Podcasts about United Kingdom

What does it mean for men to navigate eating disorders in systems often designed without them in mind? In this conversation, George Mycock, PhD student and founder of MyoMinds, returns to Dr. Marianne-Land for the third time to share the evolution of his research and lived experience. Together, Dr. Marianne and George unpack what his multi-year studies reveal about barriers men face in seeking help, how treatment systems may unintentionally exclude them, and what can be done to make services more inclusive and effective. From the absence of representation in outreach materials to clinician bias in diagnosing and treating men, George highlights systemic gaps—and the hope that comes from centering men's own voices in solutions. In This Episode: Why George has structured his PhD around muscularity-oriented issues such as muscle dysmorphia, exercise addiction, and disordered eating Findings from his studies on organizational and systemic barriers that prevent men from accessing eating disorder care How imagery and outreach materials often alienate men, and what services can do differently The importance of lived experience research and co-designing resources with men themselves How messages of “it's okay not to be okay” may fall short, and why men often need purpose-driven, hopeful framing instead Practical ways providers can support men without pigeonholing their experiences George reminds us that there is no one “male experience” of eating disorders, and shares why focusing on diversity, autonomy, and agency is essential in both research and treatment. Content Caution This episode discusses eating disorders, body image concerns, and systemic barriers to care. Please listen with care. Previous Episodes With George When we chatted about George's first wave of research on exercise, eating disorders, & muscularity-oriented issues on Apple or Spotify. When we discussed George's overall focus on muscularity-oriented issues, men, and eating disorders on Apple or Spotify. When we talked about George's second wave of research on men, muscularity, exercise, & eating disorder stigmas on Apple or Spotify. About George & Connect With George George consulted on these issues for the Netflix show Everything Now.   George lives and works out of Malvern, England, in the United Kingdom.   You can contact and follow George through the following links: Website: MyoMinds.com Twitter/X: @myominds Instagram: @myo_minds INTERESTED IN HANGING OUT MORE IN DR. MARIANNE-LAND? Follow me on Instagram @drmariannemiller Look into my self-paced, virtual, anti-diet, subscription-based curriculum. It is called Dr. Marianne-Land's Binge Eating Recovery Membership. Check out my blog. Want more information? Email me at hello@mariannemiller.com

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about preperations being underway for US President Donald Trump's unprecedented second state visit to the UK, as well as Prime Minister Kier Starmer defending the British flag after a huge protest over the weekend.

The 80th United Nations General Assembly's High-Level Week begins on September 22, bringing together heads of state to deliver speeches and set the policy agenda for the year ahead. The prospect of several major Western powers—such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Canada—formally recognizing Palestinian statehood has drawn significant media attention. At the same time, it has prompted warnings of serious consequences from both U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dr. Ardi Imseis, Professor of International Law at Queen's University in Canada and legal counsel to the State of Palestine in its case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), offers insight into the potential impact of this recognition and what developments might unfold at the UN in the coming weeks.

Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. The Investment Philosophers: Financial Lessons from the Great Thinkers by Ethan A. Everett: https://amzn.to/45S4rnmSee our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcastWe are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P.About 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).

We've been making some big moves lately, including getting the podcast listed on IMDB and launching a new Spencley Design Co. Shopify discount code for listeners. We also had to do a redraw for our monthly KM Tools gift card winner after our previous winner, Neil Heslop, generously passed on his prize due to shipping costs to the United Kingdom. Big congrats to Built by Gus on winning the $50 gift card!We got a little sidetracked and had a fun discussion about the trials and tribulations of home improvement projects, from dealing with damaged doors from big box stores to the agony of painting. We also chatted about our own YouTube video production processes, the challenges of making content, and how we're working to improve our workflow and video quality. It's a candid look behind the scenes, and we hope you enjoy it!Got a question that you want us to answer? Send us an email at ⁠⁠offthecutpodcast@gmail.com⁠Be sure to hit up the links below to get even more content from us!Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out Streamyard: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5926541443858432⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠-------------------------AftershowConsider supporting the show on Patreon to get access to the aftershow and unlock tons of cool perks!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/offthecutpodcast⁠ ⁠⁠⁠-------------------------Hang Out with UsWatch the live stream of the podcast on YouTube!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRJPIp6OaffQtvCZ2AtWWQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-------------------------Pick Up Some Merch!Windbreaker - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.spencleydesignco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------Follow ZacInstagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/zacbuilds⁠ YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/@ZacBuilds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@zacbuilds⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------Follow EricInstagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spencleydesignco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@spencleydesignco⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spencleydesignco⁠⁠ ⁠-------------------------Follow Deric@PecanTreeDesign everywhere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/pecantreedesign⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---------------------------Shoutout to:KM Tools for sponsoring the show! Check out everything they have to offer at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KMTools.com ⁠⁠⁠kmtools.com/SPENCLEYDESIGNCO⁠ And ⁠WTB Woodworking⁠, our newest sponsor! Check out the giveaway over here:⁠https://www.wtbwoodworking.com/giveaway⁠ #Woodworking #DIY #3DPrinting #Maker #ContentCreation #YouTuber #OffTheCutPodcast

Today on the 193rd episode of The As The Raven Dreams Podcast, we have 3 truly disturbing true crime write ups all the way from The United Kingdom. Today's episode was written by Tom K, Find his other works here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBVX81W7 Also I know today's episode is shorter than normal, apologies, but I feel like true crime eps should probably be a little more contained. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like or rate the podcast, and leave me a comment with your thoughts if the platform your own supports it! I upload episodes every 3 days, so there are 2 days between new uploads. The podcast consists of new scary story collections, Glitch in the matrix collections, and also what I call the "Dark Dreams" collections (which are older stories, remastered and layered with rain sounds). If you have a story to submit, would like to find where to listen to the podcast, or want to find me on social media platforms, all of that info can be found at https://www.astheravendreams.com You can also send stories into my subreddit (r/theravensdream) or email them to me at AsTheRavenDreams@gmail.com Want to check out some ATRD Podcast Merch? ➤ https://teechip.com/stores/astheravendreams Or for signed merch ➤ https://ko-fi.com/AsTheRavenDreams I wrote a novel, "The Insomniac's Experiment" by Raven Adams! Check it out on amazon (Or you can email me for a signed copy!) Join Patreon to get early access and support the Podcast! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/AsTheRavenDreams Check out my gaming channel with my pal Ghost_Ink ➤ @superNefariousBros On YouTube TimeStamps… One ad break after the 2nd case. Case 1 ➤ 2:42 Case 2 ➤ 10:35 Case 3 ➤ 16:33 ----- Disclaimer ➤ Episodes include a content warning for language and sensitive/disturbing content. Listener discretion is always advised. ALL Audio and visuals on this podcast are copyright of AS THE RAVEN DREAMS / RAVEN ADAMS and may not be duplicated, in any format. Bless This Mess. None of my audio is AI Generated, I am a real person reading real stories into a real microphone. #ScaryStories #UnexplainedMysteries #TrueCrime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Forbeck is all that and so much more. He grew up in Wisconsin as what he describes as a wimpy kid, too short and not overly healthy. He took to gaming at a pretty early age and has grown to be a game creator, author and award-winning storyteller.   Matt has been designing games now for over 35 years. He tells us how he believes that many of the most successful games today have stories to tell, and he loves to create some of the most successful ones. What I find most intriguing about Matt is that he clearly is absolutely totally happy in his work. For most of Matt's career he has worked for himself and continues today to be an independent freelancer.   Matt and his wife have five children, including a set of quadruplets. The quadruplets are 23 and Matt's oldest son is 28 and is following in his father's footsteps.   During our conversation we touch on interesting topics such as trust and work ethics. I know you will find this episode stimulating and worth listening to more than once.     About the Guest:   Matt Forbeck is an award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and game designer of over thirty-five novels and countless other books and games. His projects have won a Peabody Award, a Scribe Award, and numerous ENnies and Origins Awards. He is also the president of the Diana Jones Award Foundation, which celebrates excellence in gaming.    Matt has made a living full-time on games and fiction since 1989, when he graduated from the Residential College at the University of Michigan with a degree in Creative Writing. With the exception of a four-year stint as the president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group and a year and a half as the director of the adventure games division of Human Head Studios, he has spent his career as an independent freelancer.   Matt has designed collectible card games, roleplaying games, miniatures games, board games, interactive fiction, interactive audiobooks, games for museum installations, and logic systems for toys. He has directed voiceover work and written short fiction, comic books, novels, screenplays, and video game scripts and stories. His work has been translated into at least 15 languages.   His latest work includes the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Core Rulebook, the Spider-Verse Expansion, Monster Academy (novels and board game), the Shotguns & Sorcery 5E Sourcebook based on his novels, and the Minecraft: Roll for Adventure game books. He is the father of five, including a set of quadruplets. He lives in Beloit, Wisconsin, with his wife and a rotating cast of college-age children. For more about him and his work, visit Forbeck.com.   Ways to connect with Matt:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/mforbeck Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forbeck Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/forbeck.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mforbeck Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mforbeck/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forbeck/ Website: https://www.forbeck.com/     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset today. We get to play games. Well, not really, but we'll try. Our guest is Matt Forbeck, who is an award winning author. He is a game designer and all sorts of other kinds of things that I'm sure he's going to tell us about, and we actually just before we started the the episode, we were talking about how one might explore making more games accessible for blind and persons with other disabilities. It's, it's a challenge, and there, there are a lot of tricks. But anyway, Matt, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here.   Matt Forbeck ** 02:02 Well, thank you, Michael for inviting me and having me on. I appreciate it.   Speaker 1 ** 02:06 I think we're going to have a lot of fun, and I think it'll work out really well. I'm I am sure of that. So why don't we start just out of curiosity, why don't you tell us kind of about the early Matt, growing up?   Matt Forbeck ** 02:18 Uh, well, I grew up. I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I grew up in a little town called Beloit, Wisconsin, which actually live in now, despite having moved away for 13 years at one point, and I had terrible asthma, I was a sick and short kid, and with the advent of medication, I finally started to be healthy when I was around nine, and Part of that, I started getting into playing games, right? Because when you're sick, you do a lot of sitting around rather than running around. So I did a lot of reading and playing games and things like that. I happen to grow up in the part of the world where Dungeons and Dragons was invented, which is in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, about 30 miles from where I live. And because of that I was I started going to conventions and playing games and such, when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I started doing it when I was a little bit older. I started doing it professionally, and started doing it when I was in college. And amazingly enough, even to my own astonishment, I've made a career out of it.   Speaker 1 ** 03:17 Where did you go to college? I went to the University   Matt Forbeck ** 03:21 of Michigan over in Ann Arbor. I had a great time there. There's a wonderful little college, Beloit College, in my hometown here, and most of my family has gone to UW Milwaukee over the years. My parents met at Marquette in Milwaukee, but I wanted to get the heck out of the area, so I went to Michigan, and then found myself coming back as soon as we started having   Speaker 1 ** 03:42 kids well, and of course, I would presume that when you were at the University of Michigan, you rooted for them and against Ohio State. That was   Matt Forbeck ** 03:50 kind of, you know, if you did it the other way around, they back out of town. So, yeah, I was always kind of astonished, though, because having grown up in Wisconsin, where every sports team was a losing team when I was growing up, including the Packers, for decades. You know, we were just happy to be playing. They were more excuse to have beers than they were to cheer on teams. And I went to Michigan where they were, they were angry if the team wasn't up by two touchdowns. You know, at any point, I'm like, You guys are silly. This is we're here for fun.   Speaker 1 ** 04:17 But it is amazing how seriously some people take sports. I remember being in New Zealand helping the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. Well now 22 years ago, it's 2003 and the America's Cup had just finished before we got there, and in America beat New Zealand, and the people in New Zealand were just irate. They were complaining that the government didn't put enough money into the design of the boat and helping with the with the yacht and all that. It was just amazing how seriously people take it, yeah,   Matt Forbeck ** 04:58 once, I mean, it becomes a part of your. Identity in a lot of ways, right for many people, and I've never had to worry about that too much. I've got other things on my mind, but there you go.   Speaker 1 ** 05:08 Well, I do like it when the Dodgers win, and my wife did her graduate work at USC, and so I like it when the Trojans win, but it's not the end of the world, and you do need to keep it in perspective. I I do wish more people would I know once I delivered a speech in brether County, Kentucky, and I was told that when I started the speech had to end no later than preferably exactly at 6:30pm not a minute later, because it was the night of the NCAA Basketball Championship, and the Kentucky Wildcats were in the championship, and at 630 everyone was going to get up and leave and go home to watch the game. So I ended at 630 and literally, by 631 I timed it. The gym was empty and it was full to start with.   Matt Forbeck ** 06:02 People were probably, you know, counting down on their watches, just to make sure, right?   Speaker 1 ** 06:06 Oh, I'm sure they were. What do you do? It's, it is kind of fun. Well, so why did you decide to get started in games? What? What? What attracted to you, to it as a young person, much less later on?   Matt Forbeck ** 06:21 Well, I was, yeah, I was an awkward kid, kind of nerdy and, you know, glasses and asthma and all that kind of stuff. And games were the kind of thing where, if you didn't know how to interact with people, you could sit down at a table across them and you could practice. You can say, okay, we're all here. We've got this kind of a magic circle around us where we've agreed to take this one silly activity seriously for a short period of time, right? And it may be that you're having fun during that activity, but you know, there's, there's no reason that rolling dice or moving things around on a table should be taken seriously. It's all just for fun, right? But for that moment, you actually just like Las Vegas Exactly, right? When there's money on the line, it's different, but if you're just doing it for grins. You know, it was a good way for me to learn how to interact with people of all sorts and of different ages. And I really enjoyed playing the games, and I really wanted to be a writer, too. And a lot of these things interacted with story at a very basic level. So breaking in as a writer is tough, but it turned out breaking as a game designer, wasn't nearly his stuff, so I started out over there instead, because it was a very young field at the time, right? D and D is now 50 years old, so I've been doing this 35 years, which means I started around professionally and even doing it before that, I started in the period when the game and that industry were only like 10 or 15 years old, so yeah, weren't quite as much competition in those   Speaker 1 ** 07:43 days. I remember some of the early games that I did play, that I could play, were DOS based games, adventure. You're familiar with adventure? Yeah, oh, yeah. Then later, Zork and all that. And I still think those are fun games. And I the reason I like a lot of those kinds of games is they really make you think, which I think most games do, even though the video even the video games and so on, they they help your or can help your reactions, but they're designed by people who do try to make you think,   Matt Forbeck ** 08:15 yeah. I mean, we basically are designing puzzles for people to solve, even if they're story puzzles or graphic puzzles or sound puzzles or whatever, you know, even spatial puzzles. There the idea is to give somebody something fun that is intriguing to play with, then you end up coming with story and after that, because after a while, even the most most exciting mechanics get dull, right? I mean, you start out shooting spaceships, but you can only shoot spaceships for so long, or you start out playing Tetris, and you only put shapes together for so long before it doesn't mean anything that then you start adding in story to give people a reason to keep playing right and a reason to keep going through these things. And I've written a lot of video games over the years, basically with that kind of a philosophy, is give people nuggets of story, give them a plot to work their way through, and reward them for getting through different stages, and they will pretty much follow you through anything. It's amazing.   Michael Hingson ** 09:09 Is that true Dungeons and Dragons too?   Matt Forbeck ** 09:13 It is. All of the stories are less structured there. If you're doing a video game, you know you the team has a lot of control over you. Give the player a limited amount of control to do things, but if you're playing around a table with people, it's more of a cooperative kind of experience, where we're all kind of coming up with a story, the narrator or the Game Master, the Dungeon Master, sets the stage for everything, but then the players have a lot of leeway doing that, and they will always screw things up for you, too. No matter what you think is going to happen, the players will do something different, because they're individuals, and they're all amazing people. That's actually to me, one of the fun things about doing tabletop games is that, you know, the computer can only react in a limited number of ways, whereas a human narrator and actually change things quite drastically and roll. With whatever people come up with, and that makes it tremendous fun.   Speaker 1 ** 10:04 Do you think AI is going to enter into all that and maybe improve some of the   Matt Forbeck ** 10:09 old stuff? It's going to add your end to it, whether it's an ad, it's going to approve it as a large question. Yeah. So I've been ranting about AI quite a bit lately with my friends and family. But, you know, I think the problem with AI, it can be very helpful a lot of ways, but I think it's being oversold. And I think it's especially when it's being oversold for thing, for ways for people to replace writers and creative thinking, Yeah, you know, you're taking the fun out of everything. I mean, the one thing I like to say is if, if you can't be bothered to write this thing that you want to communicate to me, I'm not sure why I should be bothered to read this thing well.   Speaker 1 ** 10:48 And I think that AI will will evolve in whatever way it does. But the fact of the matter is, So do people. And I think that, in fact, people are always going to be necessary to make the process really work? AI can only do and computers can only do so much. I mean, even Ray Kurzweil talks about the singularity when people and computer brains are married, but that still means that you're going to have the human element. So it's not all going to be the computer. And I'm not ready to totally buy into to what Ray says. And I used to work for Ray, so I mean, I know Ray Well, but, but the but the bottom line is, I think that, in fact, people are always going to be able to be kind of the, the mainstay of it, as long as we allow that, if we, if we give AI too much power, then over time, it'll take more power, and that's a problem, but that's up to us to deal with?   Matt Forbeck ** 11:41 No, I totally agree with that. I just think right now, there's a very large faction of people who it's in their economic interest to oversell these things. You know, people are making chips. They're building server farms. A lot of them are being transferred from people are doing blockchain just a few years ago, and they see it as the hot new thing. The difference is that AI actually has a lot of good uses. There's some amazing things will come out of llms and such. But I again, people are over the people are selling this to us. Are often over promising things, right?   Speaker 1 ** 12:11 Yeah, well, they're not only over promising but they're they're really misdirecting people. But the other side of it is that, that, in fact, AI as a concept and as a technology is here, and we have control over how we use it. I've said a couple times on this this podcast, and I've said to others, I remember when I first started hearing about AI, I heard about the the fact that teachers were bemoaning the pack, that kids were writing their papers just using AI and turning them in, and it wasn't always easy to tell whether it was something that was written by AI or was written by the student. And I come from a little bit different view than I think a lot of people do. And my view basically is, let the kids write it if with AI, if that's what they're going to do, but then what the teacher needs to do is to take one period, for example, and give every student in that class the opportunity to come up and defend whatever paper they have. And the real question is, can they defend the paper? Which means, have they really learned the subject, or are they just relying on AI,   Matt Forbeck ** 13:18 yeah, I agree with that. I think the trouble is, a lot of people, children, you know, who are developing their abilities and their morals about this stuff, they use it as just a way to complete the assignment, right? And many of them don't even read what they turn in, right, right? Just know that they've got something here that will so again, if you can't be bothered to read the thing that you manufactured, you're not learning anything about it,   Speaker 1 ** 13:39 which is why, if you are forced to defend it, it's going to become pretty obvious pretty fast, whether you really know it or not. Now, I've used AI on a number of occasions in various ways, but I use it to maybe give me ideas or prepare something that I then modify and shape. And I may even interact with AI a couple of times, but I'm definitely involved with the process all the way down the line, because it still has to be something that I'm responsible for.   Matt Forbeck ** 14:09 I agree. I mean, the whole point of doing these things is for people to connect with each other, right? I want to learn about the ideas you have in your head. I want to see how they jive with ones in my head. But if I'm just getting something that's being spit out by a machine and not you, and not being curated by you at any point, that doesn't seem very useful, right? So if you're the more involved people are in it, the more useful it is.   Speaker 1 ** 14:31 Well, I agree, and you know, I think again, it's a tool, and we have to decide how the tool is going to be used, which is always the way it ought to be. Right?   Matt Forbeck ** 14:42 Exactly, although sometimes it's large corporations deciding,   Speaker 1 ** 14:45 yeah, well, there's that too. Well, individuals,   Matt Forbeck ** 14:49 we get to make our own choices. Though you're right,   Speaker 1 ** 14:51 yes, and should Well, so, so when did you start bringing writing into what you. Did, and make that a really significant part of what you did?   Matt Forbeck ** 15:03 Well, pretty early on, I mean, I started doing one of the first things I did was a gaming zine, which was basically just a print magazine that was like, you know, 32 pages, black and white, about the different tabletop games. So we were writing those in the days, design and writing are very closely linked when it comes to tabletop games and even in video games. The trick of course is that designing a game and writing the rules are actually two separate sets of skills. So one of the first professional gig I ever had during writing was in games was some friends of mine had designed a game for a company called Mayfair games, which went on to do sellers of contain, which is a big, uh, entry level game, and but they needed somebody to write the rules, so they called me over, showed me how to play the game. I took notes and I I wrote it down in an easy to understand, clear way that people had just picked up the box. Could then pick it up and teach themselves how to play, right? So that was early on how I did it. But the neat thing about that is it also taught me to think about game design. I'm like, when I work on games, I think about, who is this game going to be for, and how are we going to teach it to them? Because if they can't learn the game, there's no point of the game at all, right?   Speaker 1 ** 16:18 And and so I'm right? I'm a firm believer that a lot of technical writers don't do a very good job of technical writing, and they write way over people's heads. I remember the first time I had to write, well, actually, I mentioned I worked for Kurzweil. I was involved with a project where Ray Kurzweil had developed his original omniprent optical character recognition system. And I and the National Federation of the Blind created with him a project to put machines around the country so that blind people could use them and give back to Ray by the time we were all done, recommendations as to what needed to go in the final first production model of the machine. So I had to write a training manual to teach people how to use it. And I wrote this manual, and I was always of the opinion that it had to be pretty readable and usable by people who didn't have a lot of technical knowledge. So I wrote the manual, gave it to somebody to read, and said, Follow the directions and and work with the machine and all that. And they did, and I was in another room, and they were playing with it for a couple of hours, and they came in and they said, I'm having a problem. I can't figure out how to turn off the machine. And it turns out that I had forgotten to put in the instruction to turn off the machine. And it wasn't totally trivial. There were steps you had to go through. It was a Data General Nova two computer, and you had to turn it off the right way and the whole system off the appropriate way, or you could, could mess everything up. So there was a process to doing it. So I wrote it in, and it was fine. But, you know, I've always been a believer that the textbooks are way too boring. Having a master's degree in physics, I am of the opinion that physics textbook writers, who are usually pretty famous and knowledgeable scientists, ought to include with all the text and the technical stuff they want to put in, they should put in stories about what they did in you bring people in, draw them into the whole thing, rather than just spewing out a bunch of technical facts.   Matt Forbeck ** 18:23 No, I agree. My my first calculus professor was a guy who actually explained how Newton and Leipzig actually came up with calculus, and then he would, you know, draw everything on the board and turn around say, and isn't that amazing? And you were, like, just absolutely enamored with the idea of how they had done these things, right? Yeah. And what you're doing there, when you, when you, when you give the instructions to somebody and say, try this out. That's a very big part of gaming, actually, because what we do this thing called play testing, where we take something before it's ready to be shown to the public, and we give it to other people and say, try this out. See how it works. Let me know when you're starting out of your first playing you play with like your family and friends and people will be brutal with you and give you hints about how you can improve things. But then, even when you get to the rules you're you send those out cold to people, or, you know, if you're a big company, you watch them through a two way mirror or one way mirror, and say, Hey, let's see how they react to everything. And then you take notes, and you try to make it better every time you go through. And when I'm teaching people to play games at conventions, for instance, I will often say to them, please ask questions if you don't understand anything, that doesn't mean you're dumb. Means I didn't explain it well enough, right? And my job as a person writing these rules is to explain it as well as I humanly can so it can't be misconstrued or misinterpreted. Now that doesn't mean you can correct everything. Somebody's always got like, Oh, I missed that sentence, you know, whatever. But you do that over and over so you can try to make it as clear and concise as possible, yeah.   Speaker 1 ** 19:52 Well, you have somewhat of a built in group of people to help if you let your kids get involved. Involved. So how old are your kids?   Matt Forbeck ** 20:03 My eldest is 26 he'll be 27 in January. Marty is a game designer, actually works with me on the marble tabletop role playing game, and we have a new book coming out, game book for Minecraft, called Minecraft role for adventure, that's coming out on July 7, I think, and the rest of the kids are 23 we have 423 year olds instead of quadruplets, one of whom is actually going into game design as well, and the other says two are still in college, and one has moved off to the work in the woods. He's a very woodsy boy. Likes to do environmental education with people.   Speaker 1 ** 20:39 Wow. Well, see, but you, but you still have a good group of potential game designers or game critics anyway.   Matt Forbeck ** 20:47 Oh, we all play games together. We have a great time. We do weekly game nights here. Sometimes they're movie nights, sometimes they're just pizza nights, but we shoot for game and pizza   Speaker 1 ** 20:56 if we get lucky and your wife goes along with all this too.   Matt Forbeck ** 21:00 She does. She doesn't go to the game conventions and stuff as much, and she's not as hardcore of a gamer, but she likes hanging out with the kids and doing everything with us. We have a great time.   Speaker 1 ** 21:10 That's that's pretty cool. Well, you, you've got, you've got to build an audience of some sorts, and that's neat that a couple of them are involved in it as well. So they really like what dad does, yeah,   Matt Forbeck ** 21:23 yeah. We, I started taking them each to conventions, which are, you know, large gatherings gamers in real life. The biggest one is Gen Con, which happens in Indianapolis in August. And last year, I think, we had 72,000 people show up. And I started taking the kids when they were 10 years old, and my wife would come up with them then. And, you know, 10 years old is a lot. 72,000 people is a lot for a 10 year old. So she can mention one day and then to a park the next day, you know, decompress a lot, and then come back on Saturday and then leave on Sunday or whatever, so that we didn't have them too over stimulated. But they really grown to love it. I mean, it's part of our annual family traditions in the summer, is to go do these conventions and play lots of games with each other and meet new people too well.   Speaker 1 ** 22:08 And I like the way you put it. The games are really puzzles, which they are, and it's and it's fun. If people would approach it that way, no matter what the game is, they're, they're aspects of puzzles involved in most everything that has to do with the game, and that's what makes it so fun.   Matt Forbeck ** 22:25 Exactly, no. The interesting thing is, when you're playing with other people, the other people are changing the puzzles from their end that you have to solve on your end. And sometimes the puzzle is, how do I beat this person, or how do I defeat their strategy, or how do I make an alliance with somebody else so we can win? And it's really always very intriguing. There's so many different types of games. There's nowadays, there's like something like 50 to 100 new board games that come out and tabletop games every month, right? It's just like a fire hose. It's almost like, when I was starting out as a novelist, I would go into Barnes and Noble or borders and go, Oh my gosh, look at all these books. And now I do the same thing about games. It's just, it's incredible. Nobody, no one person, could keep up with all of them.   Speaker 1 ** 23:06 Yeah, yeah, yeah, way too much. I would love to explore playing more video games, but I don't. I don't own a lot of the technology, although I'm sure that there are any number of them that can be played on a computer, but we'll have to really explore and see if we can find some. I know there are some that are accessible for like blind people with screen readers. I know that some people have written a few, which is kind of cool. Yeah.   Matt Forbeck ** 23:36 And Xbox has got a new controller out that's meant to be accessible to large amount of people. I'm not sure, all the different aspects of it, but that's done pretty well, too   Speaker 1 ** 23:44 well. And again, it comes down to making it a priority to put all of that stuff in. It's not like it's magic to do. It's just that people don't know how to do it. But I also think something else, which is, if you really make the products more usable, let's say by blind people with screen readers. You may be especially if it's well promoted, surprised. I'm not you necessarily, but people might well be surprised as to how many others might take advantage of it so that they don't necessarily have to look at the screen, or that you're forced to listen as well as look in order to figure out what's going on or take actions.   Matt Forbeck ** 24:29 No, definitely true. It's, you know, people audio books are a massive thing nowadays. Games tend to fall further behind that way, but it's become this incredible thing that obviously, blind people get a great use out of but my wife is addicted to audio books now. She actually does more of those than she does reading. I mean, I technically think they're both reading. It's just one's done with yours and one's done with your eyes.   Speaker 1 ** 24:51 Yeah, there's but there's some stuff, whether you're using your eyes or your fingers and reading braille, there's something about reading a book that way that's. Even so a little bit different than listening to it. Yeah, and there's you're drawn in in some ways, in terms of actually reading that you're not necessarily as drawn into when you're when you're listening to it, but still, really good audio book readers can help draw you in, which is important, too,   Matt Forbeck ** 25:19 very much. So yeah, I think the main difference for reading, whether it's, you know, again, through Braille or through traditional print, is that you can stop. You can do it at your own pace. You can go back and look at things very easily, or read or check things, read things very easily. That you know, if you're reading, if you're doing an audio book, it just goes on and it's straight on, boom, boom, boom, pace. You can say, Wait, I'm going to put this down here. What was that thing? I remember back there? It was like three pages back, but it's really important, let me go check that right.   Speaker 1 ** 25:50 There are some technologies that allow blind people and low vision people and others, like people with dyslexia to use an audio book and actually be able to navigate two different sections of it. But it's not something that is generally available to the whole world, at least to the level that it is for blind people. But I can, I can use readers that are made to be able to accept the different formats and go back and look at pages, go back and look at headings, and even create bookmarks to bookmark things like you would normally by using a pen or a pencil or something like that. So there are ways to do some of that. So again, the technology is making strides.   Matt Forbeck ** 26:37 That's fantastic. Actually, it's wonderful. Just, yeah, it's great. I actually, you know, I lost half the vision of my right eye during back through an autoimmune disease about 13 years ago, and I've always had poor vision. So I'm a big fan of any kind of way to make things easier,   Speaker 1 ** 26:54 like that. Well, there, there are things that that are available. It's pretty amazing. A guy named George curser. Curser created a lot of it years ago, and it's called the DAISY format. And the whole idea behind it is that you can actually create a book. In addition to the audio tracks, there are XML files that literally give you the ability to move and navigate around the book, depending on how it's created, as final level as you choose.   Matt Forbeck ** 27:25 Oh, that's That's amazing. That's fantastic. I'm actually really glad to hear that.   Speaker 1 ** 27:28 So, yeah, it is kind of fun. So there's a lot of technology that's that's doing a lot of different sorts of things and and it helps. But um, so for you, in terms of dealing with, with the games, you've, you've written games, but you've, you've actually written some novels as well, right?   Matt Forbeck ** 27:50 Yeah, I've got like 30, it depends on how you count a novel, right? Okay, like some of my books are to pick a path books, right? Choose Your Own Adventure type stuff. So, but I've got 35 traditional novels written or more, I guess, now, I lost track a while ago, and probably another dozen of these interactive fiction books as well. So, and I like doing those. I've also written things like Marvel encyclopedias and Avengers encyclopedias and all sorts of different pop culture books. And, you know, I like playing in different worlds. I like writing science fiction, fantasy, even modern stuff. And most of it, for me comes down to telling stories, right? If you like to tell stories, you can tell stories through a game or book or audio play or a TV show or a comic, or I've done, you know, interactive museum, games and displays, things like that. The main thing is really a story. I mean, if you're comfortable sitting down at a bar and having a drink with somebody, doesn't have to be alcohol, just sitting down and telling stories with each other for fun. That's where the core of it all is really   Speaker 1 ** 28:58 right. Tell me about interactive fiction book.   Matt Forbeck ** 29:01 Sure, a lot of these are basically just done, like flow charts, kind of like the original Zork and adventure that you were talking about where you I actually, I was just last year, I brought rose Estes, who's the inventor of the endless quest books, which were a cross between Dungeons and Dragons, and choose your own adventure books. She would write the whole thing out page by page on a typewriter, and then, in order to shuffle the pages around so that people wouldn't just read straight through them, she'd throw them all up in the air and then just put them back in whatever order they happen to be. But essentially, you read a section of a book, you get to the end, and it gives you a choice. Would you like to go this way or that way? Would you like to go beat up this goblin? Or would you like to make friends with this warrior over here? If you want to do one of these things, go do page xx, right? Got it. So then you turn to that page and you go, boom, some, actually, some of the endless quest books I know were turned into audio books, right? And I actually, I. Um, oddly, have written a couple Dungeons and Dragons, interactive books, audio books that have only been released in French, right? Because there's a company called Looney l, u n, i, i that has this little handheld device that's for children, that has an A and a B button and a volume button. And you, you know, you get to the point that says, if you want to do this, push a, if you want to do that, push B, and the kids can go through these interactive stories and and, you know, there's ones for clue and Dungeons and Dragons and all sorts of other licenses, and some original stories too. But that way there's usually, like, you know, it depends on the story, but sometimes there's, like, 10 to 20 different endings. A lot of them are like, Oh no, you've been killed. Go back to where you started, right? And if you're lucky, the longer ones are, the more fun ones. And you get to, you know, save the kingdom and rescue the people and make good friends and all that good stuff,   Michael Hingson ** 30:59 yeah, and maybe fall in love with the princess or Prince.   Matt Forbeck ** 31:02 Yeah, exactly right. It all depends on the genre and what you're working in. But the idea is to give people some some choices over how they want the story to go. You're like, Well, do you want to investigate this dark, cold closet over here, or would you rather go running outside and playing around? And some of them can seem like very innocent choices, and other ones are like, well, uh, 10 ton weight just fell on. You go back to the last thing.   Speaker 1 ** 31:23 So that dark hole closet can be a good thing or a bad thing,   Matt Forbeck ** 31:28 exactly. And the trick is to make the deaths the bad endings, actually just as entertaining as anything else, right? And then people go, Well, I got beat, and I gotta go back and try that again. So yeah, if they just get the good ending all the way through, they often won't go back and look at all the terrible ones. So it's fun to trick them sometimes and have them go into terrible spots. And I like to put this one page in books too that sometimes says, How did you get here? You've been cheating there. This book, this page, is actually not led to from any other part of the book. You're just flipping   Speaker 1 ** 31:59 through. Cheater, cheater book, do what you   Matt Forbeck ** 32:04 want, but if you want to play it the right way, go back.   Speaker 1 ** 32:07 Kid, if you want to play the game. Yeah, exactly. On the other hand, some people are nosy.   Matt Forbeck ** 32:15 You know, I was always a kid who would poke around and wanted to see how things were, so I'm sure I would have found that myself but absolutely related, you know,   Speaker 1 ** 32:23 yeah, I had a general science teacher who brought in a test one day, and he gave it to everyone. And so he came over to me because it was, it was a printed test. He said, Well, I'm not going to give you the test, because the first thing it says is, read all the instructions, read, read the test through before you pass it, before you take it. And he said, most people won't do that. And he said, I know you would. And the last question on the test is answer, only question one.   Matt Forbeck ** 32:55 That's great. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah,   Speaker 1 ** 32:57 that was cute. And he said, I know that. I that there's no way you would, would would fall for that, because you would say, Okay, let's read the instructions and then read the whole test. That's what it said. And the instruction were, just read the whole test before you start. And people won't do that.   Matt Forbeck ** 33:13 No, they'll go through, take the whole thing. They get there and go, oh, did I get there? Was a, there's a game publisher. I think it was Steve Jackson Games, when they were looking for people, write for them, or design stuff for them, or submit stuff to them, would have something toward the end of the instructions that would say, put like a the letter seven, or put seven a on page one right, and that way they would know if you had read the instructions, if you hadn't bothered to Read the instructions, they wouldn't bother reading anything else.   Speaker 1 ** 33:42 Yeah, which is fair, because the a little harsh, well, but, but, you know, we often don't learn enough to pay attention to details. I know that when I was taking physics in college, that was stressed so often it isn't enough to get the numbers right. If you don't get the units right as well. Then you're, you're not really paying attention to the details. And paying attention to the details is so important.   Matt Forbeck ** 34:07 That's how they crash from those Mars rovers, wasn't it? They somebody messed up the units, but going back and forth between metric and, yeah, and Imperial and, well, you know, it cost somebody a lot of money at one point. Yeah. Yeah. What do you   Speaker 1 ** 34:21 this is kind of the way it goes. Well, tell me, yeah. Well, they do matter, no matter what people think, sometimes they do matter. Well, tell me about the Diana Jones award. First of all, of course, the logical question for many people is, who is Diana Jones? Yeah, Diana Jones doesn't exist, right? That's There you go. She's part game somewhere? No, no, it doesn't be in a game somewhere.   Matt Forbeck ** 34:43 Then now there's actually an author named Diana Wynne Jones, who's written some amazing fantasy stories, including Howell's Moving Castle, which has turned into a wonderful anime movie, but it has nothing to do with her or any other person. Because originally, the Diana Jones award came about. Because a friend of mine, James Wallace, had somehow stumbled across a trophy that fell into his hands, and it was a pub trivia trophy that used to be used between two different gaming companies in the UK, and one of those was TSR, UK, the United Kingdom department. And at one point, the company had laid off everybody in that division just say, Okay, we're closing it all down. So the guys went and burned a lot of the stuff that they had, including a copy of the Indiana Jones role playing game, and the only part of the logo that was left said Diana Jones. And for some reason, they put this in a in a fiberglass or Plexiglas pyramid, put it on a base, a wooden base, and it said the Diana Jones award trophy, right? And this was the trophy that they used they passed back and forth as a joke for their pub trivia contest. Fell into James's hands, and he decided, You know what, we're going to give this out for the most excellent thing in gaming every year. And we've now done this. This will be 25 years this summer. We do it at the Wednesday night before Gen Con, which starts on Thursday, usually at the end of July or early August. And as part of that, actually, about five years ago, we started, one of the guys suggested we should do something called the emerging designers program. So we actually became a 501, c3, so we could take donations. And now we take four designers every year, fly them in from wherever they happen to be in the world, and put them up in a hotel, give them a badge the show, introduce them to everybody, give them an honorarium so they can afford to skip work for a week and try to help launch their careers. I mean, these are people that are in the first three years of their design careers, and we try to work mostly with marginalized or et cetera, people who need a little bit more representation in the industry too. Although we can select anybody, and it's been really well received, it's been amazing. And there's a group called the bundle of holding which sells tabletop role playing game PDFs, and they've donated 10s of 1000s of dollars every year for us to be able to do this. And it's kind of funny, because I never thought I'd be end up running a nonprofit, but here I'm just the guy who writes checks to the different to the emerging designer program. Folks are much more tied into that community that I am. But one of the real reasons I wanted to do something like that or be involved with it, because if you wander around with these conventions and you notice that it starts getting very gray after a while, right? It's you're like, oh, there's no new people coming in. It's all older people. I we didn't I didn't want us to all end up as like the Grandpa, grandpa doing the HO model railroad stuff in the basement, right? This dying hobby that only people in their 60s and 70s care about. So bringing in fresh people, fresh voices, I think, is very important, and hopefully we're doing some good with that. It's been a lot of fun either way.   Speaker 1 ** 37:59 Well, I have you had some success with it? Yeah, we've   Matt Forbeck ** 38:02 had, well, let's see. I think we've got like 14 people. We've brought in some have already gone on to do some amazing things. I mean, it's only been a few years, so it's hard to tell if they're gonna be legends in their time, but again, having them as models for other people to look at and say, Oh, maybe I could do that. That's been a great thing. The other well, coincidentally, Dungeons and Dragons is having its best 10 year streak in its history right now, and probably is the best selling it's ever been. So coinciding with that, we've seen a lot more diversity and a lot more people showing up to these wonderful conventions and playing these kinds of games. There's also been an advent of this thing called actual play, which is the biggest one, is a group called Critical Role, which is a whole bunch of voice actors who do different cartoons and video games and such, and they play D and D with each other, and then they record the games, and they produce them on YouTube and for podcasts. And these guys are amazing. There's a couple of other ones too, like dimension 20 and glass cannon, the critical role guys actually sold out a live performance at Wembley Arena last summer. Wow. And dimension. Dimension 20 sold out Madison Square Garden. I'm like, if you'd have told me 20 years ago that you know you could sell out an entire rock stadium to have people watch you play Dungeons and Dragons, I would have laughed. I mean, there's no way it would have been possible. But now, you know, people are very much interested in this. It's kind of wild, and it's, it's fun to be a part of that. At some level,   Speaker 1 ** 39:31 how does the audience get drawn in to something like that? Because they are watching it, but there must be something that draws them in.   Matt Forbeck ** 39:39 Yeah, part of it is that you have some really skilled some actors are very funny, very traumatic and very skilled at improvisation, right? So the the dungeon master or Game Master will sit there and present them with an idea or whatever. They come up each with their own characters. They put them in wonderful, strong voices. They kind of inhabit the roles in a way that an actor. A really top level actor would, as opposed to just, you know, me sitting around a table with my friends. And because of that, they become compelling, right? My Marty and my his wife and I were actually at a convention in Columbus, Ohio last weekend, and this group called the McElroy family, actually, they do my brother, my brother and me, which is a hit podcast, but they also do an actual play podcast called The Adventure zone, where they just play different games. And they are so funny. These guys are just some of the best comedians you'll ever hear. And so them playing, they actually played our Marvel game for a five game session, or a five podcast session, or whatever, and it was just stunningly fun to listen to. People are really talented mess around with something that we built right it's very edifying to see people enjoying something that you worked on.   Speaker 1 ** 40:51 Do you find that the audiences get drawn in and they're actually sort of playing the game along, or as well? And may disagree with what some of the choices are that people make?   Matt Forbeck ** 41:02 Oh, sure. But I mean, if the choices are made from a point of the character that's been expressed, that people are following along and they they already like the character, they might go, Oh, those mean, you know that guy, there are some characters they love to hate. There are some people they're they're angry at whatever, but they always really appreciate the actors. I mean, the actors have become celebrities in their own right. They've they sell millions of dollars for the comic books and animated TV shows and all these amazing things affiliated with their actual play stuff. And it's, I think it, part of it is because, it's because it makes the games more accessible. Some people are intimidated by these games. So it's not really, you know, from a from a physical disability kind of point. It's more of a it makes it more accessible for people to be nervous, to try these things on their own, or don't really quite get how they work. They can just sit down and pop up YouTube or their podcast program and listen into people doing a really good job at it. The unfortunate problem is that the converse of that is, when you're watching somebody do that good of a job at it, it's actually hard to live up to that right. Most people who play these games are just having fun with their friends around a table. They're not performing for, you know, 10s of 1000s, if not hundreds of 1000s of people. So there's a different level of investments, really, at that point, and some people have been known to be cowed by that, by that, or daunted by that.   Speaker 1 ** 42:28 You work on a lot of different things. I gather at the same time. What do you what do you think about that? How do you like working on a lot of different projects? Or do you, do you more focus on one thing, but you've got several things going on, so you'll work on something for one day, then you'll work on something else. Or how do you how do you do it all?   Matt Forbeck ** 42:47 That's a good question. I would love to just focus on one thing at a time. Now, you know the trouble is, I'm a freelancer, right? I don't set my I don't always get to say what I want to work on. I haven't had to look for work for over a decade, though, which has been great. People just come to me with interesting things. The trouble is that when you're a freelancer, people come in and say, Hey, let's work on this. I'm like, Yeah, tell me when you're ready to start. And you do that with like, 10 different people, and they don't always line up in sequence properly, right? Yeah? Sometimes somebody comes up and says, I need this now. And I'm like, Yeah, but I'm in the middle of this other thing right now, so I need to not sleep for another week, and I need to try to figure out how I'm going to put this in between other things I'm working on. And I have noticed that after I finish a project, it takes me about a day or three to just jump track. So if I really need to, I can do little bits here and there, but to just fully get my brain wrapped around everything I'm doing for a very complex project, takes me a day or three to say, Okay, now I'm ready to start this next thing and really devote myself to it. Otherwise, it's more juggling right now, having had all those kids, probably has prepared me to juggle. So I'm used to having short attention span theater going on in my head at all times, because I have to jump back and forth between things. But it is. It's a challenge, and it's a skill that you develop over time where you're like, Okay, I can put this one away here and work on this one here for a little while. Like today, yeah, I knew I was going to talk to you, Michael. So I actually had lined up another podcast that a friend of mine wanted to do with me. I said, Let's do them on the same day. This way I'm not interrupting my workflow so much, right? Makes sense? You know, try to gang those all together and the other little fiddly bits I need to do for administration on a day. Then I'm like, Okay, this is not a day off. It's just a day off from that kind of work. It's a day I'm focusing on this aspect of what I do.   Speaker 1 ** 44:39 But that's a actually brings up an interesting point. Do you ever take a day off or do what do you do when you're when you deciding that you don't want to do gaming for a while?   Matt Forbeck ** 44:49 Yeah, I actually kind of terrible. But you know, you know, my wife will often drag me off to places and say we're going to go do this when. Yes, we have a family cabin up north in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that we go to. Although, you know, my habit there is, I'll work. I'll start work in the morning on a laptop or iPad until my battery runs out, and then I shut it down, put on a charger, and then I go out and swim with everybody for the rest of the day. So it depends if I'm on a deadline or not, and I'm almost always on a deadline, but there are times I could take weekends off there. One of the great things of being a freelancer, though, and especially being a stay at home father, which is part of what I was doing, is that when things come up during the middle of the week, I could say, oh, sure, I can be flexible, right? The trouble is that I have to pay for that time on my weekends, a lot of the time, so I don't really get a lot of weekends off. On the other hand, I'm not I'm not committed to having to work every day of the week either, right? I need to go do doctor appointments, or we want to run off to Great America and do a theme park or whatever. I can do that anytime I want to. It's just I have to make up the time at other points during the week. Does your wife work? She does. She was a school social worker for many years, and now as a recruiter at a local technical college here called Black Hawk tech. And she's amazing, right? She's fantastic. She has always liked working. The only time she stopped working was for about a year and a half after the quads were born, I guess, two years. And that was the only time I ever took a job working with anybody else, because we needed the health insurance, so I we always got it through her. And then when she said, Well, I'm gonna stay home with the kids, which made tons of sense, I went and took a job with a video game company up in Madison, Wisconsin called Human Head Studios for about 18 months, 20 months. And then the moment she told me she was thinking about going back to work, I'm like, Oh, good, I can we can Cobra for 18 months and pay for our own health insurance, and I'm giving notice this week, and, you know, we'll work. I left on good terms that everybody. I still talk to them and whatever, but I very much like being my own boss and not worrying about what other people are going to tell me to do. I work with a lot of clients, which means I have a lot of people telling me what to do. But you know, if it turns out bad, I can walk I can walk away. If it turns out good, hopefully we get to do things together, like the the gig I've been working out with Marvel, I guess, has been going on for like, four years now, with pretty continuous work with them, and I'm enjoying every bit of it. They're great people to work with.   Speaker 1 ** 47:19 Now, you were the president of Pinnacle entertainment for a little while. Tell me about that.   Matt Forbeck ** 47:24 I was, that was a small gaming company I started up with a guy named Shane Hensley, who was another tabletop game designer. Our big game was something called Dead Lands, which was a Western zombie cowboy kind of thing. Oh gosh, Western horror. So. And it was pretty much a, you know, nobody was doing Western horror back in those days. So we thought, Oh, this is safe. And to give you an example of parallel development, we were six months into development, and another company, White Wolf, which had done a game called Vampire the Masquerade, announced that they were doing Werewolf the Wild West. And we're like, you gotta be kidding me, right? Fortunately, we still released our game three months before there, so everybody thought we were copying them, rather than the other way around. But the fact is, we were. We both just came up with the idea independently. Right? When you work in creative fields, often, if somebody wants to show you something, you say, I'd like to look at you have to sign a waiver first that says, If I do something like this, you can't sue me. And it's not because people are trying to rip you off. It's because they may actually be working on something similar, right already. Because we're all, you know, swimming in the same cultural pool. We're all, you know, eating the same cultural soup. We're watching or watching movies, playing games, doing whatever, reading books. And so it's not unusual that some of us will come up with similar ideas   Speaker 1 ** 48:45 well, and it's not surprising that from time to time, two different people are going to come up with somewhat similar concepts. So that's not a big surprise, exactly, but   Matt Forbeck ** 48:56 you don't want people getting litigious over it, like no, you don't be accused of ripping anybody off, right? You just want to be as upfront with people. With people. And I don't think I've ever actually seen somebody, at least in gaming, in tabletop games, rip somebody off like that. Just say, Oh, that's a great idea. We're stealing that it's easier to pay somebody to just say, Yes, that's a great idea. We'll buy that from you, right? As opposed to trying to do something unseemly and criminal?   Speaker 1 ** 49:24 Yeah, there's, there's something to be said for having real honor in the whole process.   Matt Forbeck ** 49:30 Yeah, I agree, and I think that especially if you're trying to have a long term career in any field that follows you, if you get a reputation for being somebody who plays dirty, nobody wants to play with you in the future, and I've always found it to be best to be as straightforward with people and honest, especially professionally, just to make sure that they trust you. Before my quadruplets were born, you could have set your clock by me as a freelancer, I never missed a deadline ever, and since then, I've probably it's a. Rare earth thing to make a deadline, because, you know, family stuff happens, and you know, there's just no controlling it. But whenever something does happen, I just call people up and say, hey, look, it's going to be another week or two. This is what's going on. And because I have a good reputation for completing the job and finishing quality work, they don't mind. They're like, Oh, okay, I know you're going to get this to me. You're not just trying to dodge me. So they're willing to wait a couple weeks if they need to, to get to get what they need. And I'm very grateful to them for that. And I'm the worst thing somebody can do is what do, what I call turtling down, which is when it's like, Oh no, I'm late. And then, you know, they cut off all communication. They don't talk to anybody. They just kind of try to disappear as much as they can. And we all, all adults, understand that things happen in your life. It's okay. We can cut you some slack every now and then, but if you just try to vanish, that's not even possible.   Speaker 1 ** 50:54 No, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be said for trust and and it's so important, I think in most anything that we do, and I have found in so many ways, that there's nothing better than really earning someone's trust, and they earning your trust. And it's something I talk about in my books, like when live with a guide dog, live like a guide dog, which is my newest book, it talks a lot about trust, because when you're working with a guide dog, you're really building a team, and each member of the team has a specific job to do, and as the leader of the team, it's my job to also learn how to communicate with the other member of the team. But the reality is, it still comes down to ultimately, trust, because I and I do believe that dogs do love unconditionally, but they don't trust unconditionally. But the difference between dogs and people is that people that dogs are much more open to trust, for the most part, unless they've just been totally traumatized by something, but they're more open to trust. And there's a lesson to be learned there. No, I   Matt Forbeck ** 52:03 absolutely agree with that. I think, I think most people in general are trustworthy, but as you say, a lot of them have trauma in their past that makes it difficult for them to open themselves up to that. So that's actually a pretty wonderful way to think about things. I like that,   Speaker 1 ** 52:17 yeah, well, I think that trust is is so important. And I know when I worked in professional sales, it was all about trust. In fact, whenever I interviewed people for jobs, I always asked them what they were going to sell, and only one person ever answered me the way. I really hoped that everybody would answer when I said, So, tell me what you're going to be selling. He said, The only thing I have to really sell is myself and my word, and nothing else. It really matters. Everything else is stuff. What you have is stuff. It's me selling myself and my word, and you have to, and I would expect you to back me up. And my response was, as long as you're being trustworthy, then you're going to get my backing all the way. And he was my most successful salesperson for a lot of reasons, because he got it.   Matt Forbeck ** 53:08 Yeah, that's amazing. I mean, I mean, I've worked with people sourcing different things too, for sales, and if you can rely on somebody to, especially when things go wrong, to come through for you. And to be honest with you about, you know, there's really that's a hard thing to find. If you can't depend on your sources for what you're building, then you can't depend on anything. Everything else falls apart.   Speaker 1 ** 53:29 It does. You've got to start at the beginning. And if people can't earn your trust, and you earn theirs, there's a problem somewhere, and it's just not going to work.   Matt Forbeck ** 53:39 Yeah, I just generally think people are decent and want to help. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've had issues. Car breaks down the road in Wisconsin. Here, if somebody's car goes in the ditch, everybody stops and just hauls them out. It's what you do when the quads were born, my stepmother came up with a sign up sheet, a booklet that she actually had spiral bound, that people could sign up every three three hours to help come over and feed and bathe, diaper, whatever the kids and we had 30 to 35 volunteers coming in every week. Wow, to help us out with that was amazing, right? They just each pick slots, feeding slots, and come in and help us out. I had to take the 2am feeding, and my wife had to take the 5am feeding by ourselves. But the rest of the week we had lots and lots of help, and we were those kids became the surrogate grandchildren for, you know, 30 to 35 women and couples really, around the entire area, and it was fantastic. Probably couldn't have survived   Speaker 1 ** 54:38 without it. And the other part about it is that all those volunteers loved it, because you all appreciated each other, and it was always all about helping and assisting.   Matt Forbeck ** 54:48 No, we appreciate them greatly. But you know every most of them, like 99% of them, whatever were women, 95 women who are ready for grandchildren and didn't have them. Had grandchildren, and they weren't in the area, right? And they had that, that love they wanted to share, and they just loved the opportunity to do it. It was, I'm choking up here talking about such a great time for us in   Speaker 1 ** 55:11 that way. Now I'm assuming today, nobody has to do diaper duty with the quads, right?   Matt Forbeck ** 55:16 Not until they have their own kids. Just checking, just checking, thankfully, think we're that is long in our past,   Speaker 1 ** 55:23 is it? Is it coming fairly soon for anybody in the future?   Matt Forbeck ** 55:27 Oh, I don't know. That's really entirely up to them. We would love to have grandchildren, but you know, it all comes in its own time. They're not doing no well. I, one of my sons is married, so it's possible, right? And one of my other sons has a long term girlfriend, so that's possible, but, you know, who knows? Hopefully they're they have them when they're ready. I always say, if you have kids and you want them, that's great. If you have, if you don't have kids and you don't want them, that's great. It's when you cross the two things that,   Speaker 1 ** 55:57 yeah, trouble, yeah, that's that is, that is a problem. But you really like working with yourself. You love the entre

In the second and final part of their discussion defence expert Lee Pilgrim and host Iain Ballantyne resume their survey of the Royal Navy and how to fix it. They ponder the need for a new ‘Dreadnought moment' under a leader as radical as the legendary Admiral Jacky Fisher who introduced war-winning tech and a new mindset. Fisher pushed through construction of the all-big-gun, steam turbine powered HMS Dreadnought, which in 1906 made all other battleships obsolete. Lee suggests it will also require a latter-day Julian Corbett, the civilian naval visionary who helped Britain forge a strategy for the immensely powerful Royal Navy of the early 20th Century. In their lively chat, Lee and Iain weigh up the worth of the UK's new Atlantic Bastion concept, and the part uncrewed systems will play in it, along with the need to keep humans in the kill chain if drones are to be a major part of policing the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap.  The latter is the main gateway to the broader Atlantic used by Russian submarines since the Cold War, but Iain and Lee wonder if a less passive, more forward leaning strategy is needed. Also touched on in the discussion is the utility of drones as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group and the  F-35B jet as a fighter-bomber compared to how the Royal Navy used to do things the last time it had big carriers (in the 1970s). •Lee Pilgrim has worked in defence and intelligence - for government and industry - for over 30 years both in the UK and overseas, so has some useful insights into a whole load of interesting things. His social media posts on X are well worth a read. Follow him on that platform @MtarfaL He has also written several articles for Warships IFR and contributed to our forthcoming ‘Guide to the Royal Navy 2026.' •Iain Ballantyne is the founding and current Editor of Warships IFR (first published in 1998) along with its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy' (since 2002) and ‘Guide to the US Navy' (since 2018). Iain is also author of the books ‘Hunter Killers' (Orion) and ‘The Deadly Trade' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), both about submarine warfare, plus ‘Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron' (published by Canelo). In 2017 Iain was awarded a Fellowship by the British Maritime Foundation, which promotes awareness of the United Kingdom's dependence on the sea and seafarers. Visit his web site Bismarckbattle.com and follow him on X @IBallantyn The new (October) edition of Warships IFR is out 19.9.25 in the UK and also being deployed globally. Visit the magazine web site http://bit.ly/wifrmag  Follow us on X @WarshipsIFR Facebook @WarshipsIFR and Warships IFR TV on YouTube @warshipsifrtv3668  To subscribe to the magazine's digital and/or hard copy variants https://warshipsifr.com/subscriptions/ The ‘Guide to the Royal Navy 2026' mentioned in this podcast episode is published on 18.9.25 and can be ordered here https://sundialmedia.escosubs.co.uk/store/products,guide-to-the-royal-navy-2026_640.htm

From the BBC World Service: Pharmaceutical giant Merck has scrapped plans worth more than $1 billion to expand its operations in the United Kingdom, blaming a lack of government support. It's the latest pharmaceutical company to curb investments there. Also, Mexico plans to slap tariffs of up to 50% on cars from China and other Asian countries. And, there's a warning from the World Health Organization that workers worldwide need better protection from extreme heat.

From the BBC World Service: Pharmaceutical giant Merck has scrapped plans worth more than $1 billion to expand its operations in the United Kingdom, blaming a lack of government support. It's the latest pharmaceutical company to curb investments there. Also, Mexico plans to slap tariffs of up to 50% on cars from China and other Asian countries. And, there's a warning from the World Health Organization that workers worldwide need better protection from extreme heat.

Episode 491 / Peter FunchBorn 1974 in Denmark Peter Funch currently lives and works in Paris, France. He lived in New York for 13 years as a photographer. Funch graduated as a Photojournalist from the Danish School of Journalism in 1999 and combines the social commentary with a cinematic style. His still and motion work often combines storytelling with a perceptive social commentary in a cinematic visual language. He is working internationally with exhibitions, books, editorial and advertising clients alike, combining his technical perfection with a touch of his Nordic calmness and dry humour. Worked with international clients like IKEA, Sony, HSBC, Whitney museum. He has published seven monographs, where Babel Tales and 42nd and Vanderbilt, picturing routines and rituals in the public sphere in New York City. Recent exhibitions include Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, DAC, Cph, DK (2025), The Imperfect Atlas, Fotografisk Center, Cph (2024), DK, 42nd And Vanderbilt, Vevey, Swiss (2020),  A History of Photography: Daguerreotype to Digital, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom (2018), In 2018, Funch received The Art, Design and Architecture Award of the Year, Dir. Einar Hansen and wife Vera Hansen Foundation for 42nd and Vanderbilt. 

Dive into the third episode of AJC's latest limited podcast series, Architects of Peace. Go behind the scenes of the decades-long diplomacy and quiet negotiations that made the Abraham Accords possible, bringing Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and later Morocco, together in historic peace agreements.  On September 15, 2020, the Abraham Accords were signed at the White House by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain. In this third installment of AJC's limited series, AJC CEO Ted Deutch and Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson—who stood on the South Lawn that day—share their memories and insights five years later. Together, they reflect on how the Accords proved that peace is achievable when nations share strategic interests, build genuine relationships, and pursue the greater good. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.  Read the transcript: https://www.ajc.org/news/podcast/from-the-white-house-lawn-architects-of-peace-episode-3 Resources: AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace - Tune in weekly for new episodes. The Abraham Accords, Explained AJC.org/CNME - Find more on AJC's Center for a New Middle East Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus People of the Pod Follow Architects of Peace on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace You can reach us at: podcasts@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Transcript: Ted Deutch: It was a beautiful day and there was this coming together, this recognition that this was such an historic moment. It's the kind of thing, frankly, that I remember having watched previously, when there were peace agreements signed and thinking that's something that I want to be a part of. And there I was looking around right in the middle of all of this, and so excited about where this could lead. Manya Brachear Pashman: In September 2020, the world saw what had been years, decades in the making, landmark peace agreements dubbed the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and two Arabian Gulf States, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Later, in December, they were joined by the Kingdom of Morocco. Five years later, AJC is pulling back the curtain to meet key individuals who built the trust that led to these breakthroughs. Introducing: the Architects of Peace. Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Accompanied by the Prime Minister of the State of Israel; His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, and the Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.  Manya Brachear Pashman: The guests of honor framed by the South Portico of the White House were an unlikely threesome. Two Arab foreign ministers and the Prime Minister of Israel, there to sign a pair of peace agreements that would transform the Middle East.  Donald Trump: Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries, we take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity. There will be other countries very, very soon that will follow these great leaders. Manya Brachear Pashman: President Trump's team had achieved what was long thought impossible. After decades of pretending Israel did not exist until it solved its conflict with the Palestinians, Trump's team discovered that attitudes across the Arab region had shifted and after months of tense negotiations, an agreement had been brokered by a small circle of Washington insiders. On August 13, 2020, the United Arab Emirates agreed to become the first Arab state in a quarter century to normalize relations with Israel. Not since 1994 had Israel established diplomatic relations with an Arab country, when King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a treaty, ending the state of war that had existed between them since Israel's rebirth. A ceremony to celebrate and sign the historic deal was planned for the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020. Before the signing ceremony took place, another nation agreed to sign as well: not too surprisingly the Kingdom of Bahrain.  After all, in June 2019, Bahrain had hosted the Peace to Prosperity summit, a two-day workshop where the Trump administration unveiled the economic portion of its peace plan – a 38-page prospectus that proposed ways for Palestinians and Arab countries to expand economic opportunities in cooperation with Israel.  In addition to Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all participated in the summit. The Palestinians boycotted it, even as Trump's senior advisor Jared Kushner presented plans to help them. Jared Kushner: A lot of these investments people are unwilling to make because people don't want to put good money after bad money. They've seen in the past they've made these investments, they've tried to help out the Palestinian people, then all of a sudden there's some  conflict that breaks out and a lot of this infrastructure gets destroyed. So what we have here is very detailed plans and these are things we can phase in over time assuming there's a real ceasefire, a real peace and there's an opportunity for people to start making these investments. Manya Brachear Pashman: Now Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain would open embassies, exchange ambassadors, and cooperate on tourism, trade, health care, and regional security. The Accords not only permitted Israelis to enter the two Arab nations using their Israeli passports, it opened the door for Muslims to visit historic sites in Israel, pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, and finally satisfy their curiosity about the Jewish state. Before signing the accords, each leader delivered remarks. Here's Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani: For too long, the Middle East has been set back by conflict and mistrust, causing untold destruction and thwarting the potential of generations of our best and brightest young people. Now, I'm convinced, we have the opportunity to change that. Manya Brachear Pashman: UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan echoed that sentiment and also addressed accusations by Palestinian leadership that the countries had abandoned them. He made it clear that the accords bolstered the Emirates' support for the Palestinian people and their pursuit of an independent state. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan:  [speaking in Arabic] Manya Brachear Pashman: [translating Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan] This new vision, he said, which is beginning to take shape as we meet today for the future of the region, full of youthful energy, is not a slogan that we raise for political gain as everyone looks forward to creating a more stable, prosperous, and secure future. This accord will enable us to continue to stand by the Palestinian people and realize their hopes for an independent state within a stable and prosperous region. Manya Brachear Pashman: The Truman Balcony, named for the first American president to recognize Israel's independence, served as the backdrop for a few iconic photographs. The officials then made their way down the stairs and took their seats at the table where they each signed three copies of the Abraham Accords in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. The brief ceremony combined formality and levity as the leaders helped translate for each other so someone didn't sign on the wrong dotted line. After that was settled, they turned the signed documents around to show the audience. When they all rose from their seats, Prime Minister Netanyahu paused. After the others put their portfolios down, he stood displaying his for a little while longer, taking a few more seconds to hold on to the magnitude of the moment. Benjamin Netanyahu: To all of Israel's friends in the Middle East, those who are with us today and those who will join us tomorrow, I say, ‘As-salamu alaykum. Peace unto thee. Shalom.' And you have heard from the president that he is already lining up more and more countries. This is unimaginable a few years ago, but with resolve, determination, a fresh look at the way peace is done . . . The blessings of the peace we make today will be enormous, first, because this peace will eventually expand to include other Arab states, and ultimately, it can end the Arab Israeli conflict once and for all. [clapping] [Red alert sirens] Manya Brachear Pashman: But peace in Israel was and still is a distant reality as Palestinian leadership did not participate in the Accords, and, in fact, viewed it as a betrayal. As Netanyahu concluded his speech to the audience on the White House Lawn, thousands of miles away, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 15 rockets fired by terrorists in Gaza, at least one striking Israel's coastal city of Ashdod. Iran's regime condemned the agreement. But across most of the region and around the world, the revelation that decades of hostility could be set aside to try something new – a genuine pursuit of peace – inspired hope. Saudi journalists wrote op-eds in support of the UAE and Bahrain. Egypt and Oman praised the Abraham Accords for adding stability to the region. Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain commended the monumental step. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal for paving the way toward a two-state solution. AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson was one of more than 200 domestic and foreign officials on the White House Lawn that day taking it all in. The guest list included members of Congress, embassy staff, religious leaders, and people like himself who worked behind the scenes – a cross section of people who had been part of a long history of relationship building and peacemaking in the Middle East for many years. Jason Isaacson: To see what was happening then this meeting of neighbors who could be friends. To see the warmth evident on that stage at the South Lawn of the White House, and then the conversations that were taking place in this vast assembly on the South Lawn. Converging at that moment to mark the beginning of a development of a new Middle East. It was an exciting moment for me and for AJC and one that not only will I never forget but one that I am looking forward to reliving. Manya Brachear Pashman: Jason, of course, is talking about his confidence in the expansion of the Abraham Accords. Through his position at AJC he has attended several White House events marking milestones in the peace process. He had been seated on the South Lawn of the White House 27 years earlier to watch a similar scene unfold -- when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat met to sign the Oslo Accords with President Bill Clinton. Yitzhak Rabin: What we are doing today is more than signing an agreement. It is a revolution. Yesterday, a dream. Today, a commitment. The Israeli and the Palestinian peoples who fought each other for almost a century have agreed to move decisively on the path of dialogue, understanding, and cooperation. Manya Brachear Pashman: Brokered secretly by Norway, the Oslo Accords established mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which claimed to represent the Palestinian people. It also led to the creation of a Palestinian Authority for interim self-government and a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and Gaza.  Jason Isaacson: I mean, 1993 was a tremendous breakthrough, and it was a breakthrough between the State of Israel and an organization that had been created to destroy Israel. And so it was a huge breakthrough to see the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to a process that would revolutionize that relationship, normalize that relationship, and set aside a very ugly history and chart a new path that was historic. Manya Brachear Pashman: While the Oslo Accords moved the Israelis and Palestinians toward a resolution, progress came to a halt two years later with the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. In July 2000, President Clinton brought Arafat and then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Camp David to continue discussions, but they could not agree.  In his autobiography, “My Life,” President Clinton wrote that Arafat walked away from a Palestinian state, a mistake that Clinton took personally. When Arafat called him a great man, Clinton responded “I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you made me one." Arafat's decision also would prove fatal for both Israelis and Palestinians. By September, the Second Intifada – five years of violence, terror attacks, and suicide bombings – derailed any efforts toward peace. Jason says the Abraham Accords have more staying power than the Oslo Accords. That's clear five years later, especially after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks sparked a prolonged war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Two years into the war, the Abraham Accords have held. But Jason recalls feeling optimistic, even as he sat there again on the South Lawn. Jason Isaacson: It's a different kind of historic moment, maybe a little less breathtaking in the idea of two fierce antagonists, sort of laying down their arms and shaking hands uneasily, but shaking hands. Uneasily, but shaking hands. All those years later, in 2020, you had a state of Israel that had no history of conflict with the UAE or Bahrain. Countries with, with real economies, with real investment potential, with wise and well-advised leaders who would be in a position to implement plans that were being put together in the summer and fall of 2020. The Oslo Accords, you know, didn't provide that kind of built in infrastructure to advance peace. Manya Brachear Pashman: Jason pointed out that the only source of conflict among the signatories on the Abraham Accords was actually a point of mutual agreement – a frustration and desire to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. UAE and Bahrain were part of the League of Arab States that had sworn in 2002 not to advance relations with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution.  But 18 years later, that had gone nowhere and leaders recognized that perhaps it would be more beneficial to the Palestinian cause if they at least engaged with Israel. Jason Isaacson: I had no fear, sitting in a folding chair on the White House Lawn on September 15, that this was going to evaporate. This seemed to be a natural progression. The region is increasingly sophisticated and increasingly plugged into the world, and recognizing that they have a lot of catching up to do to advance the welfare of their people. And that that catching up is going to require integrating with a very advanced country in their region that they have shunned for too long. This is a recognition that I am hearing across the region, not always spoken in those words, but it's clear that it will be of benefit to the region, to have Israel as a partner, rather than an isolated island that somehow is not a part of that region. Donald Trump: I want to thank all of the members of Congress for being here … Manya Brachear Pashman: AJC CEO Ted Deutch also was at the White House that day, not as AJC CEO but as a Congressman who served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and chaired its Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism. Ted Deutch: It was a beautiful day and there was this coming together, this recognition that this was such an historic moment and it's exactly the kind of thing, frankly, that  I remember having watched previously, when there were peace agreements signed and thinking that's something that I want to be a part of. And there I was looking around right in the middle of all of this, and so excited about where this could lead. Manya Brachear Pashman: Despite his congressional role, Ted learned about the deal along with the rest of the world when it was initially announced a month before the ceremony, though he did get a tip that something was in the pipeline that would change the course of the committee's work. Ted Deutch: I found out when I got a phone call from the Trump administration, someone who was a senior official who told me that there is big news that's coming, that the Middle East is never going to look the same, and that he couldn't share any other information. And we, of course, went into wild speculation mode about what that could be. And the Abraham Accords was the announcement, and it was as dramatic as he suggested. Manya Brachear Pashman: It was a small glimmer of light during an otherwise dark time. Remember, this was the summer and early fall of 2020. The COVID pandemic, for the most part, had shut down the world. People were not attending meetings, conferences, or parties. Even members of Congress were avoiding Capitol Hill and casting their votes from home. Ted Deutch: It was hard to make great strides in anything in the diplomatic field, because there weren't the kind of personal interactions taking place on a regular basis. It didn't have the atmosphere that was conducive to meaningful, deep, ongoing conversations about the future of the world. And that's really what this was about, and that's what was missing. And so here was this huge news that for the rest of the world, felt like it was out of the blue, that set in motion a whole series of steps in Congress about the way that our committee, the way we approach the region. That we could finally start talking about regional cooperation in ways that we couldn't before. Manya Brachear Pashman: The timing was especially auspicious as it boosted interest in a particular piece of legislation that had been in the works for a decade: the bipartisan Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act. Approved by Congress in December 2020, around the same time Morocco joined the Abraham Accords, the law allocated up to $250 million over five years for programs advancing peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians and supporting a sustainable two-state solution. Passed as part of a larger appropriations bill, it was the largest investment of any single country in Israeli-Palestinian civil society initiatives. Ted Deutch: Here we were having this conversation about increasing trade and increasing tourism and the countries working more closely together and being able to freely fly back and forth on a regular basis – something that we've seen as the tourism numbers have taken off. The trade has taken off. So it really changed what we do. Manya Brachear Pashman: The other thing Ted recalls about that day on the White House lawn was the bipartisan spirit in the air. Although his own committee didn't tend to divide along party lines, Congress had become quite polarized and partisan on just about everything else. On that day, just as there was no animus between Israelis and Arabs, there was none between Republicans and Democrats either. And Ted believes that's the way it always should be. Ted Deutch: It was a bipartisan stellium of support, because this was a really important moment for the region and for the world, and it's exactly the kind of moment where we should look for ways to work together. This issue had to do with the Middle East, but it was driven out of Washington. There's no doubt about that. It was driven out of the out of the Trump administration and the White House and that was, I think, a reminder of the kind of things that can happen in Washington, and that we need to always look for those opportunities and when any administration does the right thing, then they need to be given credit for it, whether elected officials are on the same side of the aisle or not. We were there as people who were committed to building a more peaceful and prosperous region, with all of the countries in the region, recognizing the contributions that Israel makes and can make as the region has expanded, and then thinking about all of the chances that we would have in the years ahead to build upon this in really positive ways. Manya Brachear Pashman: On that warm September day, it felt as if the Abraham Accords not only had the potential to heal a rift in the Middle East but also teach us some lessons here at home. Even if it was impossible to resolve every disagreement, the Abraham Accords proved that progress and peace are possible when there are shared strategic interests, relationships, and a shared concern for the greater good.   Ted Deutch: I hope that as we celebrate this 5th anniversary, that in this instance we allow ourselves to do just that. I mean, this is a celebratory moment, and I hope that we can leave politics out of this. And I hope that we're able to just spend a moment thinking about what's been achieved during these five years, and how much all of us, by working together, will be able to achieve, not just for Israel, but for the region, in the best interest of the United States and in so doing, ultimately, for the world. That's what this moment offers. Manya Brachear Pashman: In the next episode, we meet Israelis and Arabs who embraced the spirit of the Abraham Accords and seized unprecedented opportunities to collaborate. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jason Isaacson, Sean Savage, and the entire AJC team for making this series possible.  You can subscribe to Architects of Peace on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace.  The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC.  You can reach us at podcasts@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

Shrouded in myth and mystery, Gilbert Jessop's 76-ball century is an English cricket record that has stood since 1902. Renowned cricket journalist and historian Simon Wilde has attempted to capture the celebratory mood of the nation that was the backdrop to Jessop's stunning knock. With the brutal Boer War having ended and a new Monarch in place, it was an exciting time of change and advancement in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the cricket team hadn't got the memo and having already relinquished The Ashes, England turned to their ultimate impact player to restore some pride. What transpired has gone down in history, with Jessop leading a remarkable run chase which wouldn't look out of place under Ben Stokes. How many balls did he really face? Some new discoveries have helped untangle one of the most disputed innings in cricket history.Purchase Chasing Jessop https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Jessop-Mystery-England-Crickets/dp/1526692538 Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get discounts on Noobru, the think drink: ⁠⁠⁠noobru.com/finalword⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Urthboy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now that we're officially in the 2026 Eurovision season, it's time to revisit the last time Austria hosted the contest: 2015. But we couldn't do it alone - Ross Bryant of Dropout & Push the Roll joins us to cover the show from Aminata to Zelmerlow. Jeremy dreams of Winamp, Dimitry's ears always perk up at good Adio, Ross is tormented by electro-swing, and Oscar thinks we ought to do Tonight Again.Watch Eurovision 2015 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44t24wGdlA0Listen to Ross's new Call of Cthulhu RPG podcast, Push the Roll, here: https://pushtheroll.com/This week's companion playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Z3Za7oxN398hDn23tjHvz 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!

While there has been enormous innovation in the treatment of cancer over the past two decades, much of this has been focused on adult cancers. Despite the advent of targeted therapies and immunotherapies, the treatment of childhood cancers relies largely on chemotherapy and radiation, both of which can create lifelong side effects in developing bodies. And cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children in the United States and the United Kingdom. C-Further, an international consortium created by LifeArc and Cancer Research Horizons, is working to advance innovative treatments for childhood cancers. It not only provides funding to discover and develop transformative therapies to treat childhood cancers but also leverages its network to help advance promising therapies. We spoke to David Jenkinson, head of childhood cancer translational challenge at LifeArc, about the approach C-Further is taking, the scientific and economic challenges of developing treatments for childhood cancers, and why new models for advancing these therapies are needed.

Despite the optimistic outlook of local entertainment executives, Atlanta area creatives still say there’s cause for concern. There’s reportedly an almost 50% drop in production spending and films shot in Georgia over the past three years. Plus, after more than a decade of filming blockbusters in the metro area, Marvel Studios is leaving the state to film in the United Kingdom at a lower cost. On today’s “Closer Look with Rose Scott,” local workers in the entertainment industry discuss what they say is limited funding and infrastructure for independent filmmaking. They also tell us how indie filmmakers are banding together to support each other’s work. Also, with their shared mission to empower the next generation of veterinary students, Zoo Atlanta and Fort Valley State University have teamed up for a new program. Veterinary students will receive hands-on clinical experience treating more than 200 species of exotic animals and have access to all the resources of the Rollins Animal Health Center, a state-of-the-art facility which opened in 2024. We learn more about how the program will prepare students for their future careers with officials from the zoo and the university’s College of Agriculture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode we have on Brian Wecht from the bands Go Banana Go, Ninja Sex Party and podcast Leighton Night.We talked about Go Banana Go's new album Slippery When Peeled, pretending to charge his daughter rent, his daughter wanting to be in his bands, how he went from being an academic to being in Ninja Sex Party, having a kid in the United Kingdom, and things we both thought were normal growing up and realized weren't.Send us a textFollow us on Facebook and Instagram @theimperfectdadspodcast . Look for new episodes of The Imperfect Dads Podcast every Monday.

This week, I'm joined by the wonderful and amazing Mhara Starling! We sit down to talk all about Welsh Mythology and Welsh Fairies! Come join us!Books mentioned in the episode: *Some links below are affiliated links and help me continue producing content.* Y Mabinogi:https://amzn.to/3VI7fyPWelsh Fairies:https://amzn.to/4nwelCGMore on Mhara: Mhara Starling was born in North Wales. Having grown up upon the Isle of Anglesey, an Island rich in history and lore pertaining to Druids, Witches, Fairies, Giants, and Magic, she developed an interest in Witchcraft from a very young age. Mhara's native language is Welsh, a Celtic language, and she loves nothing more than to explore the magic and lore of her landscape and culture. She is a Swynwraig, a modern day Welsh Witch, and also an Awenydd of the Anglesey Druid Order. Mhara runs her own coven on the borders of Wales, and has taught at various festivals, conferences, and events across the United Kingdom. She is a published author with Llewellyn Worldwide, and also shares her love for the traditions and magic of Wales online to people across the world. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MharaStarlingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mhara_starling/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mharastarling2730Patreon: https://patreon.com/mharastarling?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkThank you to my subscribers!Step into the circle. Support the magick, fuel the flame, and get exclusive spells, stories, and sacred chaos on Ko-fi. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/witchycornerproductions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Witchcraft, words, cosplay, and the path of a Priestess, step through the veil and explore my world, from the Temple of the Unseen Flame to the latest spellbinding reads. Start here:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.witchycornerproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Discord. Walk the Path of the Unseen Flame: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/9jRs5SgvQa⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow me on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/witchycornerproductions⁠

We're heading into heavier territory with this week's song courtesy of the greatest postman Scotland, or possibly the entire United Kingdom, has ever known. 568,421 positive reviews on ratemypostie.com can't be wrong! What does the Don have for us this week? Well, it's a band that Kev liked for a bit when he was younger but hasn't kept up with and certainly a band that the Cardinal most likely isn't reaching for any time soon!If Kev were to title this episode, he'd probably call it "I like my coffee like I like my women", or possibly, "in a plastic cup..."The seventeenth installment in this podcast-within-a-podcast covers a song submitted by our pal Ruddy Rutherford; "Caffeine", by those little rascals Faith No More. It's not epic, but we care a lot, so will we dig this tune?If you want to get involved in the Kofi Klub, you can make a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/seasidepodreview and let us know which song you want us to add to the wheel! We also have a private channel in our Discord community for donors.Follow us onFacebook: @seasidepodreviewDiscord: https://discord.gg/nrzr2mQjBluesky: @seasidepodreview.bsky.socialAlso, check out Kev's other podcastsThe Tom Petty Project: https://tompettyproject.comThe Ultimate Catalogue Clash: https://shows.acast.com/uccAnd if you want to check out Randy's music, you can find it here:https://randywoodsband.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US consumer remains a crucial pillar of the economy, but what happens when they face the combined pressures of high interest rates and trade tariffs? In this episode, Chelsea Wiater, Senior Portfolio Manager for New Capital's US growth equity strategies, unpacks the evolving habits of American consumers. She explores the striking divergence between weak consumer sentiment and resilient spending, and highlights the industries finding success in this challenging environment.Our host, Moz Afzal:https://bit.ly/31XbkTROur guest:Chelsea Wiater, Senior Portfolio Manager, New Capitalhttps://bit.ly/4pxmWquEFGAM:https://www.newcapital.com/Important disclaimersThe value of investments and the income derived from them can fall as well as rise, and past performance is no indicator of future performance. Investment products may be subject to investment risks involving, but not limited to, possible loss of all or part of the principal invested. This document does not constitute and shall not be construed as a prospectus, advertisement, public offering or placement of, nor a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or solicit, any investment, security, other financial instrument or other product or service. It is not intended to be a final representation of the terms and conditions of any investment, security, other financial instrument or other product or service. This document is for general information only and is not intended as investment advice or any other specific recommendation as to any particular course of action or inaction. The information in this document does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of the recipient. 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Victor Cruz debates the best and worst types of golfers, guessing if team names are WNBA or MLS teams, deciding on the best golf video game of all time, United Kingdom vs United States with an actual British person, and more!----------0:00 DO YOU HATE THESE GOLFERS?!8:42 WNBA TEAM OR MLS TEAM?12:25 GOLF COURSE IN 2 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES!15:40 WELCOME BACK VICTOR CRUZ!18:00 HOW FAR SHOULD GOLFER HIT THESE CLUBS?23:04 WHAT'S THE BEST GOLF VIDEO GAME?27:17 DO THESE PEOPLE ALSO SUCK ON THE COURSE?30:55 RANK THESE GOLF SWINGS BLINDLY!34:16 WHAT IS VICTOR'S IDEAL FOOTBALL SUNDAY?38:14 INTRODUCING, A BRITISH PERSON!39:47 THE USA OR THE UNITED KINGDOM?45:00 HOW LONG TO BE CONSIDERED A NY?46:04 WHICH JOB WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE?50:49 PERFECT GOLF ROUND WITH $15!54:14 STATE THAT DRINKS MOST BEER PER ROUND!56:56 OUTRO AND MEMBER SHOUTOUTS!

Marvel has been one of the cinematic jewels of the Georgia entertainment industry for over a decade. But some local industry workers are reportedly on edge following reports of the movie studio “abandoning” the Peach State for the United Kingdom. On today’s “Closer Look,” executives with Georgia Entertainment give their perspective and say the blockbuster film studio is not done working here. If left unaddressed, preventable vision loss and childhood vision disorders can hinder a student's development, academic performance, social interactions, and self-esteem. On today’s “Closer Look,” Rose Scott speaks with the leaders of Learn4Life. They give an update about the Atlanta Vision Project’s goal to provide all Metro Atlanta kids in need with a free pair of glasses by 2028.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support Our Cause at https://libri-vox.org/donateThe First Anglo–Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first 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 Phil)Donate to LibriVox: https://libri-vox.org/donate

This week on Eavesdroppin', Geordie & Michelle discuss two miscarriages of justice...When Kathleen Folbigg's son died from SIDS in Australia in 1989, it was a tragedy for her and her husband Craig. So they tried for a second child, who tragically died from epilepsy, aged 8 months, in 1991. When the Folbigg's third child died aged 10 months from a respiratory infection, suspicious were raised. And when the couple's fourth child died, the finger was pointed at Kathleen. There was no evidence, only some sad writings in a diary, yet she was charged with murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison. For 20 years, Kathleen maintained her innocence from behind bars - and then the science of genetics changed everything. Listen now to find out more about Kathleen's story, the junk science behind 'Meadow's law' and the international scientific community who helped free and innocent woman.Geordie follows with an horrific case of mistaken identity. As Stephen Waldorf sat in the front seat of a yellow Mini on January 14, 1983, in London, he had no idea that he was being hunted by police. When the Mini hit a traffic jam, British police flew into action, shooting Stephen at almost point-blank range amidst heavy traffic. What they didn't realise was that they had mistaken him for escaped cross-dressing criminal David Martin. At the time, Stephen was a 26-year-old film editor who was in the wrong car at the wrong time. Listen now to find out what happened to Stephen and David Martin, and how this tragic incident led to a series of significant reforms to armed police policy and training in the United Kingdom. So pop on your headphones, grab a brown lemonade and join Geordie & Michelle for this week's episode, plus chat about laughs at funerals, a terrifying Australian kidnapping case, Evil or Genius, AI doppelgängers and more, only on Eavesdroppin' comedy podcast. And remember, wherever you are, whatever you do, just keep Eavesdroppin'!*Disclaimer: We don't claim to have any factual info about anything ever and our opinions are just opinions not fact, sooorrrryyy! Don't sue us!Please rate, review, tell your friends and subscribe in all the usual places – it really helps us and we love it when you do!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/eavesdroppinDo write in with your stories at hello@eavesdroppinpodcast.com or send us a Voice Note!Listen: http://www.eavesdroppinpodcast.comorhttps://podfollow.com/eavesdroppinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqcuzv-EXizUo4emmt9PgfwFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/eavesdroppinpodcast#kathleenfolbigg #miscarriageofjustice #wronglyaccused #mistakenidentity #stephenwaldorf #australia #kidnapping #julianbuchwald #UK #truecrime #reallife #truestories #eavesdroppin#eavesdroppinpodcast #eavesdroppincomedypodcast #podcast #comedy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 177-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 25,032 on turnover of 15-billion N-T. The market closed at yet another record high on Tuesday, as investors took cues from gains posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight to buy large-cap electronics stocks. Prosecutors appeal release of Ko Wen-je The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office is appealing a decision by the Taipei District Court to release Taiwan People's Party founder and former chairman Ko Wen-je on bail, pending his trial on corruption charges. Ko was released from the Taipei Detention Center on Monday on bail of 70-million N-T. He is required to wear an ankle monitor, banned from leaving his residence and prohibited from contacting codefendants or witnesses in the case. According to the prosecutors' office, it's appealed (上訴) Ko's release as it has arranged to question several witnesses in October. And prosecutors are arguing that a defendant should be detained until witness questioning is complete. Gongguan roundabout removal to begin Sept. 13 despite protests The Taipei City Government says it will begin removing the Gongguan roundabout (圓環) and filling in the bus underpass (地下道) on September 13 as scheduled. The statement comes as civic groups are planning a protest on Friday they hope will stop the city from beginning work to demolish the roundabout and bus underpass City transportation officials says the project is expected to be completed in late November. When completed it will replace the roundabout at Roosevelt and Keelung roads and its three lanes with a standard four-way junction controlled by traffic lights. European Commission leader prepares for annual setpiece speech at time of global uncertainty The European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen is preparing for her annual setpiece (具有強烈效果的片斷，事先佈置好的戰術) speech, which comes at a time of global uncertainty, and political instability in France. The speech is usually an hour-long address to mark the start of the new policy agenda after the summer vacation. Ross Cullen reports. French President Names New Defense Minister French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as France's new prime minister. The 39-year-old Lecornu is the youngest defense minister in French history. A former conservative who joined Macron's centrist movement in 2017, he has held posts on local authorities, overseas territories and during Macron's yellow vest “great debate,” where he managed mass anger with dialogue (對話). Macron's quick decision to name Lecornu comes ahead of a day of mass disruption planned today by a protest movement called ‘'Block Everything'' that prompted the government to deploy (調動) an exceptional 80-thousand police to keep order. Iran Egypt Sign Cooperation Agreement Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have signed an agreement in Cairo to open the way for resuming cooperation, including on ways of resuming inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. Egypt's foreign minister met Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart. They discussed developments involving Iran's nuclear capabilities. The meeting came at a sensitive time as France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Aug. 28 began the process of reimposing (重行) sanctions on Iran. Iran's president had signed a law July 2 suspending all cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. It followed Israel's 12-day war on Iran in June, during which Israel and the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

In a week where:Scientists discover ordinary ice generates electricity.The Swiss drop open-source LLM Apertus.Google gets $45m to spread Israeli propaganda worldwide.Fashion designer Giorgio Armani dies aged 91.Angela Rayner resigns as Deputy PM & Housing, Communities & Local Government Minister.In the 1st of three Politics segments: (8:16)The wait for the official reveal of the Corbyn-Sultana led "Your Party" continues but the wish list from people on the Left is already being vocalised. One aspect being their methods of communication. (Article By Lewis Bassett)In the 2nd Politics segment: (23:01) Zack Polanski is the new leader of the Green Party and is already starting to cook harder than any Green leader. But how can they turn increased exposure into votes? (Article By Kevin Crane)In the 3rd Politics segment: (42:49) France is going into political limbo once again with another PM getting a vote of No Confidence. They narrowly avoided a Far-Right premiership last time, can it be done again? (Article By Angelique Chrisafis)Lastly, in Environment: (56:15) If you don't have IKEA furniture in your home, you definitely know someone who does. Like with everything, there's a climate cost when copping IKEA but the cost doesn't just stop at the climate... (Article By Maia Wikler)Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me questions or voicing your opinion in any way, peep the contact links below and I'll respond accordingly. Let me know "What's Good?"Rate & ReviewE-Mail: the5thelelmentpub@gmail.comTwitter & IG: @The5thElementUKWebsite: https://the5thelement.co.ukPhotography: https://www.crt.photographyIntro Music - "Too Much" By VanillaInterlude - "Charismatic" By NappyHighChillHop MusicOther Podcasts Under The 5EPN:Diggin' In The Digits5EPN RadioBlack Women Watch...In Search of SauceThe Beauty Of Independence

PREVIEW. Guest Name: Gregory Copley Summary: Gregory Copley highlights the significance of President Trump's second state visit to the United Kingdom, hosted by King Charles, and the monarchy's role in strengthening US-UK relations despite political divides. 1811 WINDSOR CASTLE

In 2013, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands stepped down and handed the throne to her son, Willem Alexander. In 2022 Queen Elizabeth II of the UK died at the age of 96 and her son, Charles III inherited the throne. And on January 14th, 2024, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark abdicated in favor of her son, Frederik X. In just over 10 years, the world has gone from three accomplished, popular and long reigning Queens Regnant to zero. That's right, there are no female monarchs anywhere in the world. The future may be female, but not in the archaic system of hereditary monarchy. However there are several female heirs waiting in succession lines to be the next great Queen regnant. Let's take a look at which monarchies even allow women to occupy their thrones, and count down from those which will have to wait a few generations before getting a female sovereign, to those which are just one heartbeat, or abdication away from welcoming the World's next Queen Regnant. 11. Luxembourg - No women in direct succession 10. Bhutan - Sonam Yangdento, 3rd in line, cadet 9. Tonga - Princess Halaevalu, Princess Nanasipau'u and Princess Salote, all cadet 8. The United Kingdom & Commonwealth Realms - Princess Charlotte, 3rd in line, cadet 7. Monaco - Princess Gabriella, 2nd in line, cadet 6. Denmark Princess Isabella, 2nd in line, cadet 5. Norway - Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 2nd in line, direct succession 4. Spain - Leonor, Princess of Asturias, heir to the throne 3. The Netherlands - Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, heir to the throne 2. Belgium - Princess Elisabeth, heir to the throne 1. Sweden - Crown Princess Victoria, heir to the throne, Princess Estelle, 2nd in line, direct succession Wild Cards: Andorra - Could have elected Princess any time, next election 2027 Thailand - King Rama X will name heir, Princess Bajrakitiyabha is a contender Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History! Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091781568503 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyteatimelindsayholiday/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyteatime Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes! Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell Music: Butterflies in Love by Sir Cubworth #HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday Please contact ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A woman in the United Kingdom was awarded $40,000 in a lawsuit.  Apparently she called her boss a d--khead and was then wrongfully fired over it. Are you okay with this? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Tuesday, September 9th, 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 Nigerian Muslims kill and injure Christian farmers On August 27th, when five Nigerian Christians went to check on their farms  located in Bauchi State, they found Fulani Muslim herdsmen grazing their cattle on the land owned by the Christians.  The argument led to the Muslims killing a Christian farmer and wounding three others, reports Morning Star News. Rev. Samson Habila, local chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said, “We solicit that we all go on our knees for prayers to our loving God to bring this conflict to a swift end for the betterment of our land and people.” In a separate incident on the same day, Muslim herdsmen assaulted two Christian women and a teenager who were on their way back from their farm. Naomi Sabo, was cut on her hand with a machete, her teenage son was cut with a machete, and a third victim, another Christian woman, had her ear cut off by the Muslims. In a span of two weeks in late August, hundreds of Nigerian Christian farmers lost their crops to Muslim Fulani herdsmen who took their cattle to graze on them. According to Open Doors' 2025 World Watch List, Nigeria is the 7th most dangerous country on Earth for Christians. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 of those Christians -- or 69% -- lived in Nigeria. Russia launched 800 drones against Ukraine Russia has stepped up its drone attacks on Ukraine, in its largest salvo since the beginning of the war, reports KGOU Radio. The aggressor launched 800 drones over the weekend — hitting the government building in Kyiv for the first time. Japanese Prime Minister resigns Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his resignation.   Japan's economy is still hurting. The nation's real Gross Domestic Product is just now recovering to 2019 levels, after an extended 5-year recession. Japan's national debt is the highest in the world, at 255% of GDP.   The Japanese government's proposed budget for 2026 represents another 8% increase, year over year.  Indeed, 27% of the budget is set aside just to service the nation's debt. G7 vs BRICS The Group of 7 or “G7” nations includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  BRICS is now recognized as the competing force opposing the G7 nations. BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. In a BRICS summit, spearheaded by Brazil's socialist president, Luiz Lula, the mostly southern and eastern world powers worked on what they called “joint responses to tariffs and sanctions under the Trump administration and discussions on a multipolar world order.” Thousands of Brazilian protestors object to trial of Jair Bolsonaro Tens of thousands of Brazilians have taken the streets over in the last week, protesting the trial of Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, reports the Associated Press. He is facing 46 years in prison for allegedly supporting an attempt to overturn the 2022 election. Plus, Bolsonaro's opponents also claim that he encouraged a protest on January 8, 2023 that resulted in several millions of dollars of damage to the capital building. Brazil's Supreme Court is expecting to sentence the former president later this week. Bolsonaro was a pro-life president, and opposed homosexual marriage for his country. The current president, Luiz Lula, has committed himself to the pro-abortion and LGBTQ agenda for the nation since his election in 2022. 47% of Brazilians receive welfare In a related story, 47% of Brazilians receive a welfare check from the government. The most welfare dependent states are in the north and northeast of the country. These twelve states record more welfare recipients than jobs among their residents. The socialist candidate in the last election, Lula de Silva, won 10 out of 12 of these states. He only won the votes with three other states in the election. God is sovereign over all. Jesus told Pontius Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Company that profits from porn fined $5 million The Canadian company Aylo has been fined $5 million by the US Federal Trade Commission for portraying certain egregious forms of sexual sin on its websites (which include PornHub).   This amounts to a slap on the wrist for a company operating on an estimated $700 million of annual income. That's about 0.7%. The Federal Trade Commission has charged the company with allowing non-consensual and child-abuse related material on its websites. Democrats blocking all Trump's civilian nominees The U.S. government has come to loggerheads. Thus far, not a single Trump civilian nominee has been confirmed by a voice vote through the US Senate — due to Democrat filibusters. That's the first time this has occurred in the nation's government in a century. That compares to 65% of Trump's nominees clearing the Senate by voice vote in his first term and 57% of Joe Biden's nominees confirmed by voice vote.   GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune is considering pulling the nuclear option, or a rule change, to speed up the approval process, according to the Daily Caller. Few Americans, Christians included, believe we are sinful American Christians are pretty much agreed on this statement: “Sin is real, but people are basically good at heart.” That according to the latest George Barna survey. The pollsters discovered that 82% of Catholics and 70% of self-identified born-again Christians believe in “The basic goodness of humanity.” And only 57% of Catholics and 85% of self-identified born again Christians believe Romans 3:23 — that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Meryl Streep to voice Aslan in new “Chronicles of Narnia” And finally, Netflix plans to release the next movie installment of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia story in November of 2026. Filming began last month which included a well-publicized street chase of Jadis, “the White Witch” last weekend. Brace yourself. Greta Gerwig, best known for directing the feminist hit film “Barbie” released in 2023, is directing this next Narnia release. Not surprisingly, Meryl Streep is slated to voice Aslan.  (The character of Aslan, Lewis's Lion, is meant as a personification of Jesus Christ). Movieguide, the Christian ministry led by founder Ted Baehr, calls this “a dangerous cultural shift,” and has initiated a petition to "respect the theological foundation of the story.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, September 9th, 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.

Last time we spoke about the surrender of Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on August 15, prompting mixed public reactions: grief, shock, and sympathy for the Emperor, tempered by fear of hardship and occupation. The government's response included resignations and suicide as new leadership was brought in under Prime Minister Higashikuni, with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister and Kawabe Torashiro heading a delegation to Manila. General MacArthur directed the occupation plan, “Blacklist,” prioritizing rapid, phased entry into key Japanese areas and Korea, while demobilizing enemy forces. The surrender ceremony occurred aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, with Wainwright, Percival, Nimitz, and UN representatives in attendance. Civilians and soldiers across Asia began surrendering, and postwar rehabilitation, Indochina and Vietnam's independence movements, and Southeast Asian transitions rapidly unfolded as Allied forces established control. This episode is the Aftermath of the Pacific War Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Pacific War has ended. Peace has been restored by the Allies and most of the places conquered by the Japanese Empire have been liberated. In this post-war period, new challenges would be faced for those who won the war; and from the ashes of an empire, a defeated nation was also seeking to rebuild. As the Japanese demobilized their armed forces, many young boys were set to return to their homeland, even if they had previously thought that they wouldn't survive the ordeal. And yet, there were some cases of isolated men that would continue to fight for decades even, unaware that the war had already ended.  As we last saw, after the Japanese surrender, General MacArthur's forces began the occupation of the Japanese home islands, while their overseas empire was being dismantled by the Allies. To handle civil administration, MacArthur established the Military Government Section, commanded by Brigadier-General William Crist, staffed by hundreds of US experts trained in civil governance who were reassigned from Okinawa and the Philippines. As the occupation began, Americans dispatched tactical units and Military Government Teams to each prefecture to ensure that policies were faithfully carried out. By mid-September, General Eichelberger's 8th Army had taken over the Tokyo Bay region and began deploying to occupy Hokkaido and the northern half of Honshu. Then General Krueger's 6th Army arrived in late September, taking southern Honshu and Shikoku, with its base in Kyoto. In December, 6th Army was relieved of its occupation duties; in January 1946, it was deactivated, leaving the 8th Army as the main garrison force. By late 1945, about 430,000 American soldiers were garrisoned across Japan. President Truman approved inviting Allied involvement on American terms, with occupation armies integrated into a US command structure. Yet with the Chinese civil war and Russia's reluctance to place its forces under MacArthur's control, only Australia, Britain, India, and New Zealand sent brigades, more than 40,000 troops in southwestern Japan. Japanese troops were gradually disarmed by order of their own commanders, so the stigma of surrender would be less keenly felt by the individual soldier. In the homeland, about 1.5 million men were discharged and returned home by the end of August. Demobilization overseas, however, proceeded, not quickly, but as a long, difficult process of repatriation. In compliance with General Order No. 1, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters disbanded on September 13 and was superseded by the Japanese War Department to manage demobilization. By November 1, the homeland had demobilized 2,228,761 personnel, roughly 97% of the Homeland Army. Yet some 6,413,215 men remained to be repatriated from overseas. On December 1, the Japanese War Ministry dissolved, and the First Demobilization Ministry took its place. The Second Demobilization Ministry was established to handle IJN demobilization, with 1,299,868 sailors, 81% of the Navy, demobilized by December 17. Japanese warships and merchant ships had their weapons rendered inoperative, and suicide craft were destroyed. Forty percent of naval vessels were allocated to evacuations in the Philippines, and 60% to evacuations of other Pacific islands. This effort eventually repatriated about 823,984 men to Japan by February 15, 1946. As repatriation accelerated, by October 15 only 1,909,401 men remained to be repatriated, most of them in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Higashikuni Cabinet and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru managed to persuade MacArthur not to impose direct military rule or martial law over all of Japan. Instead, the occupation would be indirect, guided by the Japanese government under the Emperor's direction. An early decision to feed occupation forces from American supplies, and to allow the Japanese to use their own limited food stores, helped ease a core fear: that Imperial forces would impose forced deliveries on the people they conquered. On September 17, MacArthur transferred his headquarters from Yokohama to Tokyo, setting up primary offices on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Building, an imposing edifice overlooking the moat and the Imperial palace grounds in Hibiya, a symbolic heart of the nation.  While the average soldier did not fit the rapacious image of wartime Japanese propagandists, occupation personnel often behaved like neo-colonial overlords. The conquerors claimed privileges unimaginable to most Japanese. Entire trains and train compartments, fitted with dining cars, were set aside for the exclusive use of occupation forces. These silenced, half-empty trains sped past crowded platforms, provoking ire as Japanese passengers were forced to enter and exit packed cars through punched-out windows, or perch on carriage roofs, couplings, and running boards, often with tragic consequences. The luxury express coaches became irresistible targets for anonymous stone-throwers. During the war, retrenchment measures had closed restaurants, cabarets, beer halls, geisha houses, and theatres in Tokyo and other large cities. Now, a vast leisure industry sprang up to cater to the needs of the foreign occupants. Reopened restaurants and theatres, along with train stations, buses, and streetcars, were sometimes kept off limits to Allied personnel, partly for security, partly to avoid burdening Japanese resources, but a costly service infrastructure was built to the occupiers' specifications. Facilities reserved for occupation troops bore large signs reading “Japanese Keep Out” or “For Allied Personnel Only.” In downtown Tokyo, important public buildings requisitioned for occupation use had separate entrances for Americans and Japanese. The effect? A subtle but clear colour bar between the predominantly white conquerors and the conquered “Asiatic” Japanese. Although MacArthur was ready to work through the Japanese government, he lacked the organizational infrastructure to administer a nation of 74 million. Consequently, on October 2, MacArthur dissolved the Military Government Section and inaugurated General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a separate headquarters focused on civil affairs and operating in tandem with the Army high command. SCAP immediately assumed responsibility for administering the Japanese home islands. It commandeered every large building not burned down to house thousands of civilians and requisitioned vast tracts of prime real estate to quarter several hundred thousand troops in the Tokyo–Yokohama area alone. Amidst the rise of American privilege, entire buildings were refurbished as officers' clubs, replete with slot machines and gambling parlours installed at occupation expense. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Tokyo, while the display of the Rising Sun was banned; and the downtown area, known as “Little America,” was transformed into a US enclave. The enclave mentality of this cocooned existence was reinforced by the arrival within the first six months of roughly 700 American families. At the peak of the occupation, about 14,800 families employed some 25,000 Japanese servants to ease the “rigours” of overseas duty. Even enlisted men in the sparse quonset-hut towns around the city lived like kings compared with ordinary Japanese. Japanese workers cleaned barracks, did kitchen chores, and handled other base duties. The lowest private earned a 25% hardship bonus until these special allotments were discontinued in 1949. Most military families quickly adjusted to a pampered lifestyle that went beyond maids and “boys,” including cooks, laundresses, babysitters, gardeners, and masseuses. Perks included spacious quarters with swimming pools, central heating, hot running water, and modern plumbing. Two observers compared GHQ to the British Raj at its height. George F. Kennan, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, warned during his 1948 mission to Japan that Americans had monopolized “everything that smacks of comfort or elegance or luxury,” criticizing what he called the “American brand of philistinism” and the “monumental imperviousness” of MacArthur's staff to the Japanese suffering. This conqueror's mentality also showed in the bullying attitudes many top occupation officials displayed toward the Japanese with whom they dealt. Major Faubion Bowers, MacArthur's military secretary, later said, “I and nearly all the occupation people I knew were extremely conceited and extremely arrogant and used our power every inch of the way.” Initially, there were spasms of defiance against the occupation forces, such as anonymous stone-throwing, while armed robbery and minor assaults against occupation personnel were rife in the weeks and months after capitulation. Yet active resistance was neither widespread nor organized. The Americans successfully completed their initial deployment without violence, an astonishing feat given a heavily armed and vastly superior enemy operating on home terrain. The average citizen regarded the occupation as akin to force majeure, the unfortunate but inevitable aftermath of a natural calamity. Japan lay prostrate. Industrial output had fallen to about 10% of pre-war levels, and as late as 1946, more than 13 million remained unemployed. Nearly 40% of Japan's urban areas had been turned to rubble, and some 9 million people were homeless. The war-displaced, many of them orphans, slept in doorways and hallways, in bombed-out ruins, dugouts and packing crates, under bridges or on pavements, and crowded the hallways of train and subway stations. As winter 1945 descended, with food, fuel, and clothing scarce, people froze to death. Bonfires lit the streets to ward off the chill. "The only warm hands I have shaken thus far in Japan belonged to Americans," Mark Gayn noted in December 1945. "The Japanese do not have much of a chance to thaw out, and their hands are cold and red." Unable to afford shoes, many wore straw sandals; those with geta felt themselves privileged. The sight of a man wearing a woman's high-buttoned shoes in winter epitomized the daily struggle to stay dry and warm. Shantytowns built of scrap wood, rusted metal, and scavenged odds and ends sprang up everywhere, resembling vast junk yards. The poorest searched smouldering refuse heaps for castoffs that might be bartered for a scrap to eat or wear. Black markets (yami'ichi) run by Japanese, Koreans, and For-mosans mushroomed to replace collapsed distribution channels and cash in on inflated prices. Tokyo became "a world of scarcity in which every nail, every rag, and even a tangerine peel [had a] market value." Psychologically numbed, disoriented, and disillusioned with their leaders, demobilized veterans and civilians alike struggled to get their bearings, shed militaristic ideologies, and begin to embrace new values. In the vacuum of defeat, the Japanese people appeared ready to reject the past and grasp at the straw held out by the former enemy. Relations between occupier and occupied were not smooth, however. American troops comported themselves like conquerors, especially in the early weeks and months of occupation. Much of the violence was directed against women, with the first attacks beginning within hours after the landing of advance units. When US paratroopers landed in Sapporo, an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling ensued. Newspaper accounts reported 931 serious offences by GIs in the Yokohama area during the first week of occupation, including 487 armed robberies, 411 thefts of currency or goods, 9 rapes, 5 break-ins, 3 cases of assault and battery, and 16 other acts of lawlessness. In the first 10 days of occupation, there were 1,336 reported rapes by US soldiers in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Americans were not the only perpetrators. A former prostitute recalled that when Australian troops arrived in Kure in early 1946, they “dragged young women into their jeeps, took them to the mountain, and then raped them. I heard them screaming for help nearly every night.” Such behaviour was commonplace, but news of criminal activity by occupation forces was quickly suppressed. On September 10, 1945, SCAP issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of reports and statistics "inimical to the objectives of the occupation." In the sole instance of self-help General Eichelberger records in his memoirs, when locals formed a vigilante group and retaliated against off-duty GIs, 8th Army ordered armored vehicles into the streets and arrested the ringleaders, who received lengthy prison terms. Misbehavior ranged from black-market activity, petty theft, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct to vandalism, arson, murder, and rape. Soldiers and sailors often broke the law with impunity, and incidents of robbery, rape, and even murder were widely reported. Gang rapes and other sex atrocities were not infrequent; victims, shunned as outcasts, sometimes turned to prostitution in desperation, while others took their own lives to avoid bringing shame to their families. Military courts arrested relatively few soldiers for these offenses and convicted even fewer; Japanese attempts at self-defense were punished severely, and restitution for victims was rare. Fearing the worst, Japanese authorities had already prepared countermeasures against the supposed rapacity of foreign soldiers. Imperial troops in East Asia and the Pacific had behaved brutally toward women, so the government established “sexual comfort-stations” manned by geisha, bar hostesses, and prostitutes to “satisfy the lust of the Occupation forces,” as the Higashikuni Cabinet put it. A budget of 100 million yen was set aside for these Recreation and Amusement Associations, financed initially with public funds but run as private enterprises under police supervision. Through these, the government hoped to protect the daughters of the well-born and middle class by turning to lower-class women to satisfy the soldiers' sexual appetites. By the end of 1945, brothel operators had rounded up an estimated 20,000 young women and herded them into RAA establishments nationwide. Eventually, as many as 70,000 are said to have ended up in the state-run sex industry. Thankfully, as military discipline took hold and fresh troops replaced the Allied veterans responsible for the early crime wave, violence subsided and the occupier's patronising behavior and the ugly misdeeds of a lawless few were gradually overlooked. However, fraternisation was frowned upon by both sides, and segregation was practiced in principle, with the Japanese excluded from areas reserved for Allied personnel until September 1949, when MacArthur lifted virtually all restrictions on friendly association, stating that he was “establishing the same relations between occupation personnel and the Japanese population as exists between troops stationed in the United States and the American people.” In principle, the Occupation's administrative structure was highly complex. The Far Eastern Commission, based in Washington, included representatives from all 13 countries that had fought against Japan and was established in 1946 to formulate basic principles. The Allied Council for Japan was created in the same year to assist in developing and implementing surrender terms and in administering the country. It consisted of representatives from the USA, the USSR, Nationalist China, and the British Commonwealth. Although both bodies were active at first, they were largely ineffectual due to unwieldy decision-making, disagreements between the national delegations (especially the USA and USSR), and the obstructionism of General Douglas MacArthur. In practice, SCAP, the executive authority of the occupation, effectively ruled Japan from 1945 to 1952. And since it took orders only from the US government, the Occupation became primarily an American affair. The US occupation program, effectively carried out by SCAP, was revolutionary and rested on a two-pronged approach. To ensure Japan would never again become a menace to the United States or to world peace, SCAP pursued disarmament and demilitarization, with continuing control over Japan's capacity to make war. This involved destroying military supplies and installations, demobilizing more than five million Japanese soldiers, and thoroughly discrediting the military establishment. Accordingly, SCAP ordered the purge of tens of thousands of designated persons from public service positions, including accused war criminals, military officers, leaders of ultranationalist societies, leaders in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, business leaders tied to overseas expansion, governors of former Japanese colonies, and national leaders who had steered Japan into war. In addition, MacArthur's International Military Tribunal for the Far East established a military court in Tokyo. It had jurisdiction over those charged with Class A crimes, top leaders who had planned and directed the war. Also considered were Class B charges, covering conventional war crimes, and Class C charges, covering crimes against humanity. Yet the military court in Tokyo wouldn't be the only one. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia, China, France, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. Among these, many, like General Ando Rikichi and Lieutenant-General Nomi Toshio, chose to commit suicide before facing prosecution. Notable cases include Lieutenant-General Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal for his role in the Nanjing Massacre; Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, who was executed in Nanjing for the murder of British and Chinese civilians during the occupation of Hong Kong. General Okamura Yasuji was convicted of war crimes by the Tribunal, yet he was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who kept him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang. In the Manila trials, General Yamashita Tomoyuki was sentenced to death as he was in overall command during the Sook Ching massacre, the Rape of Manila, and other atrocities. Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu was likewise executed in Manila for atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bataan Death March. General Imamura Hitoshi was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he considered the punishment too light and even had a replica of the prison built in his garden, remaining there until his death in 1968. Lieutenant-General Kanda Masatane received a 14-year sentence for war crimes on Bougainville, though he served only four years. Lieutenant-General Adachi Hatazo was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes in New Guinea and subsequently committed suicide on September 10, 1947. Lieutenant-General Teshima Fusataro received three years of forced labour for using a hospital ship to transport troops. Lieutenant-General Baba Masao was sentenced to death for ordering the Sandakan Death Marches, during which over 2,200 Australian and British prisoners of war perished. Lieutenant-General Tanabe Moritake was sentenced to death by a Dutch military tribunal for unspecified war crimes. Rear-Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu was executed in Guam for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered. Lieutenant-General Inoue Sadae was condemned to death in Guam for permitting subordinates to execute three downed American airmen captured in Palau, though his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1951 and he was released in 1953. Lieutenant-General Tachibana Yoshio was sentenced to death in Guam for his role in the Chichijima Incident, in which eight American airmen were cannibalized. By mid-1945, due to the Allied naval blockade, the 25,000 Japanese troops on Chichijima had run low on supplies. However, although the daily rice ration had been reduced from 400 grams per person per day to 240 grams, the troops were not at risk of starvation. In February and March 1945, in what would later be called the Chichijima incident, Tachibana Yoshio's senior staff turned to cannibalism. Nine American airmen had escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, eight of whom were captured. The ninth, the only one to evade capture, was future US President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot. Over several months, the prisoners were executed, and reportedly by the order of Major Matoba Sueyo, their bodies were butchered by the division's medical orderlies, with the livers and other organs consumed by the senior staff, including Matoba's superior Tachibana. In the Yokohama War Crimes Trials, Lieutenant-Generals Inada Masazumi and Yokoyama Isamu were convicted for their complicity in vivisection and other human medical experiments performed at Kyushu Imperial University on downed Allied airmen. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial, which began in May 1946 and lasted two and a half years, resulted in the execution by hanging of Generals Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro, and former Prime Ministers Hirota Koki and Tojo Hideki, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, specifically for the escalation of the Pacific War and for permitting the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Also sentenced to death were Lieutenant-General Muto Akira for his role in the Nanjing and Manila massacres; General Kimura Heitaro for planning the war strategy in China and Southeast Asia and for laxity in preventing atrocities against prisoners of war in Burma; and General Matsui Iwane for his involvement in the Rape of Nanjing. The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, including the last Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Generals Araki Sadao, Minami Hiro, and Umezu Shojiro, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, former Prime Ministers Hiranuma Kiichiro and Koiso Kuniaki, Marquis Kido Koichi, and Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, a major instigator of the second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, former Foreign Ministers Togo Shigenori and Shigemitsu Mamoru received seven- and twenty-year sentences, respectively. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals, including the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, which tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit known as Unit 731. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial, as MacArthur granted immunity to Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ-w warfare data derived from human experimentation. If you would like to learn more about what I like to call Japan's Operation Paper clip, whereupon the US grabbed many scientists from Unit 731, check out my exclusive podcast. The SCAP-turn to democratization began with the drafting of a new constitution in 1947, addressing Japan's enduring feudal social structure. In the charter, sovereignty was vested in the people, and the emperor was designated a “symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power.” Because the emperor now possessed fewer powers than European constitutional monarchs, some have gone so far as to say that Japan became “a republic in fact if not in name.” Yet the retention of the emperor was, in fact, a compromise that suited both those who wanted to preserve the essence of the nation for stability and those who demanded that the emperor system, though not necessarily the emperor, should be expunged. In line with the democratic spirit of the new constitution, the peerage was abolished and the two-chamber Diet, to which the cabinet was now responsible, became the highest organ of state. The judiciary was made independent and local autonomy was granted in vital areas of jurisdiction such as education and the police. Moreover, the constitution stipulated that “the people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights,” that they “shall be respected as individuals,” and that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall … be the supreme consideration in legislation.” Its 29 articles guaranteed basic human rights: equality, freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Finally, in its most controversial section, Article 9, the “peace clause,” Japan “renounce[d] war as a sovereign right of the nation” and vowed not to maintain any military forces and “other war potential.” To instill a thoroughly democratic ethos, reforms touched every facet of society. The dissolution of the zaibatsu decentralised economic power; the 1945 Labour Union Law and the 1946 Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective action; the 1947 Labour Standards Law established basic working standards for men and women; and the revised Civil Code of 1948 abolished the patriarchal household and enshrined sexual equality. Reflecting core American principles, SCAP introduced a 6-3-3 schooling system, six years of compulsory elementary education, three years of junior high, and an optional three years of senior high, along with the aim of secular, locally controlled education. More crucially, ideological reform followed: censorship of feudal material in media, revision of textbooks, and prohibition of ideas glorifying war, dying for the emperor, or venerating war heroes. With women enfranchised and young people shaped to counter militarism and ultranationalism, rural Japan was transformed to undermine lingering class divisions. The land reform program provided for the purchase of all land held by absentee landlords, allowed resident landlords and owner-farmers to retain a set amount of land, and required that the remaining land be sold to the government so it could be offered to existing tenants. In 1948, amid the intensifying tensions of the Cold War that would soon culminate in the Korean War, the occupation's focus shifted from demilitarization and democratization toward economic rehabilitation and, ultimately, the remilitarization of Japan, an shift now known as the “Reverse Course.” The country was thus rebuilt as the Pacific region's primary bulwark against the spread of Communism. An Economic Stabilisation Programme was introduced, including a five-year plan to coordinate production and target capital through the Reconstruction Finance Bank. In 1949, the anti-inflationary Dodge Plan was adopted, advocating balanced budgets, fixing the exchange rate at 360 yen to the dollar, and ending broad government intervention. Additionally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was formed and supported the formation of conglomerates centered around banks, which encouraged the reemergence of a somewhat weakened set of zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi. By the end of the Occupation era, Japan was on the verge of surpassing its 1934–1936 levels of economic growth. Equally important was Japan's rearmament in alignment with American foreign policy: a National Police Reserve of about 75,000 was created with the outbreak of the Korean War; by 1952 it had expanded to 110,000 and was renamed the Self-Defense Force after the inclusion of an air force. However, the Reverse Course also facilitated the reestablishment of conservative politics and the rollback of gains made by women and the reforms of local autonomy and education. As the Occupation progressed, the Americans permitted greater Japanese initiative, and power gradually shifted from the reformers to the moderates. By 1949, the purge of the right came under review, and many who had been condemned began returning to influence, if not to the Diet, then to behind-the-scenes power. At the same time, Japanese authorities, with MacArthur's support, began purging left-wing activists. In June 1950, for example, the central office of the Japan Communist Party and the editorial board of The Red Flag were purged. The gains made by women also seemed to be reversed. Women were elected to 8% of available seats in the first lower-house election in 1946, but to only 2% in 1952, a trend not reversed until the so-called Madonna Boom of the 1980s. Although the number of women voting continued to rise, female politicisation remained more superficial than might be imagined. Women's employment also appeared little affected by labour legislation: though women formed nearly 40% of the labor force in 1952, they earned only 45% as much as men. Indeed, women's attitudes toward labor were influenced less by the new ethos of fulfilling individual potential than by traditional views of family and workplace responsibilities. In the areas of local autonomy and education, substantial modifications were made to the reforms. Because local authorities lacked sufficient power to tax, they were unable to realise their extensive powers, and, as a result, key responsibilities were transferred back to national jurisdiction. In 1951, for example, 90% of villages and towns placed their police forces under the control of the newly formed National Police Agency. Central control over education was also gradually reasserted; in 1951, the Yoshida government attempted to reintroduce ethics classes, proposed tighter central oversight of textbooks, and recommended abolishing local school board elections. By the end of the decade, all these changes had been implemented. The Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands and the Habomai Islets was completed with Russian troops fully deployed by September 5. Immediately after the onset of the occupation, amid a climate of insecurity and fear marked by reports of sporadic rape and physical assault and widespread looting by occupying troops, an estimated 4,000 islanders fled to Hokkaido rather than face an uncertain repatriation. As Soviet forces moved in, they seized or destroyed telephone and telegraph installations and halted ship movements into and out of the islands, leaving residents without adequate food and other winter provisions. Yet, unlike Manchuria, where Japanese civilians faced widespread sexual violence and pillage, systematic violence against the civilian population on the Kuriles appears to have been exceptional. A series of military government proclamations assured islanders of safety so long as they did not resist Soviet rule and carried on normally; however, these orders also prohibited activities not explicitly authorized by the Red Army, which imposed many hardships on civilians. Residents endured harsh conditions under Soviet rule until late 1948, when Japanese repatriation out of the Kurils was completed. The Kuriles posed a special diplomatic problem, as the occupation of the southernmost islands—the Northern Territories—ignited a long-standing dispute between Tokyo and Moscow that continues to impede the normalisation of relations today. Although the Kuriles were promised to the Soviet Union in the Yalta agreement, Japan and the United States argued that this did not apply to the Northern Territories, since they were not part of the Kurile Islands. A substantial dispute regarding the status of the Kurile Islands arose between the United States and the Soviet Union during the preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco, which was intended as a permanent peace treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of World War II. The treaty was ultimately signed by 49 nations in San Francisco on September 8, 1951, and came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes, ended the Allied post-war occupation of Japan, and returned full sovereignty to Japan. Effectively, the document officially renounced Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores, the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica, and South Sakhalin. Japan's South Seas Mandate, namely the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Caroline Islands, had already been formally revoked by the United Nations on July 18, 1947, making the United States responsible for administration of those islands under a UN trusteeship agreement that established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In turn, the Bonin, Volcano, and Ryukyu Islands were progressively restored to Japan between 1953 and 1972, along with the Senkaku Islands, which were disputed by both Communist and Nationalist China. In addition, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan and the United States signed a Security Treaty that established a long-lasting military alliance between them. Although Japan renounced its rights to the Kuriles, the U.S. State Department later clarified that “the Habomai Islands and Shikotan ... are properly part of Hokkaido and that Japan is entitled to sovereignty over them,” hence why the Soviets refused to sign the treaty. Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and as a result the Kurile Islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory. A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Taipei (formally the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty), was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952 between Japan and the Kuomintang, and on June 9 of that year the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India followed. Finally, Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, though this did not settle the Kurile Islands dispute. Even after these formal steps, Japan as a nation was not in a formal state of war, and many Japanese continued to believe the war was ongoing; those who held out after the surrender came to be known as Japanese holdouts.  Captain Oba Sakae and his medical company participated in the Saipan campaign beginning on July 7, 1944, and took part in what would become the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. After 15 hours of intense hand-to-hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead, and Oba and his men were presumed among them. In reality, however, he survived the battle and gradually assumed command of over a hundred additional soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Oba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture, organizing them into mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Oba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of US Marines. He used the 1,552‑ft Mount Tapochau as their primary base, which offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Oba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the Marines' frustrated attempts to find him, the Saipan Marines eventually referred to Oba as “The Fox.” Oba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On November 27, 1945, former Major-General Amo Umahachi was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amo was then able to present documents from the defunct IGHQ to Oba ordering him and his 46 remaining men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On December 1, the Japanese soldiers gathered on Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead; Oba led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Oba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kirgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. On January 2, 1946, 20 Japanese soldiers hiding in a tunnel at Corregidor Island surrendered after learning the war had ended from a newspaper found while collecting water. In that same month, 120 Japanese were routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila. In April, during a seven-week campaign to clear Lubang Island, 41 more Japanese emerged from the jungle, unaware that the war had ended; however, a group of four Japanese continued to resist. In early 1947, Lieutenant Yamaguchi Ei and his band of 33 soldiers renewed fighting with the small Marine garrison on Peleliu, prompting reinforcements under Rear-Admiral Charles Pownall to be brought to the island to hunt down the guerrilla group. Along with them came former Rear-Admiral Sumikawa Michio, who ultimately convinced Yamaguchi to surrender in April after almost three years of guerrilla warfare. Also in April, seven Japanese emerged from Palawan Island and fifteen armed stragglers emerged from Luzon. In January 1948, 200 troops surrendered on Mindanao; and on May 12, the Associated Press reported that two unnamed Japanese soldiers had surrendered to civilian policemen in Guam the day before. On January 6, 1949, two former IJN soldiers, machine gunners Matsudo Rikio and Yamakage Kufuku, were discovered on Iwo Jima and surrendered peacefully. In March 1950, Private Akatsu Yūichi surrendered in the village of Looc, leaving only three Japanese still resisting on Lubang. By 1951 a group of Japanese on Anatahan Island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them. This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorros from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of a Saipan-based B-29. The Chamorros reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawan woman. Personal aggravations developed from the close confines of a small group on a small island and from tuba drinking; among the holdouts, 6 of 11 deaths were the result of violence, and one man displayed 13 knife wounds. The presence of only one woman, Higa Kazuko, caused considerable difficulty as she would transfer her affections among at least four men after each of them mysteriously disappeared, purportedly “swallowed by the waves while fishing.” According to the more sensational versions of the Anatahan tale, 11 of the 30 navy sailors stranded on the island died due to violent struggles over her affections. In July 1950, Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared offshore and finally asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, told authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over. As the Japanese government showed interest in the situation on Anatahan, the families of the holdouts were contacted in Japan and urged by the Navy to write letters stating that the war was over and that the holdouts should surrender. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and ultimately convinced the holdouts to give themselves up. Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” commenced from Saipan under the command of Lt. Commander James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Johnson and an interpreter went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the surrender on the morning of June 30, 1951. The Anatahan femme fatale story later inspired the 1953 Japanese film Anatahan and the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea. In 1953, Murata Susumu, the last holdout on Tinian, was finally captured. The next year, on May 7, Corporal Sumada Shoichi was killed in a clash with Filipino soldiers, leaving only two Japanese still resisting on Lubang. In November 1955, Seaman Kinoshita Noboru was captured in the Luzon jungle but soon after committed suicide rather than “return to Japan in defeat.” That same year, four Japanese airmen surrendered at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea; and in 1956, nine soldiers were located and sent home from Morotai, while four men surrendered on Mindoro. In May 1960, Sergeant Ito Masashi became one of the last Japanese to surrender at Guam after the capture of his comrade Private Minagawa Bunzo, but the final surrender at Guam would come later with Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi. Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi survived in the jungles of Guam by living for years in an elaborately dug hole, subsisting on snails and lizards, a fate that, while undignified, showcased his ingenuity and resilience and earned him a warm welcome on his return to Japan. His capture was not heroic in the traditional sense: he was found half-starving by a group of villagers while foraging for shrimp in a stream, and the broader context included his awareness as early as 1952 that the war had ended. He explained that the wartime bushido code, emphasizing self-sacrifice or suicide rather than self-preservation, had left him fearing that repatriation would label him a deserter and likely lead to execution. Emerging from the jungle, Yokoi also became a vocal critic of Japan's wartime leadership, including Emperor Hirohito, which fits a view of him as a product of, and a prisoner within, his own education, military training, and the censorship and propaganda of the era. When asked by a young nephew how he survived so long on an island just a short distance from a major American airbase, he replied simply, “I was really good at hide and seek.”  That same year, Private Kozuka Kinshichi was killed in a shootout with Philippine police in October, leaving Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo still resisting on Lubang. Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island and harass the Allied occupying forces until the IJA eventually returned. Despite efforts by the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, radio broadcasts, and even a plea from Onoda's brother, he did not believe the war was over. On February 20, 1974, Onoda encountered a young Japanese university dropout named Suzuki Norio, who was traveling the world and had told friends that he planned to “look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order.” The two became friends, but Onoda stated that he was waiting for orders from one of his commanders. On March 9, 1974, Onoda went to an agreed-upon place and found a note left by Suzuki. Suzuki had brought along Onoda's former commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender. Intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Onoda Hiroo thus emerged from Lubang's jungle with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan's formal surrender, and 15 years after being declared legally dead in Japan. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly. He received a hero's welcome upon his return to Japan in 1974. The Japanese government offered him a large sum of money in back pay, which he refused. When money was pressed on him by well-wishers, he donated it to Yasukuni Shrine. Onoda was reportedly unhappy with the attention and what he saw as the withering of traditional Japanese values. He wrote No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, a best-selling autobiography published in 1974. Yet the last Japanese to surrender would be Private Nakamura Teruo, an Amis aborigine from Formosa and a member of the Takasago Volunteers. Private Nakamura Teruo spent the tail end of World War II with a dwindling band on Morotai, repeatedly dispersing and reassembling in the jungle as they hunted for food. The group suffered continuous losses to starvation and disease, and survivors described Nakamura as highly self-sufficient. He left to live alone somewhere in the Morotai highlands between 1946 and 1947, rejoined the main group in 1950, and then disappeared again a few years later. Nakamura hinted in print that he fled into the jungle because he feared the other holdouts might murder him. He survives for decades beyond the war, eventually being found by 11 Indonesian soldiers. The emergence of an indigenous Taiwanese soldier among the search party embarrassed Japan as it sought to move past its imperial past. Many Japanese felt Nakamura deserved compensation for decades of loyalty, only to learn that his back pay for three decades of service amounted to 68,000 yen.   Nakamura's experience of peace was complex. When a journalist asked how he felt about “wasting” three decades of his life on Morotai, he replied that the years had not been wasted; he had been serving his country. Yet the country he returned to was Taiwan, and upon disembarking in Taipei in early January 1975, he learned that his wife had a son he had never met and that she had remarried a decade after his official death. Nakamura eventually lived with a daughter, and his story concluded with a bittersweet note when his wife reconsidered and reconciled with him. Several Japanese soldiers joined local Communist and insurgent groups after the war to avoid surrender. Notably, in 1956 and 1958, two soldiers returned to Japan after service in China's People's Liberation Army. Two others who defected with a larger group to the Malayan Communist Party around 1945 laid down their arms in 1989 and repatriated the next year, becoming among the last to return home. That is all for today, but fear not I will provide a few more goodies over the next few weeks. I will be releasing some of my exclusive podcast episodes from my youtube membership and patreon that are about pacific war subjects. Like I promised the first one will be on why Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Until then if you need your fix you know where to find me: eastern front week by week, fall and rise of china, echoes of war or on my Youtube membership of patreon at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.

The Night School, Series 17 (September through November 2025) - Three Johns - Wise Ones from East of UsThe Night School has always been about the “Guests” whom we invite to be with us, people often from the deep past whom we meet in the texts that they left behind when they went to be among our Ancestors. Why have we invited “three Johns”; that is, the Evangelist, Chrysostom, and Newman? We chose them upon learning that for the first time in this 21st century, the Catholic Church will elect someone as a Doctor of the Church. Pope Leo XIV had indicated in July 2025, that he would place St. John Henry Newman among these greatest and wisest of Christian teachers. So in celebration of this, we have placed him, in Series 17, with two other Doctors of the Church.What is a “Doctor of the Church”?“ A title regularly given since the Middle Ages to certain Christian theologians of outstanding merit and acknowledged saintliness. Originally the Western theologians Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome were held to be the ‘four doctors' par excellence; but in later times the list has been gradually increased to nearly 40. There are four female doctors, with Teresa of Ávila named first, in 1970.” [Matthew J. Mills, “Doctors of the Church,” in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. Andrew Louth (Oxford, United Kingdom; New York: Oxford University Press, 2022) 565–566.]

In today's thought-provoking episode of The Atheist Experience, Forrest Valkai and Deconstruction Zone Justin dive into the persistence of bad arguments, the misinterpretation of scientific findings, and the profound impact of beliefs on personal and societal well-being.Rook in NY posits that belief in God isn't inherently bad, suggesting that in a "perfect world," individuals could hold such beliefs privately without negative consequences. Justin and Forrest counter that religious beliefs inevitably influence behavior and policy, citing historical examples of religiously motivated oppression and arguing that even private beliefs can hinder personal growth and societal progress, as beliefs don't stay in a vacuum. Rook ultimately acknowledges his point's shortcomings upon deeper scrutiny. What are the broader implications of beliefs that remain unchallenged?Simone in United Kingdom presents a syllogism, arguing that if thoughts are part of reality and we think God exists, then God exists as part of that reality. The hosts challenge this, asking if imagining a creature means it truly exists, and if this is a genuine reason for belief or a fear of hell. Simone reveals she is still in the early stages of deconstructing her Christian upbringing and has more questions than answers. How does one navigate a deconstruction journey when fundamental beliefs are questioned?Brisbane in AZ questions satanic atheism, claiming an AI overview suggests it promotes self-indulgence and a rejection of altruism. Forest refutes this by reading the Satanic Temple's actual tenets, which include compassion and justice, and critiques Brisbane's reliance on inaccurate AI summaries over primary sources. The discussion highlights the dangers of trusting AI for complex information and the importance of critical thinking in evaluating belief systems. What role should AI play in informing one's understanding of complex philosophical or religious concepts?Robert in GA challenges the hosts on Jesus's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and asserts that the complexity of life necessitates a creator, claiming the Big Bang violates thermodynamics. Justin explains how Robert's cited prophecies are taken out of context and not messianic, while Forest refutes the scientific claims, pointing to evolution and the accurate understanding of thermodynamics. The hosts urge Robert to engage with actual scientific and biblical scholarship rather than relying on misinformed arguments. How do individuals overcome ingrained misinformation when seeking truth?Hindu in India argues that consciousness, rather than emerging from the brain, is an ultimate reality of the universe, aligning with the Vedic concept of Brahman. Justin and Forest press for empirical evidence, pointing to how brain modifications alter personality, contradicting the idea of consciousness as an external driver. The hosts emphasize that materialism offers an evidence-based framework for consciousness, while idealism often relies on presuppositions. What scientific breakthroughs would truly bridge the gap between materialist and idealist views of consciousness?Robin in FL shares a family claim that a "spark of life" at conception, supposedly visible during horse breeding, proves the existence of a soul. Justin and Forest clarify that this "spark" is a scientific observation of zinc release during fertilization, not a visible soul, often misinterpreted from studies on mice. They question the logical extensions of this argument, such as mice having souls, and the implications for asexual reproduction. How do scientific findings become distorted and adopted into religious or spiritual narratives?Chris in KS raises the question of circular reasoning in Old Testament prophecies applied to Jesus, particularly Isaiah 7. Justin affirms this circularity, explaining that such prophecies often require secondary interpretations not supported by their original context, challenging the criteria for true prophecy. Forest then discusses gender, distinguishing it from sex as a fluid, socially constructed spectrum not bound by a binary, and encourages self-reflection for deeper understanding. How can an individual reconcile deeply held religious beliefs with evolving scientific and social understandings?Thank you so much Richard for being here thank you Forest and thank you crew we'll see you again next week uh same time same place 5:30 uh Eastern time 4:30 Central time bye!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

From the BBC World Service: Markets in Japan have reacted positively to the departure of the country's leader, Shigeru Ishiba, following recent election losses and despite a recent U.S. trade deal. Then, French Prime Minister François Bayrou looks set to lose a confidence vote over drastic budget cuts as the country faces mounting debt. And the United Kingdom is trying to tackle the high price of prisoner reoffending; in England and Wales, nearly a third of prison leavers end up back inside, costing the U.K. government around $24 billion annually.

From the BBC World Service: Markets in Japan have reacted positively to the departure of the country's leader, Shigeru Ishiba, following recent election losses and despite a recent U.S. trade deal. Then, French Prime Minister François Bayrou looks set to lose a confidence vote over drastic budget cuts as the country faces mounting debt. And the United Kingdom is trying to tackle the high price of prisoner reoffending; in England and Wales, nearly a third of prison leavers end up back inside, costing the U.K. government around $24 billion annually.

//The Wire//2100Z September 8, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: FRENCH PM RESIGNS AMID NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE. JAPANESE PM RESIGNS AMID PARTY LOSSES. SOCIAL TENSIONS CONTINUE TO RISE IN UNITED KINGDOM. CHARLOTTE, NC CORRUPTION HIGHLIGHTED BY BRUTAL MURDER CASE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-United Kingdom: Social tensions continue as before, which have been made worse by recent scandals. Several people have been arrested for posting content on social media that "caused someone anxiety", which although a common form of arrest in the United Kingdom, has still stoked the flames of social dissent as the migrant crisis has worsened.As of this morning, additional claims are circulating regarding whistleblower testimony suggesting that illegal migrants have been given priority for medical treatment throughout the NHS, which routinely results in British nationals being delayed care as migrants are moved up in the queue ahead of them. These claims draw back to the earlier revelation years ago that NHS practitioners were being dispatched to give private medical appointments to migrants stationed at migrant center hotels.Analyst Comment: As with most information from Britain these days, the veracity of most of the above information is hard to verify simply due to the lockdown on speech. Nevertheless, it doesn't really seem to matter that much now; the situation is spiraling into a state of uncertainty regardless of the minute details. This morning, a Banksy work was discovered painted on the side of Royal Courts of Justice, which featured the image of a judge attacking a protester. This thinly-veiled statement on the issues with the court's censorship efforts was made worse by the court immediately covering up the image upon it's discovery and setting up guards over it to prevent people from seeing it. In the United Kingdom nobody messes with a Banksy work and escapes unscathed, especially one so on-the-nose as this. As such, the dousing of gasoline on the societal bonfire continues, with very little chance of the situation de-escalating anytime soon.France: This morning the French government collapsed following a vote of no-confidence in Parliament. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has resigned after losing the vote, with much speculation abounding regarding who Macron will choose to replace him.Analyst Comment: Some media sources speculate that since Macron has appointed right-leaning (by French standards) Prime Ministers twice now, there is growing pressure to appoint Olivier Faure, the current leader of the Socialist Party.Red Sea/HOA: Sunday afternoon internet disruptions were observed as multiple undersea communications cables were cut in the southern Red Sea. The IMEWE cable (which mostly serves India) and the SMW4 cable (which serves India and southwest Asia) were cut, along with the FALCON GCX which serves internet traffic to Kuwait.Analyst Comment: No word yet on what caused this cable cutting. Anchor dragging incidents are common in the area, along with more direct cable-cutting efforts that are intended to be perceived as "accidents". In either case, repairs will take some time, so it may be a while before any solid evidence on the cause of the damage comes to light.Far East: Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned yesterday afternoon, following his closing of the trade deals with the United States.Analyst Comment: This was an expected resignation, but financial markets briefly reacted negatively anyway. Ishiba has been facing growing dissent (even from within his own party) regarding his handling of the migrant crisis that has now spread to Japan.-HomeFront-Alabama: Saturday morning one assailant was arrested for murdering a woman in a public park in Auburn. Local authorities arrested Harold Rashad Dabney III for the murder, after being apprehended driving the victim's vehi

Wales has been a part of some form of the now United Kingdom since 1284, over its history there have been spasms of discontent, and out right rebellion. It had been a while since a truly national movement but the flames were igniting as the embers are stirred. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please consider becoming a supporter at: http://patreon.com/WelshHistory Music: Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100297 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ © 2025 Evergreen Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Series: N/AService: Sun PM WorshipType: SermonSpeaker: Bill SanchezSummary Spiritual ProcrastinationSermon: Biblical Studies / Homiletics (inferred from content)Preacher: Bill SanchezDate: 2025-09-07 Sunday PM WorshipChapter/Topic: Haggai — Spiritual Procrastination and the Call to Build God's House

In part six of the “Ask the Expert, Research Edition” mini-series, “Parenting is Hard,” Krissy Dilger of SRNA was joined by Barbara Babcock, a family therapist from the UK's National Health Service, to discuss the role of siblings in families with a child diagnosed with a rare neuroimmune disorder. Barbara shared findings from her research on how siblings provide crucial support to parents and the positive impacts this has on family dynamics [00:04:31]. They explored the concept of parentification and the importance of assigning age-appropriate tasks to siblings [00:25:10]. Barbara also provided advice on fostering healthy sibling relationships and the significance of open communication [00:35:34]. At the end of this mini-series, we will host a Q&A episode where Barbara will answer questions from the community. To submit your question, please visit https://srna.ngo/submitBarbara Babcock works as a Family Therapist in a child and adolescent mental health outpatient unit in the United Kingdom's National Health Service. In her private practice, she works with individuals and couples who are navigating challenging health issues and wish to get their lives back. She obtained her Master of Science in Family Therapy from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King's College London. Barbara also has a Master of Arts in Coaching Psychology/Psychological Coaching and her dissertation research focused on the impact that a systemic approach to coaching has on the wellbeing of adults who have a rare neuroimmune disorder and their primary caregivers. Previously, she was Chair of the Transverse Myelitis Society, from 2013 to 2016, and led their Family Weekend from 2015 to 2019, an event to support families who have a child/adolescent with a rare neuroimmune disorder to discover their potential through challenging outdoor activities. She had transverse myelitis in 2008 and is originally from Pennsylvania, USA. You can contact her at barbara@returntowellness.co.uk and her website is www.returntowellness.co.uk00:00 Introduction00:28 Meet Barbara Babcock02:08 Theme Four: Support from Siblings04:31 Siblings' Characteristics and Their Impact06:57 Voluntary Help from Siblings25:10 Parentification: Understanding the Concept36:34 Fostering Healthy Sibling Relationships39:20 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

David Garland is Professor of Sociology in NYU's Department of Sociology and Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. His area of research is social theory and historical sociology with a focus on the penal state and the welfare state. In 2012, the American Society of Criminology awarded him the Edwin H. Sutherland Prize for outstanding contributions to theory and research. He has been elected to membership of learned societies in both the United States and the United Kingdom, being a Fellow of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about more violence in London at a 'Palestine Action' ban protest, as well as London commuters being brough to a standstill after the Underground was out of action.

Unlock your inner creative genius with invaluable lessons from Alex Murdock, a poet, storyteller, and performing artist. Learn how to find authentic self-expression through writing, harness the power of storytelling to captivate audiences, and build platforms that amplify diverse voices. Whether you're an aspiring writer, performer, or simply seek to ignite your creativity, this episode offers transformative insights to help you embrace your artistic journey with confidence.

Jordan Peterson, Matt Walsh. British Civil War, Minnesota Mom Faces Jail for the N-Word, Oxford Defends Hamas Gets Destroyed.   The 700 Club- Is Britain About to Explode Into Civil War? Matt Walsh- Minnesota Mom Faces Jail For Saying The N-Word?! Oxford DEFENDS Hamas — Jordan Peterson DESTROYS the Room with One Answer   Is Britain About to Explode Into Civil War? Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/b1t5qWDsknw?si=TBh9GJIXZZmciHfm The 700 Club 837K subscribers 680,654 views Jun 10, 2025 Great Britain looks like a nation where life is functioning normally. Below the surface, however, lies a growing sense that the United Kingdom is coming apart at the seams. King's College-London Professor of War Studies Dr. David Betz set off alarm bells this year when he warned Britain is headed toward civil war, and he advised people living in its large cities to move before the violence starts. Betz told the Brussels Signal podcast, "Imagine Northern Ireland scale [of violence] or Northern Ireland in intensity, but on a completely national scale, [with] attacks on public figures, judges, potentially politicians…" ►Become a CBN Partner today: https://go.cbn.com/ug7vv ► Stream more exclusive CBN content on CBN Family! https://go.cbn.com/ug7vC ► Learn more about CBN ministries: https://go.cbn.com/ug7wt   Minnesota Mom Faces Jail For Saying The N-Word?! Local authorities are planning to charge Shiloh Hendrix with a crime for saying a racial slur. Apparently our free speech rights no longer include mean words. Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/fRS4GyhC180?si=hbHiybIrsNQOnO1E Matt Walsh 3.27M subscribers 166,188 views Aug 29, 2025 #TheMattWalshShow #WhatIsAWoman #MattWalsh Home Title Lock - Visit https://HomeTitleLock.com/walsh and use code WALSH for a FREE Title History Report and FREE trial of their Million Dollar TripleLock. Become a DailyWire+ member and watch the full show: https://bit.ly/4bEQDy6 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos every day. https://www.youtube.com/c/MattWalsh?s... Stop giving your money to woke corporations that hate you. Get your Jeremy's Razors today at https://bit.ly/3lSGpWa Watch my hit documentary, “What Is A Woman?” here: https://utm.io/ueSdV Represent the Sweet Baby Gang by shopping my merch: https://tinyurl.com/y5dscrmm #MattWalsh #TheMattWalshShow #News #Politics #DailyWire #WhatIsAWoman   Oxford DEFENDS Hamas — Jordan Peterson DESTROYS the Room with One Answer Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/DDSKEy_0tLw?si=2wItCkiu8Tfunzar Aryeh Weinstein 119K subscribers 353,548 views Aug 12, 2025 Jordan Peterson Shuts Down Hamas Defense at Oxford! Watch This.. Get $40% off a Ground News subscription with my link: https://check.ground.news/rabbi Purchase My Book: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Within-You...

Send us a textDr. Michael Aziz, M.D. discusses his book: The Ageless Revolution: 10 Hallmarks of Aging That Hold the Secret to Defeating Disease, reversing age, Looking Younger, and Living Longer. Dr. Michael Aziz is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, author, and a broadcast media commentator. He is as an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Aziz completed his medical training at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital in New York. He is a member of the American College of Physicians,  the American Society of Internal Medicine, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom. Dr. Aziz has also been a keynote speaker at numerous national and international conferences, including those organized by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.You can find him at: www.michaelazizmd.com

Was the Grand Alliance simply a partnership born of necessity? Or was it also a missed opportunity for post-war civilizational cooperation among the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union? Once it became clear that the Allies would eventually defeat Hitler's Germany, the varying post-war ambitions and political goals of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt quickly brought cooperation to an end. Humanities West asks on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II: What were Stalin's strategic goals for Russia's and its neighbors' futures as victory became assured? How did Churchill's strategies to retain as much as possible of the British Empire interfere with those goals? And was an aging Roosevelt capable of thwarting both those strategies and imposing, however inadequately and insincerely, a vision of Pax Americana on the globe? "From Their Archives" Norman Naimark will attempt to untangle what Stalin was thinking about how he wanted to shape the future once it was clear that the Allies would win the war. There is much we still do not know about Stalin's “real” intentions, but the opening of the Soviet archives for research in the 1990s offer important insights into the way the Soviet dictator thought about the world. "In Their Own Words" Ian Morris will convey, in their own words, Churchill's and Roosevelt's perspectives on the Grand Alliance and the post-war world order. Churchill: I can never trust Stalin but can in the fullness of time talk around Roosevelt; and even without India, we can rebuild the world with the British Empire at its core. Roosevelt: I can usually handle Stalin and can always flatter Churchill; it's the Republicans I can't abide. But even without them, we can rebuild the world with democracy and American money at its core. "Walking in a Father's WWII Footsteps" Bill Hammond will describe walking in a father's WWII footsteps, an October 2023 trip to Europe he took with two of his brothers, where they traced their father's path from his landing at Salerno, Italy, through Avellino, Monte Cassino and Rome, to his landing on the French Riviera at St. Raphael, and then up through Draguignan, Remiremont and the Foret Domaniale du Champ du Feu, earning two silver stars and two purple hearts before crossing the Rhine in a dash through southern Germany to finish the war near Kufstein, Austria. A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. In association with Humanities West. Organizer: George Hammond  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve and the crew are joined by Blaze Media D.C. correspondent Christopher Bedford for the Deace Group roundtable, where the panel discusses whether the MAHA coalition will be able to withstand what appears to be the beginning of an external onslaught against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The panel also decides whether the United Kingdom is out of time to resolve its differences through peaceable means. Hour Two is Feedback Friday. TODAY'S SPONSORS: PATRIOT MOBILE: https://patriotmobile.com/STEVE or call 972-PATRIOT for your FREE MONTH of service REAL ESTATE AGENTS I TRUST: https://realestateagentsitrust.com/ MOXIE PEST SERVICES: Visit https://moxieservices.com/steve/ and use promo code STEVE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Savage speaks with Jim Hoft, founder of the Gateway Pundit on this week's trending stories. Savage and Hoft cover the arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan in the UK and the battle for free speech in the United Kingdom. They discuss future presidential candidates; who could win the bid for the White House.. JD Vance, Marco Rubio, or Gavin Newsom? They cover international relations with India, China, and South Korea, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Hoft shares the challenges faced by conservative outlets on social media and the attempts to censor alternative voices. 

On this week's episode, I'm joined by Rep. Laura Friedman, the congresswoman from the area we colloquially refer to as “Hollywood,” to discuss her push for a national film tax credit of the sort used by the United Kingdom and other countries to lure production of movies back to the United States.  We discuss her career in the TV and film industry before her move into politics, how DC is not unlike Los Angeles, and why the U.S. needs a national film tax credit more than a cost-increasing tariff on movies. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

Greta Thunberg is back and the only thing worth talking about is her new hairstyle. The United Kingdom is having an immigration problem. No, not just Muslims. Hollywood types. Honestly, we're not sure which is worse. This weekend, a number of CDC employees resigned in protest. We see this as an absolute win. Not so great; their next stop is probably the board of directors for a big pharma company.GUEST: Josh FirestineLink to today's sources: https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/sources-september-2-2025Buy the OG Mug Club Mug on Crowder Shop now! https://crowdershop.com/products/og-mug-club-mugLet my sponsor American Financing help you regain control of your finances. Go to https://americanfinancing.net/crowder or call 800-974-6500. NMLS 182334, http://nmlsconsumeraccess.org/DOWNLOAD THE RUMBLE APP TODAY: https://rumble.com/our-appsJoin Rumble Premium to watch this show every day! http://louderwithcrowder.com/PremiumGet your favorite LWC gear: https://crowdershop.com/Bite-Sized Content: https://rumble.com/c/CrowderBitsSubscribe to my podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/louder-with-crowder/FOLLOW ME: Website: https://louderwithcrowder.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/scrowder Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/louderwithcrowder Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevencrowderofficialMusic by @Pogo

Special guest Patrick Christys, host of Patrick Christys Tonight, presenter at @GBNewsOnline , sits down with Lane Kendall to discuss the state of the United Kingdom. Immigration, violence and what happens when a country struggles with a national identity are all on the table. Is the United Kingdom lost? Or can they make Britain great again?Follow Patrick Christys: https://x.com/patrickchristys Follow Lane Kendall: https://x.com/lanedeankendall