Podcasts about Waterstones

Women's role as slaveowners is often overlooked – but, just like men, they both profited from and maintained the institution of slavery. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, historian Miranda Kaufmann profiles several 'Caribbean heiresses' who married into the British aristocracy and brought huge wealth generated from slavery into the country.  (Ad) Miranda Kaufmann is the author of Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery (Oneworld, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2F9780861548019. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good Sunday to you,With bitcoin breaking out to record highs overnight, what a good morning it is indeed.Below is this week's commentary in case you missed it. Gold keeps on going up. So does silver. So do miners. When does the party end?On the subject of which here are the results of my twitter poll, which make for interesting reading. General consensus is, as I argued, that gold is in innings 6 of 9.But silver is only in innings one, apparently, even if breathing down the neck of $50. Gotta to love those silver bulls!Mining too is early. We shall see.For you consideration today, I thought I would share this podcast I recorded with Aussie Josh Szeps earlier in the week, talking about everything, really.Enjoy!If you live in a Third World country, such as the UK, I urge you to own gold or silver. The bullion dealer I recommend is The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.Until next time,DominicPS Secret History of Gold is going great guns. If you haven't got your copy, here are links to get it on Amazon and Waterstones and all good bookshops. I hear the audiobook, read by me, is excellent.Amazon is currently offering 20% off.It might be, as Merryn Somerset webb says, “the best timed book" ever. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

There were many ways queer people in the Georgian era fought against social and legal restrictions to express their desire and convey their love for one another, from molly houses and marriages to adult adoption,. Speaking to Isabel King, Anthony Delaney discusses his new book Queer Georgians. (Ad) Anthony Delaney is the author of Queer Georgians: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers and Homemakers (Transworld Publishers, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fqueer-georgians%2Fanthony-delaney%2F9781529927689. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

***Trigger warning: This episode makes reference to suicide. Please be mindful of this before hitting the play button*** Welcome to Motherkind, proudly sponsored by Wild Nutrition Women's Supplements. This week's guest is Dr Alex George, a doctor, mental fitness expert, and formerly the UK's first Youth Mental Health Ambassador. I was so keen to speak with Alex about what he's learned in this role, especially around children's mental health and how closely it connects to our own as parents. In this honest and moving conversation, Alex opens up about his own childhood, the struggles he faced, and what he wishes he'd known back then. He shares his hopes for what schools could do differently, and how the tragic loss of his brother has shaped both his life and his mission to support young people today. This episode is full of wisdom, vulnerability and plenty of practical ideas – not just for supporting our children, but for looking after ourselves too. ✨ Buy Dr Alex's new book – Happy Habits Available now at Waterstones or Amazon Happy Habits is an empowering, practical toolkit for children aged 9+. Designed to nurture happiness, build resilience and support everyday wellbeing, it introduces small, achievable daily practices to help young readers thrive emotionally and physically. Get your free 3 days of 5-minute Motherkind here  - 21 days to reset your energy, mood and mindset. Click Here to order your copy of 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations' Motherkind is sponsored by Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women's supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply. Sign up to GoHenry, the money app and debit card that grows your kids' money smarts from age 6 -18. Sign up today at gohenry.com/motherkind and you'll get a free £5 pocket money to help your kids grow their money smart. Start planning your next family getaway with The Family Suite. Explore the full collection now at thefamilysuite.co.uk and discover luxury hotels around the world that truly welcome families, without compromise. For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ MotherkindContinue the Conversation: Join our community over on Instagram for inspiration, tips, and sometimes a bit of humour to get us through our day - @zoeblaskey Join our mailing list to receive news, updates and new episode releases Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel and Simon speak with the screenwriter and novelist James Alistair Henry. James first started writing while working as a bookseller. He joined the writing team for Channel 4's "Smack the Pony" and went on to write the BAFTA-award winning "Green Wing", ITV comedy "Delivery Man" and sitcom "Campus" as well as episodes for the children's television shows "Bob The Builder" and "Hey Duggee". His Radio 4 sketch show, "Wosson Cornwall", was selected as BBC Radio Comedy of the Week and his newest sitcom, "Piglets", has been commissioned for a second series. James's recent debut novel, "Pagans", set in an alternate 21st-century Britain where Christianity, the Norman Conquest and the Industrial Revolution never happened, has been optioned for TV by production company Media Res. We spoke to James about comedy writing, his children's TV work, and his new novel. We've made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We've added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we're now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World's Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

Conor Tallon chats to John Breen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simone Kearney is a Dublin-born, Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist and writer. She is interested in tracking the daily embodied experience of emotional and intellectual life, which she traces through repetition and variation, metaphor and materiality. Her practice is an inquiry — as much visual as it is psychological — into how experience is a cobbled, fragile thing, shapeshifting, subject to time, configured and reconfigured through our bodies. In recent projects, she has been working with hand-carved stone sculpture, watercolor, and text, to reflect states of self and collective consciousness, where the work starts to gather like archaeological fragments of the psyche. Kearney currently has a solo show of sculptures and works on paper entitled DIGS at Guest Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, on view from September 20th – November 8th. She also will have sculptures in a group exhibition at Koki Arts in Tokyo, Japan, this October. Some previous solo exhibitions include Putty's Coronation, Brooklyn, NY; Undercurrent Gallery, Brooklyn New York; Artshack Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; and Annex Gallery, Lighthouse Works, Fisher's Island, NY. She is a NYFA grant recipient and is the author of Dim, Dahlia, Violet, Stone, (ITI Press, 2024), DAYS, (Belladonna Press, 2021), and My Ida (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2017). She teaches at Parsons School for Design and Rutgers University. Hand (Riddle is everywhere:Because a grain ... tion), 2025, soapstone, 11” X 11.5” X 36” Waterstone (xviii), 2024, watercolor on paper, 22” x 30” “Hole:Through (One by one, to see),” 2025, rhy ... pine pedestal, 11” X 11.5” X 35

The German Peasants' War of 1524-5 was the largest popular uprising in western Europe before the French Revolution. Thousands flocked to its cause as it swept across vast quantities of German-speaking land with speed, determination and fire. But what began with calls for freedom, justice and reform ended in brutal suppression. Lyndal Roper explores the revolution's explosive causes, course and consequences in her Cundill Prize-nominated book Summer of Fire and Blood – Emily Briffett spoke to her to find out more. To find out more about the Cundill History Prize, go to www.cundillprize.com. (Ad) Lyndal Roper is the author of Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War (John Murray Press, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fsummer-of-fire-and-blood%2Flyndal-roper%2F9781399818025. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special Book Club episode, Ashley Vanerio dives into The Four-Hour School Day—a practical, encouraging guide for new and seasoned home educators alike. Written by veteran homeschool mum of eight, Durenda Wilson, this book challenges the myth that learning at home needs to look like the 8am–4pm school grind. Ashley shares her honest first impressions (including a heads-up about the book's strong Christian perspective), and why this title is still packed with value for all home ed families—religious or not. From the realities of how little time home learning actually takes, to the importance of rhythm, consistency, and nurturing relationships, Ashley explores the book's most helpful themes: Why “less is more” in home education—and how you can get more done in less time The difference between “socialization” and “socializing” (and how to answer the dreaded question!) How to avoid comparison traps and build a home ed life that fits your unique family The power of following your child's passions and letting go of schoolish pressure Encouragement for parents: you don't need a teaching degree, just trust, time, and connection Ashley highlights her favourite chapters, shares honest reactions, and explains why this book makes a great confidence booster for new home educators—or a gentle resource to hand to sceptical family members. Ready to read? Grab it from Amazon or Waterstones or any other retailer! Have you read The Four-Hour School Day? Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or TikTok @bighomeedpodcast, or let us know what you think of this review! Next up for Book Club: Hunt, Gather, Parent—what ancient cultures can teach us about raising happy, helpful kids. Stay tuned for more short, honest reviews and practical home ed inspiration. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a review or share with a friend! Follow us over on TikTok or Instagram @BIGHomeEdPodcast

This episode examines peers and why they matter for internal communication. You'll discover one thing to know, one thing to do and one thing to think about. Rachel discusses why having a strong peer network matters for IC professionals.  She also analyses opportunities for peers inside organisations and why they are beneficial.  Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast See the All Things IC Inner Circle page of her website to find out more about the next cohort: https://www.allthingsic.com/1-2-1/the-all-things-ic-inner-circle/ Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC. 

This week Jonny is literally brewing while podcasting. Brad has lost some teeth.SIGN THE PETITION: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716686TIX TO LOVE & BEER: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/love-beer-3-festival-october-17th-2025-ticket/THIS WEEK'S VIDEO: https://youtu.be/21Vo1LTDrNoSupport the showBrought to you by the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, The Bubble is a weekly podcast that gives you a way to wind down with your first beer of the weekend. Dig into craft beer, film and music culture as well as hearing what's going on in the wild world of Beer Tubing.BUY JONNY'S NEW BOOK! SIGNED COPIES: https://www.davids-bookshops.co.uk/products/the-meaning-of-beer-by-jonny-garrett-signed-pre-orderAMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Beer-Jonny-Garrett/dp/1838959947/WATERSTONES: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944SUPPORT US! Pledge on Patreon and get some cool merch & videos: https://www.patreon.com/craftbeerchannel Check out our awesome sponsor The Malt Miller: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ Twitter – @beerchannelFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/thecraftbeerchannelInstagram – @craftbeerchannel

For three quarters of a century, the Korean peninsula has been divided between two very different regimes that are bitterly opposed to each other. But did it have to be this way? In his book, A Fractured Liberation, which has been shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize, Professor Kornel Chang revisits the US occupation of the south of Korea between 1945-1948 to explore whether opportunities were missed for a better future. For today's episode, he shared his findings with Rob Attar. (Ad) Kornel Chang is the author of A Fractured Liberation: Korea under US Occupation (Harvard University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fa-fractured-liberation%2Fkornel-chang%2F9780674258433. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From cleaners to codebreakers, women's contributions to the history of British intelligence have often gone unrecognised and forgotten. But in actuality, female operatives penetrated enemy networks, executed astonishing operations, and organised a labyrinth of classified documents. Speaking to Rachel Dinning, Claire Hubbard-Hall delves into the untold stories of women in British intelligence. (Ad) Claire Hubbard-Hall is the author of Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence (Orion, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fher-secret-service%2Fclaire-hubbard-hall%2F9781399603430. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the world of writing, the path to becoming a published author is often shrouded in mystery. For many, it's a journey filled with rejection, self-doubt, and the tireless pursuit of a story. But what happens when that journey not only leads to publication, but to a place on the prestigious Sunday Times Bestseller list?This is the story of B.P. Walter, a master of psychological thrillers and horror. In a fascinating interview on The Writing Community Chat Show podcast, Walter shares his insights on crafting compelling fiction, the power of persistence, and how a surprising change of plans turned his dream into a full-time career.The Turning Point: When a Pandemic Helped Launch a Bestseller.One of the most compelling parts of the interview is the behind-the-scenes look at how Walter's third book, The Dinner Guest, became a game-changer. Despite having two previous novels published, it was this book that captured the attention of readers and the industry.He reveals a stroke of good timing: the book was released in April 2021, just as UK retail shops were reopening after lockdown. People poured into bookshops, and The Dinner Guest was ready and waiting to be discovered. This momentum, combined with an "incredible promotion," propelled the book to number one on the Times chart, changing his life and allowing him to commit to writing full-time.Demystifying the Writing Process.For aspiring authors, B.P. Walter offers invaluable, practical advice. He candidly discusses how his writing process has evolved over 10 books. Initially, he didn't focus on word count, but a tight deadline forced him to adopt a more disciplined approach. Now, he aims for 3,000 words a day when actively drafting a manuscript.Perhaps his most surprising tip came from the Faber Academy, where he learned the power of planning. He now meticulously plans his novels chapter by chapter with a short summary for each, a method he now considers essential. Walter believes that knowing where the story is going allows for a more structured and efficient creative flow.Crafting Fear: Tips for Thriller, Horror & Gothic WritersB.P. Walter is a true genre-jumper, and he shared his best advice for writers tackling psychological thrillers, horror, and Gothic fiction.* For Horror: He suggests writers consider what genuinely scares them personally. While not every detail has to be autobiographical, drawing on personal fears can help conjure a more authentic sense of dread for the reader.* For Psychological Thrillers: Walter emphasizes the importance of rhythm. He advises writers to pay close attention to the pacing of the plot, ensuring twists and climaxes happen at the right moments to keep readers hooked.* For Gothic Fiction: He describes this genre as being all about atmosphere and feeling. He recommends that aspiring writers read extensively within the genre to understand how to create that unsettling vibe.A New Mystery on the Horizon.In the interview, Walter offers an exciting pitch for his new book, The Winter Visitor. He describes it as his "most Agatha Christie-ish book" yet—a murder mystery set in a Scottish castle during a storm. When a mysterious stranger is found dead with a Christmas ornament in his heart, everyone in the locked-down castle becomes a suspect.Connect with B.P. Walter:* Instagram: @BPWalterAuthor* Twitter: @BarnabyWalter* Buy his books: Available on Amazon, Waterstones, and Audible.This conversation with B.P. Walter is a masterclass for anyone interested in the art of writing and publishing. It's a powerful reminder that success often comes from a combination of hard work, adaptability, and the courage to keep going.To watch the full interview and learn more from B.P. Walter, you can find the episode on our YouTube channel.Or, watch it right here: About the Show.The Writing Community Chat Show is a live streaming YouTube podcast that brings you the stories of authors, screenwriters, and more. From the best NYT best-sellers to celebrities and indie authors, this show is for the community. Recently ranked number 3 in the top 10 writing podcasts in the UK 2025.Support Our Non-Profit CIC.As many of you know, The Writing Community Chat Show is now officially a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC). Our mission is to support authors and creatives through interviews, workshops, competitions, and community projects.Running the show takes time, effort, and resources — from live streaming and editing, to event hosting and outreach. If you enjoy what we do and want to help us continue providing a platform for authors, please consider donating directly to our PayPal. Every contribution goes right back into growing the show and supporting the writing community.Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/TheWCCSEven the price of a coffee makes a difference in helping us keep the lights on, the mics live, and the conversations flowing. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewccs.substack.com/subscribeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-writing-community-chat-show--5445493/support.

What is relevancy? Why does it matter for internal communication? Rachel has examined this topic in this episode of the Candid Comms podcast.  Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC. 

It's International Talk Like a Pirate day, we've been in Cornwall breaking St Austell's cask line, and then in Devon brewing a triple decocted Czech pils. This is why the video was late. Sorry.WATCH THIS WEEK'S VIDEO: https://youtu.be/kyQzSmQaVBQSupport the showBrought to you by the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, The Bubble is a weekly podcast that gives you a way to wind down with your first beer of the weekend. Dig into craft beer, film and music culture as well as hearing what's going on in the wild world of Beer Tubing.BUY JONNY'S NEW BOOK! SIGNED COPIES: https://www.davids-bookshops.co.uk/products/the-meaning-of-beer-by-jonny-garrett-signed-pre-orderAMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Beer-Jonny-Garrett/dp/1838959947/WATERSTONES: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944SUPPORT US! Pledge on Patreon and get some cool merch & videos: https://www.patreon.com/craftbeerchannel Check out our awesome sponsor The Malt Miller: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ Twitter – @beerchannelFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/thecraftbeerchannelInstagram – @craftbeerchannel

In this Rewind episode, we're revisiting one of our Studio77 shows, Casual Conversations With Comic Creators, where Nigel sits down with a different creator to explore their work and the craft of making comics.This series is all about highlighting the people behind the art as we uncover their unique stories. This episode features a conversation with award-winning creators Rachael Smith and Paul Cornell, whose impressive portfolios include Quarantine Comix, Doctor Who, and work for Marvel and DC Comics.The duo joins us to share insights about their creative processes and journey in the industry, with a special focus on their exciting new collaboration Who Killed Nessie? - a comedy cryptozoological whodunnit launching at Waterstones in September and showing at Thought Bubble in November. We explore how this mystery graphic novel came to life and discover the fascinating twists and turns of their creative partnership.Tune in to the mayamada Twitch channel each month for more Studio77 content with Nigel, Tazziii and the mayamada community: Studio77 Report, Casual Conversations With Comic Creators and Games Night.Connect with Rachael Smith online:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flimsy_kittenTwitter: https://x.com/rachael_Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rachaelsmith.bsky.socialConnect with Paul Cornell online:Website: https://www.paulcornell.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulcornell2096Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/paulcornell.bsky.social

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comBefore we begin today's piece, let me flag this video I made based on my recent article about Triffin's Dilemma. 13 mins long and hopefully worth the effort. Might be the most important thing you watch this week.With all the narratives that come with a gold bull market - and also a bitcoin bull market - that we're heading to some kind of money reset, the dollar or the pound is going to collapse, we are going to end up on a gold or bitcoin standard and so on - you have an end goal. The bull market will continue until we reach that eventuality.However, I doubt very much we go back to a gold standard. Yes, gold's role as reserve asset increases, ditto bitcoin, but I don't see a return to the gold standards of the 19th or 20th century. Much more likely is a Hayekian world of competing currencies.The 20th century gold standards were bogus anyway - which is why they failed. There was no gold in circulation. Americans weren't allowed to own it. When Britain returned to a gold standard in 1925, the British government ensured there was little gold actually circulating. It minted zero gold coins, while the Bank of England hoarded what it already had. ( It's all in the book, if you're interested).The Secret History of Gold is available to at Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops. I hear the audiobook, read by me, is excellent. Amazon is currently offering 20% off.There was plenty of gold in circulation under the gold standards of the 19th century, but we are not going back to them because we barely use physical cash any more. We are not going to pay for physical things with gold or silver coins in the way we once did.It might be that China gives the yuan some gold backing, and makes its (digital) notes interchangeable with gold, but I find that unlikely. It might also be that gold backing is used to make US Treasuries more attractive, as economist Judy Shelton, former advisor to Donald Trump, has proposed.Again, though possible, I would give it a low probability.The gold bull markets of the 1970s and 2000s did not end with gold standards. I doubt this one will. A gold standard is a political ideal. Real life is a lot more mucky.Unlike gold, gold bull markets do not last forever, any more than tech or any other kind of bull markets do.And this bull market is getting hot. That's for sure. Gold is at $3,700/oz. While the mainstream press are not really covering it, there has been a definite change in tone online. Silver is starting to lead. Gold miners are starting to deliver.Towards the end of previous gold bull markets, I usually get invited on to the BBC to talk about gold. Massive name drop, I was actually fraternising with BBC Director General, Tim Davie, this week - enough to get a selfie at least - but I am currently so far from being invited on to the BBC, whether for my satirical songs or for my market commentary - even with a new book on gold just out - that I believe we are a way from that.(In another age, I would have been a fixture on BBC radio. I have got the voice. I have got the intellect. But obviously, wrong age, wrong sex, wrong colour and all of that. Wrong views too).Anyway, back to more important matters.Things got hot and spicy with gold in the spring, as we warned, not unlike now. But we didn't feel it was the top. We just needed to go sideways for a few months, which we have.With physical gold, especially if you live in a Third World country like the UK, there is a strong argument never to sell. Even during gold's bear market (2011-2020), gold was a brilliant hedge against woeful sterling.If you buying gold or silver to protect yourself in these “interesting times” - and I urge you to - as always I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.You could just hold your gold and then pass it on to your heirs. Bitcoin's the same. But then again you might want the money for something else.In the 1970s gold went from $35/oz (an artificially low price due to US suppression) all the way to $850/oz.But that $850 mark was just as much an illusory price. Though it has been logged in people's minds for decades ever since, the reality is it reached that price during one spike on one afternoon. The Cold War was looking grim: the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan a month before. The Iranian hostage crisis was making everyone panic (the hostages were released the day before the spike). It was the day after US President Ronald Reagan had been inaugurated. Nobody yet knew what a success he was going to be. There was an ongoing and severe crisis in the US bond markets, which had sent interest rates above 10%.In other words, there was a lot going on. And yet gold only hit $850 for an afternoon. Hardly anyone sold the top of that spike.The launch to $850 gold began in December 1979 with that Soviet invasion. Gold broke above $450. The day after the spike, gold collapsed like a stone. By March it was below $500.Gold then did something you commonly see at the end of bull markets. The Nasdaq did something similar in 2000. Silver did it in 2011. It rallied. That rally persuaded people the bull market was still on. It was a suckers' rally.But the retest did not even make it back to the old high. It was a lower high, in other words.Then the relentless declines kicked in. By 1982 - 18 months later - gold was at $300/oz. It then spent the next 20 years - 20 years! - trading between $300 and $400, before eventually hitting a low in 1999 at $250/oz, when Gordon Brown sold. Idiot.My point is that in 1980 it looked to some like a return to gold standards was coming. The US had only abandoned gold 9 years earlier - and, in President Nixon's words, temporarily. Gold was still normal in people's minds. But the gold standard never came and gold was a rotten investment for 20 years.2011, by the way, was not of 1980 standards but the price still shot from $1,500 to $1,920 in a couple of months with the Greek debt crisis. There followed another gruesome bear market which saw gold go all the way back to $1,050.There is so much anti-dollar sentiment out there now, it might be that everything turns on its head - as things are wont to do - and we get a dollar rally.I recognise that things are looking frothy. Anytime silver starts doing well, that is usually a warning sign.A lot of American commentators like to use the baseball analogy. I would suggest maybe we are in inning six of nine. Something like that, possibly.So when to sell?

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Dr. John Pennell discusses his book and Ph.D. research: Assessing Russia's Actions in Ukraine and Syria, 2014–2022 Implications for the Changing Character of War. Recording Date: 4 Sep 2025 Research Question: John Pennell suggests an interested student or researcher examine:  How can we better inform the American public about the information space; focusing on informing the American public about threats from adversaries and discerning fact from fiction. How Russian information operations has evolved since 2022; studying the evolving Russian information operations since 2014, including the shift in approach in 2022, as well as the influence of non-state actors like criminal syndicates and drug cartels in the information space. Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power #230 Randy Rosin on Warfare is Informational; the Case for a New DoD Information Paradigm Assessing Russia's Actions in Ukraine and Syria, 2014–2022 Implications for the Changing Character of War By John A. Pennell Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  Dr. Pennell is a highly accomplished, retired US senior foreign service officer (Minister-Counselor rank), with 20+ years of executive-level experience leading multidisciplinary, interagency, and joint teams to oversee US cooperation programs across Africa, Eurasia, the Indo-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. He has deep expertise in irregular warfare, strategic competition, public diplomacy, strategic communications, and countering hybrid threats including in high-threat, gray-zone, and/or active combat environments.  He's currently a Senior Diplomacy Fellow with Narrative-Strategies, Senior Strategic Advisor with Pax Strategies LLC, and Senior Practitioner (pro bono) with the US Department of Defense's Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) in the intelligence, operations in the information environment, and emerging tech networks. He's also a subject matter expert reviewer (pro bono) for National Defense University's Joint Forces Quarterly (JFQ) and an International Advisory Board Member of Ukraine Foundation, a Swiss-based organization focused on peace processes and conflict resolution in Ukraine. In addition to being a lifetime member of the Information Professionals Association (IPA), he's a member of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs (BCFA), Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), and National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A).  He has a PhD in War & Defense Studies from King's College London and Masters degrees from the National War College and American University. His book on Russia's irregular warfare activities in Syria and Ukraine is available from Bloomsbury, Amazon, Waterstones, etc. You can also visit his website. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Eimear McBride. Born in Liverpool to Irish parents, Eimear studied acting before pursuing writing. Her debut novel, "A Girl is a Half-formed Thing", was published in 2013 after almost a decade of rejections; it went on to win the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Goldsmiths Prize, the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Eimear published her second novel, "The Lesser Bohemians", in 2016, followed by "Strange Hotel" in 2020 and "The City Changes Its Face" in 2025. She also brought out a work of non-fiction, ⁠"Something Out of Place: Women & Disgust"⁠, in 2021. We spoke to Eimear about her early interest in acting, experimenting with style and "The City Changes Its Face". We've made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We've added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we're now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World's Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

The life of El Cid, the famed 11th-century Castilian warrior otherwise known as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, is steeped in legend. Historian Nora Berend joins Danny Bird to examine his real-life exploits during the centuries-long series of campaigns by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, known as the Reconquista. She unpacks his complex loyalties to both Christian and Muslim rulers, and explores how his story has been continually reshaped to serve politics, culture and Spanish national identity. (Ad) Nora Berend is the author of El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary (Sceptre, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fel-cid%2Fnora-berend%2F9781399709620. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm not an Angela Rayner fan. Not for a second. I think she is a button-pushing hypocrite who is the living embodiment of the socialists George Orwell described in Animal Farm. But I also rather suspect she is not nearly as monstrous as she is depicted by those on the other side of the political argument. I also don't think we have seen the last of her and she'll be back again within 18 months.However, I do not buy this narrative that she took bad advice. She's no different to the rest of us. She doesn't like paying tax. She wants to minimize what she has to pay.I've taken advice many times on all matter of subjects. We all have. Often I've been given advice I didn't want to hear - and as a result I've chosen to ignore it. Instead, I've listened to the advice that was what I wanted to hear, even if it was bad.Trying to fob this off on bad advice is both disingenuous and a deferral of responsibility.We all know what is or isn't going to be our main home. It's only when confronted with the option of paying £70,000 or £30,000 that we start mentally to fudge things and get into grey areas and legal niceties.Of course, she knew she had to pay the full £70,000. But like anyone faced with an OTT £70 grand tax bill, she's thinking "Shoot, that's a lot of money. I don't want to pay that." I don't blame her for thinking that. The reason most people in this country who would otherwise be moving are not is that same cost of Stamp Duty.It's patently an awful tax. It punishes people for moving, and so creates immobility. It gums up the housing market. It gets in the way of all the knock-on economic activity that stems from people moving. It taxes transactions not wealth: two people with identical houses pay totally different amounts of tax depending purely on whether they've just moved. It hurts the young and mobile most. It disincentivises downsizing. And on and on and on.Now this "house tax" has undone, of all people, the Housing Minister. Surely that in itself should tell the powers that be that it needs doing away with, as, more generally, the complexities of almost all UK taxes. But there is no chance of that happening, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves and those who advise her will go on wondering why they can't get Britain's economy moving.If you are buying gold or silver to protect yourself in these “interesting times” - and I urge you to the way things are going - my recommended bullion dealer is The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.I used to go out with a tax lawyer once upon a time and she would always say, “Don't try and evade taxes. It's not worth the agro”. Here we have a case in point. Now Rayner not only has to pay the full amount, plus fines, she has lost her job and a large chunk of the income by which she would pay it with the result that, not only has trying to dodge forty grand cost her her career, she might lose her new flat to it as well. And - do you know what? - given the way the housing market is going, because, in part, of Stamp Duty, I bet she won't find a buyer who'll pay the £800 grand she paid for it.After all the times she has called out others for not paying taxes, and nastily, there is a lot of karma here. Whatever. The more important message is that for umpteen reasons Stamp Duty needs abolishing.Until next time,DominicPS If you missed my midweek commentary here it is:PPS And if you haven't yet bought my book, WTF?!The Secret History of Gold is available to at Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops. I hear the audiobook, read by me, is excellent.Amazon is currently offering 20% off.It had a great review in Moneyweek this week from Dr Matthew Partridge - “this book is destined to become a classic that should be at the top of your reading list.” You can read that review here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

Who should write an internal communication strategy? Does it have to be the most senior comms pro? What inputs should you use? Rachel has discussed this topic in detail in this episode of her Candid Comms podcast. Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  Use the code CANDIDCOMMS to remove 25% at the checkout. Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC. 

Apparently young people in short trousers are putting ice in their beer. And now so is Brad.WATCH THIS WEEK'S VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djJhQgMSDk0WATCH THE KOUT VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJcBfaMcOcsSupport the showBrought to you by the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, The Bubble is a weekly podcast that gives you a way to wind down with your first beer of the weekend. Dig into craft beer, film and music culture as well as hearing what's going on in the wild world of Beer Tubing.BUY JONNY'S NEW BOOK! SIGNED COPIES: https://www.davids-bookshops.co.uk/products/the-meaning-of-beer-by-jonny-garrett-signed-pre-orderAMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Beer-Jonny-Garrett/dp/1838959947/WATERSTONES: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944SUPPORT US! Pledge on Patreon and get some cool merch & videos: https://www.patreon.com/craftbeerchannel Check out our awesome sponsor The Malt Miller: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ Twitter – @beerchannelFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/thecraftbeerchannelInstagram – @craftbeerchannel

Why is internal communication important during an organisational crisis? Rachel welcomes Alison Arnot to the Candid Comms podcast.  Alison is an award-winning consultant, trainer, speaker and author with over 25 years' experience in PR, internal communication and crisis communication. Based in Scotland and working globally, she is a specialist in internal crisis communication preparedness and training, and author of Internal Communication in Times of Crisis: How to secure employee trust, support and advocacy in crisis situations. During this interview, Rachel and Alison discuss what crisis comms is, how to reduce harm and the crucial role of internal communication. Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  You can save 25% off any Kogan Page book via koganpage.com using the code CANDIDCOMMS. Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC.   

Do you need to build a business case for investment in your internal communication? Perhaps your internal communication team needs to expand, or your channels need refreshing. If you need to write a business case, you're in the right place. Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  You can save 25% off any Kogan Page book via koganpage.com using the code CANDIDCOMMS. Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC.   

Welcome to the Candid Comms podcast. This show launches season seven. In this episode, you'll discover what's coming up in this season. Rachel also shares news about her trip to Australia in September 2025. Full show notes can be found at www.allthingsic.com/podcast Order Rachel's books Rachel has written two books. Internal Communication Strategy: design, develop and transform your organizational communication is out now. You can order it via your favourite bookstore or find it online including Amazon (affiliate link), Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Foyles. Or see the All Things IC website to order a signed limited edition. Her upcoming book, Successful Change Communication: how to inform, involve and inspire employees, will be published by Kogan Page in 2026. It is available to pre-order today from your favourite bookshop.  Useful links: Add your name to receive Rachel's monthly Water Cooler newsletter. All show notes: allthingsic.com/podcast. Rachel's All Things IC website, featuring 1800 free blog posts. All Things IC Online Masterclasses, where you can enrol in training. Find Rachel on Instagram @rachelallthingsic or LinkedIn. Thank you for stopping by, Rachel Miller, Founder, All Things IC.   

The story of the Vikings who travelled to eastern Europe is just as thrilling as the story of those who headed west. It's also just as important – still being relevant today through deep rooted connections to the ongoing war in Ukraine. But what are those long-lasting links, exactly? Historian and author Martyn Whittock examines this complicated history in conversation with James Osborne. (Ad) Martyn Whittock is the author of Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (Biteback, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fvikings-in-the-east%2Fmartyn-whittock%2F9781785909054. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simon and Rachel speak with the veteran British publisher Anthony Cheetham. Anthony began his career in 1966 at the New English Library, where his first acquisition was the paperback rights to "Dune", Frank Herbert's science fiction epic. In 1969, Anthony moved to Sphere Books, where he created the Abacus imprint. He went on to establish many of the UK's most prominent publishing companies including Century (now part of Penguin Random House), Orion and Quercus (today owned by Hachette) and Head of Zeus (which now belongs to Bloomsbury). We spoke to Anthony about entering the world of publishing in the 1960s, publishing authors ranging from Kingsley Amis to Ben Okri and Donald Trump, and his recent memoir, "A Life in 50 Books". We've made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We've added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we're now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World's Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

This week Jonny tries his latest homebrew, Brad's been watching a show about Noel Edmunds opening a pub, and the sheer weight of bad news forces us to talk about BrewDog.LEARN ABOUT THE TAYBEH BEER: https://www.beerguild.co.uk/news/palestinian-brewer-launches-new-lager-in-the-ukWATCH THIS WEEK'S VIDEO: https://youtu.be/1wtUNZD5VeYWATCH SOMEONE THROW BEER AT SOMEONE ELSE: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNilmCJsvhU/?igsh=aGJzMW82b2N4ZTFuSupport the showBrought to you by the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, The Bubble is a weekly podcast that gives you a way to wind down with your first beer of the weekend. Dig into craft beer, film and music culture as well as hearing what's going on in the wild world of Beer Tubing.BUY JONNY'S NEW BOOK! SIGNED COPIES: https://www.davids-bookshops.co.uk/products/the-meaning-of-beer-by-jonny-garrett-signed-pre-orderAMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Beer-Jonny-Garrett/dp/1838959947/WATERSTONES: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944SUPPORT US! Pledge on Patreon and get some cool merch & videos: https://www.patreon.com/craftbeerchannel Check out our awesome sponsor The Malt Miller: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ Twitter – @beerchannelFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/thecraftbeerchannelInstagram – @craftbeerchannel

Watch as a full video interview instead!Elodie Harper is a bestselling author whose Wolf Den trilogy has won wide acclaim. The first book The Wolf Den, was a book of the month for both Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, won the Glass Bell Award and was shortlisted for Page turner of the year at the British Book Awards. The second in the series, The House with the Golden Door, was a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller. Elodie's first standalone novel set in the ancient world - Boudicca's Daughter - publishes in the UK and US in August 2025.We had great fun chatting with Elodie in the studio and hearing about what made her move from journalism to fiction writing, and why your first books don't need to be your big break (Wolf Den was book 3). Plus, we talk about her love of Ancient Rome and what inspires her to write her stories.Links:Buy Boudicca's Daughter and Elodie's other books nowFollow Elodie on InstagramVisit Elodie's websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We sat down with the phenomenal A. F. Steadman to discuss all things Skandar, including emergency sandwiches, superfan events and reading for pleasure as we celebrate the heart-pounding conclusion to the iconic children's fantasy series, as Skandar and his unicorn rider friends face their deadliest ever challenge and most dangerous foe...

The Secret History of Gold comes out this week. Here for your viewing pleasure is a fim about gold based on the first chapter.“Gold will be slave or master”HoraceIn 2021, a metal detectorist with the eyebrow-raising name of Ole Ginnerup Schytz dug up a hoard of Viking gold in a field in Denmark. The gold was just as it was when it was buried 1,500 years before, if a little dirtier. The same goes for the jewellery unearthed at the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria in 1972. The beads, bracelets, rings and necklaces are as good as when they were buried 6,700 years ago.In the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, there is a golden tooth bridge — a gold wire used to bind teeth and dental implants — made over 4,000 years ago. It could go in your mouth today.No other substance is as long-lasting as gold — not diamonds, not tungsten carbide, not boron nitride. Gold does not corrode; it does not tarnish or decay; it does not break down over time. This sets it apart from every other substance. Iron rusts, wood rots, silver tarnishes. Gold never changes. Left alone, it stays itself. And it never loses its shine — how about that?Despite its permanence, you can shape this enormously ductile metal into pretty much anything. An ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 50 miles long or plate a copper wire 1,000 miles long. It can be beaten into a leaf just one atom thick. Yet there is one thing you cannot do and that is destroy it. Life may be temporary, but gold is permanent. It really is forever.This means that all the gold that has ever been mined, estimated to be 216,000 tonnes, still exists somewhere. Put together it would fit into a cube with 22-metre sides. Visualise a square building seven storeys high — and that would be all the gold ever.With some effort, you can dissolve gold in certain chemical solutions, alloy it with other metals, or even vaporise it. But the gold will always be there. It is theoretically possible to destroy gold through nuclear reactions and other such extreme methods, but in practical terms, gold is indestructible. It is the closest thing we have on earth to immortality.Perhaps that is why almost every ancient culture we know of associated gold with the eternal. The Egyptians believed the flesh of gods was made of gold, and that it gave you safe passage into the afterlife. In Greek myth, the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, which Hercules was sent to retrieve, conferred immortality on whoever ate them. The South Americans saw gold as the link between humanity and the cosmos. They were not far wrong.Gold was present in the dust that formed the solar system. It sits in the earth's crust today, just as it did when our planet was formed some 4.6 billion years ago. That little bit of gold you may be wearing on your finger or around your neck is actually older than the earth itself. In fact, it is older than the solar system. To touch gold is as close as you will ever come to touching eternity.And yet the world's most famous investor is not impressed.‘It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or some place,' said Warren Buffett. ‘Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.'He's right. Gold does nothing. It does not even pay a yield. It just sits there inert. We use other metals to construct things, cut things or conduct things, but gold's industrial uses are minimal. It is a good conductor of electricity, but copper and silver are better and cheaper. It has some use in dentistry, medical applications and nanotechnology. It is finding more and more use in outer space — back whence it came — where it is used to coat spacecraft, astronauts' visors and heat shields. But, in the grand scheme of things, these uses are paltry.Gold's only purpose is to store and display prosperity. It is dense and tangible wealth: pure money.Though you may not realise it, we still use gold as money today. Not so much as a medium to exchange value but store it.In 1970, about 27 per cent of all the gold in the world was in the form of gold coinage and central bank or government reserves. Today, even with the gold standard long since dead, the percentage is about the same.The most powerful nation on earth, the United States, keeps 70 per cent of its foreign exchange holdings in gold. Its great rival, China, is both the world's largest producer and the world's largest importer. It has built up reserves that, as we shall discover, are likely as great as the USA's. If you buying gold or silver coins to protect yourself in these “interesting times” - and I urge you to - as always I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.Ordinary people and institutions the world over use gold to store wealth. Across myriad cultures gold is gifted at landmark life events — births and weddings — because of its intrinsic value.In fact, gold's purchasing power has increased over the millennia, as human beings have grown more productive. The same ounce of gold said by economic historians to have bought King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 350 loaves of bread could buy you more than 1,000 loaves today. The same gold dinar (roughly 1/7 oz) that, in the time of the Koran in the seventh century, bought you a lamb would buy you three lambs today. Those same four or five aurei (1 oz) which bought you a fine linen tunic in ancient Rome would buy you considerably more clothing today.In 1972, 0.07 ounces of gold would buy you a barrel of oil. Here we are in 2024 and a barrel of oil costs 0.02 ounces of gold — it's significantly cheaper than it was fifty years ago.House prices, too, if you measure them in gold, have stayed constant. It is only when they are measured in fiat currency that they have appreciated so relentlessly (and destructively).In other words, an ounce of gold buys you as much, and sometimes more, food, clothing, energy and shelter as it did ten years ago, a hundred years ago or even thousands of years ago. As gold lasts, so does its purchasing power. You cannot say the same about modern national currencies.Rare and expensive to mine, the supply of gold is constrained. This is in stark contrast to modern money — electronic, debt-based fiat money to give it its full name — the supply of which multiplies every year as governments spend and borrowing balloons.As if by Natural Law, gold supply has increased at the same rate as the global population — roughly 2 per cent per annum. The population of the world has slightly more than doubled since 1850. So has gold supply. The correlation has held for centuries, except for one fifty-year period during the gold rushes of the late nineteenth century, when gold supply per capita increased.Gold has the added attraction of being beautiful. It shines and glistens and sparkles. It captivates and allures. The word ‘gold' derives from the Sanskrit ‘jval', meaning ‘to shine'. That's why we use it as jewellery — to show off our wealth and success, as well as to store it. Indeed, in nomadic prehistory, and still in parts of the world today, carrying your wealth on your person as jewellery was the safest way to keep it.The universe has given us this captivatingly beautiful, dense, inert, malleable, scarce, useless and permanent substance whose only use is to be money. To quote historian Peter Bernstein, ‘nothing is as useless and useful all at the same time'.But after thousands of years of gold being official money, in the early twentieth century there was a seismic shift. Neither the British, German nor French government had enough gold to pay for the First World War. They abandoned gold backing to print the money they needed. In the inter-war years, nations briefly attempted a return to gold standards, but they failed. The two prevailing monetary theories clashed: gold-backed versus state-issued currency. Gold standard advocates, such as Montagu Norman, Governor of the Bank of England, considered gold to be one of the key pillars of a free society along with property rights and habeas corpus. ‘We have gold because we cannot trust governments,' said President Herbert Hoover in 1933. This was a sentiment echoed by one of the founders of the London School of Economics, George Bernard Shaw — to whom I am grateful for demonstrating that it is possible to have a career as both a comedian and a financial writer. ‘You have to choose (as a voter),' he said, ‘between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government… I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.'On the other hand, many, such as economist John Maynard Keynes, advocated the idea of fiat currency to give government greater control over the economy and the ability to manipulate the money supply. Keynes put fixation with gold in the Freudian realms of sex and religion. The gold standard, he famously said after the First World War — and rightly, as it turned out — was ‘already a barbarous relic'. Freud himself related fascination with gold to the erotic fantasies and interests of early childhood.Needless to say, Keynes and fiat money prevailed. By the end of the 1930s, most of Europe had left the gold standard. The US followed, but not completely until 1971, in order to meet the ballooning costs of its welfare system and its war in Vietnam.But compare both gold's universality (everyone everywhere knows gold has value) and its purchasing power to national currencies and you have to wonder why we don't use it officially today. There is a very good reason: power.Sticking to the discipline of the gold standard means governments can't just create money or run deficits to the same extent. Instead, they have to rein in their spending, which they are not prepared to do, especially in the twenty-first century, when they make so many promises to win elections. Balanced books, let alone independent money, have become an impossibility. If you seek an answer as to why the state has grown so large in the West, look no further than our system of money. When one body in a society has the power to create money at no cost to itself, it is inevitable that that body will grow disproportionately large. So it is in the twenty-first century, where state spending in many social democracies is now not far off 50 per cent of GDP, sometimes higher.Many arguments about gold will quickly slide into a political argument about the role of government. It is a deeply political metal. Those who favour gold tend to favour small government, free markets and individual responsibility. I count myself in that camp. Those who dismiss it tend to favour large government and state planning.I have argued many times that money is the blood of a society. It must be healthy. So much starts with money: values, morals, behaviour, ambitions, manners, even family size. Money must be sound and true. At the moment it is neither. Gold, however, is both. ‘Because gold is honest money it is disliked by dishonest men,' said former Republican Congressman Ron Paul. As Dorothy is advised in The Wizard of Oz (which was, as we shall discover, part allegory), maybe the time has come to once again ‘follow the yellow brick road'.On the other hand, maybe the twilight of gold has arrived, as Niall Ferguson argued in his history of debt and money, The Cash Nexus. Gold's future, he said, is ‘mainly as jewellery' or ‘in parts of the world with primitive or unstable monetary and financial systems'. Gold may have been money for 5,000 years, or even 10,000 years, but so was the horse a means of transport, and then along came the motor car.A history of gold is inevitably a history of money, but it is also a history of greed, obsession and ambition. Gold is beautiful. Gold is compelling. It is wealth in its purest, most distilled form. ‘Gold is a child of Zeus,' runs the ancient Greek lyric. ‘Neither moth nor rust devoureth it; but the mind of man is devoured by this supreme possession.' Perhaps that's why Thomas Edison said gold was ‘an invention of Satan'. Wealth, and all the emotions that come with it, can do strange things to people.Gold has led people to do the most brilliant, the most brave, the most inventive, the most innovative and the most terrible things. ‘More men have been knocked off balance by gold than by love,' runs the saying, usually attributed to Benjamin Disraeli. Where gold is concerned, emotion, not logic, prevails. Even in today's markets it is a speculative asset whose price is driven by greed and fear, not by fundamental production numbers.Its gleam has drawn man across oceans, across continents and into the unknown. It lured Jason and the Argonauts, Alexander the Great, numerous Caesars, da Gama, Cortés, Pizarro and Raleigh. Brilliant new civilisations have emerged as a result of the quest for gold, yet so have slavery, war, deceit, death and devastation. Describing the gold mines of ancient Egypt, the historian Diodorus Siculus wrote, ‘there is absolutely no consideration nor relaxation for sick or maimed, for aged man or weak woman. All are forced to labour at their tasks until they die, worn out by misery amid their toil.' His description could apply to many an illegal mine in Africa today.The English critic John Ruskin told a story of a man who boarded a ship with all his money: a bag of gold coins. Several days into the voyage a terrible storm blew up. ‘Abandon ship!' came the cry. The man strapped his bag around his waist and jumped overboard, only to sink to the bottom of the sea. ‘Now,' asked Ruskin, ‘as he was sinking — had he the gold? Or had the gold him?'As the Chinese proverb goes, ‘The miser does not own the gold; the gold owns the miser.'Gold may be a dead metal. Inert, unchanging and lifeless. But its hold over humanity never relents. It has adorned us since before the dawn of civilisation and, as money, underpinned economies ever since. Desire for it has driven mankind forwards, the prime impulse for quest and conquest, for exploration and discovery. From its origins in the hearts of dying stars to its quiet presence today beneath the machinery of modern finance, gold has seen it all. How many secrets does this silent witness keep? This book tells the story of gold. It unveils the schemes, intrigues and forces that have shaped our world in the relentless pursuit of this ancient asset, which, even in this digital age, still wields immense power.That was Chapter One of The Secret History of Gold The Secret History of Gold is available to pre-order at Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops. I hear the audiobook, read by me, is excellent. The book comes out on August 28.Hurry! Amazon is currently offering 20% off.Until next time,Dominic This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

In 2010, the world was stunned when the United States exposed a covert Russian spy network operating on its soil. Seemingly all-American families living in white-picket-fenced suburbia were in fact deep undercover Russian agents. Many had been living under assumed identities for decades, lying even to their own children. In this episode, journalist Shaun Walker speaks to Danny Bird about Moscow's longlasting ‘illegals' programme – perhaps the most audacious chapter in the history of espionage. He reveals how the roots of the operation reached back more than a century to before the Bolshevik Revolution; how the Soviet Union deployed it against supposedly ‘friendly' states; and how today's Russia reveres these spies as patriotic heroes. (Ad) Shaun Walker is the author of The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West (Profile Books, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-illegals%2Fshaun-walker%2F9781788167772. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your mid-week commentary is a day early this week because I am putting out a special film tomorrow all about everyone's favourite metal. Watch your inboxes.There is a shift of enormously significant proportions taking place. In magnitude it will prove as significant as Bretton Woods in 1944, when the dollar became the de facto global reserve currency, and the Nixon Shock of 1971, when the US abandoned the last vestiges of its gold standard.This shift is going to shape the global financial landscape over the next few years. You need to understand what is happening, so that you can position yourself and your family.You may even be able to profit handsomely from the transition.Today we explain US dollar policy: what is going on and, more importantly, where it is all going.Ready? Here goes.The Manufacturing Imperative and The Curse of the Reserve CurrencyAmerica wants to bring manufacturing back on shore. We all know this. US President Donald Trump has said it repeatedly, his VP JD Vance has said it, and so has his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who keeps reminding us that it is now time to prioritise Main Street over Wall Street.Part of the reshoring of US manufacturing involves tariffs, as we know all too well. Part of it involves weakening the US dollar to make US exports more competitive. Again Trump, Vance and Bessent have all said it.However, there is a problem, and that problem has a name: Triffin's Dilemma.You might think it's an advantage to issue the global reserve currency. You can issue dollars. Everyone else has to work for them. The French called it "America's exorbitant privilege." But this was a status the US engineered for itself during the Bretton Woods Agreement that determined the monetary order at the end of World War Two.What has happened, however, is that it has made the US fat and lazy, especially since 1971 when the US abandoned the ties of the dollar to gold.To supply the world with dollars, the US must run trade deficits. That is to say it must buy more than it sells. Persistent trade deficits have, over time, eroded its industrial base. Factories and jobs have gone offshore. Foreign nations have used their profits to invest in US capital markets and its debt. Meanwhile financial markets - aka Wall Street - have grown and grown, as America financialized.The Trump administration gets it in a way its predecessors did not. Vance has actually called the dollar's reserve status a "tax" on American producers.What's more, as this process has continued, the credibility of the dollar itself is being called further into doubt.Trump wants to revitalise America's Rust Belt. But there is more to it than that. As the curtains pulled back with Covid, the extent to which the US has been operating with its trousers down was exposed: an excessive dependence on China and its supply chains for too many strategically essential products, especially related to health, tech and the military. Then, during the Ukraine conflict, NATO found itself unable to match Russian production. The US, in short, is struggling to produce critical goods. It's why Trump keeps harping on about rare earth metals. It is vulnerable.The answer is to engineer a "managed decline" of the dollar as global reserve asset.The Golden Exit StrategyThis was already happening organically. China, for example, has been reducing its holdings of US treasuries for ten years now - quite gradually - although its US dollar holdings remain above $3 trillion.Meanwhile, China - and many other countries along the Silk Road besides - have been increasing their gold holdings, and quite dramatically. (In my view China has at least four times as much gold as it says it does. You can read more on this in my book). The process is known as de-dollarisation. Just a few months ago gold overtook the euro to become the second most held asset by central banks, while the dollar itself fell beneath 50% for the first time this century.We are not seeing a move towards any other national currency as global reserve, but towards the neutral but universal asset that is gold, as analyst Luke Groman points out. That suits all the main players. Gold is neutral, and both the US (supposedly) and China have lots of it.Indeed, a gold revaluation would be a "win-win" for both. A higher gold price would strengthen US fiscal flexibility while boosting Chinese consumers' wealth, encouraging domestic consumption and reducing trade imbalances.There is the potential to leverage the US's 261 million ounces (8,133 tonnes) of gold reserves, currently marked to market at just $42/oz. There are two ways this might be done. Economist Judy Shelton has proposed issuing Treasuries that are in part backed by gold to offset the inflation/debasement risk to make them more attractive to buyers. The other possibility (which has gone from, as Bessent put it, "we are not doing this" to "we are not doing this yet") is to revalue the gold from $42 to the current price of $3,300/oz, which would create over $850 billion of reserves without having to incur any extra debt. That would help with the US's current fiscal challenges: true interest expenses (including entitlements and veterans' affairs) currently exceed 100% of Treasury receipts.If you buying gold or silver coins to protect yourself in these “interesting times” - and I urge you to - as always I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.In short, the US administration is leaning into a weaker dollar and neutral reserve assets like gold to rebalance trade and rebuild domestic industry, even at the cost of short-term economic pain.Your really should subscribe.Bitcoin's Digital Advantage and The Stablecoin BridgeBitcoin, as the world's best neutral digital currency, is going to have a role to play in all of this as well.The US is quite happy with that, as evidenced by its pro-bitcoin rhetoric. At the national, corporate and individual levels the US has a lot of bitcoin. The US itself has 198,000 coins, the most of any nation, Strategy (NYSE:MSTR) has 630,000 and many other companies besides also hold, and at least 15% of US citizens own bitcoin. Of the eventual 21 million supply, of which probably 15% has been lost and another 1.3 million are locked up by Satoshi Nakamoto and will likely never appear (he is almost certainly dead), the US has a hefty chunk.Which brings us to the recent Genius Act. This effectively nixed CBDCs just as the EU's Christine Lagarde was planning to phase them in (LOL). However, it supported stablecoins (that is coins backed by dollars). The more bitcoin grows the more the stablecoin market will grow. As the stable coin market grows so will its demand for treasuries. Today, roughly half the entire US dollar stablecoin market, estimated at $250 billion, is invested in US treasuries (maybe 2% of the overall treasuries market). Tether is the world's 7th largest buyer.The market is small, but growing rapidly. 2035 projections include $500 billion (J.P.Morgan's projection) to $2 trillion (Standard Chartered) and $4 trillion (Bernstein) by 2035."If the stablecoin market meets these growth projections," says the Kansas City Fed, "it could lead to a substantial redistribution of funds within the financial system."In other words the stablecoin market is going to help the US fund its debt, just as other nations move away from treasuries to gold and bitcoin.Gold might suit the US, but bitcoin suits it better, especially if there are complications surrounding the Fort Knox gold, which it seems there are. Why no audit yet?Tell people about this.Gold vs Bitcoin, Analogue vs Digital: The Coming ShowdownIt's likely a few years from now there is going to be some sort of showdown between gold and bitcoin in the battle for primary reserve asset status. It's unlikely to be both. Governments will favour gold, as they have lots of it. Tradition is on their side. Eternal gold has a track record that is unrivalled. But it is an analogue asset in a digital world. Bitcoin is much more practical. Which will win out? Practical digital or impractical analogue?This is a contest that is still a way off. For now all roads lead to gold and bitcoin as the world de-dollarizes.Own both is what I say.Needless to say the UK is absolutely clueless in all of this, having sold two-thirds of its gold in 1999, made it near impossible for UK citizens to buy bitcoin, now planning to sell its bitcoin holdings, now the largest holder of US treasuries in the world after Japan and making no attempt to buy any gold.With the threat of AI and automation to America's jobs - especially in driving where millions work - there is the risk of mass unemployment coming quite quickly, and with it plentiful defaults on mortgages and loans. This could force the U.S. to print money, driving inflation and providing yet another reason to own gold and bitcoin, which cannot be debased.From October 8th, UK citizens will finally be able to buy bitcoin ETNs.I was lucky enough over the weekend to find myself as a house guest under the same roof as Interactive Investor CEO Richard Wilson. We talked a lot. He knows how landmark the date October 8th is for UK investors and has made sure II are well positioned in a way that other brokerages are not. You might not be able to buy the US ETFs due to FCA nonsense, but anything listed in the UK will be available. So if you don't already have an account at II you might do well to open an account now. Click this link and the first year is free.In short, the dollar will weaken significantly over the next three years. The pound is a basket case. National currencies are not stores of wealth. Gold and bitcoin are. Own both as the Trump administration addresses Triffin's Dilemma through a managed dollar decline. They will use gold and potentially bitcoin to restore US industrial and military strength.You have been warned.Tell people about this post.Watch your inboxes. Tomorrow I'll be putting out a 15-minute film all about gold called The Eternal Metal. On which note, The Secret History of Gold is out now. Got yours yet?The Secret History of Gold is available at Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops.Amazon is currently offering 20% off. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

If you've ever thought about teaching creative workshops, or you already run them and want to make them truly unforgettable, this episode is packed with wisdom you won't want to miss.   Jessica Rose talks with Patricia van den Akker from The Design Trust, author of 'Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online', to share five powerful tips for designing workshops that stand out. Patricia's approach goes far beyond simply showing people how to make something. Instead, she encourages us to think deeply about why we teach, what kind of experience we want to create, and how we can market our workshops in a way that connects emotionally with the right students.   In this episode you'll discover: How to uncover your true 'why' for teaching (and why it matters). The difference between teaching a project vs. teaching a skill – and when each works best. Why the little details – from brownies to background music – can make or break the workshop experience. How to market your workshops with emotion so you attract your ideal participants. Creative ways to expand beyond traditional workshops to grow your income and impact.   Whether you're just starting out or looking to elevate your teaching practice, this conversation is packed with practical ideas and inspiring insights. Plus, Patricia gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her new book, which features Jewellers Academy as a case study.   Listen now to learn how to design workshops that light a spark in your students and in you.   Want to learn more? Check out Patricia's book ‘Teaching Creative Workshops In Person & Online'. You can get it from any book shop, Amazon, Waterstones or directly from the publishers Bloomsbury: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/teaching-creative-workshops-in-person-and-online-9781789941784/       About Patricia   Patricia van den Akker is the Director of The Design Trust, the online business school for designers, makers & other creative professionals, providing online memberships, workshops and courses on creative business planning & time management, teaching creative skills, marketing & selling, costing & pricing. For over 25 years she has been a creative business adviser, trainer & coach, working with 1,000s of creatives in the UK and abroad. She regularly teaches at art schools such as the Royal College of Art and Central St Martin, and works with many of the craft fairs and trade show organisers like GNCCF and Top Drawer as well. She is known for her practical, honest and can-do approach to creative professional development. In February 2025 her book Teaching Creative Workshops in Person & Online was published by Bloomsbury.    For more details check out www.thedesigntrust.co.uk and follow on Instagram @TheDesignTrust  

Histories of British involvement in the Caribbean tend to focus mainly on the period of plantation slavery but, in her new book Empire Without End, Imaobong Umoren argues that we need to take a broader view. It's only by taking the story back to the 16th century and forward until the present, she contends, that we can fully understand the intertwining themes of colonialism and racism in the region – and see how they connect to events in Britain. In this episode, Imaobong explores these ideas in conversation with Rob Attar. (Ad) Imaobong Umoren is the author of Empire Without End: A New History of Britain and the Caribbean (Fern Press, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fempire-without-end%2Fimaobong-umoren%2F%2F9781911717034%23%3A~%3Atext%3DEmpire%20Without%20End%20offers%20a%2Cthe%20longevity%20of%20systemic%20racism. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NB Sundays, as ever, are for thought pieces, lately all about gold as my book on that subject is about to come out. Midweek remains for markets We are now into launch week, so lots to promote: Secret History of Gold FeverThis week I've been in interview mode* Above we have me telling Ian Collins on Talk TV how rubbish the government is. * Here is me talking to Tom Winnifrith* Here James Delingpole.I have been working on a short film as well, which I hope to have ready for tomorrow.The book also had its first review - in the Telegraph.Here is what people have said so far“A fabulous, fascinating, fantastical tale” Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works”It doesn't just tell you about gold – it makes you feel its weight through history. It's just so interesting," Toby Young, Spectator”Written with both insight and Dominic's signature humour, this is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the lengths human beings will go to for the promise of riches,” Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy.“This delightful book is a most insightful and enjoyable romp through history and a well-researched, educational tour de force,” James Turk, author of The Money Bubble”Dominic Frisby's writings about economics and finance are, like his comedy, intelligent, beautifully crafted and always ahead of the curve. The Secret History of Gold is well-informed, utterly coherent and very, VERY timely.” Liam Halligan, Telegraph“Dominic Frisby is most trusted source of information for anything to do with gold,” Konstantin Kisin, Triggernometry”Well-researched and razor-sharp. Written with passion, principle - and the occasional punchline,” Al Murray, comedian and historian”Possibly the best-timed book ever,” Merryn Somerset Webb, Bloomberg“A brilliant, highly readable guide to the most alluring material of all,” Luke Johnson, investor and entrepreneur."Understand the history of gold, and you start to see what politicians and central banks would rather you didn't. Dominic reveals all with clarity and force,” Rob Dix , author of The Price of Money.“Frisby entertains impressively and convincingly … his tales of German and Japanese gold-hunting during the Second World War are eye-popping … a colourful and sly adversary to contemporary financial and political pieties,” Simon Ings, the TelegraphThe Secret History of Gold is available at Amazon, Waterstones and all good bookshops. The book comes out on August 28.Amazon is currently offering 20% off.Until next time,Dominic This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

This week Brad and Jonny have not insignificant hangovers, but are recording at 10am. This explains most of what happens in the podcast.This week's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGbZibrutfkKout Na Sumave video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJcBfaMcOcsFT article: https://www.ft.com/content/27e39875-7b7b-4282-ac2c-11aed4c05117Support the showBrought to you by the team behind the Craft Beer Channel, The Bubble is a weekly podcast that gives you a way to wind down with your first beer of the weekend. Dig into craft beer, film and music culture as well as hearing what's going on in the wild world of Beer Tubing.BUY JONNY'S NEW BOOK! SIGNED COPIES: https://www.davids-bookshops.co.uk/products/the-meaning-of-beer-by-jonny-garrett-signed-pre-orderAMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Beer-Jonny-Garrett/dp/1838959947/WATERSTONES: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944SUPPORT US! Pledge on Patreon and get some cool merch & videos: https://www.patreon.com/craftbeerchannel Check out our awesome sponsor The Malt Miller: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ Twitter – @beerchannelFacebook – http://www.facebook.com/thecraftbeerchannelInstagram – @craftbeerchannel

After causing the extinction of the dodo, humans soon realised that we had the power to destroy entire species – and we continue to reckon with that power. Speaking to James Osborne, Sadiah Qureshi discusses her new book Vanished, which looks at the connections between extinction and imperialism, and explores how changing ideas about extinction have reshaped the face of the planet. (Ad) Sadiah Qureshi is the author of Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction (Penguin, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fvanished%2Fsadiah-qureshi%2F%2F9780241352106. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, recorded in conjunction with Hay Festival, Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Jacqueline Wilson. Born in 1945, Jacqueline wrote her first (unpublished) novel, "Meet the Maggots", when she was nine and has since gone on to write more than 100 books; her novels have been translated into 34 languages and have sold more than 40m copies in Britain alone. Jacqueline started her career as a journalist for DC Thomson in Dundee—the bestselling teen magazine Jackie was reportedly named after her—and she published her first story for children, "Ricky's Birthday", in 1973. She is the author of several bestselling children's titles, including "The Story of Tracy Beaker", "Double Act", "Vicky Angel", and several popular series, such as "Girls", "Hetty Feather" and "Sleepovers". Jacqueline has won many literary prizes and was the British Children's Laureate from 2005-07. In the 2025 New Year Honours List she was awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. We spoke to Jacqueline about starting out in magazines while in her teens, breaking out in children's books in 1991 with "Tracy Beaker" and writing for adults, most recently in "Think Again".We've made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We've added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we're now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World's Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

Alaska was owned by Russia - was the summit also? Where is the world after the Alaska summit? Putin won, but did Trump really lose (I'd suggest not really, because his interests are not that opposed)? And if - if - we are any closer to a peace, what might that look like?Tickets for the Waterstones book event I mentioned in London on 4 September are available here.The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials including the (almost-) weekly Govorit Moskva news briefing right here. Support the show

Get excited, it's COMPETITION TIME! Want to win this lot? All you have to do is PRE ORDER MY NEW BOOK (amazon affiliate) to enter! USA and worldwide girlies, you can get your copy on Waterstones at 25% off and shipped to you for LESS than pre ordering it on Amazon by the way. Use code 'ManifestAmber25' and get your copy at the same time as the UK huns! You could win:A one-to-one session with me,A treadmillMagnesium supplementsA B Sleepy amethyst pillowA ticket to Mani-Fest 2026 AND...a manifestation candle from Clean Candle CompanyENTER NOW, the competition closes on the 10th August!Welcome back and thank you so much for listening in again this week, I hope this episode about the current, ongoing mercury retrograde was useful for you and you got some value from listening.Come and find me @francescaamber & @lawofattractionchangedmylife on Instagram - I would LOVE to hear from you.Join the Book Club B*tches - the UK's largest self development book club (possibly the world's...?)If you want to come and see me this year on my BOOK TOUR all the tickets for London, Manchester, Liverpool & Dublin and info are HEREThank you so much for listening and I'll see you again next week,Fran xxx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 remains one of the most controversial moments in modern history. Did the atomic bombs force Japan's surrender in the Second World War? Or is this far too simple a narrative? Speaking to Elinor Evans, historian Richard Overy reconsiders the role of Oppenheimer's bombs, and the US firebombing that paved their way, in the final weeks of the war. (Ad) Richard Overy is the author of Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan (Allen Lane, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Frain-of-ruin%2Frichard-overy%2F9780241700693. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since the 1870s, rumours have swirled around Queen Victoria and her Highland servant John Brown. Were the pair in love? Could they have got married? And might they even have had a secret child? Historian Fern Riddell investigates these claims in her book Victoria's Secret, and has made some dramatic discoveries that she believes cast the story in a new light. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, she outlines her findings.  (Ad) Fern Riddell is the author of Victoria's Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen/ (Ebury, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fvictorias-secret%2Ffern-riddell%2F9781529199314. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Centred on the island of Crete, the Bronze-Age Minoan civilisation stretched from roughly 3000 to 1200BC, and is probably most famous for its legend surrounding the mythical Minotaur and the fabulous palace of Knossos. But what else do we know about this ancient society? In conversation with David Musgrove, Ellen Adams answers all the key questions about the Minoans. (Ad) Ellen Adams is the author of The Minoans: Lost Civilizations (Reaktion Books, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-minoans%2Fellen-adams%2F9781836390473. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What was it like to be a child in ancient Rome? Historian, author and broadcaster Bettany Hughes delves into life for young people across the civilisation, unpicking everything from lice combs and goat-drawn chariots to toga ceremonies and terrifying teachers. Speaking to Emily Briffett, she draws upon extraordinary artefacts to uncover a world that was tough, but surprisingly relatable – if you could survive the first nine days. (Ad) Bettany Hughes is the author of //There Was a Roman in Your Garden: A History of the Romans in 20 Buried Treasures// (Penguin, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthere-was-a-roman-in-your-garden%2Fbettany-hughes%2F9780241662151. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the war in Vietnam spiralled out of control, US president Lyndon B Johnson was confronted by a different type of threat: a fake report so convincing that it tricked Americans into believing dangerous disinformation. But that was never the intention. Revisiting The Report From Iron Mountain, journalist Phil Tinline speaks to James Osborne, to reveal how a satirical report evolved into something far more sinister than anyone could have predicted. (Ad) Phil Tinline is the author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy (Apollo, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fghosts-of-iron-mountain%2Fphil-tinline%2F9781035903849. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices