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Welcome dear listeners, to our series of ‘Short Haunts' – a shot of scary ... just for you. So, grab a hot chocolate, maybe a tea, maybe something stronger...because this is Haunted UK Podcast's ‘Short Haunts – Strange Happenings at Dumbarton Road'On the 18th of November 2024, we released Episode 55 – Blitz Spirits, which was beautifully written by Marie. It told a number of incredibly touching and sometimes very tragic stories, which revolved around a horrific time in not only the history of the United Kingdom, but most of the world…the impact of World War II…and in particular, the devastating effect which the blitz had upon many of the towns and cities of the UK.Presented by Steve HollowayProduced by Pink Flamingo Home StudiosDo you have an interesting story which features the paranormal? If so, your story could be featured in our new series ‘Short Haunts'.Please get in touch via:Website: https://hauntedukpodcast.com/nstagram: Haunted UK PodcastTwitter/X: @hauntedukpodWe're also now on Facebook – please join us there!You can also find us on Tiktok here https://www.tiktok.com/@hauntedukpodcast We're waiting for your stories …You can support us, access bonus material, join our growing community – and follow us for updates at Haunted UK Podcast Patreon. You can also now do this on Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/hauntedukpodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/haunted-uk-podcast--6759967/support.
Today, we welcome back a frequent guest on Christmas Past. Thomas Ruys Smith is a professor of American literature and culture at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. He's also a frequent guest on Christmas Past and the author of several books about Christmas history and literature. His latest is Searching for Santa Claus: An Anthology of the Poems, Stories, and Illustrations that Shaped a Global Icon. Music in this Episode"Jazz Christmas Music" — Pulsebox, via PixabayOrder your copy today! Of Christmases Long, Long AgoConnect with Me Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links Email: christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com BooksOf Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life. Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)
As has been the case all season, college football has given us plenty to talk about this week (OKAY AGGIES), along with the fact that Melanie and I both got to spend some time at our alma maters. As usual, we break down Side Eyes and I See Yous - and I share why I am teaching myself to focus on Other Hobbies and Pursuits for the rest of the winter. We also discuss what we're listening to and watching, and it's my turn for Five Favorites. Hope you enjoy! Join Us on Patreon Our Amazon Shop 2025 Big Boo Holiday Gift Guide Show Notes: Aggies win at Missouri the Elkos in College Station State loses to Georgia Diamond Dawg Classic Auburn shows life against Vanderbilt Indiana beats Penn State LSU loses to Alabama Cam Coleman's TD catch (I thought I mentioned his name specifically during the episode, but I didn't) Diego Pavia Oregon's game-winning field goal on the road Cole's new jacket College Football playoff standings Aggie Ring Day Unicorn Girl The Great British Baking Show on Netflix The Diplomat on Netflix (and Keri Russell's character is the ambassador to the United Kingdom, not Great Britain) Leslie Odom, Jr. - An Offering: Live at Speakeasy Studios Chad Powers on Hulu Maxton Hall on Amazon Prime disposable eye steam masks Aerie Softest Luxe crew sweater St. Francis with pets Christmas ornament the softest quilted pants airplane wireless adapter for AirPods Sponsors: Helix - use this link for 27% off through December 1st Homeserve - use this link to find the plan that's right for you Boll & Branch - use code BIGBOO for 25% off (exclusions apply)
Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. Soldier of Fortune: Warren Buffett, Sun Tzu and the Ancient Art of Risk-Taking (Kindle)We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P.See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcastAbout Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3lABOUT THE PODCASTHi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations.We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success.SEE LATEST EPISODEShttps://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/FOLLOW TOBIASWebsite: https://acquirersmultiple.com/Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/GreenbackdLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisleABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLETobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law.Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).
//The Wire//2300Z November 12, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: FORD CARRIER STRIKE GROUP ARRIVES IN CARIBBEAN. APPLE ROLLS OUT DIGITAL ID. JOBS REPORT FOR OCTOBER NOT PUBLISHED DUE TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Caribbean: Overnight the USS GERALD FORD (CVN-78) arrived in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility, and is expected to be in position to carry out operations in theatre within a couple of days.Analyst Comment: Venezuela continues wartime preparations, same as before, with various internal militia and homeland defensive efforts being publicized over the past few weeks. Most of these efforts appear to mostly be just for show, but preparations continue all around nonetheless.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - This afternoon the White House stated that a handful of financial reports for the month of October might not be released due to the government shutdown. Press Secretary Leavitt stated that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and various other jobs reports might not ever be released for last month, due to federal employees not being on the job to gather the data at the time in which it was most valuable (the data needed to make the jobs reports accurate must be gathered in real time throughout the month, and not in retrospect).Analyst Comment: At a time where the White House is facing increased scrutiny, this isn't a great omen since this is extremely important financial data to consider on the general state of the economy. Economic indicators are also a data point to consider even in the world of national defense, to set conditions and expectations on the homefront before a military campaign, for instance. Now, right at the crux of major economic concerns, the data simply isn't available because federal workers stopped doing their jobs during the shutdown. The data probably does exist, but by the time it's compiled and released it will be stale, and we'll be on to the next crisis.USA: This morning Apple announced the release of a Digital ID product, intended to digitize identification documents such as American passport data. The plan involves partnering with the Transportation Security Administration to integrate Digital ID efforts into air travel around the United States.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Apple's efforts are not to create a universal new identification scheme, but rather to digitize identity documents that already exist. TSA in particular has already had their own varying levels of subscription-based identity-check procedures for a while now, so in the grand scheme of things this has been coming for a long time. Of course, any Digital ID effort requires universal acceptance to work. It is not the ability to save an ID on one's phone that is new...it's the widespread adoption in such a short period of time that is the more concerning detail. This, coupled with the note that this is set up within the Apple Wallet ecosystem, has caused even more eyebrow-raising since it's not a huge jump to speculate that this ID scheme will be linked to finances at some point.In this case, Apple announced that this plan is already streamlined to work with TSA for air travel at over 250 airports around the nation. This plan was announced about two weeks ago, so in just that time, we've gone from announcement to implementation to full integration with TSA in ways that haven't really been done before. Individual states are also partnering with Apple to integrate their Driver's Licenses into the app, and 12x states/territories have done so already. As such data security concerns have abounded...while Americans have been watching the developments of a Digital ID system being implemented in the United Kingdom, a very similar system was being worked on here at home. But because it's a private company digitizing already-existing documents, less attention has been placed o
The government shutdown is inching closer to an end as members of the House of Representatives return to Washington today. They are expected to vote on a bill to end the shutdown this week, after eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a budget package on Monday night. The package includes funding for the government until January and would also reinstate federal employees who were laid off during the shutdown. But, and there's a big but, the budget package does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that make health insurance more affordable for millions of people. To discuss the potential end to the shutdown further, with no answers on healthcare, we spoke with Delaware Democratic Congresswoman Sarah McBride on Tuesday afternoon.And in headlines, CNN reports the United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, a judge ruled West Virginia National Guard troops can stay in DC, and President Donald Trump is pushing a 50-year-mortgage plan for prospective homebuyers.Show Notes: Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A CNN exclusive on how the United Kingdom is cutting off the United States when it comes to the deadly boat strikes. Plus, a key House committee is meeting tonight with the final vote to reopen the government now set for tomorrow afternoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Booker Prize is one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards, given annually to a single novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. This year’s winner is David Szalay's novel, “Flesh.” Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown spoke with him for our arts and culture series, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
David Waldman and Greg Dworkin are convening in working session today for the first time since Monday to address the national backlog of news and punditry. It's day two of the shutdown… cave by the Democrats. Dems knew when to hold'em, say they knew when to fold'em, according to government gamblers John Fetterman and Chuck Schumer. But what if the Democrats' big shutdown loss turns out to be a win? Well, it already has… for Republicans, who can pick up half a million dollars for subverting the government on Jan 6, and destroying it this year. Of course, the reason for the shutdown has not been addressed. Has this completely ruined the Democratic party chances in '26? No, not yet, but there's still time. Rising Republican star Glenn Youngkin has Santorumed out and won't be able to wrest Andrew Cuomo from upcoming Fox pundit slots. Sure, we kill people that we don't like the looks of. Hell, we slaughter hundreds of thousands. All of a sudden, the United Kingdom has something against war crimes? Jeffrey Epstein knew all about Donald K. Trump. Everybody hates Donald Trump and is out to get him, according to criminal charges soon to be filed by the next Trump sacrificial attorney Jason Reding Quiñones. Obviously, such an overtly political hitjob would never be accepted in court by any judge who… AILEEN CANNON?!?
Petal Ashmole Winstanley was just a teenager when she left Perth on her own to sail to London. There, in the swinging 1960s, she began her wild adventure of dance, love and heartbreak.Petal got her first big dancing break in a Christmas pantomime, and then she had a spin as a Go-Go dancer in a Parisian nightclub, before eventually working her way into some of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world.Along the way, Petal fell in love with three great men, and she lost them all under brutal circumstances.Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up: Lessons in Love and Surmounting Grief is published by Grosvenor House.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores ballet, dancing, United Kingdom, Dancing with the Stars, love, relationships, marriage, career women, death, grief, loss of a spouse, sexuality, lavender marriages, 1960s, hippies, free love, Western Australia, South Africa, apartheid, genocide, Canada, couples who work together, dating in later life, how to date in later life, online dating after 70, bravery, courage, HIV AIDS, STI, divorce, memoir, writing, books, origin story.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Dina Ting and Diane King Hall discuss global trading patterns as countries adjust to new tariff rates. She points to potential growth in South Korea, the United Kingdom and Japan. Dina provides insights into the regulatory environment in Europe, particularly its capex spending on defense capabilities and A.I. growth. For the semiconductor trade, she looks at Japan's public/private model to become a potential catalyst in that technology space. Globally, Dina says U.S./China trade agreements will be closely monitored and believes Chinese consumer strength will be something to watch.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – / schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – / schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - / schwab-network About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about
United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about MPs debating the situation around the BBC in the House of Commons, as well as the so-called "Cryptoqueen" who has been jailed in London over a Bitcoin laundering scheme.
Coming from a challenging, working class upbringing in the United Kingdom, Steve Jones discovered his outlet in music - as founding guitarist of the groundbreaking punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Despite the release of only one album,”Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” the band changed the course of music and history - vocalizing issues of class in songs like “Anarchy in the U.K.” – and influencing fashion, art and society. Since then, Jones has continued to play music (both solo and with bands The Professionals and Neurotic Outsiders) and was the host of the popular, long-running radio show, “Jonesy’s Jukebox.” In 2022, his insightful memoir, “Lonely Boy,” was adapted into the FX television series, the Danny Boyle-directed “Pistol.” Steve Jones talks to host Alec Baldwin about the roots of punk rock, coming up alongside Vivienne Westwood and Chrissie Hynde, and the road to getting clean – and beginning life anew. Originally aired May 14, 2024See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
DML sits down with Raja Miah from the UK for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about the growing dangers of radical Islam and the political takeover unfolding across the United Kingdom. Together, they draw alarming parallels to what's beginning to happen in New York and other parts of America. The discussion also exposes the disturbing realities of child trafficking and the cultural decay that follows.
On this episode we talk with former Quarterback and now crime novelist, Eli Cranor about his new book Mississippi Blue 42. We talk about...Eli's journey from football quarterback to crime novelistPlaying football in SwedenWhy Arkansas and Mississippi are perfect settings for his novelsHow 2013 Quarterback Eli would have fared in 2025 college athleticsWhat is happening in Fayetteville and how the Hogs get out of this messEli's next novelThanks for tuning in to the College Chaps Podcast - the United Kingdom's original and still best Podcast dedicated to the College Game. Stay tuned for more great guests. Don't forget to follow, rate & share!
Welcome to Episode 400!! Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, musician, actor, radio host, and man-about-town originally from Cleveland, Ohio but now living in New York City in a totally sweet apartment with a party deck and everything. Hot chicks come over to hang out and eat cheese plates and stuff with him all the time and it's awesome. Anyway, on the show business front, Dave has appeared on Netflix's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You Amazon's The Tick, Peacock TV's Girls5Eva, Comedy Central's @midnight and Inside Amy Schumer programs, TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TV Land's The Jim Gaffigan Show, and TruTV's Comedy Knockout among a bunch of others. He is a frequent on-air host for HBO and Cinemax and has been on channels like MTV, VH1, BBC-America, and the Sundance Channel a whole bunch too. Dave also starred in his own television program The King of Miami on the Mojo Network, which was cancelled even though Dave really liked it. The show also aired in the United Kingdom on Sky TV's Film24 Channel. And you can still watch The King of Miami on Hulu too, which Dave is super pumped about. Oh, and Dave was a correspondent on Hoppus on Music starring Blink 182's Mark Hoppus on the Fuse channel, which ruled. Dave has been on other shows and in obscure movies too but let's keep moving for now. Dave performs live comedy over the world and has appeared at such festivals as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, SXSW, San Francisco Sketchfest, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Sasquatch Festival, Bumbershoot, Bonnaroo, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, the Crap Comedy Festival in Oslo, Outside Lands in San Francisco, and then some other ones too. He has also performed comedy at Sing Sing Correctional Facility twice and even ripped some guitar solos inside a Mexican prison a couple times too. In 2007, Variety magazine named Dave one of their “10 Comedians to Watch,” something he still won't shut up about. Some things are hard to let go of. Dave hosted his own radio show The Goddamn Dave Hill Show on WFMU in Jersey City, New Jersey every Monday night from 9pm to midnight for years and now hosts the podcast Dave Hill's Podcasting Incident, which is also broadcast on the UK's Fubar Radio, So...You're Canadian with Dave Hill, and History Fluffer, on which he is joined by Jim Biederman, Jodi Lennon, and Chris Gersbeck. Dave is also a frequent contributor to public radio's Live from Here with Chris Thile and This American Life. He has also appeared on podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron, The Adam Carolla Show, The Nerdist, and then roughly 78 other ones besides those. Dave is the author of four books, including his brand new book The Awesome Game: One Man's Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey, in addition to Parking the Moose (Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House 2019), Tasteful Nudes (St. Martins Press, 2012) and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Blue Rider Press 2016). He has also written for the New York Times, GQ, Salon, The Paris Review, McSweeney's, New York Observer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, VICE, Guitar World, and a bunch of other places too. Comedy legend Dick Cavett called Dave “a major figure among American comic writers, past and present,” which is pretty much the coolest thing that has ever happened as far as Dave is concerned. Dave is also a musician who currently sings and plays guitar in the power pop band Valley Lodge, whose song “Go” is the theme song to HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the psych/garage rock band Painted Doll. He was also a member of Cleveland rock bands Sons of Elvis and Cobra Verde as well as Diamondsnake, a heavy metal band with Moby. Additionally, Dave has played guitar for Walter Schreifels and muscle metal band Thor and bass for Lucy Wainwright Roche and former Faith No More singer Chuck Mosley. He also contributed musical scores to films such as Dirty Deeds,
Support Us :Donation Page – LibriVox Free AudiobooksThis Part 2 of "The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80" discusses the 1878-80 war, which was one of the major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst setbacks inflicted on British power in the region after the consolidation of British Raj by the East India Company. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins and Phil GriffithGenre(s): War & Military, Modern (19th C)Language: EnglishKeyword(s): history (891), military (45), military history (20), Afghanistan (10), central asia (2), middle-east (1), british power (1)Support Us :Donation Page – LibriVox Free Audiobooks
According to a widely shared notion, foreign affairs are exempted from democratic politics, i.e. party-political divisions are overcome-and should be overcome-for the sake of a common national interest. This book shows that this is not the case. Examining votes in the US Congress and several European parliaments, the book demonstrates that contestation over foreign affairs is barely different from contestation over domestic politics. Analyses of a new collection of deployment votes, of party manifestos, and of expert survey data show that political parties differ systematically over foreign policy and military interventions in particular. The left/right divide is the best guide to the pattern of party-political contestation: support is weakest at the far left of the spectrum and increases as one moves along the left/right axis to green, social democratic, liberal and conservative parties; amongst parties of the far right, support is again weaker than amongst parties of the centre. An analysis of parliamentary debates in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom about the interventions in Afghanistan and against Daesh in Iraq and Syria shows that political parties also differ systematically in how they frame the use of force abroad. For example, parties on the right tend to frame their country's participation in the US-led missions in terms of national security and national interests whereas parties on the left tend to engage in 'spiral model thinking', i.e. they critically reflect on the unintended consequences of the use of force in fuelling the conflicts with the Taliban and Daesh. 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
When the African Union was founded in 2002, it promised to deliver a more united, prosperous, and people-centred continent. Two decades later, Africa's political landscape tells a more complex story: one of ambition and frustration, democratic progress and reversal, renewed activism, and enduring inequality. How far has the AU come in shaping “The Africa We Want”, and what does its evolving role reveal about power, governance, and the continent's place in a rapidly changing world? In this episode, CEDAR host Temitayo Odeyemi talks to Dr Adeoye Akinola about his new co-edited volume African Union and Agenda 2063: The Past, Present, and Future (UJ Press, 2025) to unpack what over two decades of continental politics teach us about Africa's democratic future, regional integration, and global voice. Adeoye O. Akinola is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, where he leads the African Union Studies Unit. His research spans African political economy, governance, peace and security, and regional integration. His other publications include The Resurgence of Military Coups and Democratic Relapse in Africa (Palgrave 2024) and The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa (Springer 2018). Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi is a Research Fellow in Democratic Resilience at the University of Birmingham's Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). His research examines institutions, actors, and democratic engagement in Africa. The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Election, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the forces that promote and undermine democratic government around the world. 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
According to a widely shared notion, foreign affairs are exempted from democratic politics, i.e. party-political divisions are overcome-and should be overcome-for the sake of a common national interest. This book shows that this is not the case. Examining votes in the US Congress and several European parliaments, the book demonstrates that contestation over foreign affairs is barely different from contestation over domestic politics. Analyses of a new collection of deployment votes, of party manifestos, and of expert survey data show that political parties differ systematically over foreign policy and military interventions in particular. The left/right divide is the best guide to the pattern of party-political contestation: support is weakest at the far left of the spectrum and increases as one moves along the left/right axis to green, social democratic, liberal and conservative parties; amongst parties of the far right, support is again weaker than amongst parties of the centre. An analysis of parliamentary debates in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom about the interventions in Afghanistan and against Daesh in Iraq and Syria shows that political parties also differ systematically in how they frame the use of force abroad. For example, parties on the right tend to frame their country's participation in the US-led missions in terms of national security and national interests whereas parties on the left tend to engage in 'spiral model thinking', i.e. they critically reflect on the unintended consequences of the use of force in fuelling the conflicts with the Taliban and Daesh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history
According to a widely shared notion, foreign affairs are exempted from democratic politics, i.e. party-political divisions are overcome-and should be overcome-for the sake of a common national interest. This book shows that this is not the case. Examining votes in the US Congress and several European parliaments, the book demonstrates that contestation over foreign affairs is barely different from contestation over domestic politics. Analyses of a new collection of deployment votes, of party manifestos, and of expert survey data show that political parties differ systematically over foreign policy and military interventions in particular. The left/right divide is the best guide to the pattern of party-political contestation: support is weakest at the far left of the spectrum and increases as one moves along the left/right axis to green, social democratic, liberal and conservative parties; amongst parties of the far right, support is again weaker than amongst parties of the centre. An analysis of parliamentary debates in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom about the interventions in Afghanistan and against Daesh in Iraq and Syria shows that political parties also differ systematically in how they frame the use of force abroad. For example, parties on the right tend to frame their country's participation in the US-led missions in terms of national security and national interests whereas parties on the left tend to engage in 'spiral model thinking', i.e. they critically reflect on the unintended consequences of the use of force in fuelling the conflicts with the Taliban and Daesh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
When the African Union was founded in 2002, it promised to deliver a more united, prosperous, and people-centred continent. Two decades later, Africa's political landscape tells a more complex story: one of ambition and frustration, democratic progress and reversal, renewed activism, and enduring inequality. How far has the AU come in shaping “The Africa We Want”, and what does its evolving role reveal about power, governance, and the continent's place in a rapidly changing world? In this episode, CEDAR host Temitayo Odeyemi talks to Dr Adeoye Akinola about his new co-edited volume African Union and Agenda 2063: The Past, Present, and Future (UJ Press, 2025) to unpack what over two decades of continental politics teach us about Africa's democratic future, regional integration, and global voice. Adeoye O. Akinola is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, where he leads the African Union Studies Unit. His research spans African political economy, governance, peace and security, and regional integration. His other publications include The Resurgence of Military Coups and Democratic Relapse in Africa (Palgrave 2024) and The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa (Springer 2018). Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi is a Research Fellow in Democratic Resilience at the University of Birmingham's Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). His research examines institutions, actors, and democratic engagement in Africa. The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Election, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the forces that promote and undermine democratic government around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about BBC director general Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness resigning over a Donald Trump documentary edit.
According to a widely shared notion, foreign affairs are exempted from democratic politics, i.e. party-political divisions are overcome-and should be overcome-for the sake of a common national interest. This book shows that this is not the case. Examining votes in the US Congress and several European parliaments, the book demonstrates that contestation over foreign affairs is barely different from contestation over domestic politics. Analyses of a new collection of deployment votes, of party manifestos, and of expert survey data show that political parties differ systematically over foreign policy and military interventions in particular. The left/right divide is the best guide to the pattern of party-political contestation: support is weakest at the far left of the spectrum and increases as one moves along the left/right axis to green, social democratic, liberal and conservative parties; amongst parties of the far right, support is again weaker than amongst parties of the centre. An analysis of parliamentary debates in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom about the interventions in Afghanistan and against Daesh in Iraq and Syria shows that political parties also differ systematically in how they frame the use of force abroad. For example, parties on the right tend to frame their country's participation in the US-led missions in terms of national security and national interests whereas parties on the left tend to engage in 'spiral model thinking', i.e. they critically reflect on the unintended consequences of the use of force in fuelling the conflicts with the Taliban and Daesh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs
When the African Union was founded in 2002, it promised to deliver a more united, prosperous, and people-centred continent. Two decades later, Africa's political landscape tells a more complex story: one of ambition and frustration, democratic progress and reversal, renewed activism, and enduring inequality. How far has the AU come in shaping “The Africa We Want”, and what does its evolving role reveal about power, governance, and the continent's place in a rapidly changing world? In this episode, CEDAR host Temitayo Odeyemi talks to Dr Adeoye Akinola about his new co-edited volume African Union and Agenda 2063: The Past, Present, and Future (UJ Press, 2025) to unpack what over two decades of continental politics teach us about Africa's democratic future, regional integration, and global voice. Adeoye O. Akinola is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, where he leads the African Union Studies Unit. His research spans African political economy, governance, peace and security, and regional integration. His other publications include The Resurgence of Military Coups and Democratic Relapse in Africa (Palgrave 2024) and The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa (Springer 2018). Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi is a Research Fellow in Democratic Resilience at the University of Birmingham's Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). His research examines institutions, actors, and democratic engagement in Africa. The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Election, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the forces that promote and undermine democratic government around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies
Today's West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy Podcast for our especially special Daily Special, River City Hash Mondays is now available on the Spreaker Player!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, Trump was booed mercilessly at the Washington Commanders/Detroit Lions matchup, which means ‘centrist' Democratic Senators will cross the aisle and vote to name the stadium after the convicted felon.Then, on the rest of the menu, after massive election wins across the country repudiating Trump's MAGA America, eight Democratic Senators picked a weird time to capitulate and go full Vichy on the shutdown; Ghislaine Maxwell has been pampered so much her prison warden has been accused of corruption in anticipation of Trump commuting the sentence for the convicted pedophile; and, to make matters worse, Trump pardoned dozens of his allies, fake GOP electors and insurrection co-conspirators involved in overthrowing the 2020 election.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where the United Kingdom is outraged the BBC went Vichy and culled its top bosses because of Trump's criticisms about their January 6 edits; and, British intelligence officials were left “incredulous” as “Crazy-Eyes” Patel compromised the “Five-Eyes” intelligence-sharing agreement between the two countries that had held strong since 1938.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!The Netroots Radio Live PlayerKeep Your Resistance Radio Beaming 24/7/365!"I was never a spy. I was with the OSS organization. We had a number of women, but we were all office help." -- Julia ChildBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/west-coast-cookbook-speakeasy--2802999/support.
After her sentencing, Ghislaine Maxwell immediately began pushing for special treatment, arguing that her imprisonment should be served in the United Kingdom rather than in the U.S. federal system. Her legal team claimed she was being unfairly treated compared to other inmates and that she should be allowed to serve her time closer to her family. Maxwell cited her British citizenship, her alleged “difficult” prison conditions, and her supposed lack of fair treatment throughout the trial as grounds for leniency. In effect, she was attempting to frame herself as a victim of the system — not an enabler of Epstein's crimes — while using diplomatic channels and her powerful connections to petition for a transfer under international prisoner-exchange agreements.She also sought a drastically reduced sentence, claiming she was being punished for Epstein's sins and that her role was exaggerated. Maxwell's lawyers argued that her upbringing, reputation loss, and media scrutiny should be taken into account, painting her as a scapegoat for a man who could no longer be tried. This push for leniency and relocation was seen by victims' advocates as a continuation of the entitlement that defined her life — a refusal to accept accountability or face the same justice as ordinary offenders. Rather than remorse, her response after sentencing reflected the same privilege and arrogance that had protected her and Epstein for years.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
After her sentencing, Ghislaine Maxwell immediately began pushing for special treatment, arguing that her imprisonment should be served in the United Kingdom rather than in the U.S. federal system. Her legal team claimed she was being unfairly treated compared to other inmates and that she should be allowed to serve her time closer to her family. Maxwell cited her British citizenship, her alleged “difficult” prison conditions, and her supposed lack of fair treatment throughout the trial as grounds for leniency. In effect, she was attempting to frame herself as a victim of the system — not an enabler of Epstein's crimes — while using diplomatic channels and her powerful connections to petition for a transfer under international prisoner-exchange agreements.She also sought a drastically reduced sentence, claiming she was being punished for Epstein's sins and that her role was exaggerated. Maxwell's lawyers argued that her upbringing, reputation loss, and media scrutiny should be taken into account, painting her as a scapegoat for a man who could no longer be tried. This push for leniency and relocation was seen by victims' advocates as a continuation of the entitlement that defined her life — a refusal to accept accountability or face the same justice as ordinary offenders. Rather than remorse, her response after sentencing reflected the same privilege and arrogance that had protected her and Epstein for years.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
As the government shutdown continues into its record-setting 38th day, an activist judge, who has donated over $700K to Democrat causes, demands the Trump administration fully fund November SNAP benefits. Mainstream media is caught lying about another illegal alien and falsely accuses ICE of targeting a daycare. Islam has already taken over the United Kingdom, and America is up next. Jaco Booyens and Peter Mcilvenna join the show to discuss the ramifications of it. ► Subscribe to Sara Gonzales Unfiltered! https://www.youtube.com/@SaraGonzalesUnfiltered?sub_confirmation=1 Today's Sponsors: ► Craftco Premium Buy online at https://www.flyingacespirits.com/ and use code BLAZE for free shipping. ► PreBorn Donate securely at https://www.preborn.com/sara or dial #250, keyword BABY. ► Beam Organics Go to https://www.shopbeam.com/SARAG and use code SARAG to get up to 50% off during Beam's Cyber Sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Threshold Contact and Sleep Paralysis with Sheila Pryce Brooks Dr. Sheila Pryce Brooks received her doctoral degree from the University of York in the United Kingdom, where her dissertation examined the phenomenology of sleep paralysis. Her ongoing research explores Threshold Contact Experiences, bridging science, spirituality, and the paranormal. Dr. Brooks lives and works in Jamaica, … Continue reading "Threshold Contact and Sleep Paralysis with Sheila Pryce Brooks"
After her sentencing, Ghislaine Maxwell immediately began pushing for special treatment, arguing that her imprisonment should be served in the United Kingdom rather than in the U.S. federal system. Her legal team claimed she was being unfairly treated compared to other inmates and that she should be allowed to serve her time closer to her family. Maxwell cited her British citizenship, her alleged “difficult” prison conditions, and her supposed lack of fair treatment throughout the trial as grounds for leniency. In effect, she was attempting to frame herself as a victim of the system — not an enabler of Epstein's crimes — while using diplomatic channels and her powerful connections to petition for a transfer under international prisoner-exchange agreements.She also sought a drastically reduced sentence, claiming she was being punished for Epstein's sins and that her role was exaggerated. Maxwell's lawyers argued that her upbringing, reputation loss, and media scrutiny should be taken into account, painting her as a scapegoat for a man who could no longer be tried. This push for leniency and relocation was seen by victims' advocates as a continuation of the entitlement that defined her life — a refusal to accept accountability or face the same justice as ordinary offenders. Rather than remorse, her response after sentencing reflected the same privilege and arrogance that had protected her and Epstein for years.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Mark Christopher Lee is a United Kingdom movie maker, documentarian and UFO researcher who, in his latest movie which can been seen on Amazon and Tubi, is called "The Rendlesham UFO: The UK's Roswell". In this show, Mark dives deep into the Incident that occurred around Christmas of 1980. Was it aliens? Was it American technology? The debate continues.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spaced-out-radio--1657874/support.
The Cheat Sheet is The Murder Sheet's segment breaking down weekly news and updates in some of the murder cases we cover. In this episode, we'll talk about cases from New Jersey, Washington, Oklahoma, Canada, and Australia.NJ.com's coverage of the disappearance of Kevin Collins Jr.: https://www.nj.com/salem/2025/11/nj-moms-desperate-8-month-search-for-her-missing-son-inspires-fundraiser.htmlTinisha Hall's Change.org petition on the disappearance of her son, Kevin Collins Jr.: https://www.change.org/p/help-find-my-kevin-collins-demand-action-demand-answersThe BBC's coverage of convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9z3r1dmzoThe National Post's coverage of the conviction of Qin Shen for the attack on Jing Lu: https://nationalpost.com/news/b-c-appeal-attempted-murder-courtroomNews9's coverage of the murder of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Howard Crumley and the denied parole of Hubert Wilkinson: https://www.news9.com/crime/commutation-denied-for-man-convicted-in-1970-murder-of-oklahoma-highway-patrol-trooperKATU's report on the death of a man known as Arslan and the arrest of Raylin Marie Benzie: https://katu.com/news/local/court-docs-woman-met-man-for-sex-at-ilani-casino-drugged-him-with-fentanyl-killing-himFind discounts for Murder Sheet listeners here: https://murdersheetpodcast.com/discountsCheck out our upcoming book events and get links to buy tickets here: https://murdersheetpodcast.com/eventsOrder our book on Delphi here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shadow-of-the-bridge-the-delphi-murders-and-the-dark-side-of-the-american-heartland-aine-cain/21866881?ean=9781639369232Or here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Shadow-of-the-Bridge/Aine-Cain/9781639369232Or here: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Bridge-Murders-American-Heartland/dp/1639369236Join our Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/c/murdersheetSupport The Murder Sheet by buying a t-shirt here: https://www.murdersheetshop.com/Check out more inclusive sizing and t-shirt and merchandising options here: https://themurdersheet.dashery.com/Send tips to murdersheet@gmail.com.The Murder Sheet is a production of Mystery Sheet LLC.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On this episode we catch up with Yea Alabama & Cover Crimson's Emily Grace McWhorter to talk about the good and the bad thats been happening across the State of Alabama. We talk...Hugh being “frozen” out on The Plains. What next for Auburn? Can the Crimson Tide win a National Championship?Is the Play Off Committee finally giving the SEC credit for its competitive nature? The difference Ryan Grubb has made to the Crimson Tide offense? The playoff committee ranking a 6-2 Notre Dame ranked over 7-2 Texas & Oklahoma!Thanks for tuning in to the College Chaps Podcast - the United Kingdom's original and still best Podcast dedicated to the College Game. Stay tuned for more great guests. Don't forget to follow, rate & share!
United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor being summoned by US Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein case, as well as the manhunt continuing for one of the two prisoners accidentally released from Wandsworth Prison over a week ago.
Thanks to our awesome Patrons, we're proud to present another episode of Mediasplode! What's a Mediasplode? It's a monthly special edition show in which we talk about what we are enjoying in media outside of the realm of comic books. It's like our All Media Year End Round-Up but in a shorter, monthly format. Note: Time codes are estimates due to dynamic ad insertion by the distributor. SPOILERS BELOW! Running Time: 01:06:23 This month, Josh Flanagan and Conor Kilpatrick are joined by their original Pick of the Week co-host Ron Richards to discuss... What We've Been Enjoying:00:03:15 - Josh loved Downey Wrote That on Peacock but didn't really love Smoke on AppleTV+00:15:25 - Conor (and Ron) loved the latest season of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu and salutes the end of WTF with Marc Maron00:22:04 - Ron (and Conor) are loving The Lowdown on Hulu and he got to the theaters to see Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein Year-End Mailbag!:00:30:52 - Patrick K. from North Carolina asks if any movies we saw as kids shocked us that we were allowed to see?00:34:02 - Dan C. from New Jersey wants to know what IP could be translated to opera?00:37:27 - Woulter L. asks a great question about the impact of removing the Beatles or another media creator from the timeline and what the impact would be00:43:22 - Pete wants to know if we listen to college radio?00:50:55 - Zak H. from Milwaukee is looking for (hypothetical) book recommendations about the mafia (which doesn't exist).00:53:11 - Doug M. wants to know more movies that are "bad" but also "good"?00:58:28 - Stephen H. from Wrexham, Wales, United Kingdom wants to know if anyone in our families shame us for our interests?01:01:02 - Jacob asks a fantastic question about G.I. Joe vs. Predator that breaks our brains. Music:"B A D I D E A"Militarie Gun Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss Blade (1998) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Fargo on Movie of the Year: 1996. Listen to Conor discuss Swingers on Movie of the Year: 1996. Watch Ron talk about pinball technology on the Daily Tech News Show. Listen to Conor discuss Ghostbusters on Movie of the Year: 1984. Listen to Conor, Josh, and Ron discuss The Crow (1994) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Jaws 4: The Revenge (1987) on Cradle to the Grave. Listen to Josh discuss Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) on Cradle to the Grave. Watch Josh and Conor talk about how to start a podcast on OpenWater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. Soldier of Fortune: Warren Buffett, Sun Tzu and the Ancient Art of Risk-Taking (Kindle)We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P.See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcastAbout Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3lABOUT THE PODCASTHi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations.We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success.SEE LATEST EPISODEShttps://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/FOLLOW TOBIASWebsite: https://acquirersmultiple.com/Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/GreenbackdLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisleABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLETobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law.Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).
//The Wire//2300Z November 5, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: ANOTHER MIGRANT CRIMINAL "MISTAKENLY" RELEASED IN SOUTH LONDON ALMOST A WEEK AGO. PLANE CRASH IN KENTUCKY RESULTS IN 11X FATALITIES AS SEVERAL REMAIN MISSING. VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK CONDUCTED IN FRANCE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-United Kingdom: This morning the Metropolitan Police revealed that another migrant criminal had "mistakenly" been released by the prison services in South London. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian migrant, was released in south London allegedly by accident over a week ago, while he was serving a sentence for trespassing with intent to burglarize. Some sources also claim that the fugitive has a history of sexual offenses, and the Metropolitan Police claim that they were only notified of this mistake yesterday.France: This morning a vehicle ramming attack was carried out on Île d'Oléron, a small island tourist destination on the west coast of France. Many people were wounded after an attacker deliberately drove his vehicle into a crowd. 2x people remain in critical condition, and 9x others were wounded during the attack. The assailant has not yet been identified, however locals state that he was known to local police.-HomeFront-Kentucky: Overnight the casualty count regarding yesterday's plane crash rose to a total of 11x fatalities as several people remain missing. As of this morning, the fires are mostly out, and firefighters remained on the scene throughout much of the day. The main structures that the plane crashed in to on the ground were the Ford auto factory, as well as UPS's own logistics hub that serviced the airport. As a result, this major regional package sorting facility will be offline for some time.USA: Around the United States, the rollup of yesterday's election resulted in a near total victory for Democrat candidates across the board. Zohran Mamdani was elected Mayor of New York City by a wide margin, and Abigail Spanberger won the Governorship in Virginia. Also in Virginia, Ghasala Hashmi won the election for Lieutenant Governor, making her the first Muslim woman to hold the office in state history. Jay Jones also won his election for Attorney General, despite the scandal during his campaign surrounding his comments calling for the murder of his enemy's wife and children in a text exchange. Analyst Comment: Jones also quite literally tried to kick a dog at a polling place on election day, which although a unique campaign tactic, didn't seem to hurt his election chances either.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In the United Kingdom, the most concerning detail of the second-migrant-release case is that this release took place on October 29th. Per their statements, the Met only found out about this release yesterday afternoon, almost a full week after the criminal was released.This situation was also made worse by comments made (or rather, not made) during the Prime Minister's Questions session in Parliament yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was hounded by a few MPs for refusing to answer the question of whether or not any more migrants had accidentally been released since the Kebatu case came to light. After his refusal to answer this question the first time, this ballooned into him being pressed again and again, resulting in him refusing to answer the simple question roughly half a dozen times. At that moment, it didn't make much sense as to why this level of resistance was offered up by Lammy, or why he became so belligerent at this specific question being asked. After all he could just say "not that I'm aware of" and move on, no big deal. Instead, he became quite belligerent to the point that this may have been the indicator for something else.Consequently, this morning the picture became more clear...at the exact moment that he was answering questions in Parlia
It's Thursday, November 6th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus Nigerian Muslims killed pastor, kidnapped 20 church members Nigerian Fulani Muslim assailants killed a pastor and nine Christians over the past week. On October 28, Muslim Fulani bandits killed Rev. Yahaya Kambasaya and kidnapped 20 of his church members in central Nigeria. In a neighboring state, militants killed nine Christians in a string of attacks between October 31 and November 3. A Christian attorney in the area told Morning Star News, “These incidents occurred even when they were preceded with an early warning alert given to relevant authorities.” Hamas returns body of American hostage Hamas, the Palestinian Muslim terrorist group, returned to Israel the body of the last American hostage it was holding in Gaza on Tuesday. Itay Chen was a 19-year-old Israeli-American soldier. He was killed and taken hostage during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X, “We honor his life, mourn his loss, and stand by his family.” Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani elected as New York City mayor In the United States, Democrats won several elections after voters went to the polls on Tuesday. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist, won the race for mayor of New York City, and gave his victory speech Tuesday night. MAMDANI: “The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, (cheering) ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.' (cheering) “For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands. Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handle bars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power. And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater. (cheering) Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. (cheering) The future is in our hands. (cheering) “My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.” (cheering) He is now the first Muslim mayor of the biggest U.S. city, who beat former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. NBC News reported that Zohran Mamdani got 50.4% of the vote, former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo got 41.6%, and Republican Curtis Sliwa got 7.1% On CNN, conservative commentator Scott Jennings explained who Eugene Debbs was whom Mamdani quoted with great admiration. JENNINGS: “He started his speech by quoting Eugene Debs, who ran for president of the United States five times as the Socialist Party of America candidate. “He went after everybody that he thinks is a problem. People who own things, people who have businesses. He said an interesting quote, ‘No problem too large for government to solve.' And so, when you think of the world that way, that every problem is something for government to do, let me just decipher this for you. “Tax increases as far as the eye can see which means the people who need to provide jobs, to the young people that you say need jobs, are going to flee as quickly as they possibly can. “He clearly sees the world in terms of the people who are oppressing you and the oppressed. And he said, ‘The oppressed are now in city hall.'” Democrat victories in other blue states There were two other notable Democratic victories. Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the race for governor of Virginia with 56.3%, becoming the first woman to do so, reported NBC News. She beat Winsome Sears, who got 43.2% of the vote, and served as the Republican Lt. Governor under the term-limited Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. And Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the race for governor of New Jersey with 56.3% of the vote, keeping the position in the hands of Democrats, and beating Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Vice President J.D. Vance responded to the elections on X. He said there's no reason to “overreact to a couple of elections in blue states.” But he also added, “We have to do better at turning out voters than we have in the past.” Republican leaders prayed for America Republican leaders and lawmakers joined with the Family Research Council for a time of prayer last Thursday. Listen to the opening comments from Tony Perkins, the president of Family Research Council. PERKINS: “Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 18:19. “He says, ‘Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on Earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them.' “So tonight, we gather with the recognition that we need God's help. We gather in the name of Jesus to pray and ask for His hand, the Lord's hand of guidance, the Holy Spirit to lead us.” And listen to some of the closing prayer from Dr. Ben Carson, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. CARSON: “Lord, we come before you today to pray for our nation. You have blessed the United States with freedom and opportunity and a rich legacy of faith. Please restore the righteousness in our homes, integrity in our institutions, unity among our people. “And thank You for Your abundant blessing, Lord. You're bringing us together this evening through electronic media. But we know You're with us always. And we ask, in the name of Jesus, that you would bless us and bless this nation. Amen.” Vatican rejects Mary, mother of Jesus, as co-Redeemer On Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Church rejected Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the “co-Redeemer” of the world. The Vatican's top doctrinal office stated, “Any gaze directed at her that distracts us from Christ or that places her on the same level as the Son of God would fall outside the dynamic proper to an authentically Marian faith.” However, World Magazine notes the statement does not affirm a Protestant perspective on Mary. The Evangelical publication wrote, “Protestants believe Mary was ‘highly favored' by the Lord, but they do not believe she has an active role in the lives of believers.” 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Construction begins on Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer And finally, constructions begins this week on what is set to be the largest Christian monument in the United Kingdom. It's called the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer. The design for it is in the shape of an infinity loop called a Möbius strip, a surface which has neither beginning nor end. It will stand 170 feet tall and made out of one million bricks. Each brick will be linked to a story of answered prayer. Already, Christians have submitted 120,000 stories from 125 countries. Richard Gamble, the project's founder, said, “This is the moment to build a landmark of hope… a lasting testimony to the power of prayer, preserving the Christian heritage in our nation.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, November 6th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
In honor of our Silver Signal Award, we're bringing back Silver Medal Superstars, a tribute to all the great second place entries in Eurovision that don't get nearly as much love as the winners. For this look back, we're joined by Eurovangelists fan and DJ Cecily Herzig of Connections with Cecily, a great music show on Royalton Community Radio in Vermont. Jeremy's finding the New Seekers everywhere he looks, Dimitry gives his Bettan history lecture, Cecily dreams of pop girlie babushki, and Oscar proves his unspoken bond with Cecily.Learn more about Cecily and her radio show, and listen to the most recent episode: https://www.royaltonradio.org/meet-cecily-herzig/Watch all the Silver Medal Superstars from this week on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd2EbKTi9fyVPxA2wWaA7bnyWjJ0YGuFtThis week's companion playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/34BcnN3FdWpaXfDBpSLLSx The Eurovangelists are Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya and Dimitry Pompée.The theme was arranged and recorded by Cody McCorry and Faye Fadem, and the logo was designed by Tom Deja.Production support for this show was provided by the Maximum Fun network.The show is edited by Jeremy Bent with audio mixing help was courtesy of Shane O'Connell.Find Eurovangelists on social media as @eurovangelists on Instagram and @eurovangelists.com on Bluesky, or send us an email at eurovangelists@gmail.com. Head to https://maxfunstore.com/collections/eurovangelists for Eurovangelists merch. Also follow the Eurovangelists account on Spotify and check out our playlists of Eurovision hits, competitors in upcoming national finals, and companion playlists to every single episode, including this one!
Welcome to the latest episode of Lunch with Shelley with our most world-famous guest to date – the Right Honorable Liz Truss! Liz Truss is the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party. Her political career and ideological outlook have had and continue to have a profound impact on contemporary British Conservatism and the western world. Liz Truss was first elected Member of Parliament for Southwest Norfolk and quickly rose through the ranks, holding ministerial posts under David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson. Throughout her political career, she consistently advocated for classical liberal and free-market Conservative principles, meaning a smaller state, lower taxes, deregulation, and a belief in the power of individual enterprise to drive economic growth. Her eventual Premiership was shaped by this ideological stance.Liz remains politically active and is a prominent voice among free-market Conservatives both in the UK and abroad. She recently Co-Founded and Chairs the Verity Alliance Foundation, which champions the fundamental values that have made Europe and the West great, focusing on the power of national sovereignty, the importance of free speech, and the enduring strength of Christian values that have shaped our civilization for centuries.Join us at the great Billy Martin Tavern for great food and a fabulous discussion about her powerful book “Ten Years to Save the West” as well as politics today, music, food of course and so much more!Check us out at www.lunchwithshelley.com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts and in the meantime Peace, Love and Lunch!
Freedom of speech may be under assault in America, but that's nothing compared with what's going on in the United Kingdom, where police are arresting 33 people every day for social media posts. Matt Kibbe sits down with Reem Ibrahim, head of media for the Institute of Economic Affairs, to discuss how Britain has become so authoritarian, the difference in attitude between the British and American public, and whether there is any hope for the nation that gave us the Magna Carta to embrace liberty again.
Man dies at Canadian ostrich farm protest camp, Pornography depicting strangulation to become a criminal offense in The United Kingdom, Colorado deputies free a large bear that had become stuck inside a car..."he looks pissed"
All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton were honored to welcome Pam Cusick as guest to the show. About Pam Cusick, Senior Vice President at Rare Patient Voice: Pam Cusick is an experienced research professional with more than 30 years of expertise in study design, implementation, and analysis. Her background in public health communications and research, coupled with her passion for patient advocacy, dovetail with Rare Patient Voice's mission and vision. She hopes to expand Rare Patient Voice's panels to include all patients and caregivers who want to share their opinions and impact their disease category. Pam earned a BA in Psychology from Sweet Briar College, and a MA in Psychology from the New School for Social Research. She is Past-President of the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Council Lead for the Horses and Humans Research Foundation. In addition, Pam has recently been named a Laureate by the Insights Association! This recognition, given by peers across the industry, is a true lifetime honor—and she is "still taking it all in." As Senior Vice President, Pam's focus is on the continued growth and success of RPV, with an eye on client services, business development, and oversight of patient outreach, panel management, and marketing. About Rare Patient Voice: Rare Patient Voice, LLC connects patients and family caregivers of rare and non-rare diseases with opportunities to share their opinions with companies and researchers by participating in all types of research studies. These include surveys and phone interviews, online bulletin boards, focus groups, clinical trials, and more. While RPV began with a focus on rare diseases, we now welcome patients and family caregivers living with all medical conditions. We currently cover more than 1,500 rare and non-rare diseases and conditions. Over the years, we have paid patients and family caregivers over $15 million for participating in research. We work with thousands of organizations, patient advocacy groups, and individuals to spread the word about RPV. Since launching in the United States in 2013, RPV has expanded across the globe. We now recruit patients and caregivers for research studies in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.
//The Wire//2300Z November 3, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: TWO-DAY KNIFE ATTACK SPREE CULMINATES IN MASS STABBING ON TRAIN IN UNITED KINGDOM, PASSENGERS AND CREW DO THEIR BEST TO HALT THE ATTACK. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS SNAP FUNDING TO MATERIALIZE. GOLDEN HINDU IDOL 15 STORIES TALL TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN RURAL NORTH CAROLINA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-United Kingdom: On Saturday, a mass stabbing was carried out on a train bound for London from Doncaster. 10x people remain in critical condition as a result of the attack. The assailant has been identified as Anthony Williams. A separate individual who may have also been involved in some way was arrested at the scene. This individual has not been identified, but authorities have stated he is of Caribbean descent. Police also tased one man on the platform after the train arrived at the station, however this was a case of mistaken identity and the tased man was released without charge.-HomeFront-North Carolina: Local concern has emerged following plans to build a massive Hindu "temple" in the small town of Moncure, just west of Holly Springs. This extremely large and sprawling complex is planned to have a golden idol that will be roughly 155 feet tall...one foot taller than the Statue of Liberty. This project was announced earlier this year, but has gained notoriety as the construction plans move forward.Analyst Comment: Small towns in historically Christian rural areas are often targeted for the construction of golden idols due to the ease of bribing/influencing local officials to obtain permission to build commercial facilities. In this case, Moncure is an extremely small town that doesn't really engage in any zoning (they leave it to the county to decide), so it's easy to pencil-whip the re-zoning of private residential property to allow for the construction of a pagan idol that will dominate the terrain for dozens of miles. This idol is not even built yet, the area slated for it's construction is still just undeveloped land. However, (to the surprise of literally no one) it's already featured heavily in the Google search results for Moncure, NC as the top tourist destination for the town. Hindus have already spammed the reviews for the structure that doesn't exist yet, giving it top marks and praising the facility as great to visit...with the owners of the place celebrating the fake reviews of a non-existent facility, while simultaneously admitting that the facility doesn't exist yet.Washington D.C. - U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. has ordered the White House to ensure that emergency funds are used for the SNAP program, stating that "the USDA must distribute the contingency money timely, or as soon as possible, for the November 1 payments to be made".Analyst Comment: That brief description was more or less the entire order, which was oral in nature. However, a lot of other things have to click into place to make this order come to fruition, especially due to the complexities of the Judiciary ordering the Executive to do something that is technically the job of the Legislative. Despite the very obvious problem with this arrangement, the issue is now tied up in court, effectively stalling the distribution of at least some electronic deposits. However, some EBT recipients have reported getting their funds as they have before, so it's not clear as to what funds are being disbursed, or to whom.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The train stabbing attack in the United Kingdom is one of the most significant attacks in recent British history. A Major Incident was declared and a PLATO response was initiated (which is the colloquialism for an active terror attack in progress). The details of the attack itself are not entirely clear, but at the moment the eyewitness statements indicate this one was ugly. A train car packed with people who cannot esc
It's Tuesday, November 4th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson Trump adds Nigeria as Country of Particular Concern The President of the United States announced Friday that Nigeria will be added to the State Department's list of Countries of Particular Concern in regards to Christian persecution, reports ABC News. A "Country of Particular Concern" is a designation given by the U.S. government to a country that has engaged in or tolerated "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” This designation, made by the President or Secretary of State under the International Religious Freedom Act, indicates severe religious freedom violations like torture, prolonged detention for religious reasons, or religiously inspired murder. A Country of Particular Concern designation can lead to diplomatic pressure or economic sanctions. Trump threatens Nigerian Islamic terrorists with swift justice President Trump added this passionate statement to his Truth Social on Sunday. He wrote, “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” In response, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on X, "The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria, and anywhere, must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.” Last month, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas commented on X that "Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.” Mainstream media outlets sidestep Nigerian genocide In recent news reports, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other mainstream media sources continue ignoring, minimizing, or outright rejecting the world's most egregious genocide at present -- the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria, Africa. At the same time, Genocide Watch has issued a “Genocide Emergency” for Nigeria —citing the mass slayings of Christians. The organization considers Nigeria to have entered what they call Stage 9: Extermination and Stage 10: Denial — with this particular genocide. Over the last 15 years, a report from the International Society for Religious Liberties and the Rule of Law counts 189,000 Nigerians slaughtered in cold blood by radical Muslims, of which 125,000 plus were Christians. In addition, 19,100 churches were destroyed, and more than 1,100 Christian communities sacked. Nigerian Bishop upset that some deny there's a Christian genocide Bishop David Abioye of the Nigerian Conqueror Global Assembly spoke recently of the genocide, correcting what he called “the distortion of truth.” ABIOYE: “There's a lot of distortion going on. People claiming that there is no genocide of Christians in the nation. You see people buried [by the] hundreds, and you say there is no genocide. What a wicked set of people. I agree there are people killed in other place for other reasons. “But this one is very clear, and gradually it's eating down to the South, Southwest, Southeast. Many so-called leaders, for their personal interest, are claiming it's not true, selling out their faith, if they have it at all.” Romans 13 calls the ruler or president “God's minister to you for good,” noting “he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Texas Supreme Court allows judges not to perform homosexual weddings Is Obergefell on ice? That's the 2015 Supreme Court ruling which purportedly legalized same-sex mirage in this country. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that judges who refuse to perform homosexual faux marriage ceremonies will no longer face disciplinary action for their decisions, reports The Christian Post. This comes right as the US Supreme Court will be discussing the same issue, scheduled for this Friday. Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk, has appealed her case, where she was convicted for refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples after the Obergefell decision came down in 2015. Reformed pastor arrested for soliciting prostitutes A Presbyterian Church in America pastor from Tulsa, Oklahoma has been arrested on charges of soliciting prostitutes, reports ChurchLeaders.com. Jeremy Fair, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, was one of five men implicated in a sting operation. The church has placed the pastor on indefinite leave, according to a statement issued by the session. U.S. government shutdown about to become longest in history The current American government shutdown is about to round its fifth week, or 35th day. If the shutdown continues through tomorrow, this will be the longest in U.S. history — exceeding the record set during the first Trump administration in 2019. Because of the ongoing financial crisis, President Donald Trump is urging the Senate Republicans to scrap the 60-vote filibuster threshold in favor of the simple-majority passage of legislation. However, on Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there's not enough support among Republican senators to eliminate the filibuster, reports Politico.com. However, Senator Thune did express optimism about the Senate's resolution of the shutdown this week, reports CBS News. Trump admin will partially fund November food stamps On Monday, the Trump administration agreed to move billions of emergency dollars to partially pay for food aid this month in response to a federal judge's order, though some families may not receive benefits for weeks, according to Politico.com. Officials will use $4.65 billion from the USDA's contingency fund to support roughly half of food stamp participants' “current allotments” as the shutdown drags on, according to a new legal filing. Help victims of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti Late last week, Category-5 Hurricane Melissa clobbered Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti, leveling whole towns, and killing 67 people, 32 of whom were in Jamaica, reports NBC News. Samaritan's Purse has airlifted their Emergency Field Hospital to Black River, Jamaica, and has already delivered tons of emergency supplies where the island nation has racked up $4 billion of insured losses. To contribute to this relief effort, click on a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. Iceland, Denmark, Australia & UK kill virtually all Down Syndrome babies And finally, in 2 Timothy 3, the Apostle Paul speaks of perilous times where men become “lovers of themselves, lovers of money … without natural affection … brutal … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. [and] having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...” Catholic World Report has released numbers on nations aborting children with Down syndrome. Iceland aborts nearly 100%, Denmark 98%, and Australia and the United Kingdom are killing about 90% of its babies conceived with Down's Syndrome. The UK Gospel Witness, including a group of reformed pastors, will be gathering at the U.K. Parliament building on Thursday, to call the nation and its leaders to repentance. Pray for this outreach. Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, November 4th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
274. Holy Spirit Stories and Fruit and Ways to Identify His Guidance in Our Lives with Margaret Feinberg Exodus 31:3 NIV "and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—" *Transcription Below* Questions and Topics We Cover: Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, so will you share some insight into what you've been learning about the Holy Spirit from your most recent research for your latest book, entitled The God You Need to Know? If someone listening has trouble identifying the Spirit's role and God's direction or Jesus' voice in their life, how would you encourage them to grow in attention and recognition of His voice and leading? Do you have any stories to give as illustrations for the Spirit still mightily being at work in the world and in people's lives today? Margaret Feinberg, one of America's most beloved Bible teachers, speaks at churches and conferences and hosts the popular podcast The Joycast. Her books and Bible studies, including Taste and See, Fight Back with Joy, More Power to You, and The God You Need to Know have sold more than one million copies and received critical acclaim and national media coverage from the Associated Press, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and more. She was named by Christianity Today as one of fifty women most shaping culture and the church today. Margaret savors life with her husband, Leif, and their superpup, Zoom. Margaret's Most Recent Work: The God You Need To Know Book and Bible Study Thank You to Our Sponsor: Dream Seller Travel, Megan Rokey Other Related Episodes on The Savvy Sauce: 150 Brain Science and Spiritual Abundance with Ken Baugh Special Patreon Re-Release Theology and Discipleship with Ken Baugh 259 God Speaks to His Kids . . . Here's How with Chris Allen Fruitful with Laura Dugger Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“ Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” *Transcription* Music: (0:00 – 0:09) Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 2:18) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. Do you love to travel? If so, then let me introduce you to today's sponsor, DreamCellar Travel, a Christian-owned and operated travel agency. Check them out on Facebook or online at DreamCellarTravel.com. Today we get to learn from one of the most joyful human beings I've ever encountered. My guest for today is Margaret Feinberg, and she's an author and researcher and podcaster and speaker. Most recently, her research project turned into a book where she was researching all about the Holy Spirit and His work in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and still His work that's present and active in our lives and around our world today. So, her stories of His specific presence at work in our lives are so moving, and she also pairs that with practical ways that we can more clearly hear from the Holy Spirit and identify His voice in our lives. We also chat about the true definition of the word weird, which I actually want to elaborate on now because in the moment I couldn't find the definition that was so powerful. So, weird is defined as unearthly or uncanny, extraordinary, involving or suggesting the supernatural, and completely fantastic. Sometimes we think the Holy Spirit may be inviting us into something that seems weird, but He's redefined weird for us, and I just pray that all of us after this conversation will accept the invitation with gladness from Holy Spirit in our lives to join in whatever adventure He has planned for each one of us today. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Margaret. Margaret Feinberg: (2:18 - 2:24) What a delight to be with you today. It's absolute joy, and you look fantastic, by the way. Laura Dugger: (2:24 - 2:45) You're so kind. I can tell that joy is one of your markers already, and that makes me think you just have such a rich spiritual heritage in general. So, we don't typically start here, but can you go back and share your parents' story of coming to faith in Jesus Christ? Margaret Feinberg: (2:46 - 5:22) Absolutely. I share this in the book, The God You Need to Know, in Bible study, but it's pretty beautiful. They actually came to know Jesus back in the 1970s during the Jesus movement, and my father was raised Jewish, and my mom was not really raised much in the church, and so, they got married, and separately on the same weekend, they came to know Christ. My father, back in the 1960s, he was actually a surfboard manufacturer. He helped build longboards the very first time that longboards were cool, and these customers kept coming into his little store and telling him about Jesus, and eventually he grew so frustrated that one weekend he went out turkey hunting, and he was sitting in turkey blind, had tons of time around him, and decided to sit down and read the entire New Testament over the course of that weekend, and he read it, and he thought, “Wow, Jesus came to earth.” He lived, he died, and he was resurrected that we can have eternal life for free, and he thought, in his Jewish brain, that is a good deal, and so, he just believed in Christ, and meanwhile, my mom is at home and has her own encounter. She's finishing reading a book by the name of The Great Late Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, which was actually the best-selling book of the decade back in the 1970s, and at the end of that book, it had an invitation to come to know Christ, and so, both of them come to know Christ separately on the same weekend. They come home on that Sunday, and they're a little awkward about it because it sounds weird. They don't really want to tell each other, and then finally start to spell out, and there's such joy that they both came to know Christ because the Holy Spirit was at work in their lives. What's amazing is that they had been trying to have kids for the first eight years of their marriage and hadn't been able to conceive, and within a month of them coming to know Jesus, I was conceived. So, you just see the work of the Holy Spirit all over that, and that He is leading people to Christ. He is on the move, and sometimes it doesn't involve any of us doing anything, and that's a freedom marker for us. It's not our job to run around and try to save everybody. Holy Spirit is already at work, and when we have the opportunities to be part of that, it is a privilege and a joy. Trust in a God who is so good and so loving and so kind that He will find people through reading books and hiding out in a turkey blind hunting turkeys all weekend. Laura Dugger: (5:23 - 5:45) That gives me goosebumps even to hear the timing of that and you being conceived. Then you also had a unique childhood. At that time, not as many people were homeschooled, and your story was fascinating. So, what was homeschooling and spiritual discipleship like for you in the growing up years? Margaret Feinberg: (5:46 - 8:18) Yeah, so, in those early years, my mom and dad had that mom-and-pop kind of surf shop down in Cocoa Beach, Florida. For all you surfing nerds, Ron Jon loaned my dad the money to marry my mom. I mean, so, we're talking deep surfing roots, still friends to this day, and so, they would work, and a lot of you are entrepreneurs and are listening, and you get this, but they would often work seven days a week, 14 hours a day, just trying to keep this little store open with their employee. It just was. It's just a rough business, retail, and so, the only way that they could get away was they would leave the store in the hands of a manager. They decided to buy a really small, inexpensive boat, and we would go sail from the coast of Florida into the Caribbean. So, as we did that, what do we do for school. I remember for third grade, we actually went for an entire year, and so, it was homeschooling. Now, this is like early 80s, and you have to think like it's not exactly fact-checked, reputable, like you send your work in like once or twice a year. So, I'm living on this boat, super remote, not even around a ton of kids, pretty isolated, and I figured out that if I did all my schoolwork in one day that I could play the other six, and so, that was my year of third grade. Fortunately, things turned out okay, but I learned so much more just meeting people from all over the world, surfing or swimming. I learned how to, at eight years old, shoot my first lobster because we had to survive off the ocean. So, it was an incredible experience. Then after that, ended up going into public school in the later years once we got to like probably fifth, sixth, a lot more steady than those early years. But you know, the thing that I always saw in my mom was I would wake up, and she would usually be on the couch or on the deck of the boat, and she would be reading her Bible, and there was something about that. It wasn't spoken. It wasn't like you must do this, but I watched it, and I saw it, and now all these years later, that's what I do. So, for all those mamas and papas who are listening and watching, I just want to encourage you - like how you live, those little things, the kids and the grandkids and the great-grandkids, they watch, they see, and it matters, and so, thank you. Those of you who are engaging in those things. It pays dividends for decades and generations to come. Laura Dugger: (8:20 - 8:28) That's incredible, and then can you share about your own faith journey? You saw that modeled. When did it become personal to you? Margaret Feinberg: (8:29 - 11:44) Yeah, you know, even as a young kid, I was aware of God and Jesus and Holy Spirit, and just the Lord was very tender to make Himself real to me when I was young. When I went away to college, and this is just normal behavior, you know, there is that kind of making faith your own, figuring it out, and so, my freshman year of college, I partied like a rock star. I got the bees, the beer, the boys, and the Ben and Jerry, like I, you know, I just all the things, and I remember at the end of that year, I had this sense that God was saying to me like, you are my child. I have called you by name. You are mine. Come back to me, and I read about this in The God You Need to Know, but one of those was a turning point I went to. It was actually a Methodist conference on Holy Spirit, and while I was there, I had an unusual experience, but in it, you know, I'm watching, I'm listening to all these lectures. I'm in the conference. I'm attending all these things, and at one point, I had a thought pop into my mind that was not my own, and the thought was go to the prayer room and look underneath the tablecloth. I was like, okay, that's weird, but it was like go to the prayer room and look underneath the tablecloth. So, I'm like, you know what? At the end of the day, like what do I have to lose? I mean the worst thing that happens is I wander into our prayer room. Okay, we'll take the risk, and I remember going in there, and I'm kind of like there's some people praying (a couple). I'm trying to like I don't want to be weird like I know it's a conference on the Holy Spirit, but still I'm like I am not going to be weird about it. So, I'm like trying to peek underneath a tablecloth, and there's nothing there, and there's all these tables around the room. So, I'm kind of like making my way across, and I'm seeing like one lady like eyeing me like what is happening. So, I peek under another one. Anyway, I go table after table, nothing after nothing until I reach the very last table. I pick up the tablecloth, and there is a Bible, and I look, and it's full of like notes and photographs. So, I pull it out, and there's a name on the front, and so, I just kind of said, “You know, excuse me in the prayer room like does anybody know this person, and most people were like no, and one lady says you know what I do know her, and she had to leave the conference early, and I actually have her phone number.” So, all of a sudden I'm on the phone calling this lady and saying “Hey, I just found your Bible on the phone.” She says, “You have no idea. That Bible is full of decades of prayers and notes and photos that can't be replaced. I have been sitting here praying that someone would find my Bible.” So, I'm just in awe like Holy Spirit, I didn't even know - like wow like this is not just a mental learning. This is a real experience, and so, I told a couple people at the conference about it. One said' “You know what, actually, if you're driving up that direction, I've been praying to get a ride up that direction.” So, I was able to drop off this ministry worker, return this Bible to this precious woman, and that really became one of the markers in my life. Oh my goodness Holy Spirit is real. He is on the move. He is leading and guiding us, and this is such an exciting thrilling adventure to be on. Laura Dugger: (11:45 - 12:12) Wow, and it absolutely is. You are an incredible storyteller. It's so powerful the way that you wrote some stories in your books, the way that you're sharing it now. God has really gifted you with that, and that's part of your purpose in life being that storyteller. So, how did you begin to uncover the purpose that God had for you in life? Margaret Feinberg: (12:12 - 15:09) That's such a great question, so, I'm going to answer that a couple different folds. Can I do that? So, the first answer is all of our purpose is the same. It is to love God, love others, and delight in Him forever. That is the purpose of all of our lives, and so, that is the answer. At the same time, a lot of what I think you're saying is purpose is a little bit about vocation. Is that right? And so, we need to recognize that as believers that this idea that somehow our vocation or what we do is our purpose and is supposed to give us meaning and value to God has really only been around for the last 50 to 75 years and largely established in the American culture. But for thousands of years, that has never been the case. And so, what that does is that for a lot of us, when we don't kind of understand that it puts a heavier weight on the job. The vocation that we do to carry all of this burden of purpose, fulfillment, meaning, ordained by God. I mean, that becomes like a heavy burden for a single job or vocation to carry that it was never meant to. Right? And so, again, back to what is our purpose? It is loving God, loving others, and delighting. And that never changes no matter whether you are raising littles, whether you are whatever the title on your business card, if you still have those, or identification on social, whatever it is. But that never changes. And so, I think that we have to step back and recognize that. Now, I do understand that I am in a role in which my job provides spiritual meaning. And that is delightful. And I am super grateful for that. But in that, my spiritual meaning is still not about what books I write or podcasts or any of that nonsense. It's all about how I'm living in my community and real one-to-one relationships that are done privately and never published on social media. That is the real life. And so, I just want to encourage everyone out there to think that that job is the thing. The job is never the thing. Now, don't let that distract you because what do you do when you're retired? What do you do if you can't do that job? But if you are in a vocation, if you are in a role, that to understand, yes, God can use that, and to invite Holy Spirit into that space, but to make sure that we don't find our identity in that. Because that's a short runway. That's going to end at one point. And to really ground ourselves into the eternal and what does not have an end and what will sustain us from our first breath until our last. Laura Dugger: (15:10 - 16:38) Wow, I love how you put all of that. And so, I'm going to share a story, so, bear with me because you may not be aware, but back in 2013, our lives first crossed paths. So, back then, we were pregnant with our first child. And my husband, Mark, and I went with my parents to the American Association of Christian Counselors conference in Nashville. And you were one of those keynote speakers at the Opera Land Hotel. And I was just mesmerized by every word you shared. And so, I see why people write about you, and they say you're one of America's most beloved Bible teachers, because you were so endearing from the first word spoken. But at the time, you were battling cancer. And yet you were still willing to generously and joyfully share about the goodness of the Lord and the ways that we encounter Him in nature through olives and bees and so on. But the one other thing that has stuck with me for over a decade is when you encourage the audience of probably thousands of people in attendance, that if we don't know what to be thankful for today, be thankful for nose hairs. So, do you remember that? Margaret Feinberg: (16:39 - 19:24) I do. Yeah, that defined gratitude in the little things and in the heart. I do. And the reason I said that, because without context, that sounds really, really strange. But whenever anybody who's out there and is walking through any medical, whether that's mental health or physical challenges, one of the difficulties is in the medical world, they don't tell you everything that's coming. And so, there are all these hidden surprises, and you can read about it, and you can WebMD it, and you can read online, and all of them are just going to say you're going to die tomorrow. We already know that. We know we shouldn't Google these things, right? But no matter what you're walking through, there are things that people just don't tell you. And so, I knew that going through chemotherapy, I would lose my hair. And sure enough, in 10 days, it was all falling out. Nobody told me that that included all my hair, including my nose hairs. And so, what I had to learn the hard way is when you don't have nose hairs, like kind of what holds anything that's liquid in your nose, it just falls out. And so, my encouragement was to everybody, you don't have anything to give thanks to God for today. Give thanks for your nose hairs. And just a light way of saying, you know, even when you're walking through the darkness, and I know some of your listeners and your viewers are, you are in dark seasons. And if that is you, I just want to say, I get you. I get it. I have battled cancer. I have battled autoimmune. I have battled being sick for years. I have battled being embezzled. I have battled surviving a destructive pastor. I know suffering and pain. But even when we're in the darkness, we are a people who poke holes in the darkness until it bleeds light. And that's who we are. And gratitude is just one of those tools that helps us do that. So, I just want to encourage you today, like whatever it takes for you. And there is something in this concept of joy. And I don't quite understand. I can't quite wrap my head around it. But joy is something that you can give away even when you don't have it. And in the process of giving away joy when you don't have it, somehow our capacity for joy expands. It's a strange equation in God's economy. It does not add up. It does not make sense. But whether it's, you know, climbing in an MRI machine and saying, man, has anybody praised God from this square inch today? Whether it's showing up and giving just a simple gift to someone else, whether it's writing the note, whether it's encouraging someone else, even in our own pain. When we do that, our capacity for joy just grows bigger and bigger. Laura Dugger: (19:25 - 21:58) And now a brief message from our sponsor. Do you have a bucket list of travel destinations? Or maybe you have a special event coming up like a big anniversary, a honeymoon, or even just that first trip to Europe? If so, you need to call DreamCellar Travel. DreamCellar Travel is located in central Illinois, but works with clients all across the USA. 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Instead of booking online and being the one to deal with your airline schedule changes or the sudden change in country entry requirements, or the hotel that looks beautiful but is really under construction, call a professional. Let them deal with the problems that arise while traveling so you can just enjoy the trip. DreamCellar Travel has been planning dream trips since 2005 to amazing destinations such as Alaska, Italy, Hawaii, Canada, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, South Africa, Iceland, and more. Where do you dream of going? You can reach out to the DreamCellar Travel at 309-696-5890 or check them out online at DreamCellarTravel.com. Thanks for your sponsorship. You just lived this so well, and I know joy is a fruit of the spirit. Will you share some insight into what you've been learning about the Holy Spirit, especially from all your research from your latest book? As you mentioned, it's entitled The God You Need to Know. Margaret Feinberg: (21:59 - 25:44) Yeah, I'm super excited about this book and Bible study. I've had a lot of questions about the Holy Spirit since I was a little girl. I remember reading the Bible and thinking, Jesus, He's so real. He's so human. That I can recognize, and I get the picture of God on the throne, all powerful and sovereign. But when I think about the Holy Spirit, I'd be like, I'm struggling here a little bit. And growing up in Southern Baptist and Methodist and Episcopal and non-denominational and charismatic, I got little pieces of Holy Spirit, but I just kind of struggled. And I think one of the reasons I struggled is that often, maybe like you, when I ask questions about Holy Spirit, I was like, “Well, you need to go read the book of Acts and read Acts 2.” And that's that beautiful moment of Pentecost where the spirit comes in and it's like a violent wind and tongues of fire. They descend and people start speaking in other languages and other people hear they're declaring the glories of God. And then all of a sudden 3,000 people get saved. I think that is awesome. But that doesn't look like my every day. So, I'm not quite sure. And so, for the last few years, I've been struggling to write this book. And when I really came alive was with a scholar by the name of Jack Levison, and he focused in on the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. And all of a sudden that changed everything for me. Because what happens is if we jump to Acts, and particularly Acts 2 to understand Holy Spirit, it would be like showing up on your wedding day and being like, this is who you're marrying. And you're like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't know this person. Like we haven't courted. We haven't dated.” I don't, what, what, what? And yet that's often what we do as believers when we're directing people. And so, I took a deep dive into Holy Spirit throughout the Old Testament, looking at Genesis where Holy Spirit hovers over the waters, the chaos, the darkness, looking at how Holy Spirit hovers over our lives and how that's consistent with God, as in the book of Deuteronomy, as well as Jesus in the New Testament, that hovering like a, like a hen, I wanted to gather the children. And you start to see this through it. You start to look in the lives of Bezalel, who was the first person who was filled with Holy Spirit, to do what to make and to make those, you know, the tabernacle and to lead an entire guild of artisans. We see the life of the Spirit in Daniel, where all of a sudden Nebuchadnezzar on multiple occasions is saying the Spirit of God is in him. We have somebody who is literally running around like a wild animal at certain points in his life, who is still recognizing the power of Holy Spirit. I think it's the word in Hebrew is Ketria. We start seeing it in the life of Ezekiel, where the Holy Spirit is lifting him up, giving him new perspectives. And what's cool is that once you start to recognize the rule of Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, you arrive at Acts 2 and you go, of course, it would happen this way. And suddenly for those of us who for maybe we've been hesitant about Holy Spirit, or maybe we've had maybe a lack of teaching or maybe some teaching that was a little bit abusive and was used to manipulate. Like all of a sudden we can back up from that and be like, oh, Holy Spirit, this is you from the beginning of time. This is so normal. This isn't weird. This is just part of just being a follower of Jesus. And so, one of the things that I love about this book is it takes the weird out, takes the scary out. It's so just biblically based, especially in the Old Testament. And I think some of your listeners and viewers will be surprised like, whoa, I didn't know that was, what? That's where? And that's really fun and exciting. Laura Dugger: (25:45 - 26:14) Absolutely. I think it did bring to light so many things from the Old Testament, like I said, especially. And I think you were even able to share some of your own stories, and that's why we're so often called to remember. I think when we preserve and document those and share those stories, we can reflect back and remember God nudging us like he did with you, putting a thought in your mind that was not your own. That increases our faith in others, I think, as well. Margaret Feinberg: (26:14 - 28:25) I think it really, really does. I think that one of the things we have to remember when Holy Spirit, so, in Psalm 139, we know that God knows he made us in the womb. And so, to recognize that all of us are made differently, and my hunches are some listeners right now who are thinking, man, yeah, I know people who talk a lot about Holy Spirit, but that's just not me. I don't really see or enact or feel Holy Spirit. And so, first of all to you, I want to say I don't feel Holy Spirit either. I've been to a ton of churches and conferences, and the person on the stage will say, man, do you feel the Holy Spirit here? And I'll be like, nope, nope, not at all. So, I'm not a feeler. But what I can do in those moments is I can acknowledge with my head, Holy Spirit is here, because we know that as part of the Trinity, Father, Son, Spirit, Holy Spirit is here. And then secondly, to recognize that like Psalm, you know, that describes that He knew us in the womb, that we are all different. We know today that there's a neurodiversity, right? So, some people learn audio, some people visual, some people like myself, ADD, ADHD. And God knows that, like the Creator did not make a mistake. And so, wouldn't it make sense that the Holy Spirit, who knows us as the spirit of a living God, would interact with us in different ways? I have an e-newsletter, and I've surveyed, you know, thousands of people, how they recognize the spirit, and it's just so diverse. Some are like me, a thought pops back in my head that is not my own, that causes me to love God, love others, serve others, take risks in godly good ways. For other people, they do feel it. Some people have like a warmth in their body. Some people kind of just feel like this, this just comfort or peace, like liquid love that envelops them. Some people recognize God and the Holy Spirit through nature. And so, I listen to this, and I think, doesn't that make sense that God and Holy Spirit would know us so well that He would know how to communicate with us? And so, that when we start gathering with other believers and say, “Hey, how is Holy Spirit working in your life?” It starts to get this excitement of recognizing it and celebrating it and making it normal and not weird. Laura Dugger: (28:28 - 28:48) And I think let's even take that one step further. So, if somebody is listening and they currently have trouble identifying the spirit's role or God's direction or Jesus's voice in their life, how would you encourage them with even first steps to grow in attention and recognition of His voice and leading? Margaret Feinberg: (28:49 - 34:09) Goodness, that's such a great question. Something that's really changed my life in the last few months is my friend, Drake. He's a Young Life leader here. And he said, Margaret, when I'm training people how to recognize Holy Spirit, he says, “I and the kids get a journal and write one question down for Holy Spirit each day. The question could be about purpose, identity, Holy Spirit, what's on your heart, Holy Spirit, who do I serve today? And write that one question down.” That's it. That's all we're doing. And then throughout the day, return to that one question in prayer again and again. And then pay attention to conversations that suddenly you have, Bible passages that flutter through your mind, the sermon that's given, conversations with other believers. Like just pay attention. And it's amazing. And then the next day or that night, jot down whatever happens. The next day, change the question or keep the same question. And just start changing the posture of your life to pay attention to that one question. And I think you're going to start to see and encounter some things. It may not happen quickly. It may take a few weeks or even months, but it will happen. I think I was thinking about this just this morning. I haven't shared this with anybody. But in some ways, like people are like, I don't recognize Holy Spirit. It's kind of like my friends who are birders. Okay. Some people super into birding. And I know there are birds. I mean, occasionally I'll see a bird out the window, but birders have a whole different mentality. They slow down. They pay attention. And they have some tools like binoculars to be able to look and to see. And it's the same thing about paying attention to Holy Spirit. We've got to slow down, pay attention. And maybe the tool is just asking Holy Spirit one question a day. But suddenly you'll start to see and recognize. Can I give you a fun story? Please. Okay. So, just at Easter came around and I was probably a couple weeks before and they're having this crazy good sale at Target on some new releases. So, I'm at the Target website early in the morning before they sell out. And I saw a purse and I bought myself a few things. But I saw a purse and I immediately thought of my friend Janella. And so, I was just like, I'm just going to buy this for her. Now, let me be clear. I've never bought a purse for her before. I don't really carry around a ton of purses. I'm a Apple pay, like keep it light. Like it's just not my thing. But put it in the cart, send it to her. So, I get a text from her about a week or two later. And she goes, how did you know? Did I tell you about my Easter meltdown? And I said, no, I didn't know. And she tells me, and I had known this, that her mother had passed away last year. What I didn't know is every single year, since she was a little girl for Easter, her mom would buy her a dress and a purse. And this was the first Easter without her mom. And she could justify financially buying the dress, but not the purse. And all of a sudden this purse, which wasn't a normal purse. She's like, this is an Easter purse. I was like, I don't know that, but okay. Arrived. And she said, I just, I just cried because I knew that the Lord saw me. He heard me. You know, he was with me, part of his kingdom. And so, she says, but here's the thing. The purse matched my dress perfectly. And you start to see that happen. And I didn't hear a voice from God say, go buy your friend a purse. I was just like, “Hey, I've been praying every day, a single thing from Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, will you order my steps?” And then you see something that you couldn't orchestrate on your own in 500 years happen. And you go, that is the work of Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit in the New Testament, it's parakletos. It means advocate. It can be translated comforter, advisor, barrister. For those of you watch too many British shows like I do, you know, the legal counsel. But if I were to kind of break that down from just biblical words, here's how we know it's the Holy Spirit. Number one, Holy Spirit will remind you: God loves you. God sees you. God hears you. And you're part of His kingdom. And what happened in that story was both of us experienced that. God loves, He sees, He hears, and we're part of His kingdom. And so, that is the thrilling part about life in the Spirit. It's not so I feel good or I have little things that happen. It's about being part of God's kingdom on this earth, living out the life that Christ describes and designed for us. And so, we cannot do that apart from Holy Spirit. And also, you may notice I haven't been using the term the Holy Spirit because we wouldn't say I talked to the God today. I talked to Jesus. And Holy Spirit is a person; a person you can have a relationship with. And just as you can have a relationship with Christ and talk to Christ, you can do the same with Holy Spirit who is, again, paracletes, your advisor, your comforter, your helper. Why would you not tap into that? Why would you want to spend a life missing out on the fullness of that? Laura Dugger: (34:10 - 36:48) Oh, that's good, and I'll have to try and apply that and refer to Holy Spirit rather than I even did it there, the Holy Spirit. I'm thinking in the book of John, I love the amplified version where it says, “one of the things to describe Holy Spirit is standby.” And I've thought of that so many times because I love looking up definitions and seeing exactly what that means. And it's just the immediacy of the help available. And that's been a way that I've experienced Him in my life especially the short prayers of help, please help now. Or if I need direction, a lot of times it comes in parenting for me, like, I'm not sure which way to go. Can you give me discernment right now? And He's immediately available. So, I would say my own personal experience, it's a lot of what you've mentioned, definitely through reading the Bible that I feel like He speaks so much. You're like, well, bring the words off the page. Journaling is such a practical way. And I'll link to our friend Chris Allen's episode just about hearing from God and training our kids on how they can do the same. Just those thoughts that they're not always from us, but we're processing thoughts that are given to us. But one other thing, so, this is inspired from your book. You mentioned about dreams and just asking Holy Spirit to speak to you through dreams. So, in our life currently, one of our daughters is going through some health issues and we were launched into having to do this FODMAP diet. And it's not that big of a deal, but I had never heard of it before. And it limits and restricts quite a few things. So, the immediate need of that seemed a little bit overwhelming. We're kind of in a busy season and completely revamping everything our family eats all day. I've been preoccupied and kind of consumed with that. So, twice this week, because in my quiet time I felt like God just kept saying, bring it to me, come to me with this, ask me the questions. And so, I've been journaling and I feel like He's been responding with Scripture. But the last two nights in a row, I've woken up with a recipe in mind for our family. And that has never happened before. But you are the one who challenged us just to say, just ask. And that was probably, probably started asking over a month ago. So, thank you. Margaret Feinberg: (36:49 - 40:32) Wow. I love it. And you know what? That makes me want to ask. Does that make sense? Like there's this excitement and there's this joy. When you share about how Holy Spirit is working in your life, I'm like, I want that too. And that's just, yeah, I think that so often we forget who is with us. The person, the person of Holy Spirit is with us. We don't have to keep all this striving and straining. And man, I got a life hack this on my own. You know, there is this availability of the power and the presence of the person of Holy Spirit, the spirit of the living God. One thing I want to note on the Trinity, just so that I don't, I don't want anybody to think, oh, she's just cutting out one part of the Trinity. No. Trinity is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A couple of things on that. Number one, often, and part of the emphasis on the Holy Spirit, a little bit more in looking at this in the Old Testament, is when we see things in groupings of three, we tend to think that the third one listed tends to be lesser than or third place. Right. And yet Father, Son and Spirit are equal. And what we see throughout the Bible is we have to remember that where there is one, all are present. And so, like in creation, we see God take the lead. But, you know, Holy Spirit is mentioned in Genesis 1 to Jesus using the reference of we is there. And so, we start to see that the word, I think it's the word perichoresis is this term that describes the Trinity in a dance. And so, at different parts of Scripture, we'll see one member of the Trinity take the lead, but the others are always present, whether it's, you know, Jesus taking the lead in the Gospels. But we see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. We see God saying, this is my son and whom I am pleased. Well, please listen to Him. And so, to recognize that, but also to recognize, again, like this, this reality that Holy Spirit is in us and with us. Like, wow, that starts to change everything. So, all of a sudden, and you say, “It's no big deal changing the way your family eats. Can I just say that is an enormous deal. The time that it takes to prepare the food, the thinking, the thought space, the bad recipes, it is so big.” So, you can try to minimize that. But I'm just going to say, “First of all, I'm glad there's a way forward, but I'm sorry, because that is massive. And it's a lot.” And Holy Spirit wants to meet us there. Remember Genesis 1:2, “In the beginning, God created the heavenly earth and the earth was formless and void.” Tohu wavohu in the Hebrew. “And the spirit was hovering over.” That word is merechefet. And it means to hover, to brood like a mama eagle. One rabbi translated it as to flutter. And what is the spirit fluttering? Remember in the Bible, sorry to go to teaching mode, but whenever someone is introduced in scripture, the introduction is the most important. We see that in the life of Saul. He literally is hiding in baggage and can't find his own donkeys. And it plays out that way, right? So, how is Holy Spirit introduced? Could have entered any place and comes on the scene hovering over the chaos, the uncertainty, and the unknown. And so, here you are in that place of uncertainty and unknown, a little chaotic. And what is Holy Spirit? Here's a recipe. Doing what? Reminding you, you are loved by God. You are seen by God. You are heard by God. And you are part of this kingdom. Man, when we start to share these stories, it just, oh, it creates this hunger to experience and know the spirit more. Laura Dugger: (40:32 - 42:02) It does, and it's so humbling, just his loving kindness. I want to make sure that you're up to date with our latest news. We have a new website. You can visit thesavvysauce.com and see all of the latest updates. You may remember Francie Heinrichson from episode 132, where we talked about pursuing our God-given dreams. She is the amazing businesswoman who has carefully designed a brand-new website for Savvy Sauce Charities. And we are thrilled with the final product. So, I hope you check it out. There you're going to find all of our podcasts, now with show notes and transcriptions listed, a scrapbook of various previous guests, and an easy place to join our email list to receive monthly encouragement and questions to ask your loved ones, so that you can have your own practical chats for intentional living. You will also be able to access our donation button or our mailing address for sending checks that are tax deductible, so that you can support the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and help us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. So, make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com. Are there any other stories that come to mind to think of Holy Spirit being alive and moving and working in people's lives today? Margaret Feinberg: (42:03 - 46:15) Oh, I'll give you one that I just found. You know what's so funny? Again, when you start to use the prayer prompts, when you start to do these just like a burger, all of a sudden you're like, oh my goodness, I didn't know how many birds there were. So, went over to our friend's house. It was somebody at church. We actually, they weren't our friends at that point. We noticed that when they came to our church, the son is on the spectrum. And so, in Sunday school class would often just stare at the wall in the corner by himself, not interact a whole lot, and their daughter. And so, my husband said, hey, let's bring a meal over to them. And they invited us to stay for dinner. And so, the son comes in and he's probably maybe nine years old, wrapped up in a blanket, like a little burrito. And he won't make any eye contact with us. You know, the mom's like, say, “Hello to Margaret.” Won't interact. Kind of woombas around, disappears, comes through a few times. Finish eating. We go out in the living room. And the mom starts telling the story that she was exhausted as a mom. She was completely burnt out. And she just said, “You know what? I'm going to the reservoir and I'm going to go paddle boarding.” Just take a few minutes for myself. So, she goes out. She's paddle boarding. All of a sudden she sees like a piece of paper on the surface of the water. She looks down and she goes, what is that? So, she picks it up. Turns out to be a QR code to the zoo. Now, she doesn't know if it's used trash or what, but she's like, I'm going to keep this. She paddles some more, sees another piece of paper. It's another QR code to the zoo. She's like, maybe they blew away from the, I don't, so, she grabs it. And she prays and she says, Lord, now you know that we're a family of four. So, if we're really supposed to go to the zoo, we need four of these. Keeps paddle boarding. Finds two more. And so, she comes home and says, “Guys, we're going to try to go to the zoo. I don't even know if these work.” But next day goes to the zoo, scans them. Boop, boop, boop, boop. They all work. So, they go to the zoo. So, they're walking through. And all of a sudden, the son comes upon a display of red pandas. And he just stops in his tracks. And he stares and he watches. And the rest of the family, you know, the sister and the dad want to go on and they do. But he just says, “Mom, can we stay here?” And so, he stays there for several hours just staring in this strange connection. He's never had, Mom had never seen anything like this with the red pandas. And so, she's telling me this story. And suddenly I look around their living room and I realize there is panda paraphernalia everywhere. She looks at her son and says, “Honey, why don't you go put on your panda outfit?” Disappears, comes back in the panda outfit. And all of a sudden, he's looking at us. He's talking to us. He's engaging us. He goes over to his parents and paws them like a panda. And all of a sudden is snuggling with them. And she says that one encounter at the zoo changed their relationship with their son. She says there are days that my son will get completely overwhelmed and start having a meltdown. And she'll use panda language and go up to him and say, “Well, you know that pandas eat 13 hours a day. Maybe you need a snack.” And it is provided this connection and this new language for them as a family that they never had before. All because she went paddle boarding at the reservoir and pieces of paper started floating on the surface of the water. Friends, this is the work and power and presence of Holy Spirit. Reminding us we are loved by God. We are seen by God. We are heard by God. And we are part of this kingdom. And for your listeners, that may be strange stories of paper. And that may seem really odd. But, man, I read a book that talks about Jesus saying, “Hey, go check out the fish.” And all of a sudden a coin to pay taxes comes out of his mouth. I read a book that declares that, you know, he is the alpha and the omega. He is the beginning and the end. He knows where we are. He knows what we need. And He wants to intercept. And sometimes that shows up like recipes in your brain in the morning. Laura Dugger: (46:16 - 47:27) Amen, sister. And you can keep sharing as many stories as you want. But one more. As I was reading your book, it was actually over Easter weekend. And at that time we had some tornadoes that were passing through the Midwest where we live. And in the middle of the night, we're all up. We're in the basement. And once the sirens ceased, we got our girls back to bed. And we came and I just wondered, we came back to bed and I thought, is this just going to be for a few moments? Is it going to happen again? Are we going to be up all night and need to take cover? So, with those concerns on my mind, I crawled back into bed. And, you know, cortisol is kind of rushing through. So, I picked up your book to read. And my eyes fell to the words you quoted from part of Isaiah 31:5. So, I specifically fell to this where it says, “He will shield it and deliver it. He will pass over it and will rescue it.” And I fell asleep well knowing that I could receive comfort from Holy Spirit, that the storm had passed for the night and God was shielding our family from it. And indeed He did. They ceased. Margaret Feinberg: (47:28 - 47:42) Isn't that incredible? I mean, we talk about I mean, just that's the word of God and the power of Holy Spirit, like speaking right in that moment in that exact situation. That is awesome. Absolutely awesome. I love it. Laura Dugger: (47:43 - 48:17) So, I love just Holy Spirit is even working through the words on your pages. I want you to be encouraged. I know you've prayed over this resource, but it's so incredible. Somebody once said that books are little missionaries. And it's so true throughout the world. You have no idea who's cuddled up in bed reading these words and getting to encounter him. So, thank you for all of your work for this. But Margaret, do you have any other practical tips that you want to impart to us so that each of us can cultivate the fruit of spirit in our lives? Margaret Feinberg: (48:18 - 50:39) Yeah, I would say, you know, if you're if you're new to this and this idea, you know, pick up a copy of The Gods You Need to Know. There's also a Bible study. I am passionate about doing this in community. The Holy Spirit, we often in the Americana church, think of our little personal private relationship with Jesus. And that's not church history. That's not the work of God. Since the beginning of time, it has always been through relationships and community and recognizing that each of us has something to bring to the table in relationship with God and each other and gifts and talents and insights. I am in my questions. I think I referred to this later or earlier about, you know, I surveyed a bunch of people in my newsletter just about, hey, so, how do you recognize Holy Spirit? One lady responded and she said, “Well, I recognize Holy Spirit because whenever I'm lost, I ask Holy Spirit for directions, and I just know where to go.” And she goes and it happens over and over in, you know, neighborhoods when I'm driving, when I'm going places. And I thought, okay, so, first I'll just be honest. My first thought was that's weird. I haven't heard that before. And we assign anything weird that we aren't familiar with. And then I thought a little longer. I thought, man, I want her on my team. I want her on my team because I get lost all the time. And I think that at times, sometimes we encounter people who encounter the Spirit differently than us. Remember that neurodiversity, but to recognize living in relationship, hearing how Holy Spirit works in different, sharing those stories. There's something contagious and powerful in it. So, I would say definitely pursue Holy Spirit in relationship with others. Get together with others. Start talking about this. Start praying together. Holy Spirit, we want to know you. You know, it's okay to say, Holy Spirit, in the past, I've seen really unhealthy things. Or nobody's really taught me about you. But I trust that as the Spirit of the living God that you want to reveal yourself. Just start praying, Holy Spirit, I want all of you. See what happens over the course of a week or two of praying that. And what you become aware of. What Bible passages flutter through your mind. What conversations you suddenly stumble upon. What answers to things you've been plagued with suddenly come. I trust God that if you ask and you honestly pursue, God will show up and show off. Laura Dugger: (50:41 - 51:45) I completely agree. And now I'm curious to look up. I feel like the Lord has kind of put on my mind the word weird this year a few times. Because truly, when you think of what he did, even in the Old Testament, think of Noah, just like, okay, I'm obeying. I'm putting nails in this wood for never seeing rain. It's weird what we're called to sometimes. And I think that's what can make me hesitate for obedience sometimes. Like, that feels weird. Or I don't want people to think I'm weird. So, I'm going to look up the definition of weird. I'd love to read it to you. Okay, so, I just looked up the definition of weird. And it says, suggesting something supernatural or uncanny. And I think we should reframe the word weird. And when we're invited into something weird by supernatural God of the universe, that's an incredible invitation, like you say, to adventure. So, I hope we can embrace the weird. Margaret Feinberg: (51:47 - 54:41) And to recognize that feeling of, I don't want to do this. This feels strange. That is universal. That is not you. That is not unique. And for all of our listeners and viewers, I have it. Everybody has it. When we're trying to discern, you know, if something is prompted by the Holy Spirit, number one, is this, does this align with scripture? And does it align with the character of God? Does it increase my dependence on God? Which means it's probably going to go against my natural instinct, which unfortunately is pretty self-word rather than outward. Does it cause me to love God and love others more? And so, of course, Holy Spirit is going to be working in this expansive ground to pull us away from our self-word direction outward. And that is always going to be stretching and feel strange. And sometimes we're not going to see the outcome. And we've got to become comfortable with that. We are not responsible for the outcome. We are responsible for obedience. Some time ago, I swim a lot. And I just felt just in my gut, like, talk to the person in the lane next to you. And so, I go out swimming, and he's next to me, and I'm like, okay. And so, I started this conversation with this elderly gentleman. And I'll just be honest. It was more like a non-versation. I mean, we talked about sports ball teams and the weather and nothing. I really cared. Nothing deep. Nothing meaningful. And on one hand, maybe I misheard. Okay. But no harm, no foul. I mean, I showed kindness to a stranger. Loved others. Like, there's no, like, okay. You know, on the other hand, I will never know what might have happened. Maybe he felt left alone. Maybe he felt seen. But the outcome doesn't matter. And so, there are going to be times that we step out, and we see it, and we encounter it, and it's so exciting. And there's going to be other times that we go to that thing, and we go, Lord, I didn't even know what that was. But maybe that was about quick obedience. You know, almost like building a muscle, getting stronger to say, you did it then. I'm going to keep challenging. I'm going to give you opportunities to do this again and again. Because I want you on the front lines of, you know, eyes are searching to and fro for people who are, you know, obedient, quick to respond, that Holy Spirit wants to use. And so, know that not seeing a result, totally normal. Keep going. Keep going. Because you will see responses sometimes. And it is awesome. And in part of that, it's almost like building a muscle that I think God is so gracious and so loving kind that he will show you, like, quick outcomes sometimes when you respond to that little impulse to keep you going. But there are going to be times you're not going to see them, but he's still at work. Because, again, you may be one of 17 people in a long chain where the fruit or the outcome as part of God's kingdom is still coming. And after a while, it's fine to be number 4, 7, 9. You don't always have to be number 17. Laura Dugger: (54:42 - 55:06) That's so good. That is such the biblical principle of being faithful with little. And then sometimes He allows us to be faithful with much. And, Margaret, this is not your only resource that you've written for all of us to enjoy. Can you share some of your other resources and what's available or what you've learned that we may learn if we pick up a copy? Margaret Feinberg: (55:06 - 56:31) Yeah. You know, I've definitely the most passive. I just gave four years of my life to this book and Bible study. I do a ridiculous amount of research, so, I'm very, very slow. So, top would be The God You Need to Know book and Bible study. But I think another one, and you referenced it earlier, is a book called Fight Back with Joy, and it's also a Bible study. And it just takes a look. You know, it tells a little bit about my cancer story, but it's really about anybody who's battling anything. You know, sometimes in life we pick the battles, and sometimes the battles pick us. And sometimes that's in your marriage, maybe a custody battle. It may be a health issue. It may be a financial calamity. It may be the loss of a business. There's just so much in a strange relationship with a kid that you love so much. And in that darkness, you know, it's so easy to sink. And this book and study is just, it shows that more than whimsy, joy is the weapon we use to fight life's battles. And gives just tons of practical tactics on how to enact that and what that looks like, and how, most importantly, how to rally around others in a healthy, beautiful way when they are in the midst of that. I think one of the failures of the church today is to really equip and train believers of every size and form of how to love others well in the midst of their pain. What to say, what not to say, how to give, how to support. And this book and resource really does that well. Laura Dugger: (56:32 - 56:43) Oh, so grateful for all of those. We'll make sure and add a link in the show notes. And if we want to connect or follow you after today's conversation, where would you like to direct us online? Margaret Feinberg: (56:44 - 57:09) You can find me at my website at Margaret Feinberg. I do my most loving of my people, I'll just be honest, through my e-newsletter. I mean, I sit down, I pray over, I pour my heart and my life into that. It's quiet. Nobody ever sees it. I am also on socials, on Instagram, at Facebook, at MA Feinberg, at Margaret Feinberg. But I would love to connect with you. And if anybody wants to email, my email is hello@margaretfeinberg.com. Laura Dugger: (57:09 - 57:26) Love it. Thank you for sharing all of that. And you may be aware that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment. And so, as my final question for you today, Margaret, what is your savvy sauce? Margaret Feinberg: (57:27 - 58:05) My savvy sauce is waking up every day and asking the Holy Spirit one question. When I don't know what to pray, I just say, “Holy Spirit, order my steps.” And if you will do this, you will do this for just 15 days. I have a belief. It may just change the course of your life. The great part, it takes less than 30 seconds. This is not doing heavy lifting. This is not time consuming, man. If you're raising those littles and you are overwhelmed, if you're running a business and you are overwhelmed, something very simple like this can change everything. Laura Dugger: (58:06 - 58:10) So good. And you are so obviously connected to the vine, to the Lord. And I just want you to receive this, the fruit of the spirit. I have experienced every single one in this conversation from engaging with you today. You are loving, joy, peace, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. And all wrapped into one. So, praise the Lord for the way He made you. You are an absolute delight. I have enjoyed this so much. Thank you for being my guest. Margaret Feinberg: (58:10 - 58:11) What a privilege and joy. Grateful for you. Laura Dugger: (58:11 - 1:02:30) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started. First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process. And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
Navigating Midlife with Grace: Emotions, Renewal & Finding Joy — with Cheryl Fischer About Cheryl Fischer: Cheryl Fischer is the host of Mind Your Midlife podcast, created to help midlife women feel confident in their body, their decisions, and their goals - and create a midlife they love. As a certified Life and Mindset Coach, Cheryl works with clients one-on-one and in group masterclass sessions to shift the narrative that tells us that we are stuck or not enough to one that allows us to move forward towards self-belief and success. She is a speaker and trainer, presenting and moderating at events and providing corporate training classes around the world. Cheryl is a wife, a mom, and a grandma, and enjoys reading, golf, happy hours, travel, and mahjong. What We Discuss In This Episode: Midlife brings a mix of challenges and opportunities — from shifting family dynamics to physical changes and emotional growth. In this heartfelt episode, Lynne Wadsworth and Cheryl Fischer dive into the realities of midlife transitions, discussing everything from menopause and caregiving to rediscovering joy and self-connection. Together, they explore how nostalgia, mindset, and emotional awareness can shape how we navigate this powerful life stage. Cheryl shares how to channel nostalgia into positive emotion and use techniques like tapping and deep breathing to calm anxiety and cultivate clarity. Lynne reflects on her recent cruise around the United Kingdom and the deep joy she felt reconnecting with her love of music and the Beatles — a reminder of how simple moments can reignite happiness. They also discuss gratitude, morning affirmations, and the power of noticing "glimmers" — small sparks of joy that bring peace and perspective to daily life.
Ralph welcomes infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm to discuss his new book “The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics.” Then, Ralph shares some quick takes on current events.Dr. Michael Osterholm is a professor and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. In November 2020, Dr. Osterholm was appointed to President-elect Joe Biden's 13-member Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board. He is the author of Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, and he has a weekly podcast called The Osterholm Update which offers discussion and analysis on the latest infectious disease developments. His latest book (co-authored with Mark Olshaker) is The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics.What we're concerned about now is we're primed for an influenza pandemic someday where a new influenza virus will emerge. And when it takes off, it'll rapidly spread through the people. And wherever it came from (whether a bird species or another animal) will not be that important because now it's transmitted among humans.Dr. Michael OsterholmI want to be really clear about one thing: There will be an influenza virus that will cause a pandemic in the future. And the pandemic clock is ticking, we just don't know what time it is.Dr. Michael OsterholmInstead of building from a base of modest preparedness from the prior administration (and I emphasize “modest”), they're going backwards. Also, with quackery positions on a whole variety of issues that is dividing the population, feeding the misinformation on the internet, and general chaos of information transmission.Ralph NaderI will just make one prediction here today: There is going to be a large, huge, overwhelming crisis that is going to occur eventually around an infectious disease issue in this country. And it's going to happen because Mother Nature herself does that to us—just like hurricanes are not optional, these large outbreaks are not optional. What's optional is how well we respond to them and limit their impact. And we are at a point right now where we have very, very limited impact on these things. So I think the public needs to be aware, we're in a very different setting today for public health response to a crisis than we've ever been in my 50 years in the business.Dr. Michael OsterholmNews 10/31/25* Our top stories this week concern U.S. saber rattling in Venezuela. First, a new piece in published Drop Site news, coauthored by Ryan Grim, Jack Poulson and Saagar Enjeti of Breaking Points, takes readers “Inside Marco Rubio's Push for Regime Change in Venezuela.” This piece deconstructs the Trump administration claims tying the Maduro government to fentanyl trafficking, quoting a senior U.S. official who unequivocally states that “U.S. intelligence has assessed that little to none of the fentanyl trafficked to the United States is being produced in Venezuela.” Another key point is that the Maduro government apparently offered to turn over oil resources to the United States in exchange for cessation of hostilities. Instead, in an echo of the Iraq War, Trump has apparently been, “swayed by arguments from Rubio that the best way to secure Venezuela's oil reserves was to facilitate regime change in Venezuela and make a better deal with a new government.” As with Iraq, regime change in Venezuela is likely to end up with a chaotic power vacuum in the country, destabilizing Latin America in turn. One would have hoped the U.S. had learned its lesson. Apparently not.* The administration does however seem to favor covert schemes to oust Maduro as opposed to an outright U.S. invasion. Back in 2020, the Trump administration backed Operation Gideon, which utilized American mercenaries and Venezuelan dissidents to try to capture Maduro. This week, Venezuela claims to have foiled another such attempt. Democracy Now! reports “Venezuelan officials say they've captured a group of mercenaries tied to the [CIA]. In a statement, the government of Venezuela said, ‘This is a colonial operation of military aggression that seeks to turn the Caribbean into a space for lethal violence and US imperial domination.'” This report goes on to state, “Earlier this month, President Trump acknowledged that he authorized the CIA to secretly conduct operations in Venezuela.” Meanwhile AP reports that over the past 16 months, a now-retired federal agent named Edwin Lopez sought to turn Maduro's personal pilot – Venezuelan General Bitner Villegas – and have the aviator deliver Maduro into U.S. custody. In exchange, Lopez promised to make the pilot a “very rich man.” This plot, hatched under President Biden and continuing under Trump, ultimately failed. Yet, as these half-baked covert ops go up in flames, it seems increasingly likely that the administration will resort to brute force. That same Democracy Now! piece reports that on Sunday, a U.S. warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago. With no diplomatic solution on the horizon, it seems only a matter of time before the shelling begins.* As all of this unfolds, Congressional Republicans are shirking their oversight responsibilities. On October 23rd, Axios reported that Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch of Idaho said the committee will not hold hearings regarding the lawless strikes on Venezuelan boats “at this time,” adding that he has been “briefed on it and feel[s] comfortable with where we are.” As if mocking the Legislative Branch, that same day Semafor reported a quote from “a person close to the White House” who said Trump won't coordinate with Congress until “Maduro's corpse is in US custody.”* Turning to the federal government, reclusive billionaire Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon fortune, has donated $130 million to the Pentagon to offset military staff salaries during the government shutdown. While $130 million is a drop in the bucket for the American Military-Industrial Complex – this donation will amount to about $50 per troop this pay cycle – it would appear to be blatantly illegal under the Antideficiency Act. The Hill explains that under this statute, “federal agencies are barred from ‘obligating or expending federal funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation, and from accepting voluntary services.'” In part, this statute was adopted to avoid just such a scenario – the president circumventing the Congressional Power of the Purse by soliciting outside donations. Unfortunately, Trump's subservient Congressional allies are unlikely to do anything about this outrageous usurpation of their power.* On the regulatory side, the Trump administration is putting its thumb on the scales in favor of David Ellison's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. A New York Post report quotes a senior administration official who says “Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the administration…The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just on the price competition but which player in the suitor pool has been successful getting a deal done.” The Post adds that “rival bidders are likely to face stiff hurdles from US regulators.” Ellison, son of Trump billionaire ally Larry Ellison, has had his eye on Warner Bros. Discovery – which owns CNN – since his recent acquisition of Paramount and its subsidiary CBS News. Critics have long warned of the dangers of consolidation in the media sphere, particularly news, but this would truly be an unprecedented upset of the media landscape.* Turning to consumer news, a new article in the Lever focuses on the fast food chain Shake Shack. According to this piece, the chain, “recently updated its terms of use agreement to include a binding arbitration agreement and class-action waiver denying customers their legal right to take companies to court.” Now, corporations sneaking binding arbitration agreements into their terms of service is not a new phenomenon, but this method is novel. This article explains that Shake Shack, and other fast food chains, are “extending restrictive contracts to consumers through the rapid expansion of online services such as websites, mobile apps, and automated self-service kiosks.” In other words, these automated services are becoming a ‘triple-threat' for these companies to exploit, simultaneously cutting labor costs, harvesting consumer data, and now forcing customers into these restrictive legal agreements. When will regulators take action to protect consumers from such rampant abuse?* One bright spot, so to speak, for consumer protection is emerging in the United Kingdom. The BBC reports the British Department for Transport will begin a review of the increasingly bright, bordering on blinding, LED headlights that have become commonplace in automobiles. The new guidelines are to be unveiled in the forthcoming Road Safety Strategy document being prepared by the government. Many drivers in the United States have complained about this issue as well – noting how dangerous it is for drivers to be blinded by oncoming headlights while on the road – and certain states like Hawaii and Massachusetts have taken action, though there has yet to be a federal response.* In more positive news from abroad, the Economic Times reports China has enacted an anti-misinformation law dictating that, “if you are an influencer and… want to discuss ‘serious' topics - such as finance, health, medicine, law or education - you must provide proof of relevant professional credentials.” This law will also ban “advertising for medical products and services,” which also covers supplements and health foods. Other reports indicate that the fines for violating this law could be as high as ¥100,000. The proliferation of medical misinformation has become a major issue for governments the world over and in the U.S. has incubated a vast underworld of medical conspiracy theories and dubious health products. It is heartening to see something being done to protect consumers' health and safety.* Speaking of someone doing something, Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh made headlines a month ago for blocking vehicles outside of an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, where she is running for office. Now, NBC reports she has been indicted by a special federal grand jury, “alongside five other people, including two other political candidates.” Abughazaleh responded to the indictment, writing “This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I'm not backing down, and we're going to win.” Her lawyer, Josh Herman, added, “This is a political prosecution that tries to turn dissent and First Amendment opposition to the Trump administration's cruel policies into a conspiracy…Kat has steadfastly opposed those policies and she will fight these charges with the same principled determination.” The defendants have not been arrested but will surrender to the court next week.* Finally, Palestine Legal has scored a major victory. The group reports that “The First Circuit…[has] ruled that pro-Palestinian slogans, encampments and criticism of Zionism is protected by the First Amendment -- tossing out a Zionist complaint targeting pro-Palestinian organizing at @MIT.” Furthermore, the court found that “Slogans such as From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, intifada revolution, and calling Israel's actions a genocide -- and more -- do not target Jewish or Israeli students on the basis of their identity… but target Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.” This is a win for the David side of the David and Goliath struggle between pro-Palestine student groups and the universities where they are organizing – which are themselves under immense pressure from the Trump administration to stifle pro-Palestinian speech. Hopefully, this gives organizers the necessary breathing room they need to regroup as the Trump-brokered ceasefire grows ever shakier.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
Global Commodities and UK Political Turmoil: Copper Prices Soar and Starmer's Tax U-Turn Guest: Simon Constable Simon Constable reports that copper prices are soaring to $5.18, up 20 percent, due to insufficient supply to meet demand from electric vehicles and artificial intelligence applications. In the United Kingdom, he notes Labour leader Keir Starmer reversed his tax pledge amidst poor productivity forecasts and failing reforms. Constable details the collapse of a high-profile China espionage case, possibly because UK espionage laws remain outdated from before World War I and China was not formally designated a hostile state at the time. He also highlights the troubling advice given by police to Israeli football fans to avoid attending a match due to safety concerns.