Podcasts about Italy

Vincent in Brooklyn, NY, lets Ken know what would happen if you burn the Italian flag in Italy. Mike in Long Island, NY, called Ken to let him know that if you burn the American flag, you should be deported. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The collection of sculptures on the ground floor of the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy, contains one of the world's most important collections of 16th-century sculptures, including Michelangelo's “Bacchus”  and  “Pitti Tondo,” Giambologna's “Mercury” and “Florence Triumphing over Pisa,” and Cellini's wax bozzetto (or small model) for his “Perseus with the Head of Medusa.”  

On this episode of Destination on the Left, Mike Testa, President & CEO of Visit Sacramento, describes how his destination has diversified their focus to include festivals and events, sports, leisure markets, and culinary. He explains how positioning themselves as America's Farm to Fork Capital has paid dividends, including booking a 10-year contract to host the Terra Madre Americas convention. Mike also discusses why tourism is not for tourists and how that plays into action through Visit Sacramento's work and community partnerships. What You Will Learn in This Episode: Why Mike's long tenure at a single DMO has given him unique insights and influence in the community How Sacramento's diversification from meetings and conventions to include festivals, sports, leisure, and culinary events has dramatically grown annual room nights and economic impact What motivated Visit Sacramento to claim the title of America's Farm to Fork Capital How Visit Sacramento secured high-profile events like the Tower Bridge Dinner and attracted the Michelin Guide to the city, to cement its reputation as a food destination Visit Sacramento's focus on quality of life for residents, and drives deeper community partnerships Strategies Mike and his team have used to build relationships with local leaders and partners How successful event hosting, like the Aftershock Music Festival, has opened doors for additional festivals and conventions Building a New Identity: Sacramento's Creative Leap When people think of top destinations in California, their minds often go straight to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, or Napa. Sacramento—the state's capital—rarely makes the “must-visit” short list. But as Mike Testa, President and CEO of Visit Sacramento, explains, that's exactly why his team has spent the last several years shaking up expectations and positioning Sacramento as a destination worthy of national and international attention. Mike's approach to make noise, drive results, and never be satisfied with the status quo. When the pandemic hit, instead of waiting it out, Visit Sacramento doubled down on innovation by diversifying its room night sources and investing heavily in outdoor events, festivals, sports, and especially its burgeoning culinary scene. The payoff has been nothing short of remarkable. America's Farm-to-Fork Capital Sacramento sits in the heart of fertile farmland, growing everything from sushi rice to 80% of the nation's caviar. But it wasn't until a local chef pointed out the city's unique agricultural advantage that Mike and his team realized: Sacramento had a rock-solid, authentic claim to the title America's Farm-to-Fork Capital. Visit Sacramento set out to build signature experiences, like the renowned 800-person Tower Bridge Dinner (a highlight that sells out in seconds), a Michelin Guide presence (Sacramento became only the fifth U.S. city to earn this distinction), and a thriving roster of food and wine festivals. Topping it all off, the city soon hosts the inaugural Terra Madre Americas, a massive international celebration of slow food previously held only in Italy, for which Sacramento was selected as the North American host in a 10-year deal. Putting Community First At the heart of Visit Sacramento's strategy is a simple, resonant principle: “Tourism is not about the tourists. It's about improving the quality of life for the people who live here,” Mike emphasizes. This community-first approach runs deep. It means demonstrating the value of tourism to local officials and residents not just through economic statistics, but by contributing to civic life and showing up for critical community projects, events, and diverse groups. Resources: Website: https://www.visitsacramento.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-testa-1082673/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sacramento-convention-&-visitors-bureau/ Attracting International Brands to Your Destination, with Mike Testa We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more o​f. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Summer might be heading into its final stretch, but the heat's showing no signs of letting up — and neither are we here on the Sunset Strip. Café Mambo's own Ryan McDermott is back once again with a fresh batch of tunes to keep things sizzling. Expect big sounds from Anotr, Belters Only, Earth n Days, Yolanda Be Cool, amongst others plus a trip down memory lane with a classic Mambo Memory from Silicone Soul. And the heat keeps coming — this month's guest mix is in the hands of Italy's finest, Meduza, dropping their unmistakable sound and massive energy right into the mix. Turn it up, because this one's not to be missed. We are Café Mambo… We are Ibiza! Follow us at: www.instagram.com/mamboibiza www.facebook.com/mamboibiza www.twitter.com/mamboibiza Plus get more of the best electronic music 24/7 on Café Mambo Radio – www.cafemamboibiza.com/radio

L'Ufficio studi di Confcommercio ha analizzato l'evoluzione dei consumi delle famiglie italiane negli ultimi trent'anni. Quest'anno la spesa pro capite reale sul territorio economico ha raggiunto i 22.114 euro contro i 19.322 euro del 1995, con un aumento di 239 euro rispetto al 2024 ma ancora inferiore (-220 euro reali) ai picchi del 2007, prima che la crisi dei mutui subprime si abbattesse sull'economia mondiale. Gli italiani tornano a spendere ma con cautela, privilegiando soprattutto il comparto tecnologico. Negli ultimi tre decenni la spesa pro capite per informatica e telefoni ha registrato una crescita vertiginosa di quasi il 3.000%. Ne parliamo con Mariano Bella, direttore Ufficio studi Confcommercio.Dazi, l'effetto sulle azioni di Piazza AffariL'introduzione di dazi ha ha implicazioni complesse e non facili da stimare per le società quotate. Gli analisti stimano che saranno più gestibili per quelle che hanno negli USA una presenza significativa di impianti produttivi e che, quindi, sono in gran parte esonerati dalle tariffe. In molti casi, la presenza negli Usa è legata ad acquisizioni di società americane.Tra i settori più colpiti dai dazi ci sono quelli del made in Italy, come l'alimentare o il lusso. La qualità elevata dei beni e la tipologia di acquirenti con disponibilità economica, però, li rendono meno sensibili agli aumenti di prezzo. C'è senz'altro forte tensione sull'industria dell'auto. Va detto però che gli effetti dei dazi saranno pienamente comprensibili solo nel tempo. Ne parliamo con Marzia Redaelli, Plus 24 Il Sole 24 ORE.Prezzi del caffè ai massimiIl mercato del caffè continua a vivere una vera e propria tempesta perfetta . Il prezzo della materia prima, il caffè verde, si mantiene su una quotazione molto alta, intorno ai 380 centesimi per libra, tre volte la media storica. Secondo un report del Centro studi di Unimpresa il prezzo medio di una tazzina di caffè espresso al bar in Italia potrebbe raggiungere i 2 euro entro la fine del 2025, con un incremento superiore al 50% rispetto al 2020. Negli ultimi cinque anni il costo del caffè è salito da 0,87 a oltre 1,30 euro, con punte a 1,43 euro in alcune città del Nord. Commentiamo questi dati con Cristina Scocchia, AD di Illycaffè.

Episode: 2813 Seneca the Younger and the Great Earthquake of 62 AD.  Today, an ancient earthquake.

Seeing atomic scale interactions in real time may sound like science fiction, but operando TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) has made it science fact. Unlike traditional TEM, which looks at static samples, operando TEM enables scientists to watch materials evolve dynamically while they undergo reactions. In this episode, we sit down with Patricia Kooyman, a professor at the University of Cape Town, to explore the science behind this technique as well as her unique history with it. This episode is sponsored by Momentum Transfer. They have an upcoming Powder Diffraction workshop at Politecnico di Bari in Italy. This 3 day workshop runs from September 29th to October 1st, 2025. Find more info [HERE]. This episode is sponsored by the American Ceramics Society Learning Center. Visit ceramics.org/materialism to learn more or use code MATERIALISM to get $100 off your next On-Demand course registration. This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks, Andrew Falkowski, & Jared Duffy.

Cet épisode est présenté par Squarespace.Vous voulez lancer votre marque, votre projet ou votre portfolio ?Squarespace est l'outil que j'aurais rêvé d'avoir à mes débuts : templates élégants, boutique en ligne intégrée, paiement sécurisé, gestion des stocks, emailing, optimisation SEO… tout en un, sans développeur et sans prise de tête.Essayez 14 jours. -10 % avec le code BOLD → squarespace.com/BOLD

Lauren joined WorldDenver in 2019 after serving in a similar role at the World Affairs Council of Charlotte. She has a decade of experience in fundraising, development, program management, and event planning across nonprofits, and focuses on building global connections.Lauren grew up in San Diego, CA and attended a French immersion school, which planted the seeds for her passion in diversity and cross-cultural experiences. She earned her B.A. in International Studies and French, with a minor in Religion from California Lutheran University where she had the privilege of participating in travel seminars to Jamaica, Italy, and a semester abroad in Dakar, Senegal. Her time in Dakar focused on arts and culture, while researching issues affecting vulnerable children. She completed a dual master's degree program in Social Work (MSW) and Theological Studies (MTS) at Boston University, (BU) with a focus on nonprofit development and program administration. During her time at BU, she participated in a travel seminar to Israel and Palestine to explore complexities of peace building, and one to Turkey to learn about the intersection of ancient archeology and modern Europe. In Boston, she worked in community organizing with Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and at DOVE, Inc., a domestic violence resource agency, where she contributed to planning and development for two record breaking fundraiser events.Lauren lives in Denver with her husband and two daughters, and enjoys the performing arts, live music, backpacking, snowboarding, and all that the Colorado Rockies have to offer.https://worlddenver.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-osga-236a7294/**********************************************************Judy Carlson is the CEO and Founder of the Judy Carlson Financial Group, where she helps couples create personalized, coordinated financial plans that support the life they want to live – now and in the future.As an Independent Fiduciary and Comprehensive Financial Planner, Judy specializes in retirement income and wealth decumulation strategies. She is a CPA, Investment Advisor Representative, licensed in life and health insurance, and certified in long-term care planning.Judy's mission is to help guide clients with clarity and care, building financial plans that focus on real planning built around real lives.Learn More: https://judycarlson.com/Investment Adviser Representative of and advisory services offered through Royal Fund Management, LLC, a SEC Registered Adviser.The Inspired Impact Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast-with-judy-carlson-interview-with-lauren-osga-director-of-development-communications-worlddenver

V posledný augustový deň uplynie presne 30 rokov od momentu, keď autá Slovenskej informačnej služby zastavili vozidlo prezidentovho syna a Michala Kováča mladšieho uniesli do Rakúska. Nasledujúce roky bolo Mečiarovo Slovensko čiernou dierou Európy. Pokiaľ ide o potrestanie strojcov a vykonávateľov únosu, spravodlivosť si na svoje doteraz neprišla.V podcaste Dobré ráno diskutuje s Janou Krescanko Dibákovou reportér denníka SME Matúš Burčík, ktorý už celé roky sleduje život aktérov, ale aj úskalia súdneho procesu, ktorý po zrušení Mečiarových amnestií zamrzol na mŕtvom bode.Zdroje zvukov: STVR, ČTOdporúčanieAk milujete Taliansko a milujete jedlo – niežeby sa to dalo oddeliť – moje dnešné víkendové odporúčanie je špeciálne pre vás. Dnes totiž odporúčam sériu Tucii in Italy, v ktorej vás známy herec ⁠Stanley Tucci na Disney+ vezme na výlet talianskymi regiónmi a za ich jedlom.⁠–Všetky podcasty denníka SME nájdete na⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ sme.sk/podcasty⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠–Odoberajte aj audio verziu denného newslettra⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SME.sk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ s najdôležitejšími správami na⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ sme.sk/brifing⁠

What if the most accomplished person you know—the CEO everyone admires, the doctor saving lives, the entrepreneur crushing their goals—is secretly researching suicide methods at 2 AM? Clinical psychologist Dr. Margaret Rutherford reveals the shocking truth behind a hidden epidemic sweeping through our success-obsessed culture: Perfectly Hidden Depression. This isn’t your typical depression. These are the people whose Instagram feeds look flawless, whose careers are soaring, whose lives seem enviable—yet they’re drowning behind their perfect facades. After 30 years as a clinical psychologist and surviving her own “decade of chaos” involving multiple marriages, panic disorder, and anorexia, Dr. Rutherford has discovered why traditional depression criteria are missing millions of high-achieving people who are silently planning their deaths. This conversation emerged from tragedy: a woman died by suicide, and her husband found Dr. Rutherford’s book “Perfectly Hidden Depression” on her bedside table. That moment sparked a global conversation that has now reached nearly 2 million people through her viral TEDx talk. Dr. Rutherford exposes how our culture has created a deadly trap where success becomes a prison. These individuals are caught in what she calls “destructive perfectionism”—like being trapped on a treadmill where you control neither the speed nor the incline, and you literally cannot get off. The Perfectionism Death Trap Unlike obvious depression symptoms, Perfectly Hidden Depression manifests through relentless achievement, being the “reliable one” everyone counts on, and an inability to be emotionally transparent. These people don’t cry openly or stay in bed—they’re running companies, chairing committees, and being the person everyone admires. The most terrifying part? Mental health professionals are missing this completely. These individuals don’t fit traditional depression criteria, leading therapists to dismiss their struggles with “you’re not depressed, maybe just a little anxious.” Dr. Rutherford distinguishes between constructive perfectionism (process-oriented and adaptable) and destructive perfectionism (where any deviation from the plan equals complete failure). The destructive type is fueled by deep shame and terror of being “found out” as imperfect. The Transparency Revolution The solution isn’t eliminating achievement—it’s learning what Dr. Rutherford calls “transparency.” Unlike vulnerability (which implies weakness), transparency is about a conscious choice to share your authentic struggle with safe people. Her own radical transparency includes openly discussing panic attacks during her viral TEDx talk (she calls her panic “Bob”), failed marriages, and eating disorders. This authenticity literally saves lives by giving others permission to admit they’re struggling behind their perfect performance. Breaking the Suicide Silence Dr. Rutherford demolishes dangerous myths, particularly that “people who talk about suicide don’t do it.” This is catastrophically false. The problem isn’t that successful people don’t talk about suicide—it’s that we’re not listening or taking their pain seriously because their lives look so perfect. Through powerful client stories, she demonstrates how the right response to someone’s deepest shame can literally lift years of burden in a single moment of authentic connection. The Path Back to Life The conversation reveals three revolutionary insights that can save lives: Emotional Transparency: Start with one safe person—share something small that feels vulnerable, then gradually build your capacity for authentic connection. Embrace the “And”: You can be both successful AND struggling, both strong AND scared. Stop living in either/or thinking that demands you choose between achievement and authenticity. Redefine Self-Acceptance: Neither your achievements nor your struggles define you completely. You are both your strengths and your vulnerabilities, and neither cancels out the other. Why This Matters Now Depression and suicide rates are skyrocketing among high achievers. If you’re reading this and thinking “this is me,” Dr. Rutherford’s message is clear: your perfect performance is killing you, but there’s another way to live. This isn’t just about identifying a problem—it’s about throwing a lifeline to millions who are silently drowning in their own success. Sometimes the most successful thing you can do is admit you’re dying inside, because that admission might just save your life. Golden Nuggets From Dr. Margaret Rutherford Here are Dr. Rutherford’s 3 transformational principles you can apply today: Practice Emotional Transparency: Find one safe person and start sharing small vulnerabilities. Begin wherever you are—no struggle is too small when learning authenticity. Embrace the “And”: Stop either/or thinking. You can simultaneously be successful and struggling, strong and vulnerable, achieving and healing. Redefine Self-Acceptance: Recognise that neither your strengths nor your weaknesses completely define you. You are both, and that’s perfectly human. Watch the Full Conversation Now on YouTube About Dr. Margaret Rutherford Dr. Margaret Robinson Rutherford is a clinical psychologist with thirty years of experience, author, TEDx speaker, and podcast host. Her book, Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression, has reached thousands internationally with translations spanning from Korea to Italy, Turkey to Germany. Her highly popular podcast, The SelfWork Podcast, has been continuously rated as one of the best podcasts for mental health and depression. Dr. Margaret is known for her vibrantly engaging and theoretically well-crafted presentations, whether live or virtual. She’s challenging the mental health profession to question their overreliance on official symptom checklists for diagnosis, advocating instead for creating normalcy around suicidal feelings and responding with safety and compassion rather than stigmatising this painful part of human existence. Connect with Dr. Margaret Rutherford Website: drmargaretrutherford.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/@DrMargaretRutherford Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMargaretRutherford/ Instagram: @drmargaretrutherford 

Urban Planning in Nazi Germany: Attack, Triumph, Terror in the European Context, 1933–1945 (DOM, 2025) is edited by Uwe Altrock, Harald Bodenschatz, Victoria Grau, Jannik Noeske, Christiane Post, and Max Welch Guerra. The book includes contributions from Christian von Oppen, Piero Sassi, and Jannik Noeske.  Two co-editors, Victoria Grau and Max Welch Guerra, join the New Books Network to discuss this work. In this book, urban planning under the Nazi dictatorship is for the first time examined not only as something that evolved during the different periods of Nazi rule but also in the context of other European dictatorships of the time. The period between 1933 and 1945 saw important changes in the focus of Nazi urban planning. These affected the cast of principal actors, the content of the regime's propaganda, cities and areas affected, programs and practices, and winners and losers. The result of this survey is a multi-layered picture that goes beyond the usual presentation of well-known power-projecting buildings to consider a range of other important aspects including housing construction, urban renewal, internal colonization, buildings for rearmament, large-scale infrastructure, industrial areas, educational institutions, and camps. This volume marks the conclusion of a series of academic publications about urban planning and dictatorship – in the Soviet Union, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Urban Planning in Nazi Germany: Attack, Triumph, Terror in the European Context, 1933-1945 is the English language edition of Stadtbau im Nationalsozialismus: Angriff, Triumph, Terror im europäischen Kontext, 1933–1945. Guests: Victoria Grau (she/her), *1999, studied Urban Studies at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and at University College Dublin. Since 2022 research assistant at the Chair of Spatial Planning and Spatial Research at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Research focus: Relationship between planning, politics and economy in European metropolitan centers in the 20th and 21st century. PhD project: History of the discipline of urban planning and its reception after 1945.Max Welch Guerra (he/him), *1956, political scientist (FU Berlin), since 2003 head of chair for spatial planning and spatial research at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Research and teaching on spatial planning and politics with a focus on German and European history in the 20th century. Member of the International Planning History Society (IPHS), the Academic Advisory Board of the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds / Zeppelin Grandstand and Zeppelin Field, Nuremberg, and Chairman of the Academic Advisory Board of the Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association (ARL). . Host:    Jenna Pittman (she/her), a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Find Jenna on Scholars@Duke or her Linktree. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/architecture

APAC stocks traded mostly lower after global markets faded last Friday's post-Powell dovish reaction.US President Trump threatened to impose substantial additional tariffs on countries that do not remove discriminatory actions such as digital taxes.US President Trump posted a letter removing Fed's Cook from her position with immediate effect; Cook says she will not resign.European equity futures indicate a lower cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.5% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.8% on Monday.FX markets are contained, EUR/USD is supported by the 1.16 mark, USD/JPY sits on a 147 handle.Looking ahead, highlights include US Durable Goods (Jul), Consumer Confidence (Aug), Atlanta Fed GDP, Riksbank Minutes, NBH Announcement, E3/Iran Nuclear talks, Fed Discount Rate Minutes, Fed's Barkin & BoE's Mann, Supply from Italy and the US.Read the full report covering Equities, Forex, Fixed Income, Commodites and more on Newsquawk

Innovation comes in many areas, and compliance professionals need to be ready for it and embrace it. Join Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, as he visits with top innovative minds, thinkers, and creators in the award-winning Innovation in Compliance podcast. In this episode, Tom Fox interviews Inge Zwick, a senior leader from Emapta Global, a global outsourcing company, who elaborates on his experience working in different international locations, including the Philippines and now Italy. Zwick discusses the complexities and common concerns around outsourcing under GDPR, emphasizing the importance of compliance and data protection. They explain how Emapta supports clients in achieving GDPR compliance while outsourcing, including risk assessments, data flow mapping, and maintaining secure work environments. The conversation delves into the practical aspects of handling Subject Access Requests (SARs), the integration of compliance into operational workflows, and the importance of maintaining ongoing monitoring and updates. Zwick also touches upon how ESG initiatives and compliance are seamlessly woven into Emapta's operations, providing a sustainable approach to global outsourcing. Lastly, advice is given to business leaders on how to future-proof their outsourcing strategies in light of GDPR, encouraging them not to shy away from global talent opportunities due to compliance fears. Key highlights: Company Overview and Global Operations Outsourcing and GDPR Compliance Risk Assessment and Data Security Subject Access Requests (SAR) Outsourcing Contracts and GDPR Obligations Integrating Compliance into Operations Future-Proofing Your Outsourcing Strategy   Resources: Connect with Inge Zwick LinkedIn Connect with Emapta Global Website LinkedIn Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn

Today, I'm joined by my friend, author, and speaker Toni Collier, who knows firsthand what it means to rebuild a broken life. When Toni was last on the show, we talked about embracing brokenness. Since then, her life has essentially exploded in ways that would make most people retreat: betrayal, a public divorce, and the loss of her job, church, community, and home. And yet, Toni chose to let people into her pain. In this powerful conversation, she shares how doing so ultimately helped her heal. We talk about how to trust again, find the right people to lean on, and let go of the need to be the strong one all the time. If you've been wondering how to navigate the messiness of life with others, this conversation will give you hope, courage, and practical steps forward. Old episodes to support: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/how-embracing-your-brokenness-can-lead-to-greater-healing Sign up as a Supporter to get access to our private, premium, ad-free podcast, More Personal. Episodes air each Friday! ⁠Get on the waitlist for Italy!⁠ Single traveler survey ⁠here⁠. More for Moms Conference Leave a rating and review Check out my ⁠workshops⁠! Follow About Progress on YOUTUBE! Book Launch Committee Free DSL Training Full Show Notes This episode is brought to you by goPure Beauty, get 25% off @goPure with code PROGRESS at https://www.goPurebeauty.com/PROGRESS #goPurepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if your anxiety wasn't just about your thoughts—but your unfelt feelings? In this powerful clip, counselor Nancy Jane Smith breaks down why our inner critic (aka the “monger”) might feel like it's helping us succeed, but is actually holding us back. She shares how acknowledging your emotions—even for just 90 seconds—can change everything. If you've ever wrestled with perfectionism, burnout, or anxiety, this one will hit home. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/https:%2F%2Faboutprogress-com%2Fnancy-jane-smith%2F Sign up as a Supporter to get access to our private, premium, ad-free podcast, More Personal. Episodes air each Friday! ⁠Get on the waitlist for Italy!⁠ Single traveler survey ⁠here⁠. More for Moms Conference Leave a rating and review Check out my ⁠workshops⁠! Follow About Progress on YOUTUBE! Book Launch Committee Free DSL Training Full Show Notes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're looking for something to pair with those Fair foods - it would be a nice chianti from Tuscany - Ted shares the rich history of chiantis even throws in a vermentino, tuscano and other Italian delectables! Be sure to visit any one of the 11 Twin Cities area Haskells locations or you can visit them at haskells.com.

This week on It's Happening: Snooki and Joey dish on fall bucket lists, birthday chaos, and spooky Trader Joe's snacks. They dive into sovereign citizens, pet psychics, and a wild story about pickpockets in Italy, plus the antics of a Justin Bieber impersonator. Wanna join the party? Text or leave a voicemail for your favorite messy mawmas at (646) 580-5251 and you might just get featured next week! Subscribe and Watch on YouTube This episode is sponsored by: NurtureLife - For 55% off your order + FREE shipping, use code SNOOKI. BetterHelp Willie's Remedy - Promo code: SNOOKI Connect with It's Happening: Instagram | TikTok | Snooki and Joey on Cameo

In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the Battle of Solferino, in Italy. He couldn't believe the lack of aid for the wounded soldiers and came up with two ideas – a voluntary aid organisation and an international treaty to protect those injured in wartime. They went on to become the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 and the first Geneva Convention in 1864. Henry's great great great grand nephew, Gabriel Martinez, read excerpts from his book, A Memory of Solferino, to Rachel Naylor. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo: Participants representing 16 states during the adoption of the first Geneva Convention on 22 August 1864 in Geneva. Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Following the vines through Umbria yields rich rewards. Discover the untold wines of this central Italian region and follow their stories through rolling hills home to medieval towns and long held traditions. Read the full episode show notes here > untolditaly.com/287NEW! - the Untold Italy app - Umbria guide available - DOWNLOAD FOR iOS  •  DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROIDThe app is FREE to download and check out our Milan guide and general travel content. Upgrade to PREMIUM  for a one time fee to access Rome, Florence, Venice, Sorrento, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Ischia, Tuscany, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Veneto, Lombardy, Campania, Lazio, Puglia, Abruzzo, Calabria with much more to comeSupport the showJoin our mailing list and get our FREE Italy trip planning checklist - subscribe here | Join us on tour: Trip schedule | Discover our Trip Planning Services | Visit our online store | Follow: Instagram • Substack • Facebook • YouTube • Online travel assistantThe Untold Italy travel podcast is an independent production. Podcast Editing, Audio Production and Website Development by Mark Hatter. Production Assistance and Content Writing by the other Katie Clarke - yes there are two of us!

Megan is joined by Tim Hauraney from the mountains of Italy to discuss all of the hottest rumors and story lines from F1 (12:11). They take on the news form Cadillac and Mercedes and what possible seats need to be filled. They also discuss Lewis Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari and how he can recover. Host: Megan Schuster Guest: Tim Hauraney Producer: Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ponytail street justice in Italy

Jess here! A while back, Sarina and KJ talked about how much they enjoyed Tess Gerritsen's novel, The Spy Coast, and Sarina reassured KJ she'd enjoy book two of the series even more. I had never read a Tess Gerritsen novel, and while I'd heard her name before and vaguely understood she wrote thrillers, I was starting from square one when I downloaded the audio version of The Spy Coast. Now, I'm not an international spy thriller kind of gal. In the abstract, I understand the allure of books like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Six Days of the Condor. Spies! Intrigue! International [almost exclusively men] of mystery! But they have never really floated my proverbial boat. That said, I loved Tess Gerritsen's spies and the world they inhabit. There's a sense of place - nay, a downright LOVE of place - and a retiring, rural New England domesticity that spoke to this retiring, rural New England reader. Book two, The Summer Guests, is even more rooted in Maine, on its history and the social dynamics of its natives and its summer people. Once I tore through those first two books, I went back to Gerritsen's first book, The Surgeon, one of Time Magazine's top 100 thriller/mystery books of all time and the first in the Rizzoli & Isles series, consequently made into a long-running television series. Gerritsen has a fascinating career trajectory, lots to talk about regarding pantsing and plotting, where the ideas come from, and lots of other geeky details about the writing life. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Find Tess at Tessgerritsen.com, or on Bluesky, @TessGerritsen Transcript below!EPISODE 462 - TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone, it's Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, the company I started more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. In October, we'll be enrolling a new cohort of certification students who will be going through programs in either fiction, nonfiction, or memoir, and learning the editorial, emotional, and entrepreneurial skills that you need to be a successful book coach. If you've been curious about book coaching and thinking that it might be something you want to do for your next career move, I'd love to teach you more about it, you can go to bookcoaches.com/waitlist to check out the free training I have—that's bookcoaches.com/waitlist. The training is all about how to make money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers. Fall is always a great time to start something new. So if you're feeling called to do this, go check out our training and see if this might be right for you. We'd love to have you join us.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now—one, two, three.Jess LaheyHey, this is Jess Lahey, and this is the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. This is the podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, poetry, prose, narrative nonfiction, fiction, creative nonfiction, queries, proposals. This is the podcast about writing all the things. More than anything else, this is the podcast about the writing life and about getting the work done. I am Jess Lahey. I'm the author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation. And you can find my journalism at The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and my bi-weekly (formerly bi-weekly) column at The New York Times, The Parent-Teacher Conference, ran for about three years I am joined today by Sarina Bowen, who has written 50-odd books. She has written lots and lots of romance, and her most recent addition to the world of publishing has been her thrillers, Dying to Meet You and The Five Year Lie. And she has a book coming out this fall called Thrown for a Loop. The reason I am recording this intro on my own—which, as you may know if you've been listening, is highly unusual for us—is because I know myself. And I know when I'm really excited to talk to someone on the podcast; I'm going to flub the intro. I'm going to forget something. I'm going to forget to introduce them altogether. So today, I'm doing that first, so I don't mess it up. A while ago on the podcast, you may have heard Sarina and KJ read some books by an author named Tess Gerritsen. I had heard of Tess Gerritsen, but I had never read any of her books. I just hadn't yet. I haven't read Nora Roberts yet. I haven't read—there are lots of authors I haven't read yet. And sometimes you don't even know where to start. So when Sarina and KJ recommended Tess Gerritsen's new series set in Maine—the first one being The Spy Coast and the second one being The Summer Guests—I figured I had a good place to start. And you know, as a New Englander, I love a good book about New England, and that was the start of my interest in Tess Gerritsen's work. I have gone back to the beginning and started with her book The Surgeon, which was her first book in the series that became the Rizzoli and Isles Series, as well as a television show. Tess Gerritsen has a—she's written through 33 books at this point. And as I now know, she has also directed a documentary called Magnificent Beast about pigs, which I listened to this morning while I was vacuuming the house. I loved it. She also—she has a lot to say about genre, about publishing, about second careers, about a writing place, and about process. So let's just jump right into it. I am so excited to introduce to you today, Tess Gerritsen. So from the perspective of what our listeners love—this podcast, the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast —is super geek. People who love the nuts and bolts and the dorky details of the writing life. Sarina has a past life in finance, and so she tends to be, like, our “no, but let's talk about the numbers” kind of person. I'm just the research super dork, which is why I spent my morning watching your documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenOh my god! (Laughing)Jess LaheyMagnificent Beast. I—I've joked in the past that if I could, I would probably just research things in—in, you know, maybe there'll be a book out there, maybe there won't, but I would research things and—and just learn as much as I could. And so I loved—loved—your Magnificent Beast documentary. I thought it was fantastic. But one of the reasons that we wanted to talk to you, just from the very beginning, is that we feel like you do some pretty incredible world-building and relationship-building with your places and your characters. And so I just—I would love to start there, mainly with the idea of starting with the real nuts and bolts stuff, which is, like, what does an average writing day look like for you? And how do you, sort of—how do you set that up? What does it look like, if you have an average writing day? Maybe you don't.Tess GerritsenWell, it's hard to describe an average writing day, because every day is—there are days when you sit at your desk and you just, you know, pull your hair. And there are days when you get distracted by the news. And there are many days when I just do not want to write. But when I'm writing, the good days are when my characters are alive and talking to me. And it's—it's—you talked about world-building and character-building. That is really key to me. What are they saying to me? Can I hear their voices? And it sounds a little—a little crazy, because I am hearing voices. But it's those voices that really make characters come alive.Jess LaheyI—You have said in other interviews that you are very much—sorry to those of you who hate the terms—that you are very much a pantser. And you are sitting on this interview with a consummate plotter. Sarina is our consummate plotter. So could you talk a little bit about how those character—how those voices—influence, you know, the pantsing of the—of the book, and—and how that works for you?Tess GerritsenWell, I mean, it is weird that I am a pantser. And it's funny—I think that people who are plotters tend to be people who are in finance or in law, because they're used to having their ducks lined up, you know. They—they want everything set up ahead of time, and it makes them feel comfortable. And I think a large part of becoming a pantser is learning to be comfortable with unpredictability. Learning to just let things happen, and know you're going to take wrong turns, know you're going to end up in blind alleys—and yet just keep on forging ahead and change direction. So I suppose that what helps me become a pantser, as I said, is hearing a character's voice. If, for instance, when I wrote The Spy Coast, the first thing I heard about that book was Maggie Bird's voice. And she just said, “I'm not the woman I used to be.” And that's an opening there, right? Because you want to find out, Maggie, who did you used to be? And why do you sound so sad? So a lot of it was just—just getting into her head and letting her talk about what a day-to-day life is, which is, you know, raising chickens and collecting eggs and becoming—and being—a farmer. And then she does something surprising in that very first chapter. There's a fox that's killing her chickens, so she grabs her rifle and kills it with one shot. And that opens up another thing, like—how are you, a 62-year-old woman, able to take out a rifle and kill a fox with one shot? So it's—it's those things. It's those revelations of character. When they come out and they tell you something, or they show you they—they have a skill that you weren't aware of, you want to dig deeper and find out, you know, where did they get that skill?Sarina BowenAnd that is a really fun way to show it. I mean, you're talking today with two people who have also kept chickens.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Jess LaheyAnd had foxes take their chickens, actually.Sarina BowenOh yes, because the two go together.Tess GerritsenYes.Sarina BowenBut yes, I admit I have never shot a fox, and maybe wouldn't.Jess LaheyI have yelled very loudly at a fox, and he actually—I have to say—really mad respect for the fox, because he took one look at me—he did drop the chicken that I was yelling at him for grabbing—and then he went across the street, around the neighbor's house, around the back of the other neighbor's house, and came at the exact same chicken from the other side of the house, where I couldn't see him out the window.Tess GerritsenOh, they are so smart. They are so smart.Jess LaheySo smart. Sarina, it sounded like you had something— you had something you wanted to add, and I interrupted you when we were talking about pantsing and we were talking about world-building and characters speaking to you.Sarina BowenWell, I just had thought that it was a lovely moment to explain why I was so excited to read this book after I heard Tess speak at Thriller Fest 2024, in a packed room where there was nowhere to sit except on the floor. You told the audience a little bit of a story from your real life that—that made you want to write that book. And I wonder if you could tell us what that was, because for me—I mean, we were only five minutes into your talk, and I'm like, oh, I'm—I'm going to download that tonight.Tess GerritsenWell, yes, it was. A lot of my books come from ideas that I've been stewing over for years. I have a folder called the ideas folder. It's an actual physical manila folder. And if I see something in an article or a newspaper or a magazine, I'll just rip it out and stick it in there, and it sometimes takes a long time before I know how to turn this into a book. So the idea for The Spy Coast is a little bit of obscure knowledge that I learned 35 years ago, when I first moved to Maine. My husband is a medical doctor. He opened up a practice, and when he would bring in new patients, he would always get an occupational history. And he used to get this answer—this very strange answer—from his new patients. They would say, “I used to work for the government, but I can't talk about it.” And after he heard that three times, he thought, what town did we land in? And who are these people? And we later found out that on our very short street, on one side of us was a retired OSS person, and on the other side was retired CIA. A realtor told us that our town was full of CIA retirees. So, I mean, of course you want to ask, why did they get here? What are they doing here? What are their lives like? I knew there was a book in there, but I didn't know what that book was. I needed 35 years to come up with the idea. And what I really needed to do was become old and—and realize that as you get older, especially women, we become invisible. People don't pay attention to us. We are over the hill. You know, everybody looks at the young, pretty chicks, but once you start getting gray hair, you fade into the background. And with that experience myself; I began to think more and more about what it's like to be retired. What is it like to be retired from a job that was maybe dangerous, or exciting, or something that you really risked your life to—to achieve? So that was—that was the beginning of The Spy Coast. What happens to CIA retirees—especially women—who are now invisible? But that makes them the best spies of all.Jess LaheyYeah, and we have—we did this really cool thing, this really fun thing for us on the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. It's like a supporter-only thing, where we call First Pages, where very brave authors—very brave writers—submit their first page to us, and we talk about it and decide whether or not we'd want to turn the page. And you have an incredible skill on your first pages. You're very, very good at first pages. And I was thinking about The Summer Guests, that you had this wonderful line that I'm going to read now:Purity, Maine, 1972. On the last day of his life, Purity police officer Randy Pelletier ordered a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee at the Marigold Café,Which immediately reminded me of my very, very favorite line from all of literature—my very favorite first line—which is Irving's first line from A Prayer for Owen Meany, in which he ruins the story for you right there in the first line:I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God.There is this incredible power to first lines. And I'm sort of wondering where—how first lines happen for you. Do they happen first? Do they happen last? Do they happen along the way?Tess GerritsenFirst lines usually happen last. I—it's—I will write the whole book, and I'll think, something's missing in that first chapter. How do I open this up? And, you know, there are things that make lines immediately hypnotic, and one of those things is an inherent contradiction—something that makes you think, wait, okay, you start off this way, but then all of a sudden, the meaning of that line switches. So, yeah, it starts off with, you know, this guy's going to die. But on that last day of his life, he does something very ordinary. He just orders coffee at the local café. So I think it's that contradiction that makes us want to read more. It's also a way to end chapters. I think that—that if you leave your reader with a sense of unease—something is about to go wrong, but they don't know what it is yet—or leave them with an unanswered question, or leave them with, as I said, a contradiction—that is what's page-turning. I think that a lot of thriller writers in particular mistake action for—for being—for being interesting. A car chase on the page is really very boring. But what's interesting is something that—you could feel that tension building, but you don't know why.Sarina BowenI have joked sometimes that when I get stuck on a plot, sometimes I will talk at my husband and—and say, “you know, I'm stuck here.” And he always says, “And then a giant squid attacked.” And it—of course I don't write books that take place where this is possible, so—but it never fails to remind me that, like, external action can sometimes be just, you know, totally pointless. And that if you're stuck, it's because one of your dominoes isn't leaning, you know, in the right spot. So...Tess GerritsenYeah, it's—it's not as much fun seeing that domino fall as seeing it go slowly tilting over. You know, I really learned this when I was watching a James Bond movie. And it starts off—you know, the usual James Bonds have their cold open to those action and chasing and death-defying acts. I found that—I find that really, in that movie anyway—I was like, Ho hum. Can we get to the story? And I found the time when I was leaning forward in my theater seat, watching every moment, was really a very quiet conversation aboard a train between him and this woman who was going to become his lover. That was fascinating to me. So I think that that transfers to book writing as well. Action is boring.Jess LaheyYou and Sarina do something that I feel, as a writer; I would probably not be very good at, which is creating that unease. I—Sarina in particular does this thing... I've read every one of Sarina's books, as a good friend is supposed to do. And I text her, and I say, Why don't they just talk about it and just deal? Get it out in the open! And she's like, you know, we just got to make these people uncomfortable. And you both have this incredible talent for helping—keeping the reader, uh, along with you, simply because there is this sense of unease. We're slightly off-kilter the whole time. And yet in me, as a people pleaser, that makes me very uncomfortable. I want people to be happy with each other. So how do you—if you get to a place where you feel like maybe things aren't off-kilter enough, or things aren't off-balance enough—how do you introduce a little bit of unease into your—into your story?Tess GerritsenWell, I think it comes down to very small points of conflict—little bits of tension. Like, we call it micro-tension. And I think those occur in everyday life all the time. For instance, you know, things that happen that really don't have any big consequence, but are still irritating. We will stew about those for—for a while. And, you know, I used to write romance as well, so I understand entirely what Sarina is doing, because romance is really about courtship and conflict. And it's the conflict that makes us keep reading. We just—we know this is the courtship. So there's always that sense of it's not quite there, because once the characters are happy, the story is over, right?Sarina BowenYeah.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Sarina BowenAlso, writing the ends of romance novels is the least interesting part. Like, what...? Once the conflict is resolved, like, I cannot wait to get out of there.Tess GerritsenRight, exactly. You know, I—I pay attention to my feelings when I'm reading a book, and I've noticed that the books that I remember are not the books with happy endings, because happiness is so fleeting. You know, you can be happy one second, and then something terrible will happen. You'll be unhappy. What lasts for us is sadness, or the sense of bittersweet. So when I read a book that ends with a bittersweet ending—such as, you know, Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove—I ended up crying at the end of that book, and I have never forgotten that ending. Now, if everybody had been happy and there had been nobody to drag all those miles at the end, I would have forgotten that book very quickly. So I think—I try—I always try to leave the end of the book either bittersweet—I mean, you want to resolve all the major plot points—but also leave that sense of unease, because people remember that. And it also helps you, if you have a sequel.Sarina BowenThat's so interesting you've just brought up a couple of really interesting points, because there is a thriller—I actually write suspense now—and one of the books that so captured my attention about five years ago was killing it on the charts. And I thought it was actually a terrible book, but it nailed the bittersweet ending. Like, the premise was solid, and then the bittersweet ending was perfect, and the everything between the first chapter and the last chapter was a hot mess, but—but—um, that ending really stuck with me. And I remember carrying it around with me, like, Wow, they really nailed that ending. You know, and—and maybe that has, like, legs in terms of, like, talking about it. And, you know, if it—if—if it's irritating enough, like, the tension is still there—enough to, like, make people talk about it—it could actually affect the performance of that book. But also, um, one thing that I really love about this series—you have—what is the series title for the...?Tess GerritsenMartini—The Martini Club.Sarina BowenThe Martini Club, right? So The Martini Club is two books now. I inhaled the first one last summer, and I inhaled the second one this summer. And The Martini Club refers to this group of friends—these retired spies. And of course, there are two completely different mysteries in book one and book two. And I noticed a couple of things about the difference between those mysteries that was really fun. So in the first case—or in one of the two cases, let's see—in one of them, the thing that happens in their town is actually, like, related to them. And in the other one, it's kind of not. So to me, that felt like a boundary expansion of your world and your system. But also, I just love the way you leaned into the relationship of these people and their town in such a way. And how did you know to do that? Like, how—what does your toolbox say about how to get that expansiveness in your character set? Like, you know, to—to find all the limits of it?Tess GerritsenThat—you know, so much is like—it's like asking a pole-vaulter how they do it. They just—they have just—I guess its muscle memory. You don't really know how you're doing it, but what I did know was—with age, and because I love these characters so much—it really became about them and about what is going to deepen their friendship? What kind of a challenge is going to make them lean into each other—lean on each other? That's really what I was writing about, I think, was this circle of friends, and—and what you will do, how much you will sacrifice, to make sure your friends are safe. No, you're right—the second book is much more of a classic mystery. Yeah—a girl disappears. I mean, there was—there were—there were CIA undertones in that, because that becomes an important part of the book. But I think that what people are—when people say they love this book—they really talk about the characters and that friendship. And we all want friends like this, where we can go and—and—and have martinis together, and then if we—one of us needs to—we'll go help them bury a body.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Tess GerritsenThat's—they all have shovels, and they're willing to do it. That's the kind of friendship—friends—we want.Jess LaheyWell, and that's funny you mention that—I had an entire question—it wasn't even a question, it was a statement—in here about friendships and being grateful to you for the reminder about the importance of relationships. And this entire podcast was born out of the fact that we were talking writing all the time, and we just wanted an official way to sit down once a week and actually talk about the work. And your work is suffused with just these incredible relationships—whether that's the Rizzoli and Isles—you know, in your first—in the one of your other series—and I'm just—I'm very grateful for that, because we—especially—I think I re—I really crave books about female relationships, especially about older female relationships. And I have been loving your books, and I've—like, as I may have mentioned to you in my initial email—I had—I'm so sorry—never read your books before. And I admitted in the introduction that there are lots of very, very famous authors whose books I have never read. And it's always so exciting to me to dive into someone's series and realize, oh, this person really touches on themes that mean a lot to me, and I can already tell that I'm going to be enjoying a lot of their books to come forward. So thank you for all of the great descriptions of relationships and how we do rely on each other for various aspects of just how we get through all of this stuff.Tess GerritsenYeah—get through life. But you know what's funny about it is that it didn't start that way. For instance, let's go back to Rizzoli and Isles. The very first time they both appear in a book is in The Apprentice. And they don't start off being friends. They start off being—they're so different. As the TV producer once said, “you've really written about Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.” That's okay—they are—in the books. They are not natural friends. But like real-life friendships, sometimes—just kind of develop slowly, and—and they have their ups and downs. So there are times when—when Jane and Maura are barely speaking to each other because of conflicts they have. But by the time book twelve comes around—or maybe book seven comes around—you know that they would risk their lives for each other. So I think that if you're writing a series like Rizzoli and Isles, or like The Martini Club, it really helps to develop the friendship on the fly and see how they react to certain stresses. The next book, which I just turned in, called The Shadow Friends—it even put—pushes them even further, and it really—it really strains a marriage, because it's—it's more about Ingrid, and an old lover comes back into her life. She used to—they were both spies—and he is, like, hot, hot, hot—Antonio Banderas kind of guy. And here's Ingrid, married to Lloyd, you know, who's just a sweet analyst who cooks dinner for her every night. And I—when I was coming up with that story, I thought, I want to write a book about their marriage. So it wasn't—the plot wasn't about, oh, you know, international assassinations, even though that does occur in the book. It's really about the story of a marriage.Jess LaheyAnd it gives you, it gives you added unease. You know, if you have your two characters not speaking to each other, and you know your readers love those characters and crave those characters to be getting along at some point, then that's just another reason that we're following along. I was just thinking about, uh, Michael Connelly, uh, book the other day, because I really, really like the series he did with Renée Ballard and her relationship with the Bosch character, and how that series is totally about crime, but yet it's also very much about the relationship. And I think I follow—I continue to read those because of the relationship between those two human beings, and less so because of the murder mystery sort of stuff.Tess GerritsenI think it really becomes important if you're dealing also with Hollywood television series. I still remember what the producer first said when he called me up about Rizzoli and Isles. He said, "I love your girls, and I think they belong on TV.” He didn't say, I love your plots. He didn't say, I love your mysteries, you know, all your intricate ups and downs. It was really about the girls. So if you hope to sell to a television series, really, it's about characters again.Jess LaheyAbsolutely.Sarina BowenI was going to ask about longevity, because you have so many books, and you're so obviously still invigorated by the process, or there wouldn't be a book three that you just turned in. So how have you been able to avoid just being sick to death of—of writing suspense novel after suspense novel?Tess GerritsenI refused. That's what it is. You know, I—I don't—I guess I could say that I have a little bit of ADHD when it comes to—to the books I write. I cannot—after 13 books of Rizzoli and Isles, I just had a different idea. And it takes—it takes a certain amount of backbone to say no to your publisher, to your editor, to people who are going, well, when's the next one in this series coming out? And to be able to say, I need a break. I need to do something completely different. So over—how many years I've been a writer—almost 40 now—I've written science fiction and historicals and a ghost story and romantic suspense and spy novels and medical thrillers and crime novels. I've been all over the place, but each one of those books that took me out of what I was expected to do was so invigorating. It was a book that I needed to write. As an example, I wrote a book called Playing with Fire. Nobody wanted that book. Nobody expected that book. It was a historical about World War II, and about music—about the power of music—and having to do with the death camps. I remember my publisher going, "What are you doing?" And, you know, it's—it's true—they're—they—they are marketers, and they understood that that book would not sell as well, and it didn't. But it still remains one of my favorite books. And when you want to write a book, you need to write that book. That's all—even—even if nobody wants it.Jess LaheyI actually was—I'm so pleased that this came up, because that was actually going to be my question, because both you and Sarina have done this—done, you know, 90 degrees—whether it's out of, you know, one genre into another—and that, to me, requires an enormous amount of courage. Because you know you have people expecting things from you. And you in particular, Tess, have people saying, "No, I want the next one. I love this relationship. I want the next one." And—and dealing—you're not just dealing with the disappointment of whether it's an agent or an editor, but the disappointment of fans. And that's a pressure as well. So when I used to do journalism, I remember a question I asked of another journalist was, "How do you continue to write without fear of the comment section?" And essentially, for us, that's our—you know, those are our readers. So how do you find that thing within yourself to say, no, this really is the thing that I need to be writing now?Tess GerritsenWell, that is a really—it's a really tough decision to buck the trend or buck what everybody's expecting, because there's a thing in publishing called the death spiral. And if your book does not sell well, they will print fewer copies for the next one. And then that won't sell well. So you start—your career starts to go down the drain. And that is a danger every time you step out of your tried and true series and do something out of—you know, completely out of the ordinary. I think the reason I did it was that I really didn't give a damn. It was—it was like, Okay, maybe this will kill my career, but I've got to write this book. And it was always with the idea that if my publisher did not want that, I would just self-publish. I would just, you know, find another way to get it out there. And I—I was warned, rightly so, that your sales will not be good for this book, and that will—it will hurt the next contract. And I understood that. But it was the only way I could keep my career going. Once you get bored, and you're—you're trapped in a drawer, I think it shows up in your writing.Jess LaheyI had this very conversation with my agent. The—my first book did well. And so then, you know, the expectation is, I'll write like part two of that, or I'll write something for that exact same audience again. And when I told my agent—I said, "You know, this book on substance use prevention and kids—I—it's—I have to write it. And I'm going to write it even, you know, if I have to go out there and sell it out of the trunk of my car." And she said, "Okay, then I guess we're doing this." And yes...Tess Gerritsen(Laughing) They had their best wishes at heart.Jess LaheyAnd honestly, I love—I loved my book that did well. But The Addiction Inoculation is the book I'm most proud of. And, you know, that's—yeah, that's been very important to me.Tess GerritsenI often hear from writers that the book that sold the fewest copies was one that was—were their favorites. Those are the ones that they took a risk on, that they—I mean, they put their heart and soul into it. And maybe those hurt their careers, but those are the ones that we end up being proud of.Jess LaheyI like to remind Sarina of that, because I do remember we text each other constantly. We have a little group, the three of us, a little group text all day long. And there was—I remember when she first wrote a male-male romance, she was scared. She was really scared that this was going to be too different for her readers. And it ended up being, I think, my favorite book that she's ever written, and also a very important book for her in terms of her career development and growth, and what she loves about the work that she does. And so I like to remind her every once in a while, remember when you said that really scared you and you weren't sure how your readers were going to handle it?Sarina BowenRight? Well, I also did that in the middle of a series, and I went looking for confirmation that that is a thing that people did sometimes, and it was not findable. You know, that was...Jess LaheyWhat? Change things up in terms of—change things up in the middle of a series?Sarina BowenIn the middle of a series. And anyway, that book still sells.Tess GerritsenThat is a great act of courage, but it's also an act of confidence in yourself as a writer. There are ways to do it. I think some writers will just adopt a different pen name for something that's way out there.Jess LaheyIt's funny you should say... it's funny you should say that.Sarina BowenWell, no, and I never have done that, but, um—but anyway, yeah, that's hard. I, uh...Jess LaheyYeah.Sarina BowenIt's hard to know. Sometimes...Jess LaheyWe entertain it all the time. We do talk about that as an option all the time. Shouldn't we just pick up and do something completely different? One of the things that I also—I mentioned at the top of the podcast about, you know, you went off—not only have you done lots of different things in terms of your writing—but you went off and you did an entire documentary about pigs. I have—I have to ask you where on earth that came from and why. And it is a total delight, as I mentioned, and I have already recommended it to two people that I know also love the topic. But, you know, to go off—and especially when you usually, as some of us have experienced—our agents saying, so when am I going to see more pages? or when am I going to see the next book? And you say, I'm really sorry, but I have to go off and film this documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenYes. Well, you know, I was an anthropology major in college, and I've always been interested in the pig taboo. You know, back then, everybody just assumed it was because, yeah, it was disease or they're dirty animals—that's why they're forbidden food. It never quite convinced me, because I'm Chinese-American. Asia—you know, Asia loves pork. Why aren't they worried about all that? So I was in Istanbul for a book tour once, and I remember I really wanted bacon, and, you know, I couldn't get bacon. And then I thought, okay, I really need to find out why pork is forbidden. This is a—this is a cultural and historical mystery that never made sense to me. The explanations just never made sense to me. It cannot be trichinosis. So I told my son that—my son is—he does—he's a filmmaker as well. And he just said, "Well, let's do it. Let's—we will pose it as a mystery," because it is a mystery. So it took us probably two years to go and—you know, we interviewed anthropologists and pet pig owners and archaeologists, actually, just to find out, what do they say? What is the answer to this? And to us, the answer really just came down to this cultural desire for every—every tribe—to define us versus them. You know, they eat pigs. They're not us, so therefore they're the enemy. And it was fascinating because we—we ended up finding out more about pigs than I was expecting, and also finding out that people who have pet pigs can sometimes be a little unusual.Jess LaheyAnd the people who purchase the clothes for the pigs are also crazy.Tess GerritsenYes. Sew outfits for their pigs and sleep with their pigs. And there was—there was one woman who had—she slept on the second floor of her house, so she had an elevator for her pig who couldn't make it up the stairs, and, you know, ramps to get up onto the bed because they've gotten so fat—they've been overfed. But it was—for me, at the heart of it was a mystery.Jess LaheyAs a nonfiction author whose whole entire reason for being is, "I don't know—let's find out," I think that's just the most delightful thing. And I loved your framing as, "I don't know, we have this question, let's go out there and just ask people about it and find the experts." And that's—oh, I could just live on that stuff. So...Tess GerritsenSo could I. You know, research is so enticing. It's enticing. It is—it can get you into trouble because you never write your book. Some of us just love to do the research.Jess LaheySarina actually has taken skating lessons, done glass blowing—what else have you done? Yoga classes and all—all kinds of things in the pursuit of knowledge for her characters. And I think that's a delight.Sarina BowenYes. If you can sign up for a class as part of your research, like, that is just the best day. Like, you know, oh, I must take these ice skating lessons twice a day for five months, because—yeah—or twice a week, but still.Tess GerritsenYou must be a good ice skater then.Sarina BowenI'm getting better.Tess GerritsenSo you never gave them up, I see.Jess LaheyWell, it's fun because she usually writes about hockey, but she has a figure skater coming up in this book that's coming out this fall. And she's like, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn how to figure skate."Tess GerritsenYeah.Sarina BowenI also—one time I went to see Rebecca Skloot speak about her big nonfiction The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.Tess GerritsenOh, okay.Sarina BowenAnd she said that all her best ideas had come from moments in her life when she went, "Wait, what?!"Tess GerritsenYes. Yep.Sarina BowenIncluding for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Like, she learned about the cells in high school—she was in high school biology class—and the teacher said, like, "This woman died in the '60s, but we're still using her cells," and she said, "Wait, what?!" And that's—that's what you made me think of with the pigs. Like, I think...Jess LaheyWell, and also your folder of ideas. I mean, I immediately texted Sarina after listening to a podcast where I heard an ad, and the ad made me go, "Oh that could be creepy." And then I'm like, "Okay, this is—this is a plot. This is going in the folder somewhere." And so you have to just think about how those things could unfold over time. And I love the idea of—and even in journalism—there are articles that I've written where I said, this just isn't their time. And then, like, five years later, I'll hear something out there, and I'm like, okay, finally, it's the time for this thing. And there's a reason you put that article in your idea—in your paper—manila folder of ideas.Tess GerritsenWell, I think writers are—we have to be curious. We have to be engaged in what's going on around us, because the ideas are everywhere. And I have this—I like to say I have a formula. It's called "two plus two equals five." And what that means is, sometimes you'll have a—you'll have a piece of information that, you know, there's a book here, but you haven't figured out what to do with it. And you wait for another piece of information from some completely different source, and you put them together, and they end up being like nuclear fusion—bigger than the…Sarina BowenYes!Jess LaheyYes!Tess GerritsenSome of the parts.Sarina BowenMost every book I've ever written works like that. Like, I have one idea that I drag around for, like, five years, and then I have this other idea, and one day I'm like, oh, those two things go together.Tess GerritsenYep.Jess LaheyYeah, absolutely. I think Stephen King mentioned that about Carrie. I think it was like, telekinesis, and that usually starts about the time of menstruation, and it was like, boom, there was Carrie. You know, those two things came together. I love that so much. So you mentioned that you have just handed in your next book, and we don't—we do not, as a rule, ask about what's next for an author, because I find that to be an incredibly intimidating and horrifying question to be asked. But I would love to hear; you know, is this—is this series one that you hope to continue working on? The main series, mainly because we have quite fallen in love with your little town in Maine—in Purity, Maine. Fantastic name for your town, by the way. It's really lovely. It creates such a nice dichotomy for these people who have seen and heard things during their careers that maybe are quite dark, and then they retire to a place called Purity. Is this a place where we can hopefully spend a little bit of time?Tess GerritsenWell, I am thinking about book number four now. I have an idea. You know, it always starts with—it starts with an idea and doodling around and trying to figure out what—you know, you start with this horrible situation, and then you have to explain it. So that's where I am now. I have this horrible situation, I have to explain it. So, yeah, I'm thinking about book four. I don't know how—you never know how long a series is going to go. It's a little tough because I have my characters who are internationally based—I mean, they've been around the world—but then I can't leave behind my local cop who is also a part of this group as well. So I have to keep an eye out on Maine being the center of most of the action.Sarina BowenRight, because how many international plots can you give Purity, Maine?Tess GerritsenThat's right, exactly. Well, luckily…Jess LaheyLook, Murder, She Wrote—how many things happened to that woman in that small town?Tess GerritsenExactly, exactly. Well, luckily, because I have so many CIA retirees up here, the international world comes to us. Like the next book, The Shadow Friends, is about a global security conference where one of the speakers gets murdered. And it turns out we have a global security conference right here in our town that was started by CIA 40 years ago. So I'm just—I'm just piggybacking on reality here. And—not that the spies up here think that's very amusing.Sarina BowenThat is fantastic, because, you know, the essential problem of writing a suspense novel is that you have to ground it in a reality that everyone is super familiar with, and you have to bring in this explosive bit of action that is unlikely to happen near any of us. And those two things have to fit together correctly. So by, um, by putting your retired spies in this tiny town, you have sort of, like, gifted yourself with that, you know, precise problem solver.Tess GerritsenYeah, reminding us.Sarina BowenYeah.Tess GerritsenBut there's only so far I can take that. I'm not sure what the limits... I think book four is going to take them all overseas, because my local cop, Jo, she's never been out of the country—except for Canada—and it's time for her dad to drag her over to Italy and say, "Your dead mom wanted to come to Italy, so I'm taking you." And, of course, things go wrong in Italy for Jo.Jess LaheyOf course, of course. Well, we're going to keep just banging on about how much we love these books. I think we've already mentioned it in three podcast episodes so far in our “What have you been reading lately that you've really loved?” So we're—we're big fans. And thank you so much for sitting down to talk with us and to—you know, one of the whole points of our podcast is to flatten the learning curve for other authors, so we hope that that's done a little bit of that for our listeners. And again, thank you so much. Where can people find you and your work if they want to learn a little bit more about Tess Gerritsen—her work?Tess GerritsenYou can go to TessGerritsen.com, and I try to post as much information there as I can. But I'm also at Bluesky, @TessGerritsen, and what is now called “X”—a legacy person on X—@TessGerritsen, yes.Jess LaheyThank you so, so much again. And for everyone out there listening, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.The Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perella. Our intro music—aptly titled Unemployed Monday—was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

 When I told an Italian friend we were going on holiday to the Dolomites, she told me it's her favorite place in the whole world, and yet word of its delights doesn't seem to have reached these shores yet. Breathtakingly beautiful, and a  great destination to visit with the family in both summer and winter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Angie and April dive into travel hacks, promotions, and their unforgettable Italian adventures. They highlight a clever mileage-earning strategy from a listener who used a Capital One Shopping portal to rack up over 300,000 miles on a reimbursable business expense—underscoring the value of stacking credit card offers and shopping portals. Travel news includes JetBlue's launch of a full-service travel portal and new Florida routes from Long Island, United's Mileage Play promo, and fresh Capital One card offers. April also mentions ongoing promotions from Marriott Homes & Villas, Wyndham, and a status match opportunity via SAS and Scandic.The main segment focuses on Italy, where Angie and April share their luxurious, points-powered itineraries. Angie recounts her first major points trip, which included business class flights and mostly free hotel stays. Her group journey spanned Milan, Florence (with a Cinque Terre day trip), Rome, Pompeii, and Sorrento. April's recent trip featured Rome and Sardinia, where she stayed at the upscale 7Pines resort and enjoyed boat tours, live music, and gourmet pizza. She flew Volotea and Aeroitalia, noting the latter's new partnerships with major airlines like Delta and Qatar Airways. Both hosts offer rich travel tips for each destination—from climbing Florence's Duomo to sunset dinners on the Amalfi Coast—making this episode a treasure trove for anyone planning a dream trip to Italy. Links to Topics DiscussedUnited MilageP Play PromotionJetBlue's new Travel PortalCapital One Increased OffersWhere to Find Us The Free Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

Since we have been all immersed in vino Italiano this season, I thought it would be fun to revisit this episode while I'm , let's just say, out of the cellar this month: Getting Our Grappa On (S10E3) A deep dive into grappa—the bold Italian spirit made from pomace, with anecdotes on its enduring appeal across centuries . As summer transitions to harvest season, grappa's rustic, artisanal character resonates with end-of-season flavors. Originally Released: June 10, 2022 Grappa: Not just for breakfast (you laugh)! This pomace brandy, like many spirits, has ancient roots. With over 130 producers in Italy, some dating back hundreds of years, what is it about this drink made from, oh, I don't know, chunky winemaking leftovers, that is so enchanting and beloved amongst connoisseurs?  Resources from this episode: Books: Society of Wine Educators: Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Guide, Nickles, J. (2020) The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails [Kindle Edition], Wondrich, D & Rothbaum, N., (2022) Websites: Difford's Guide: Grappa's Origins and History, Difford, S., (nd) https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/979/bws/grappas-origins-and-history EUR-Lex (Access to European Union Law): Regulation (EC) 787/2019  (Definition, designation, presentation, and labeling of spirit drinks in the presentation and in the labeling of other food products, as well as the protection of geographical indications for spirit drinks and the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origins)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R0787&from=IT Istituto Nazionale Grappa: http://www.istitutograppa.org/ Italian Tribune: Italian Grappa's History and Cocktails to Drink it In (9 June 2021) https://italiantribune.com/italian-grappas-history-and-cocktails-to-drink-it-in/ National Institutes of Health - Pub Med: The “Scola Medica Salernitana”: The Forerunner of the Modern University Medical Schools, De Divitiis, E., Cappabianca, P., & De Divitiis, O. (October 2004) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15458581/ Poli Museo Della Grappa: La Produzione della Grappa https://www.grappa.com/eng/index.php World History Encyclopedia: Feudalism, Cartwright, M. (22 November 2018), https://www.worldhistory.org/Feudalism/  Glass in Session® Episodes Mentioned in this Session: S5E5: Grape Brandy Escape https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s5e5-grape-brandy-escape S3E4: Wine from Dried Grapes https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s3e4-wine-from-dried-grapes S1E3: Rosato - Wading into the (Italian) Pink https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s1e3-rosato-wading-into-the-italian-pink Glass in Session® is a registered trademark of Vino With Val, LLC. Music: “Write Your Story” by Joystock (Jamendo.com cc_Standard License, Jamendo S.A.)

Nová priemyselná revolúcia nám práve zúri za oknami a poháňa ju umelá inteligencia. Niekto hovorí o novej studenej vojne, firmy skôr o optimalizácii a prepúšťaní...Mení sa trh práce a pred umelou inteligenciou už nie sú v bezpečí ani ľudia, ktorí ju pomáhali vytvoriť – programátori.Čo sa teda práve deje, ako rýchlo sa umelá inteligencia vyvíja a kam to celé povedie?Tomáš Prokopčák sa v podcaste Dobré ráno pýta zástupcu šéfredaktorky denníka SME a moderátora podcastu Klik Ondreja Podstupku.Zdroj zvukov: YouTube/Economy Media, DasIstJay, 60 Minutes, Drive WhiteOdporúčanieAk milujete Taliansko a milujete jedlo – niežeby sa to dalo oddeliť – moje dnešné víkendové odporúčanie je špeciálne pre vás. Dnes totiž odporúčam sériu Tucii in Italy, v ktorej vás známy herec Stanley Tucci na Disney+ vezme na výlet talianskymi regiónmi a za ich jedlom.–Všetky podcasty denníka SME nájdete na⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ sme.sk/podcasty⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠–Odoberajte aj audio verziu denného newslettra⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SME.sk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ s najdôležitejšími správami na⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ sme.sk/brifing⁠

I'm in full-on anticipation mode (in a good way!!) for the Female Foodie tour to Rome I'm hosting for the About Progress community. It has been so fun to have something to look forward to! Regardless of if you can join us, I want to challenge you to design something for yourself to look forward to. Whether it's a long walk or a family staycation, a little something outside the norm can make life feel so much richer. In this episode I'm sharing the three things I'm most looking forward to on this trip: being present, having some easy time to myself, and the sheer fun of it all. Ready to join us? Get on the waitlist now at aboutprogress.com/italy! Sign up as a Supporter to get access to our private, premium, ad-free podcast, More Personal. Episodes air each Friday! ⁠Get on the waitlist for Italy!⁠ Single traveler survey ⁠here⁠. More for Moms Conference Leave a rating and review Check out my ⁠workshops⁠! Follow About Progress on YOUTUBE! Book Launch Committee Free DSL Training Full Show Notes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's really in the food on our plates? The journey to our supermarket shelves is one of broken economics, environmental destruction, and social injustice.But what if agriculture could look completely different?This week, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson travel to Umbria, Italy, to visit QuintoSapore, a farm founded by twin brothers Nicola and Alessandro. After leaving city careers, they set out to reinvent farming: growing food in a way that respects living things, restores soil, and values the people who work the land.Instead of short-term, precarious labour, they offer full-time contracts, living wages, and community. Instead of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, they look to biomimicry, biochar, and heirloom seeds - not discovering, but remembering the old ways and learning from nature.From a revelation in a drought-stricken woodland, to redefining what it means to “grow” rather than “produce” food, this episode is a reminder that the path to climate resilience runs straight through our fields.Learn more

This episode is part three in an ongoing series about brands and how they influence our identities and drive consumerism.In this episode we will be unpacking and exploring various examples of "cause marketing:"The flaws in the "buy one, give one" model,How brands engineer fundraiser collections to be profitable,The effectiveness of "round up" at checkout campaigns,Why B Corp certification doesn't mean as much as it once did,The real reason companies do fundraisers for charity and causes,And we will do the math to get to what a 1% giveback really means.Additional reading:"Melania Trump says 'don't care' jacket was a message," BBC."T-shirt makers riff on Melania Trump's jacket with their own message and donate proceeds to refugee services," Lindsay Ellefson, CNN."The Broken 'Buy-One, Give-On" Model: 3 ways to save TOMS Shoes," Cheryl Davenport, Fast Company."The Impact of TOMS Shoes," Bruce Wydick."Shoeing the Children: The Impact of the TOMS Shoe Donation Program in Rural El Salvador."Dr. Bronner's Statement on Dropping B Corp Certification"The B Corp Standard is at Risk," Fair World Project."Nespresso: Known for Human Rights Violations, Now B Corp Certified," Fair World Project."How Nespresso's coffee revolution got ground down," Ed Cumming, The Guardian.Rio Tinto Corporate Rap SheetJOIN AMANDA FOR THE CLOTHESHORSE BIRTHDAY CRAFTERNOON ON SEPTEMBER 21!!!ALSO: get your tickets for Clotheshorse LIVE!10/23  Seattle, WA @ Here-After10/26  Portland, OR @ HoloceneGet your Clotheshorse merch here: https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/shop/If you want to share your opinion/additional thoughts on the subjects we cover in each episode, feel free to email, whether it's a typed out message or an audio recording:  amanda@clotheshorse.worldDid you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorseClotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable small businesses:Slow Fashion Academy is a size-inclusive sewing and patternmaking studio based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designer and fashion professor Ruby Gertz teaches workshops for hobbyists and aspiring designers, so that anyone can learn the foundational skills of making, mending, and altering their own clothes. Ruby also provides professional design and patternmaking services to emerging slow fashion brands, and occasionally takes commissions for custom garments and costume pieces. She has also released several PDF sewing patterns for original designs under her brands Spokes & Stitches, and Starling Petite Plus. Check the schedule for upcoming workshops, download PDF sewing patterns, and learn about additional sewing and design services at www.slowfashion.academy.The Pewter Thimble Is there a little bit of Italy in your soul? Are you an enthusiast of pre-loved decor and accessories? Bring vintage Italian style — and history — into your space with The Pewter Thimble (@thepewterthimble). We source useful and beautiful things, and mend them where needed. We also find gorgeous illustrations, and make them print-worthy. Tarot cards, tea towels and handpicked treasures, available to you from the comfort of your own home. Responsibly sourced from across Rome, lovingly renewed by fairly paid artists and artisans, with something for every budget. Discover more at thepewterthimble.com Deco Denim is a startup based out of San Francisco, selling clothing and accessories that are sustainable, gender fluid, size inclusive and high quality--made to last for years to come. Deco Denim is trying to change the way you think about buying clothes. Founder Sarah Mattes wants to empower people to ask important questions like, “Where was this made? Was this garment made ethically? Is this fabric made of plastic? Can this garment be upcycled and if not, can it be recycled?” Signup at decodenim.com to receive $20 off your first purchase. They promise not to spam you and send out no more than 3 emails a month, with 2 of them surrounding education or a personal note from the Founder. Find them on Instagram as @deco.denim.Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing, accessories & decor reselling business based in Downtown Las Vegas. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but we are also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jessica, the founder & owner of Vagabond Vintage DTLV, recently opened the first IRL location located in the Arts District of Downtown Las Vegas on August 5th. The shop has a strong emphasis on 60s & 70s garments, single stitch tee shirts & dreamy loungewear. Follow them on instagram, @vagabondvintage.dtlv and keep an eye out for their website coming fall of 2022.Located in Whistler, Canada, Velvet Underground is a "velvet jungle" full of vintage and second-hand clothes, plants, a vegan cafe and lots of rad products from other small sustainable businesses. Our mission is to create a brand and community dedicated to promoting self-expression, as well as educating and inspiring a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle both for the people and the planet.Find us on Instagram @shop_velvetunderground or online at www.shopvelvetunderground.comSelina Sanders, a social impact brand that specializes in up-cycled clothing, using only reclaimed, vintage or thrifted materials: from tea towels, linens, blankets and quilts.  Sustainably crafted in Los Angeles, each piece is designed to last in one's closet for generations to come.  Maximum Style; Minimal Carbon Footprint.

Why we think Taylor Swift is the next Super Bowl halftime show performer, debating which director has the better movies, revealing wild celebrity rider lists, determining if Italy or USA has the better food, and more!----------SIGN UP FOR LEGENDZ CASINO AND SPORTSBOOK100% More On Your First Purchase (Up To $100)!https://www.legendz.com/en-US/?register=me&btag=59_37ga824cidpidvar1var2var3var4var5affid59tid----------0:00 SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW PERFORMER!4:05 MAKESHIFT UPDATES!5:33 BRIAN'S BEEN SLEEPWALKING?10:15 BETTER MOVIES, NOLAN OR SCORCESE?16:01 JOIN LEGENDZ CASINO AND SPORTSBOOK!18:24 BETTER FOOD, ITALY OR USA?25:29 CRAZY CELEBRITY BACKSTAGE REQUESTS!36:22 FIVE SHOCKING WIFE TIPS!40:38 WHEN DOES AFTERNOON END?44:19 WHAT DOES 6/7 MEAN?48:12 ARE THESE DEALBREAKERS OR NOT?53:11 MEMBER SHOUTOUTS!

In this episode of The Sarah B Show - Sarah goes over the good, bad, ugly and romantic details of the first leg of her Italian solo trip: the gorgeous and lively city of Florence! www.gocleanse.com/sarah

This week I cover Lombardy/Lombardia, one of the smaller wine production areas of Italy.  Lombardy, home to the cities of Milan, Bergamo and Brescia is known far more for its fashion, its industry, and osso bucco and risotto alla Milanese than it is for its wines, but there are some gems to be discovered.  Photo: Lugana Credit: Consorzio Lugana   Because there is limited availability of these wines, I only cover the major regions that you may encounter and discuss the terrain of Lombardy and the terroir of each of the fine wine regions.   Lombardy is known in the wine world primarily for Franciacorta, the sparkling wine made in the Champagne method, which has been called the best sparkling wine of Italy. But Lombardy is is more than just Franciacorta. There are exceptional sparkling, sweet, and still wines of Oltrepò Pavese in the southwest of the region, complex reds from the Alpine area of Valtellina on the Swiss border, tasty, refreshing whites from Lugana near Lake Garda, and  other interesting regions that have significant production.   Photo: Valtellina. Credit: Consorzio Valtellina   I hope you enjoy this look at one of the smaller wine producing areas of Italy and, more importantly, that you can use this info if you ever see these wines on the shelf or (more fun!) find yourself in Lake Garda or Lake Como or Milano with some time and desire to explore the wines of this beautiful place!   Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today! www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople _______________________________________________________________   This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up! 

Following our double-episode on the Florence Working-Class Literature Festival back in February, our co-host Matt was invited to this year's festival, recording this episode on-site at the ex-GKN factory in Florence. Featuring the various writers, researchers, organisers, and activists in attendance, this episode captures the atmosphere of the festival at this critical time for the GKN struggle.Our podcast is brought to you by patreon supporters of both Working Class Literature and Working Class History. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryTaking place on 4-6 April 2025, the opending day of the festival marked the 1367th day since the 400+ workforce at the GKN car parts factory in Florence was first made redundant. They subsequently seized the factory and remain in control of it to this day, despite receiving their third – and now final – redundancy notice in the days leading up to this year's festival.Recorded on-site at the occupied GKN factory on the outskirts of Florence, this episode features the voices of various writers, researchers, organisers, and activists that we spoke to while at the festival. These conversations took place against a frenzy of activity, both for the festival but also the GKN struggle itself.AcknowledgementsThanks to all our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Fernando Lopez Ojeda, Nick Williams and Old NormOur theme tune for these episodes is ‘Occupiamola' (or ‘Let's Occupy It') as sung on a GKN workers' demonstration in 2024. Many thanks to Reel News London for letting us use their recording. Watch the documentary it's taken from hereThis episode was edited by Jesse FrenchBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Can you help me make more podcasts? Consider supporting me on Patreon as the service is 100% funded by you: https://EVne.ws/patreon You can read all the latest news on the blog here: https://EVne.ws/blog Subscribe for free and listen to the podcast on audio platforms: ➤ Apple: https://EVne.ws/apple ➤ YouTube Music: https://EVne.ws/youtubemusic ➤ Spotify: https://EVne.ws/spotify ➤ TuneIn: https://EVne.ws/tunein ➤ iHeart: https://EVne.ws/iheart EV LEASE RATES DROP BELOW GAS CARS https://evne.ws/3HulKmz AUDI-SAIC LAUNCHES E5 SPORTBACK ELECTRIC SEDAN IN CHINA https://evne.ws/4743URD ITALY INTRODUCES MAJOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUBSIDIES https://evne.ws/4oJRip0 VOLKSWAGEN PLANS MAJOR EV EXPANSION https://evne.ws/3Ux0gs6 CHINESE EV FIRMS OVERSEAS INVESTMENT SURPASSES DOMESTIC INVESTMENT https://evne.ws/45EqVrZ UPCOMING EV DEBUTS AT THE 2024 MUNICH MOTOR SHOW https://evne.ws/4fN7G4f MG LAUNCHES MGS5 EV SUV IN NEW ZEALAND https://evne.ws/3JlBPvo NISSAN LEAF LEADS UK EV RELIABILITY STUDY https://evne.ws/4oIxQZZ BYD SEAL U DM-I LEADS UK PLUG-IN HYBRID SALES https://evne.ws/4mOCWC2 ELECTRIFY EXPO INDUSTRY DAY EXPANDS TO EAST COAST https://evne.ws/4myvtaD CAN-AM UNVEILS OUTLANDER ELECTRIC ATV https://evne.ws/3HwdDpA ELECTRIC CARS REDUCE DRIVER STRESS AND IMPROVE WELLBEING https://evne.ws/4lTzZzz ARCHER'S MIDNIGHT AIRCRAFT COMPLETES 55-MILE FLIGHT https://evne.ws/3HGCln6

Today's guest is Tamu McPherson, the beloved tastemaker and storyteller behind All the Pretty Birds. Born in Jamaica and raised in New York, Tamu left behind a career in law to pursue love and her creative passions, carving out a space in fashion, photography, and media with her vibrant perspective. She founded All the Pretty Birds, a platform that champions diverse voices and celebrates personal style, and she's recently expanded her vision into the world of hospitality with two exciting projects: a joyful tabletop and picnic collaboration with Italian design house Bitossi Home, and her own rosé wine, Tamu Rosé, created with a winery close to her heart.Tamu joins host Kerry Diamond to talk about her ideal picnic set-up in Italy, why rosé is her ultimate summer sip, and how embracing la dolce vita is really about savoring beauty, community, and connection.Thank you to Nonino and Square for their support. Learn more at square.com/bigTickets for Jubilee L.A.Subscribe to Cherry Bombe's print magazineMore on Tamu: Instagram, All the Pretty Birds, Tamu RoséMore on Kerry: InstagramPast episodes and transcripts

Mike in Long Island, NY, called Mark to talk about what our founding fathers for our country really wanted for politicians, and how they should behave. Vincent in Brooklyn, NY, calls Mark to tell him about how Italy's voting system runs.

Mike in Long Island, NY, called Mark to talk about what our founding fathers for our country really wanted for politicians, and how they should behave. Vincent in Brooklyn, NY, calls Mark to tell him about how Italy's voting system runs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margo is joined by artist, designer, and educator helping to lead the modern revival of punch needle rug hooking, Micah Clasper-Torch. Based in Los Angeles, Micah's work blurs the lines between art, craft, and design, creating one-of-a-kind textile pieces that range from coats and accessories to wall hangings and soft sculpture. With a background in fashion design from both The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, Micah weaves together her love of fine art, heritage craft, and wearable design. In 2019 she became a certified Oxford Punch Needle Instructor and, in 2020, launched Punch Needle World, an online community, shop, and educational platform dedicated to uplifting the craft and its history. Her debut book, Punch Needle Fashion (Quadrille, June 2025), brings punch needle into the world of contemporary fashion with 15 original projects and a beautifully photographed exploration of the medium. Margo and Micah discuss: Micah's journey from fashion design to punch needle leadership The revival of punch needle and its fascinating history How tailoring and handmade construction shape her work The inspiration behind Punch Needle Fashion and what sets it apart Building creative community through Punch Needle World Tips for beginners (including her go-to needle size!) Embracing the blur between art, craft, and fashion   Connect with Micah https://www.micahclasper-torch.com/ https://www.punchneedleworld.com/ https://www.instagram.com/claspertorch https://www.instagram.com/punchneedle.world Punch Needle Fashion Book - https://tinyurl.com/mrx5rmez   Connect with Margo: www.windowsillchats.com www.instagram.com/windowsillchats www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry  

The collection of sculptures in the great hall of the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy, located on the second floor, contains one of the world's most important collections of sculptures, including Ghiberti's and Brunelleschi's “Competition Panels,” Donatello's marble and bronze “Davids” and “St. George,” and Verrocchio's bronze “David.” 

20250819-KMC & Linda Recap the Italy Trip! by That KEVIN Show

The tomato is Gastropod's favorite flavor of summer, and we're not alone: today, it's the most popular vegetable on the planet, despite the fact that it's technically a fruit. But, until a couple of hundred years ago, the tomato wasn't really anyone's favorite. In South America, where the tomato originates, no one even bothered to domesticate it; in Mexico, the Aztecs seem to have preferred tomatillos; Renaissance Europeans thought this member of the nightshade family was practically poisonous; and, until the 1830s, most Americans considered them an “acquired taste.” Even in Italy, where the culinary mainstays of pizza and pasta now depend on red sauce, it took centuries to catch on. So why was the tomato so unloved—and how did it end up converting the haters on its rise to glory? Listen in this episode for the story of how Italian block parties, snake oil pills, and the state of Florida played in a role in the tomato's journey to global domination—as well as the epic tale of one man's quest to make the industrial tomato taste great again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US President Donald Trump floated the prospect of US security guarantees for Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking for options after India got hit by extremely high US tariffs, Soho House has agreed to a take-private deal, and Softbank is buying $2bn worth of Intel shares. Plus, the FT's Leila Abboud explains why more Italian bonds are starting to look a little more like French bonds. Mentioned in this podcast:Trump floats US security guarantees for Ukraine in meeting with ZelenskyyFrench borrowing costs close in on Italy's as investors fret over debtsDonald Trump tariffs threaten Narendra Modi's ‘Make in India' driveSoho House agrees $2.7bn take-private dealSoftBank to buy $2bn in Intel shares as it grows US investmentsToday's FT News Briefing was produced by Ethan Plotkin, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Kelly Garry and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show's theme music is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information designer and advocate for data humanism, Giorgia Lupi, spent her childhood in Italy organizing buttons in her grandmother's tailor shop, a data collector already in the making. The teenage years had her expressing herself through the punk rock and heavy metal scene in her town. After receiving her master's degree in Architecture, she began her PhD in Design at Politecnico di Milano while founding Accurat, an internationally acclaimed data-driven design firm. Now a partner at Pentagram, and author of personal projects such as Dear Data, she continues to push for a humanistic approach to data as a path to understanding our complex realities. Images, links and more from Giorgia!Clever is hosted and produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Rich Stroffolino, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alertsVISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodesSAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydeversSpecial thanks to our sponsors!Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Clever listeners get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code “clever” at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/clever Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neil is back from vacationing in Italy. He wants to know the name of a Pet Shop Boys song. Pizza war, and inside WIOD radio war.

Meet Nikki Taylor – an Australian expat, author, TV personality and real estate expert who over the last decade has advised thousands of overseas clients on how to realize their dreams of owning property in Italy. Nikki combined her love of all things Italy with her years of experience in the real estate, finance and the holiday rental industry and launched Italy Property Consulting. Her expertise has landed her spots on HGTV's House Hunters International and HGTV's Mediterranean Life.Her clients primarily consist of Americans who are burnt out and looking for a change of pace, or on the hunt for good investment opportunities in order to create generational wealth and additional income. Many come to Nikki open to purchasing properties sight unseen, which is a trend that picked up during the pandemic and continues to be a popular offering of hers. Being the only bilingual property expert in Italy with both a background in real estate and finance has allowed Nikki to work with high-net worth individuals and celebrity clients.Nikki's love for Italy stemmed from her own corporate burnout. “After years of hopping around the corporate world in Australia, the United Kingdom and Brazil, I had finally hit a wall and moved to Italy where I fell in love with the dolce vita lifestyle,” she says. “While working in real estate in Puglia, I noticed a lot of similarities in inquiries from foreign buyers. They all had the same doubts and fears about investing from afar into the Italian real estate market. I decided to create the first ever course in the country and the industry on buying property in Italy, called Unlock Your La Dolce Vita. From there I took on one-on-one clients and launched my consulting firm.”Find more from Nikki athttps://www.instagram.com/nikkitaylors_ladolcevitaGet your Jumpstart Journal here: http://subscribepage.io/YCauoKWork with me: www.karaleighgarrison.com/coaching

Episode 2685 - Vinnie Tortorich and Anna Vocino discuss the abuse of weight loss drugs, understanding sugar in your body, and more. https://vinnietortorich.com/2025/08/understanding-sugar-episode-2685 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS YOU CAN WATCH ALL THE PODCAST EPISODES ON YOUTUBE - Abusing Weight Loss Drugs Vinnie has been travelling lately on a long road trip. (2:00) They discuss how they pack snacks for a road trip. There is some concerning behavior surrounding the use of Mounjaro. (9:30) Rather than eating healthy, people still want to eat poorly, but ramp up the usage of the drug. There is an emotional component behind overeating. (12:30) Understanding Sugar Why is sugar so bad? (21:45) They discuss macros and how much sugar your body needs at any one time. (23:00) If you don't load your body with carbs, then your body will burn fat, which is a good thing. The amount of sugar you need varies depending on your activity. (25:00) For example, a boxer in the ring will burn through sugar very fast. However, there are many activities where your body can produce what it needs with gluconeogenesis. Any extra sugar is stored as fat, or long-chain triglycerides. According to a recent interview Vinnie had with Dr. Tro, it's not uncommon for people to be on 19 medications. (29:00) The national average is 8 drugs. Vinnie explains complex carbs and the myth that claims they are better for you. (33:00) A glycogen load is bad because it causes your body to continually release insulin. Grains are starches, and starches are sugar. However, don't become carb-phobic. That's where Vinnie's rule of Life Into Living (LIL) comes in. (37:00) If you are in Italy, have the gelato: meaning on a truly special, limited occasion, enjoy yourself. Just don't let LIL become frequent or rampant. They chat about travelling and Chamonix. (40:00) Eat Happy Kitchen is for everyone, and several of the sauces are vegan. (46:30) Anna's sauces are in several stores. Go to her website and use the store locator to find the store closest to you. Keep listening because Anna will be sharing new wings recipes for Football season! (54:00) Vinnie explains how you'll be able to join the NSNG® VIP group when it reopens soon! If you are interested in the NSNG® VIP group, register here! More News If you are interested in the NSNG® VIP group, register here! Don't forget to check out Serena Scott Thomas on Days of Our Lives on the Peacock channel.  “Dirty Keto” is available on Amazon! You can purchase or rent it . Make sure you watch, rate, and review it! Eat Happy Italian, Anna's next cookbook, is available!  You can go to You can order it from . Anna's recipes are in her cookbooks, website, and Substack–they will spice up your day! There's a new NSNG® Foods promo code you can use! The promo code ONLY works on the NSNG® Foods website, NOT on Amazon. https://nsngfoods.com/   PURCHASE  DIRTY KETO (2024) The documentary launched in August 2024! Order it TODAY! This is Vinnie's fourth documentary in just over five years. Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: Then, please share my fact-based, health-focused documentary series with your friends and family. Additionally, the more views, the better it ranks, so please watch it again with a new friend! REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! PURCHASE BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE (2022) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! FAT: A DOCUMENTARY 2 (2021) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: FAT: A DOCUMENTARY (2019) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere:

Can a simple act like brushing your hair be the first domino to a new life? On this coaching call, I speak with Amy, a single mom of five navigating a complete life reset. She's recently moved into a new home and is preparing to go back to school full-time, ready to move past "survival mode" and build a life of stability. Amy struggles with prioritizing herself, so we work to challenge the mindset that taking time for herself is selfish. We reframe her old "either/or" paradigm—caring for her family or herself—to an "and/both" mindset. The goal is to build a new life from the ground up, one simple, intentional habit at a time, starting with her morning routine. This call is for anyone who has ever felt like they were starting from scratch, showing how even the smallest habits can create a path toward a new way of living. Sign up as a Supporter to get access to our private, premium, ad-free podcast, More Personal. Episodes air each Friday! ⁠Get on the waitlist for Italy!⁠ Single traveler survey ⁠here⁠. More for Moms Conference Leave a rating and review Check out my ⁠workshops⁠! Follow About Progress on YOUTUBE! Book Launch Committee Free DSL Training Full Show Notes This episode is brought to you by goPure Beauty, get 25% off @goPure with code PROGRESS at https://www.goPurebeauty.com/PROGRESS #goPurepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time we spoke about the fall of Shanghai. In October 1937 a small battalion led by Colonel Xie Jinyuan transformed the Sihang Warehouse into a fortress against the advancing Japanese army. These men, known as the "800 Heroes," became symbols of hope, rallying local citizens who provided vital support. Despite heavy casualties, they held out against overwhelming odds until a strategic retreat was ordered on November 1. As Japanese forces intensified their assaults, they breached the Chinese defenses and captured strategic positions along Suzhou Creek. The fighting was fierce, marked by desperate counterattacks from the besieged Chinese soldiers, who faced an unyielding enemy. By November 9, the Chinese faced a full retreat, their organized defenses collapsing into chaos as they fled the city. Desperate civilians sought refuge in the International Settlement but were met with hostility, exacerbating the terror of the moment. Amidst the turmoil, remaining forces continued to resist in pockets, holding out as long as possible. By November 11, Japanese troops raised their flag in the last stronghold, marking a grim victory.   #163 Crossing Nanjing's Rubicon Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. As the Japanese were mopping up Shanghai, Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary on November 11th “I fear that they could threaten Nanjing”. Over In Shanghai, General Matsui Iwane was dealing with foreign correspondents, eager to learn what Japan's next move would be and to this he simply stated “For future developments, you had better ask Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek”. The correspondents were surprised by this response and pressed him further. He replied . “Chiang Kai-shek was reported to have predicted a five-year war, well, it might be that long. We don't know whether we will go to Nanjing or not. It all depends on Chiang.” At this point Shanghai was falling under Japanese control and now Matsui and his fellow field commanders were thinking, what's next? Nanjing was certainly the next objective. It was a common understanding amongst the Japanese leadership, that if the four main eastern cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Nanjing were lost, Chiang Kai-Shek's government would collapse. Three of these cities had been taken, Nanjing was dangling like fresh fruit. Matsui's staff believed the Chinese units departing Shanghai would mount a stand immediately west of the city, probably a defensive line running from Jiading to Huangduzhen. On the night of November 11th, Matsui issued a command to all units in the Shanghai area to advance west along the railway towards Nanjing. Their first objective would be a line extending from Taicang to Kunshan. Chiang Kai-Shek was not only reeling from military defeats, but also the gradual loss of his German allies. The Germans were increasingly aligning with the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek was looking for new external help, so he turned to the Soviets. It was a marriage of convenience, Chiang Kai-Shek signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR that year and wasted no time pleading for aircraft and pilots. Moscow began sending them before the ink touched the paper. 200 aircraft and pilots in return for some essential minerals, wolfram and tungsten. The Sino-Soviet friendship even drew in an unlikely source of support, Sir Winston Churchill. The Soviet envoy to the UK described how during a meeting with Churchill “he greatly praised our tactics in the Far East: maintenance of neutrality and simultaneous aid to China in weaponry.” Soviet pilots found themselves dispatched to Nanjing where they were briefed by Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich, the deputy commander of the Soviet Air Force. “The Japanese armed forces are technically superior to the Chinese. The Chinese Air Force is a particular concern. Soviet pilots who have rushed to China's aid are currently in Nanjing. They are fighting valiantly.” Meanwhile back at Shanghai discipline and order that had characterized previous Chinese withdrawal had collapsed. Simply put, there were hundreds of thousands of men trying to retreat across the lower Yangtze region, it was a shitstorm. Many units had to disengage during combat with the enemy and scramble to pull out. Huang Qixiang, the deputy commander of the Chinese right flank in Shanghai, executed a strategic withdrawal moments before his command post succumbed to the advancing enemy forces. Just fifteen minutes after his departure, the area was overrun by Japanese troops. In a desperate bid to avoid capture, another general had to cross a creek, nearly drowning in the process. Rescued while barely clinging to life and drenched in icy water, he was welcomed by a peasant family who aided in his recovery before he resumed his arduous journey westward. The scale of this withdrawal, occurring both day and night, could hardly escape the enemy's notice, and its complexity made the operation increasingly difficult. The execution of the withdrawal exacerbated the situation significantly. Orders to abandon their positions started to trickle down immediately after the upper command made the decision. However, these orders reached the units in a disorganized manner. Many telephone lines had been sabotaged, and when soldiers were sent to relay the orders in person, they faced severe disruptions in the transportation network. Consequently, many units only became aware of the withdrawal when they witnessed the mass movements of their comrades heading westward. Upon realizing what was happening, many soldiers fled in a state of panic. There were no comprehensive plans outlining the retreat, no designated routes for the various units, nor any established timetables. The outcome was a chaotic scramble for survival. Soldiers who had fought side by side for three months suddenly found themselves competing against one another in a desperate race to escape. At bridges and other chokepoints, weary soldiers exhausted their last reserves of strength, brawling with their fellow troops to be the first to cross. Meanwhile, officers traveling in chauffeur-driven cars attempted to assert their rank to gain priority access to the roads, adding to the growing disorder that ensued. The massive army was hindered by its sheer size, resulting in miles of congested roads filled with men unable to move in any direction. This made them easy targets for Japanese aircraft, leading to a bloody cycle of repeated attacks. Planes adorned with the red Rising Sun insignia would emerge from the horizon, swooping down to strike at these vulnerable formations. As commander Chen Yiding recalled “The lack of organization and the gridlocked roads resulted in far more casualties than could have been avoided,”.  On November 12th, the newspaper Zhaongyang Ribao, published an editorial addressing the citizens of Nanjing, to remind them that tough times lay ahead now that Shanghai had fallen. The article stipulated they needed to prepare the city for the upcoming battle,  “Now, all the citizenry of the capital must fulfill their duty in a way that can serve as a model for the entire nation.” Nanjing in 1937 was a city touched by the war, but not enough to change the social fabric just yet. Cinema's remained open, the shopping arcade was crowded as usual, traffic was heavy along Zhongshan Road, order remained. Telephones remained on, except during air raids. Connections to the outside world functioned as they should, given this was the capital. The region had seen a good harvest in 1937, no one was going hungry. However as the front 200 miles away drew closer, bombing raids more frequent, fear of the enemy increased. Contact with the outside world gradually declined. By mid November the train link from Nanjing to Shanghai was severed.  While the fear amongst the populace increased, so did a newfound sense of common purpose against a common enemy. Poster calling for the Chinese to unite against the Japanese invaders were found throughout Nanjing. Residents were conscripted for various fortification efforts, with some receiving basic military training to help defend the city. Those who refused to cooperate faced severe penalties as “traitors,” while the majority willingly participated. Both military and civilian police were deployed throughout the city, diligently checking identities in an ongoing effort to root out spies and traitors. The authorities enforced a strict prohibition against discussing military matters in restaurants and other public venues. Then all the high ranking military officials and politicians families gradually began departing the city in secrecy. This was followed by said politicians and military officials. Twas not a good look. Nanjing soon saw its population decline from 1 million to half a million. Those who stayed behind were mainly the poor, or those anchored, like shopkeepers. Every day saw a steady stream of Nanjing citizens leaving the city over her main roads, fleeing into the countryside with carts full of belongings. On November 12th at 10am orders were issued for the Japanese to advance west. What had been a war of attrition, where inches of land were claimed with blood, suddenly it was a war of movement. As one Japanese soldier recalled “In the course of 50 days, I had moved only two miles. Now suddenly we were experiencing rapid advance”. As the Japanese came across small towns, they found large posters plastered on all the walls. These were all anti-japanese with some nationalist propaganda. The Japanese soldiers would tear them down and paint up their own messages “down with Chiang Kai-Shek!”.  Towns and cities west of Shanghai fell rapidly one after another, each succumbing to a grim pattern: swift conquest followed by widespread devastation. Jiading, a county seat with a population of approximately 30,000, succumbed to a prolonged siege. When the 10st division captured Jiading on November 13, after relentless shelling had leveled a third of the city, they began a massacre, indiscriminately killing nearly everyone in their path, men, women, and children alike. The battle and its aftermath resulted in over 8,000 casualties among the city's residents and surrounding countryside. One Japanese soldier referred to Jiading as “A city of death, in a mysteriously silent world in which the only sound was the tap of our own footsteps”.  On November 14, soldiers from the 9th Division reached Taicang, an ancient walled city designed to withstand lengthy sieges. As they crossed the 70-foot moat amid heavy fire, the Japanese troops confronted the formidable 20-foot-high city wall. After breaching the wall, their infantry swiftly entered the city and seized control. The destruction persisted long after the fighting ceased, with half of the city being devastated, including significant cultural institutions like the library, and salt and grain reserves were looted. It was as if the Japanese aimed to obliterate not just the material existence of the people but their spiritual foundation as well.  Casual cruelty marked the nature of warfare along the entire front, with few prisoners being taken. Ishii Seitaro, a soldier in the 13th Division's 26th Brigade, encountered a mass execution while marching alongside the Yangtze River. Several headless corpses floated nearby, yet three Chinese prisoners remained alive. A Japanese officer, personally overseeing the execution, wore a simple uniform, but the two ornate swords at his belt indicated his wealthy background. Approaching one prisoner, the officer dramatically drew one of the swords and brandished it through the air with exaggerated flair. In an almost theatrical display, he held it aloft, the blade trembling as if he were nervous. The prisoner, in stark contrast, exhibited an unnerving calmness as he knelt, awaiting his inevitable fate. The officer swung the sword down but failed to deliver a clean strike. Although he inflicted a deep gash to the prisoner's skull, it was not fatal. The prisoner collapsed, thrashing and emitting a prolonged scream that sent chills through those present. The officer, seemingly exhilarated by the anguish he caused, began wildly slashing at the figure until the screams subsided. Ishii turned away in horror, his mind swirling with confusion. Why were the Chinese being executed? Had they not surrendered?  Three months into the war's expansion to the Yangtze region, air raids had become an all too frequent menace in Nanjing. The first major raid came on August 15th and increased each week. On the night of August 27, approximately 30 bombs were dropped on Purple Mountain, specifically targeting the Memorial Park for Sun Yat-sen, aiming to hurt the morale of Nanjing's residents. As days melted into weeks and weeks stretched into months, the landscape of Nanjing transformed under the weight of war. Residents began constructing dugouts in courtyards, gardens, public squares, and even on streets. Foreigners painted their national flags on top of buildings and vehicles, attempting to avoid the risk of being machine-gunned by strafing aircraft. Each raid followed a predictable routine: sirens wailed loudly 20 to 30 minutes before the attack, signaling pedestrians to seek shelter and drivers to stop their engines. By the time a shorter warning sounded, the streets had to be cleared, leaving nothing to do but await the arrival of Japanese planes. Initially, the part-US-trained Chinese Air Force posed a considerable threat to Japanese bombers. The 4th and 5th Chinese Squadrons, stationed near Nanjing to defend the capital, achieved early success, reportedly downing six bombers during the first air raid on Nanjing. Much of the credit for these aerial victories belonged to Claire Chennault, a retired American Army Air Corps captain who had become an advisor to the Chinese Air Force, overseeing Nanjing's air defense. Chennault taught his pilots tactics he had developed in the US but had never fully implemented. His strategy was straightforward: three fighters would focus on one enemy bomber at a time. One would attack from above, another from below, while a third would hover in reserve to deliver the final blow if necessary. He instructed the Chinese pilots to target the engines rather than the fuselage, reasoning that any missed shots could hit the gas tanks located in the wing roots. This approach proved successful, leading to the loss of 54 Japanese planes within three days. For Chennault, it validated his belief that air superiority required a diverse range of aircraft, not just bombers. Nighttime raids, however, posed a greater challenge. Chennault, along with other commanders, sought solutions. Chinese General C.C. Wong, a German-trained artillery officer overseeing the country's anti-aircraft defenses, ensured that dozens of large Sperry searchlights were positioned throughout Nanjing in a grid pattern. This setup had a dual purpose: it would dazzle the Japanese bomber crews and highlight their planes in silhouette for Chinese fighters above to target. The bravery of the most skilled Chinese pilots occasionally gained media attention, making them local celebrities amidst an otherwise grim war environment. However, this bright moment faded quickly when the Japanese command decided to provide escorts for their bombers. Consequently, the elite of China's air force, its finest pilots and aircraft, were lost within weeks that fall. All air raids were brutal, but the worst assaults occurred at the end of September. As a radio broadcaster reported on September 25th “Gallons of civilian blood flowed today as Nanking endured three ferocious air raids”. In total, 96 Japanese sorties were launched on that day. Witnesses observed around a dozen Chinese aircraft retreating north across the Yangtze, initially believing they were fleeing, but some returned to confront the enemy. When Chinese fighters managed to down a Japanese bomber, the streets erupted in cheers as civilians momentarily forgot their fear. The primary aim of the September 25 attack appeared to be spreading terror among the civilian population. Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary that day  “The repeated Japanese air raids over the past several days have had no impact on our military installations. Instead, civilian property has sustained significant damage.” Around 20 bombs struck the Central Hospital, one of Nanjing's largest medical facilities, causing extensive destruction and prompting the evacuation of its staff. Two 1,000-pound bombs exploded nearby, leaving large craters. Had these bombs landed slightly closer, they could have resulted in mass casualties among the hospital's 100 patients, including a Japanese pilot who had been shot down earlier that month. The air raids at the end of September prompted protests from the Americans, British, and French governments to Japan. In response, Tokyo issued a statement on September 30, asserting that while they were not intentionally targeting non-combatants, it was “unavoidable” for achieving military objectives that military airfields and installations in and around Nanjing be bombed.   The battle for Jiashan was among the fiercest in the southern Yangtze delta campaign in November 1937. Although Jiashan was a moderately sized town straddling a crucial railway connecting Shanghai to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. For the Japanese, seizing Jiashan was imperative for their westward advance; without it, their military progress would be severely hampered. Jiashan had endured three days of relentless bombing by the Japanese Air Force, driving most residents to flee into the surrounding countryside. Only about 100 remained, those who were too old or too sick to escape, abandoned by family or friends who lacked the means to assist them. The Japanese troops brutally bayoneted nearly all of these individuals and buried them in a mass grave just outside the town's northern gate. Jiashan was captured by the 10th Army, a division fresh from victories and eager to engage in combat, unlike the weary forces of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force further north. With less than a week of combat experience, the 10th Army's soldiers were hungry for a fight. The martial spirit of the 10th Army was exemplified by its commander, Yanagawa Heisuke. Born near Nagasaki in 1879, he was among a group of retired officers called back to active service as the war in China escalated unexpectedly. Having served in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and taught at the Beijing Army College in 1918, Yanagawa had considerable experience in military affairs. However, his past exposure to China did not cultivate any empathy for the enemy. He was determined to push all the way to Nanjing, and once there, he intended to blanket the city in mustard gas and incendiaries until it capitulated. While Japanese commanders debated the value of capturing Nanjing, the Chinese were equally preoccupied with whether it was worth defending. Most military professionals viewed the situation as a lost cause from the start. After the fall of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek summoned one of his top commanders, Chen Cheng, to Nanjing for discussions. “How can Nanjing be held?” Chen Cheng shot back “Are you ordering me to hold Nanjing?” Chiang replied “I am not”. Chen Cheng stated frankly, “I believe Nanjing should not be held at all.” By mid-November, Bai Chongxi, one of China's most respected generals, advocated for declaring Nanjing an open city. He argued that defending it was not only unnecessary but also impossible. All available forces had been deployed to Shanghai and were now exhausted. Furthermore, no reinforcements would be forthcoming if they made a stand in Nanjing. Instead of stubbornly clinging to fixed positions, he preferred a more flexible defensive strategy. Zhang Qun, Chiang's secretary, supported Bai's stance, believing that while Nanjing should ultimately be abandoned, political considerations were paramount. If the Chinese simply withdrew and allowed the Japanese to occupy the city, it would undermine China's position in any future negotiations. The Japanese would not be able to present themselves as victors who had triumphed in battle. Similarly, Chiang's chief military advisor, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, was against attempting to hold Nanjing. He deemed it “useless from a military perspective, suggesting it would be madness.” He warned that if Chiang forced his army into a decisive battle with their backs to the Yangtze River, “a disaster would probably be unavoidable.” Chiang's head of the operations bureau Liu Fei argued Nanjing could not be abandoned without a fight as it would crush the NRA's morale. He believed that defending the city could be managed with as few as 12 regiments, although 18 would be feasible. Most at the meeting agreed and Chiang understood Nanjing's international recognition necessitated some form of defense, doomed or not. A second meeting was formed whereupon, Tang Shengzhi, a general staff officer whose loyalties were, lets be honest very flip floppy. During the warlord era, he routinely switched sides, especially against Chiang Kai-Shek. At the meeting Tang stated in regards to Nanjing's international prominence and being the final resting place of Dr Sun Yat-Sen “How can we face the spirit of the former president in heaven? We have no choice but to defend the capital to the death.” Chiang's commanders were all well aware of his intentions. The generalissimo was eager for a dramatic last stand in Nanjing to serve propaganda purposes, aiming to rally the nation and convey to the world that China was resolute in its fight against Japan. His commanders also recognized the rationale behind fighting for Nanjing; however, very few were inclined to embark on what seemed a likely suicide mission. The third meeting occurred the day after the second. Chiang opened by asking, as many anticipated, “Who is willing to shoulder the burden of defending Nanjing?” An awkward silence followed. Then Tang Shengzhi stepped forward. “Chairman, if no one else is willing, I will. I'm prepared to defend Nanjing and to hold it to the death.” Without hesitation, Chiang accepted his offer. “Good, the responsibility is yours.”A little refresher on Tang, he had played a role in Chiang Kai-shek's efforts to unify China by force in the 1920s, when the nation was a patchwork of fiefdoms. However, their relationship had soured on two occasions, forcing Tang into temporary exile, first to Japan and then to Hong Kong. The Japanese invasion of northeastern China in 1931 prompted a loose reconciliation, and since then, Tang had held several important positions, notably organizing war games simulating a Japanese assault on Nanjing. However Tang had often suffered from illness, and crucially, he had not led troops in the field against the Japanese since the onset of full-scale war that summer. Hailing from Hunan province, he was a typical provincial soldier and would likely face challenges commanding respect among elite divisions loyal solely to the central government in Nanjing. He was definitely not the first choice for such a significant task.  Amazingly, while tens of thousands of Chinese and Japanese were killing each other, while Japanese planes relentlessly bombarded Chinese cities including the capital, and while Japanese soldiers committed heinous atrocities against Chinese civilians, the two nations maintained diplomatic relations. China had a fully operational embassy in Tokyo, led by Xu Shiying, a 65-year-old diplomat. This surreal arrangement persisted because neither side was willing to officially declare war. In the fall of 1937, as Japanese armies were heavily engaged on two fronts within mainland China, Xu met with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirota Koki to propose a non-aggression treaty. The proposal was swiftly rejected in Nanjing. By November 1937, Xu was no longer at the forefront of events, and foreign observers shifted their focus from the capitals of the warring nations to Belgium. While large-scale battles raged along the lower Yangtze, representatives from 19 countries convened in Brussels to search for a way to end hostilities. Although China participated in the conference, Japan did not. Japan had received two invitations to join the talks, with its response to the second arriving in Brussels on November 12: a firm rejection. Japan asserted that it preferred direct bilateral negotiations with China, dismissing the Brussels conference held under the auspices of the Nine-Power Treaty, a pact signed in 1922 aimed at ensuring China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Japan argued that intervention by a collective body like the conference “would merely stir national sentiments in both countries and complicate efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution.” The League of Nations had called for a Nine-Power conference a month earlier, which ultimately became a 19-power conference as other nations with interests in East Asia joined. From the outset, Japan opposed the assembly and was absent when the first plenary meeting commenced in Brussels on November 3. Japanese leaders feared that China might attempt to leverage the conference against Western powers, recalling how, in 1895, Japan had been denied its spoils following its first modern war with China due to the intervention of Russia, France, and Germany, who blocked Japan from claiming the strategic Liaodong Peninsula adjacent to Korea. China also exhibited a lukewarm attitude toward the conference. While Japan feared the potential outcomes, China was concerned about the lack of significant results. The proposal to transition discussions from the League of Nations, perceived as ineffective, to the even less authoritative Nine Powers, which lacked formal organization. Nonetheless, the Chinese chose to participate in Brussels, maintaining the pretense that something meaningful could be accomplished. Shortly after Japan's second rejection of the invitation, Wellington Koo made an impassioned plea in Brussels, stating, “Now that the door to conciliation and mediation has been slammed in your face by the latest reply of the Japanese Government, will you not decide to withhold supplies of war materials and credit to Japan and extend aid to China?” In reality, Koo understood that significant Western aid to China was highly unlikely, aside from token gestures. Previous international discussions had momentarily halted Japanese advances in the past; for instance, in 1932, Japanese troops had paused their movements in the Shanghai area just hours before the League of Nations General Assembly commenced. However, that was nearly six years earlier, and circumstances had changed dramatically since then. Rogue states had grown bolder, while democracies seemed increasingly timid. Thus, the Chinese agenda in Brussels was not primarily driven by hopes for substantial Western concessions. Instead, the delegates had been tasked by Nanjing to anticipate the post-conference landscape and to actively seek ways to encourage Europe and America to support Soviet military action against Japan.   China, long reliant on Germany as a diplomatic partner, increasingly felt betrayed, not just by Germany, but also by its fascist ally, Italy. Consequently, it began looking more favorably upon the Soviet Union, Japan's archrival in Northeast Asia, as its main source of international support. The Soviet Union exhibited a firmer stance than the Western democracies at the Brussels conference, joining China in advocating for collective security in Europe and Asia. On November 15th, a small group of officers from the 10th Army gathered for late-night discussions in an abandoned building north of Hangzhou Bay, where they would effectively decide the fate of China. Yanagawa Heisuke, the commander of the 10th Army, presided over the discussions. Fresh from the battlefield since the beginning of the month, he was eager to escalate the fight, a sentiment echoed among the others. It was an unusual meeting, where officers as low in rank as major were making decisions typically reserved for the highest echelons of political power. The agenda included a pivotal question: Should they adhere to Order No. 600 received from Tokyo a week prior, which instructed them to halt their advance along a line from Suzhou to Jiaxing? Or, should they disregard these explicit orders and push forward to seize Nanjing? While the Japanese Army had failed to completely annihilate the Chinese forces around Shanghai, there was a consensus that their adversary was now reeling from recent setbacks, presenting an opportune moment to strike decisively and secure a swift victory. The only remaining question was how aggressively to pursue this goal. Colonel Terada Masao, a senior staff officer within the 10th Army, spoke first. “The Chinese Army is currently retreating toward the capital. We should cross that line and pursue the enemy straight to Nanjing.” Major Iketani Hanjiro, a staff officer recently attached to the fast-moving 6th Division, then offered his input “From a tactical perspective, I completely agree with Terada that we should cross the line, but the decision to attack Nanjing should be considered not just tactically, but also politically. It's not that field commanders can't create a fait accompli to pressure our superiors in Tokyo. However, we must proceed with great caution”. A staff officer raised this question  “What if Tokyo orders us to pull back those smaller units?” Iketani responded “In that case, we will, of course, withdraw them to this side of the line”. Ultimately, Iketani's cautions were set aside, and Terada's aggressive approach prevailed. The majority agreed that the tactical circumstances presented a rare opportunity. Japanese troops in the Shanghai area were poised to advance west, not through small, individual skirmishes but with a substantial deployment of their forces. Officers estimated that if a decisive push was made immediately, Nanjing could fall into Japanese hands within 20 days. However Colonel Kawabe Torashiro, the newly appointed chief of the Army General Staff's Operations Section suddenly arrived at the theater. He was sent on a mission to assess whether the Central China Area Army should be granted greater operational freedom. It was well known in Tokyo that field officers were eager to capitalize on the momentum created by the collapse of Chinese defenses around Shanghai. Kawabe's task was to explore the possibility of allowing forces to cross the line from Suzhou to Jiaxing and move westward in pursuit of the retreating enemy. However, Kawabe was staunchly opposed to further military adventures in China. Kawabe was part of the dwindling faction of "China doves" within the Japanese military. As early as the summer of 1937, he had become alarmed by a letter from a civilian Japanese visitor to the Chinese mainland, warning that Japanese officers were attempting to engineer an “incident” with China to provoke open conflict. This would provide Japan with a pretext to expand its influence in northern China. Kawabe had attempted to alert his superiors, but his warnings fell on deaf ears. They had been lulled into a false sense of security by reports from China that dismissed all talk of war-mongering as baseless and alarmist. When he arrived to the front he stated “I am here to inspect conditions on the ground so that a final decision can be made on where to establish the operational restriction line”. Alongside him came General Akira Muto, recently appointed the commander of the Central China Area Army. He also happened to be one of the architects of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Muto responded promptly: “The line currently stretches from Suzhou to Jiaxing, but we should consider crossing it. This will help us achieve our overall objectives in the theater.” Muto continued, arguing that the 10th Army should be permitted to advance to Huzhou, south of Lake Tai, effectively cutting off communications between Nanjing and the strategic city of Hangzhou. He further claimed that the Shanghai Expeditionary Force should be allowed to capture the vital city of Jiangyin, suggesting, perhaps overly optimistically, that its loss could lead to the fall of Chiang Kai-shek. Ultimately, Muto insisted, Nanjing should also be seized, which he asserted would bring an end to the war. Kawabe listened patiently, a practice he would repeat in the following days as other field officers echoed similar sentiments, eagerly expressing their desire to advance all the way to Nanjing. Yanagawa and his 10th Army exemplified this aggressive mindset. Nevertheless, just as the hawks within the Japanese military and the nation's political leadership appeared to be prevailing in the struggle over China policy, they faced unexpected challenges from a different direction. Germany, a power with ambiguous sympathies in East Asia, was quietly engaged in negotiations aimed at bringing peace. Oskar Trautmann, Germany's ambassador to China, had maintained an objective and neutral stance when he met with Chiang Kai-shek in early November to relay Japan's conditions for initiating peace talks. These conditions included extensive concessions in northern China, such as the withdrawal of all Chinese troops to a line south of Beijing and the establishment of a pro-Japanese regime in Inner Mongolia, bordering the Soviet-controlled Mongolian People's Republic. Chiang dismissed these demands outright, but Trautmann and his superiors in Beijing continued their top-secret efforts. Germany's motivation for seeking an end to the Sino-Japanese War was not rooted in a genuine love for peace, but rather in their embarrassment over witnessing their old Asian ally, China, fighting against their new partner, Japan. Herman Göring, president of the Reichstag and a leading figure in the Nazi party, told a Chinese visitor, “China and Japan are both friends of Germany. The Sino-Japanese War has put Germany between Scylla and Charybdis. That's why Germany is ready to seize the chance to become a mediator.” Germany also feared that a prolonged conflict in China could jeopardize its commercial interests in East Asia and weaken Japan's capacity to confront the Soviet Union, potentially freeing Moscow to allocate more resources to a fight in Europe. In essence, continued hostilities could significantly harm Germany. Japanese field commanders were frustrated by Germany's mediation efforts.  When news of Trautmann's mission leaked, the German diplomat faced severe criticism in the Chinese media, which deemed any negotiation with the "Japanese devils" unacceptable. Additionally, there was the matter of China's ties with the Soviet Union; employing a German mediator raised the possibility of cooperation among China, Japan, and Germany, potentially expanding the anti-Soviet bloc, which would, in turn, pressure Moscow to increase its support for China. By mid-November, however, the complexities of this diplomatic game started unraveling and then Japan took action. At 7:00 am on November 19, Yanagawa issued instructions to his troops in the field. “The enemy's command system is in disarray, and a mood of defeat has descended over their entire army. They have lost the will to fight. The main Chinese forces were retreating west of the line stretching from Suzhou to Jiaxing, and this withdrawal was soon likely to spiral into a full-scale retreat. We must not miss the opportunity to pursue the enemy to Nanjing.” I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Shanghai had fallen, and the Japanese forces pursued their fleeing enemy further west. However they had orders to halt, but would they? Officers from top down deliberating on the issue, with the vast majority pushing for a drive to Nanjing. They thought it represented the end objective of the conflict. They would all be very wrong. 

In this episode of Oh Shoot, Cassidy Lynne (@cassidylynne) recaps her Italy photography workshop, and debriefs her planning process, the pros & cons, the highlights, and her overall takeaways from hosting the retreat. Get 15% off Aftershoot at https://aftershoot.com/friends?ref=cassidy Use code OHSHOOT for 10% off all digital products at www.cassidylynneeducation.com/shop WATCH THESE EPISODES ON YOUTUBE! https://www.youtube.com/CassidyLynne Want more free education? Check out my website for photography freebies, presets, & courses! https://cassidylynneeducation.com Are you apart of our photography Facebook community group? Go to http://facebook.com/groups/cassidylynne/ and join the discussions of thousands of other photographers. Where you can find me: Follow me on Instagram!! Follow me on Tik Tok! Music by @mattngesa