic technology to anyone from a time period not acquainted with time travel." "Well, why the hell would I know that?" Mark retorted. "I'm not the one who left a Holmes Field Device lying around in the bushes in the Twenty-First Century where any shmuck could find it. You're lucky it was me and not some deranged criminal." "Be that as it may," the short man interjected. "There are consequences for reckless use of a temporal device." "Imagine that," Mark said somewhat petulantly, having a sinking feeling he knew what was about to happen. "So, what, you're just gonna take it away from me?" Neither man answered immediately. Something occurred to Mark and an evil grin spread across his face. "You can't take it away from me," he concluded, seeing the dismay in their expressions as he figured it out. "I'm meant to have this Holmes Field Device or you already would have. You know I'm going to be using it in the future so there's no way to keep it from me." "Well, your personal future," the tall man admitted. "Much of your personal future is still the past for my partner and I, but this past you're in right now is completely new to the two of us." "So, my future self is in your past but my now self is just happening?" Mark asked. "Wild. How do you keep it all straight?" "By doing as little as is humanly possible," the short man said very firmly. "Even trained experts in quantum and temporal travel can get confused when the timelines gets cluttered." He now pointed to his partner's ear. "You see his bionic ear?" Mark nodded. "I accidentally shoot it off six years from now and there's nothing either of us can do about it. It's his past, because it's already happened to him, but it's my personal future. All I can do now is apologize in advance." The tall agent grunted and looked away, clearly displeased. "That's really deep." Mark mused. "Yes, it is. It's not meant for idiots. And whether you like it or not, certain things can never, ever happen. Time will prevent paradoxes from happening." "Like what?" Mark asked. "For instance, you cannot go back in time and kill your own grandfather before he gives birth to your father, because that would mean you never existed and therefore could never pull the trigger to kill him. A paradox." Mark shrugged. "Okay, but how does it stop me?" "Who can say?" the short agent replied. "All I can tell you is that you simply won't succeed in killing your grandfather, no matter how hard you try and meticulously you plan. If you try to shoot him, the gun will jam. If you try to poison him, it'll turn out he is immune to it or you used tap water by mistake. If you try to strangle him, you might have a heart attack before you finish the job. You; will; be; stopped. The Temporal Enforcement Agency spends most of its time making sure nitwits like you don't get clock-hammered every time they get a dumb idea." "Huh," Mark said, still trying to wrap his brain around all this mumbo-jumbo. If he hadn't fucked Miss Fischer earlier, he still might not believe this was real. "What else can't I do?" "People usually find it's hard to get close to significant historical events," the tall agent mentioned. "Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot, the Crucifixion, the Yalta Summit; Time doesn't like it when people who shouldn't naturally be somewhere try to crowd in and get involved or snap a few pictures. They'll find that the technology fails to get them there, generally. We call it 'The Limelight Effect'. Do yourself a favor and don't try. We've seen people get stranded and die in the wrong era because of the Limelight Effect when the batteries or power source on their device go suddenly dry." "Well; what if I wanted to; ya' know, get with a girl from another time period?" Mark asked. The agents looked at one another and sighed in despair. "You kids and getting laid," muttered the shorter one. "Same principals as before; get too close to a famous women you want to have coitus with and Time will push you away. Try to become yo
Датский фотограф Ханс Эйкельбум снимает каталог для Zara в стиле своего проекта People of the Twenty-First Century. Что хочет сказать бренд и художник? Обсуждаем свежие кейсы повторений и воспроизведений один-в-один, первый англоязычный эпизод, правила и законы, связанные со съемкой детей и схему краудфандинга коллективной арт книги.Полную версию эпизода вы можете послушать в нашем закрытом Telegram канале. Присоединиться к нему можно здесь. Почта подкаста: darkplayground.podcast@gmail.com
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/caribbean-studies
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory
Send us a textWe return with our new *weekly* episode release schedule!In this episode, we discuss Jean-Luc Melenchon's "Now, the People!: Revolution in the Twenty-First Century."
Just in time for Halloween, we're hosting a virtual hauntology reading group (specifically, hauntology the music genre) at 4pm ET next Thursday, October 30. If you want to join in, sign up for a paid subscription, or toss a few bucks into our haunted tip jar, and we'll send you the readings and a link to log into the conversation. We hope it'll be the first of more group reading sessions to come.We spend a lot of time here talking about the structural forces that turned pop culture into an endless churn of sequels, remakes, and nostalgia plays. But what if the blame for our current “creative recession” lies on more than just economics or platforms? What if our cultural values themselves have shifted in ways that make true innovation harder to sustain?That's the focus of Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century, the forthcoming book from Tokyo-based culture critic W. David Marx—and probably the first major exhaustive account of the last 25 years in music, film/TV, internet culture, and fashion. He doesn't just look at the technological, political, and economic forces that that created a winner-take-all landscape where billionaires and centi-millionaires like Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Paris Hilton, MrBeast, Jay-Z and frankly Donald Trump took up all of the cultural oxygen in the room, making it harder and harder for the next generation of innovators to break through. He zeroes in on the cultural attitudes that have led us here—and that set us apart from our 20th-century forebears—including poptimism, the valorization of entrepreneurial heroism, cultural omnivorism, and more.In addition to Blank Space, David the author of the mega-influential books Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change and Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style. He joins us to talk about the mind-boggling task of summing up the past quarter-century of culture, and why most of the coolest, most innovative outputs ended up getting pushed to the margins. We also get into what originality means in a climate of constant churn, and why he believes that fighting for it is still important, even in a postmodern landscape where “everything has already been done.”Finally, David makes the case that building a healthier cultural ecosystem starts with changing our cultural attitudes. That means embracing and reinforcing social norms that have fallen to the wayside in the past quarter century, like normalizing giving credit to smaller artists, learning the canon so we can break it, and yes, making it lame to sell out again.Pre-order Blank Space, which is out November 18 via Penguin Random House. Subscribe to David's newsletter, CULTURE: An Owner's ManualFollow David on X This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theculturejournalist.substack.com/subscribe
At last, the world is noticing the persecution of Christians: Violence against Christians merits U.S. pressure on Nigeria’s government for strong countermeasures … GUEST Robert Royal … author of “The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century” Isaiah 43 … GUEST Fr Tom Soroka … St Nicholas Orthodox Church, McKees Rocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At last, the world is noticing the persecution of Christians: Violence against Christians merits U.S. pressure on Nigeria’s government for strong countermeasures … GUEST Robert Royal … author of “The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century” Isaiah 43 … GUEST Fr Tom Soroka … St Nicholas Orthodox Church, McKees Rocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed?Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He's the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century.Walter and Greg discuss methodological divides between departments studying ancient history, the relevance of the Classics today, and the case for a new discipline on “foundational history.” They also explore the origins of inequality and how war, plagues, and technological advancements are the primary drivers for equality shifts. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:How ancient innovations still shape the modern world13:37: People face similar challenges, and they should be studied accordingly. And we should try to understand how people, at the time of many thousands of years ago, put all kinds of innovations in place and bundled them together in very specific ways that really create our world—in terms of material culture, in terms of social arrangements, institutions, cognitive frameworks, if you will. Writing and literature and world religions and other belief systems, and so on, are still very much with us. They really shape everything that we do today. So the world we inhabit today is like a supercharged version of what people set up in this formative period. But they did it all over the place.Why ancient studies need a paradigm shift10:08: Unless there is some major paradigm shift or some major other shock to the system, there's really no sufficient force to reconfigure the way we approach the study of the ancient world.Redefining ancient history beyond Greece and Rome03:03: If you're a historian, you may want to ask, well, why isn't ancient history, like Roman history, part of our history patterns more generally? And to go beyond that, what do we mean mostly by Greece and Rome when we say ancient history? I think we mean two things when we evoke ancient history. One is Greeks and Romans, maybe Egyptians and Nas if you're lucky, but not, you know, Maya or early China and that sort of thing. Or, more commonly, you refer to something you think is irrelevant and obsolete. You say that's ancient history whenever you want to dismiss something—it's like, that's ancient history. So my book is about both of these meanings and why neither one of them really does any justice to the subject matter and to what our understanding should be of this particular part of history. I want to redefine it as a truly transformative, foundational phase—not so much a period, but a phase of human development that unfolded on a planetary scale and needs to be studied accordingly.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Gini coefficientBranko MilanovićKuznets curveGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Stanford UniversityProfessional WebsiteProfessional Profile on XGuest Work:What Is Ancient History?The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World)Part of: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World (55 books)The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World)Part of: Cambridge Companions to the Ancient Athens (17 books) The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World by Walter Scheidel, Ian Morris, et al.The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium (Oxford Studies in Early Empires) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
On May 3, hundreds of arts organizations across the US opened their inboxes to an abrupt notice: their NEA grant applications had either been denied or rescinded. Among them, Art21, the New York nonprofit that produces the beloved public television series Art in the 21st Century, lost an $85,000 grant to support the production of seasons 12 and 13.In today's episode, host Scott "Sourdough" Power sits down with Lolita Fierro, Director of Development at Art21, to discuss the triumphant premiere of Season 12 (Oct.17), despite executive orders defunding the NEA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier this year. Together, they unpack the season's first episode, “Between Worlds,” which features artists whose practices explore the space between the self and the other, reflect on histories of migration, borders, and displacement, incorporate knowledge across disciplines, and create human connections across difference.Together, Scott and Lolita Unpack…The upcoming premiere of Art in the 21st Century, Season 12, on Oct. 17, 2025Art21's new social-first series, IRL, focusing on artists working in both online and offline spacesThe second biannual film festival in New York, which included premieres, panel discussions, and behind-the-scenes insightsWhy Art21 is an essential educational resource that supports teachers and lifelong learnersThe challenges and rewards of securing support for nonprofit art organizationsThe concept of art as “soul food”—exploring its spiritual and philosophical significance beyond market value and investment How You Can Get Involved With Art21Watch the trailer for Season 12 of Art in the 21st Century.Explore over 600 films with no paywall and global accessibility.Register to host an Art21 Screening Society screening event.Discover tools for educators.Watch Art21.live, an always-on broadcast channel featuring high-quality, hand-selected video programming on contemporary art and artists.Support Art21; donations of any size are meaningful.About Art21 and Lolita FierroArt21 is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to contemporary art through documentary films, educational resources, and public programs. With a mission to inspire a more creative and inclusive world, Art21 produces award-winning films that highlight groundbreaking contemporary artists. Its flagship PBS series, "Art in the Twenty-First Century," along with digital shorts like "Extended Play" and "New York Close Up," engages millions of viewers worldwide. Art21 also offers free materials and professional development programs for educators and hosts community film screenings globally, making contemporary art accessible to all.Lolita Fierro, the Director of Development at Art21, plays a vital role in overseeing the organization's annual operating budget and donor engagement strategies. Under her leadership, Art21 has launched its first gala, revitalized events programming, and strengthened its patron programs to connect supporters with artists and cultural communities. Fierro also spearheads "Art21 for Everyone," the organization's inaugural capacity-building campaign to...
In Dallas, 6,700 women rally for culture war battles after Kirk’s death… GUEST Kathryn Post … Pittsburgh- based reporter for RNS covering topics such as Gen Z spirituality, pop culture and abuse in religious contexts. Before joining RNS, she earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale, interned at RNS in 2020 and has degrees in writing and political science from Calvin University in Grand Rapids MI … her writing has appeared in the WashPost, Sojourners, the Christian Century, Broadview Magazine and more. At last, the world is noticing the persecution of Christians: Violence against Christians merits U.S. pressure on Nigeria’s government for strong countermeasures … GUEST Robert Royal … author of “The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Dallas, 6,700 women rally for culture war battles after Kirk’s death… GUEST Kathryn Post … Pittsburgh- based reporter for RNS covering topics such as Gen Z spirituality, pop culture and abuse in religious contexts. Before joining RNS, she earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale, interned at RNS in 2020 and has degrees in writing and political science from Calvin University in Grand Rapids MI … her writing has appeared in the WashPost, Sojourners, the Christian Century, Broadview Magazine and more. At last, the world is noticing the persecution of Christians: Violence against Christians merits U.S. pressure on Nigeria’s government for strong countermeasures … GUEST Robert Royal … author of “The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A cutting-edge volume on current trends in sex work, from sugar relationships and cyber brothels to financial domination, sex worker activism, and feminist porn Sex is for sale in more ways than ever. It can be bought and sold online, in sex clubs, on the street, and around the world. As with many industries, discrimination, exploitation, and inequality persist in sex work. Yet it also offers autonomy, job satisfaction, and even pleasurable experiences for those involved. Sex Work Today: Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Bernadette Barton, Dr. Barbara G. Brents, and Dr. Angela N. Jones explores these contradictions, offering an intimate look at the benefits and challenges of sex work across geographic contexts. Featuring thirty-one original essays by sex workers, advocates, researchers, and activists, Sex Work Today is the first compilation of research on new forms of digital sex such as camming, sugar dating, and AI sex dolls. Providing a lens to understand contemporary labor dynamics and the nature of sex work itself, this collection captures formerly ignored aspects of the sex industry including: fatphobia and disability; transmasculine and nonbinary sex workers; racialized emotional labor in the digital sex industry; high job satisfaction among professional dominatrixes; and sex worker scholars. With federal policies ostensibly aimed at combating sex trafficking–affecting all sex workers–understanding this industry is more vital than ever. Decentering Western, white, cisgender voices, Sex Work Today underscores the global repercussions of these misaligned policies, which make sex work more challenging and less safe, and provides valuable insights for those seeking to shape policies, challenge prejudices, and foster a safer and more equitable world for all. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
A cutting-edge volume on current trends in sex work, from sugar relationships and cyber brothels to financial domination, sex worker activism, and feminist porn Sex is for sale in more ways than ever. It can be bought and sold online, in sex clubs, on the street, and around the world. As with many industries, discrimination, exploitation, and inequality persist in sex work. Yet it also offers autonomy, job satisfaction, and even pleasurable experiences for those involved. Sex Work Today: Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Bernadette Barton, Dr. Barbara G. Brents, and Dr. Angela N. Jones explores these contradictions, offering an intimate look at the benefits and challenges of sex work across geographic contexts. Featuring thirty-one original essays by sex workers, advocates, researchers, and activists, Sex Work Today is the first compilation of research on new forms of digital sex such as camming, sugar dating, and AI sex dolls. Providing a lens to understand contemporary labor dynamics and the nature of sex work itself, this collection captures formerly ignored aspects of the sex industry including: fatphobia and disability; transmasculine and nonbinary sex workers; racialized emotional labor in the digital sex industry; high job satisfaction among professional dominatrixes; and sex worker scholars. With federal policies ostensibly aimed at combating sex trafficking–affecting all sex workers–understanding this industry is more vital than ever. Decentering Western, white, cisgender voices, Sex Work Today underscores the global repercussions of these misaligned policies, which make sex work more challenging and less safe, and provides valuable insights for those seeking to shape policies, challenge prejudices, and foster a safer and more equitable world for all. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology
A cutting-edge volume on current trends in sex work, from sugar relationships and cyber brothels to financial domination, sex worker activism, and feminist porn Sex is for sale in more ways than ever. It can be bought and sold online, in sex clubs, on the street, and around the world. As with many industries, discrimination, exploitation, and inequality persist in sex work. Yet it also offers autonomy, job satisfaction, and even pleasurable experiences for those involved. Sex Work Today: Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Bernadette Barton, Dr. Barbara G. Brents, and Dr. Angela N. Jones explores these contradictions, offering an intimate look at the benefits and challenges of sex work across geographic contexts. Featuring thirty-one original essays by sex workers, advocates, researchers, and activists, Sex Work Today is the first compilation of research on new forms of digital sex such as camming, sugar dating, and AI sex dolls. Providing a lens to understand contemporary labor dynamics and the nature of sex work itself, this collection captures formerly ignored aspects of the sex industry including: fatphobia and disability; transmasculine and nonbinary sex workers; racialized emotional labor in the digital sex industry; high job satisfaction among professional dominatrixes; and sex worker scholars. With federal policies ostensibly aimed at combating sex trafficking–affecting all sex workers–understanding this industry is more vital than ever. Decentering Western, white, cisgender voices, Sex Work Today underscores the global repercussions of these misaligned policies, which make sex work more challenging and less safe, and provides valuable insights for those seeking to shape policies, challenge prejudices, and foster a safer and more equitable world for all. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics
A cutting-edge volume on current trends in sex work, from sugar relationships and cyber brothels to financial domination, sex worker activism, and feminist porn Sex is for sale in more ways than ever. It can be bought and sold online, in sex clubs, on the street, and around the world. As with many industries, discrimination, exploitation, and inequality persist in sex work. Yet it also offers autonomy, job satisfaction, and even pleasurable experiences for those involved. Sex Work Today: Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Bernadette Barton, Dr. Barbara G. Brents, and Dr. Angela N. Jones explores these contradictions, offering an intimate look at the benefits and challenges of sex work across geographic contexts. Featuring thirty-one original essays by sex workers, advocates, researchers, and activists, Sex Work Today is the first compilation of research on new forms of digital sex such as camming, sugar dating, and AI sex dolls. Providing a lens to understand contemporary labor dynamics and the nature of sex work itself, this collection captures formerly ignored aspects of the sex industry including: fatphobia and disability; transmasculine and nonbinary sex workers; racialized emotional labor in the digital sex industry; high job satisfaction among professional dominatrixes; and sex worker scholars. With federal policies ostensibly aimed at combating sex trafficking–affecting all sex workers–understanding this industry is more vital than ever. Decentering Western, white, cisgender voices, Sex Work Today underscores the global repercussions of these misaligned policies, which make sex work more challenging and less safe, and provides valuable insights for those seeking to shape policies, challenge prejudices, and foster a safer and more equitable world for all. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews made headlines when he was snapped in a picture with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, amongst others, at China's recent military parade. While Andrews' activities were puzzling, they also raise bigger questions around both the opportunities and the limits of Australia's bilateral relationship with China. Will Glasgow, The Australian newspaper's North Asia Correspondent, based in Beijing, joins Darren for this episode. Will is winner of the Keith McDonald Award for Business Journalist of the Year and previously worked at The Australian Financial Review. The conversation begins with Will's own story in his current role, beginning in Beijing in early 2020, then leaving China and reporting from Taipei, before returning to Beijing in 2024. The main focus however is the bilateral relationship, both from the perspective of Canberra and Beijing, but also from Australian states, especially Victoria, where Dan Andrews was Premier, and Western Australia. Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning. Relevant links Will Glasgow (bio): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/will-glasgow Will Glasgow, “China's warning to Australian delegation over ‘two-faced' policy”, The Australian, 20 Sep 2025: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/beijings-warning-to-canberra-delegation-over-twofaced-policy/news-story/327ce23188ec4ed7e607e2f066ab010e Will Glasgow, “Australia wined, dined and hectored on Xi's diplomatic conveyor belt”, The Australian, 13 Sep 2025: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/wined-dined-and-hectored-on-xis-diplomatic-conveyor-belt/news-story/84d5771d3b9c925797850baf29c1627b Will Glasgow, “Should Australian correspondents be based in Xi's China?”, The Australian, 22 Jul 2025: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/should-australian-correspondents-be-based-in-xis-china/news-story/7b2375eb1343726f0d1a3cc5ea698e74 Geremie Barmé, “In a retro mood: The ethical dilemmas of cutting a deal with Xi Jinping's China”, The China Project, 15 Sep 2023: https://thechinaproject.com/2023/09/15/in-a-retro-mood-the-ethical-dilemmas-of-cutting-a-deal-with-xi-jinpings-china/ Foreign Policy Live (podcast), “Adam Tooze on the End of Development”, 19 Sep 2025: https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/foreign-policy-live/adam-tooze-on-the-end-of-development/ Josh Rogin, Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century, Harper Collins (2021): https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780358449348/chaos-under-heaven/ Tanner Greer, “Bullets and Ballots: The Legacy of Charlie Kirk”, The Scholar's Stage, 14 Sep 2025: https://scholars-stage.org/bullets-and-ballots-the-legacy-of-charlie-kirk/ Fuschia Dunlop, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food, Penguin (2024): https://www.penguin.com.au/books/invitation-to-a-banquet-9780141997216 Qiu Xiaolong, The Inspector Chen Series: https://www.qiuxiaolong.com/books_inspectorChen.php The Chinese Mayor (documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w_LSNrpKPc
Greg Elliott, CEO, Standley Systems
In our latest episode of the special series produced in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, we discuss the recent article co-authored by Steven Levitsky, Semuhi Sinanoglu, and Lucan Way, entitled “Can Capitalism SaveDemocracy?” (Journal of Democracy, Vol. 36, No. 3, July 2025). We engage this provocative piece against the backdrop of recent shifts in industrialized countries, where the private sector has assumed an increasinglyprominent political role. Way and Sinanoglu contend that the private sector can empower democracies by fostering creative competition. They argue that capitalism generates an autonomous business class, broadens economicopportunities, and mobilizes resources that in turn strengthen democratic institutions and expand civic participation. Drawing on both historical precedent and contemporary politics, the authors reflect on capitalism'senduring imperfections while presenting it as a plausible—if contested—force for democratic change worldwide.
We like to think that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, according to Stanford University historian Dr. Walter Scheidel, wealth and income inequality have almost always only grown drastically toward the maximum level a society can sustain in times of peace and prosperity. Instead, as he outlined in his book The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century, true leveling of inequality between, for example, the rich and the poor, has almost always happened as a result of exceptionally catastrophically violent events that take the lives of a good chunk of the population (see, for instance: the Black Death, World War II, and the communist revolutions of the 21st century). This has shattered Christina's previously strong faith in democracy, and we discuss just how and why that happened. Does human society stand any chance of leveling inequality voluntarily, intentionally, and peacefully aka, which is to say, without having to go through an event of widespread death, turmoil, destruction, and suffering? Join us as we wonder whether, in order to reach a solarpunk future world of justice, equality, and harmony, we will ever be able to escape this historical pattern.Links:The Great Leveler by Walter SchiedelThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Encyclopedia Britannica Entry“Government accused of hoarding Canadian history in 'secret' archives” CBC News articleEa-Nasir meme explainerMartyr! by Kaveh Akbar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
หนังสือ Capital in the Twenty-First Century ของ Thomas Piketty - ระบบทุนนิยมเป็นระบบที่เราต้องใช้ทุนเพื่อต่อยอดจุดที่เราเป็นมา - ซึ่งมันจะเป็นการกลับคำกันระหว่าง ทุนนิยม และนิยมทุน ยังไงเราก็ต้องมีทุนเพื่อเริ่มสร้างธุรกิจ - นักเศรษฐศาสตร์เป็นคนที่เห็นภาพรวมของเศรษฐกิจได้มากที่สุด แต่จริง ๆ แล้วมันไม่ได้เป็นอย่างนั้นทั้งหมด - ความเหลื่อมล้ำ ความยากจน และเส้นแบ่งฐานะทางการเงิน ทั้งหมดทั้งมวลนี้เป็นเพียงแค่ภาพที่สังคมนั้นเห็น - ความมั่งคั่งไม่สามารถเกิดขึ้นได้กับทุกคน จะมีบางประเทศที่มั่งคั่งมากกว่าประเทศอื่นอยู่เสมอ เพียงเพราะสิ่งเดียวคือทุน
Our opening clip was the 1989 trailer for Roger & Me, the breakthrough Michael Moore documentary and a favorite of Erica Smiley, Executive Director of Jobs With Justice and one of the most powerful voices in today's labor movement. Smiley is reshaping how we think about power, not just at work, but across our democracy. She co-authored The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, making the case that collective bargaining isn't only about wages. It's about people reclaiming control over the decisions that define their lives. From Amazon warehouses to grassroots coalitions, her work connects the dots between economic justice and political freedom. In a time of rising authoritarianism, Erica Smiley is showing us that organized people, not organized money, can win. It's a lesson worth remembering, especially in the wake of New York City's mayoral race. Want more conversations like this? Join the Gaslit Nation Salon, live every Monday at 4pm ET. It's our weekly Zoom gathering for listeners to vent, connect, strategize, and build community while documenting this moment in real time. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Annual memberships are discounted, and we're grateful to everyone who keeps the show going. You can also give the gift of membership to help others join the fight. And if you're headed to the beach, or just need a break from doomscrolling, don't miss the Gaslit Nation graphic novel, Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think! Follow our morally bankrupt narrator, Judge Lackey, as he navigates the dark comedy of authoritarianism, dodging accountability and panicking over activists and journalists. Find it at your local library or at Bookshop.org. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: NEW DATE! Thursday July 31 4pm ET – the Gaslit Nation Book Club discusses Antoine de Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince written in the U.S. during America First. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!
The fight for democracy in America didn't begin, or end, at the ballot box. As labor organizer Erica Smiley, executive director of Jobs With Justice and co-author of The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, reminds us, our democracy has always been "in training," a work in progress shaped as much by picket lines as polling places. "Unions are schools for democracy," Smiley explains. In workplaces where people of all backgrounds must build consensus and fight for fair contracts, we learn the skills that sustain a pluralistic society. It's no surprise, then, that authoritarian movements often begin by attacking labor rights and education, because that's where people learn to resist. From union-busting in the U.S. to neoliberal trade policies abroad, the erosion of collective bargaining has left millions disenfranchised not just politically, but economically. And that's not just bad for workers: it's fatal for democracy itself. If we want to rebuild democracy, we can't just “vote harder.” We need to organize smarter. That means backing unions, pushing for economic policies that distribute power, and demanding that corporations, especially those exploiting AI and automation, share the wealth they're extracting from human labor. As Smiley says, “Whoever's in the White House, they still need us to make the cars.” That power can't be ignored, unless we choose not to use it. We may not know what the next 15 years will bring. But if we organize now, we might just build a democracy worth fighting for. The song you heard in this week's Gaslit Nation is “This Time” by Howard Jeffrey. Check out his music here: https://howardjeffrey.bandcamp.com/track/this-time. If you have a song to share on our show, submit your music to us at Gaslit Nation – we love hearing from you!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-d_DWNnDQFYUMXueYcX5ZVsA5t2RN09N8PYUQQ8koq0/edit?ts=5fee07f6&gxids=7628 Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: August 25 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a powerful discussion on The Lives of Others and I'm Still Here, two films that explore how art and love endure and resist in the face of dictatorship. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community
Send us a textWhat does it really take to raise strong, grounded kids in a world full of noise and pressure? This week on Here's What We Know, join us for a much-needed conversation with Richard R. Ramos, founder of Parents on a Mission, mentor to at-risk youth, and champion of family reconciliation. We explore what it means to lead with love, humility, and emotional maturity as a parent.Richard shares practical tools for breaking generational cycles, rebuilding trust, and guiding your children with confidence. If you're a parent, educator, or someone who works with families, this episode will leave you encouraged and equipped.In This Episode:Why healing your own past is the key to becoming a stronger parentHow to earn your child's loyalty in a world full of distractionsThe quiet power of humility and modeling accountabilityWhat “preparation for separation” really means and why it mattersSimple ways to build a lasting family legacy, starting todayThis episode is sponsored by:Dignity MemorialBio:Richard is an author, speaker, and parent coach with over thirty years of experience in leadership development, family dynamics, and community building. He has made a significant national and international impact through his work with high-risk youth, parents, and families, creating safe, supportive environments for personal growth and community transformation. Richard has trained over 2,000 parent mentors through his innovative leadership curriculum and has authored several books, including Parents on a Mission and From the Margins to the Mainstream—Preparing Latino Youth for Leadership in the Twenty-First Century.As a recognized expert in preventing community violence and fostering positive family environments, Richard brings a unique blend of personal experience and professional insight to his work. His passion for helping families navigate the challenges of stepparenting and build meaningful connections within their homes has reached communities across the globe. Through his coaching, training, and writing, Richard empowers individuals to lead with confidence and create lasting change in both their families and communities. His mission is clear: to help families not just survive but thrive in a world that demands resilience and connection.Website: https://www.richardrramos.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pomleadership/Connect with Gary: Gary's Website Follow Gary on Instagram Gary's Tiktok Gary's Facebook Watch the episodes on YouTube Advertise on the Podcast Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!
On the end of the end of history and what comes next. Phil is back on the pod, talking with George and Alex about the big themes of the podcast. In particular, we look at a recent essay in Foreign Policy by historian Christopher Clarke called "The End of Modernity". To what extent was the 1989 moment as significant in Beijing as Berlin? Is Trump actually Stalin (but in a good way)? Is Russia the revisionist power? And if so, in what regard and what are the consequences? Who says the choice is between "liberal democracy" and "authoritarian populism"? Then, we take your questions and comments from the past month. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: The End of Modernity, Christopher Clarke, Foreign Policy The End of the End of History: Politics in the Twenty-First Century, Bungacast, Zer0 Books Into the Abyss, Ed McNally, Tribune
Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges?Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century and Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion.Greg and Helena discuss the shifting meanings and history of liberalism, focusing on key themes such as the Anglo-American appropriation of liberalism, the evolution of liberal values, and the struggle between individual rights and civic virtues. Helena also touches upon the impact of religious influence, the educational system, the rise of new liberalism, and the relevance of civic education in contemporary society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Liberalism began with character, not politics09:10: With the advent of Christianity, we started to talk about God's liberality towards, so there was no liberalism. The noun was liberality, as you mentioned. And then it became Christianized, and it meant then charitable. And then eventually, in the 18th century, with the Enlightenment, it started to mean tolerant and sociable. A gentleman was liberal in that he was open-minded. He was polite. He was educated, and we should not forget liberal arts education. Right? So very important to liberality. And it is good to think about today when the liberal arts, we think anyway in the humanities, are under siege, if you will, you know, and people lamenting the decline of civic engagement and of qualities of a citizen—that is what the liberal arts education was supposed to teach.Why liberalism was never meant to be direct democracy26:00 We are for the people, and we are accountable to the people. But it is for the people. It is not by the people. Government—we are supposed to be generous. We are supposed to be thinking about them. We are supposed to rule for them, but we cannot possibly allow them to rule.What happens when liberal face strongmen22:00: The notion that a strongman politics, which we are seeing again today, was something that liberals became very especially concerned with because they saw what could happen when people place their faith in a strongman who appealed directly to—you know, populism is not a recent thing. They did not call it populism then? I do not think so. But this idea that I am the people, I understand the people, your so-called representatives are just, you know, in deadlock. They cannot make—they are just talking. They are just a bunch of lawyers who, you know—this is an old, very old accusation that strongmen used in order to get, very often, elected democratically, but then unravel and destroy all the safeguards that were there or were meant to be there to safeguard individual rights, for example.Show Links:Recommended Resources:LiberalismJohn LockeThomas HobbesGermaine de StaëlBenjamin ConstantFrench RevolutionFreemasonryOtto von BismarckAdam SmithWalter LippmannLiberal PartyNapoleonRichard T. ElyFriedrich HayekAlexis de TocquevilleGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at CUNYWikipedia ProfileSocial Profile on XGuest Work:Amazon Author PageThe Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First CenturyLiberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of ReligionThe Cambridge Companion to ConstantRousseau and Geneva: From the First Discourse to The Social Contract, 1749–1762
To herald the release of Fantastic Four: First Steps, we're starting the second half of our Summer of Superheroes with a look at the romance of 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer! Join in as we discuss the history of FF adaptations, the challenge of writing a super-genius, the flattening of Sue Storm, and our favorite movies of 2025 so far. Plus: Why are adaptations so scared of Dr. Doom? Why is Galactus a cloud in this movie? What is Doom's plan with the silver surfboard? And how did this movie's promotional campaign break federal law? Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! Next week: Venom (2018)-------------------------------------------------Key sources and links for this episode:MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzalez, and Gavin Edwards (2023)All of the Marvels by Douglas Wolk (2021)"Inside Move: Surfer May Board Four" (Variety)"2007 Preview: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (Wizard Universe)"Fantastic Four 2 Set Footage and Comments" (SuperHeroHype)"Fishburne Voices Surfer" (Variety)"US Mint: Silver Surfer Coin is Breaking the Law" (Fox News)"The Fantastic Four Movie You'll Never See" (Wired)"A Mania for Marvel" (Variety)"Down with Love's Reed Won't Do Fantastic Four" (Entertainment Weekly)"Fantastic Four Almost Made Jessica Alba Quit Acting" (PopEater)"The Hundred Best Movies of the Twenty-First Century" (New York Times)
This hour we take a look at the history and evolution of chapters, and discuss how they impact our reading experiences. GUESTS: Nicholas Dames: Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he studies the history and theory of the novel. His new book is The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. He is also co-editor in chief of Public Books Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Finalist The Great Believers, among other books. Her latest book is I Have Some Questions For You. She is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 16, 2025.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Don't Bear False Witness." This sermon is the tenth installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:16 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on March 9, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Truth." Sermon, June 26, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Don't Covet." This sermon is the tenth installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:17 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on March 16, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Contentment." Sermon, July 3, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Don't Kill." This sermon is the seventh installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:13 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on February 16, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Love." Sermon, June 5, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Don't Commit Adultery." This sermon is the eighth installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:14 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on February 23, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Purity." Sermon, June 12, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Don't Steal." This sermon is the ninth installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:15 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on March 2, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Simplicity (1)." Sermon, June 19, 1994.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Simplicity (2)." Sermon, June 19, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
These are the 10 words. What culture has improved by dismissing them? What family is not blessed by embracing them? What church is not impoverished by relegating them to a forgotten era?The sermon today is titled "Honor Father and Mother." This sermon is the sixth installment in our series "10 Commandments." The Scripture reading is from Exodus 20:12 (ESV). Originally preached at West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on February 9, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under INSTILL: Core Texts.Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced):Peter J. Leithart, The Ten Commandments. Lexham Press Christian Essentials Series.Gilbert Meilaender, Thy Will Be Done: The Ten Commandments and the Christian Life.Mark Rooker, The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century.Tim Keller, "The Freedom of Authority." Sermon, May 29, 1994.I'd love to connect with you!Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com.Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream and find a study guide on the sermon notes page.Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook/instagram/twitter)Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack.
Inflation is back, and its impact can be felt everywhere, from the grocery store to the mortgage market to the results of elections around the world. What's more, tariffs and trade wars threaten to accelerate inflation again. Yet the conventional wisdom about inflation is stuck in the past. Since the 1970s, there has only really been one playbook for fighting inflation: raise interest rates, thereby creating unemployment and a recession, which will lower prices. But this simple story hides a multitude of beliefs about why prices go up and how policymakers can wrestle them back down, beliefs that are often wrong, damaging, and have little empirical basis. Leading political economists Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli reveal why inflation really happens, challenge how we think about it, and argue for fresh approaches to combat it. With accessible and engaging commentary, and a good dose of humor, Blyth and Fraccaroli bring the complexities of economic policy and inflation indices down to earth. Policymakers around the world may have pulled off a so-called "soft landing," but Inflation warns they must update their thinking. Now tariffs, climate shocks, demographic change, geopolitical tensions, and politicians promising to upend the global order are all combining to create a more inflationary future, making a new paradigm for understanding inflation urgently necessary. Astute, timely, and engaging, Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the forces shaping our economy and politics. Mark Blyth is a political economist whose research focuses upon how uncertainty and randomness impact complex systems, particularly economic systems, and why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary. He is the author of several books, including Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press 2013, and The Future of the Euro (with Matthias Matthijs) (Oxford University Press 2015). Sidney Michelini is a post-doctoral researcher working on Ecology, Climate, and Violence at the Peace Research Institute of Frankfurt (PRIF). Book Recomendations: The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph by Albert O. Hirschman The Rhetoric of Reaction by Albert O. Hirschman Disorder: Hard Times in the Twenty-First Century by Helen Thompson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Londinium 90 AD Gaius & Germanicus compare the fourth century acclamatory Roman Senate to the twenty-first century acclamatory US Congress. Michael Vlahos Friends of History Debating Society @michalis_vlahos 1750 ROME
Tommy and Ben discuss El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele's White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, the terrifying prospect of Trump sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Daniel Noboa's re-election in Ecuador, and disgraced military contractor Erik Prince's attempts to privatize and profit from right-wing autocracy. They also talk about Trump's failures to end the war in Ukraine, the administration's talks with Iran about its nuclear program and the fight to define what a successful Iran deal 2.0 could look like, and the anti-Trump effect on Australia and Canada's upcoming elections. Then, Tommy speaks to Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century, about Trump's chaotic China policymaking in the first term and who in the administration is influencing his decision-making as he launches a massive trade war.
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