Podcasts about Christmas

As Christmas of 1995 drew near, many families in rural Ohio drew closer and felt themselves caught up in the joy and pagentry of the holiday season.  Unfortunately, for one family, the holiday would forever be associated with pain and grief, loss and doubt, a disappearance and the unknown.John and Shelly Markley were devoted and loving parents to their five children.  During a week already marked by a family tragedy, John and Shelly mysteriously vanished on the morning of Friday, December 15th.  The last sighting of the couple was made by a bank teller who waited on them at the drive up window.  In addition to John and Shelly, the woman saw a third individual, a man who has never been identified.Investigators found themselves caught up in a case with just one witness, almost no physical evidence and few in any clues.  As the case unfolded, detectives would learn a lot about John and Shelly and everyone else in their lives.  Within weeks an unknown caller began ringing the family home, demanding cash in exchange for the return of the missing couple and that would take the investigation in a completely different direction.Nearly thirty years later, what became of John and Shelly remains a mystery and while law enforcement is certain there are people locally who know much more than they have shared, the case continues growing cold.Use promo code "Trace" to save 10% on your ticket for CrimeCon DenverFollow Trace Evidence on Social MediaTwitter --- Instagram --- TikTok --- YouTube --- Like Facebook Page --- Join Facebook Group --- Threads --- Like MeWe Page --- Join MeWe Group --- BlueskySuppport Trace EvidencePatreon --- Paypal --- Cash App --- Buy Me A CoffeeTrace Evidence Merch ShopsTeePublic --- ShopTEPod --- SpreadshopAll Other LinksOfficial Trace Evidence Website --- LinkTreeMusic Courtesy of:"Lost Time"  Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Echoes of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Galactic Rap" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Ghost in the Algorithm" Music from Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio#truecrimepodcast #unsolvedmysteries #coldcase #coldcaseinvestigation #murder #murdermystery #missingperson #missingpersons #truecrimecommunity #mysterypodcast #truecrime #coldcasefiles #truecrimestories #crimelovers #truecrimeaddict #truecrimejunkie #crimescene #justiceforall #missing #crimesquad #podcastcommunity #sleuthsunite #darkhistories #criminalmindset #detective #detectivediaries #forensics #forensicfiles #crimestories #crimepodcast #traceevidence #traceevidencepodcast #criminalinvestigation #justiceforvictims #detectivework #truecrimediscussion #podcastfamily #listenandsolve #crimefans #listentotraceevidence #uncoverthetruth #podcastrecommendations #podcastlove #podcastlife #truecrimeobsessed #followtheclues #cluefinders #podcastaddict #unsolvedmurders #unsolveddisappearances #detectiveatheart #jointheinvestigation #disappearance #vanishing #abduction #gonemissing #upandvanished #pacheco #stevenpacheco #podcasting #crimetalk #crimeanalysis #theories #realcrimes #disappeared #evidence #markley #johnmarkley #shellymarkley #trumbullcounty #OhioUnsolved #Ohiotrucrime #bristolville #farmington #warren #DurstBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trace-evidence--3207798/support.

This week, Thomas and Lydia from Where There's Woke join us for a review of the pro-child abuse Christmas movie, Summertime Christmas. And if you don't believe me, I get it. I'm just a blurb. But that's really what we watched. Hear more from Thomas and Lydia on Where There's Woke and Gavel Gavel Check out more from Thomas on Opening Arguments If you'd like to make a per episode donation and get monthly bonus episodes, please check us out on Patreon: http://patreon.com/godawful Check out our other shows, The Scathing Atheist, The Skepticrat, Citation Needed, and D&D Minus. Our theme music is written and performed by Ryan Slotnick of Evil Giraffes on Mars. If you'd like to hear more, check out their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars/ Report instances of harassment or abuse connected to this show to the Creator Accountability Network here: https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org/

It was the day after Christmas and 10 year old Bobby Boyes went to visit some friends.  He never came home, and decades worth of investigative efforts still haven't been able to find the truth of what happened to him.If you have any information about the disappearance of Bobby Boyes, please contact the Maryland State Police Prince Frederick Barracks at 410-535-1400.Do you have any comments, or a case you'd like to suggest? You'll find a comment form and case submission link at LordanArts.com.Thank you WMAR 2 News Baltimore, WUSA9,  Maryland.gov, NAMUS, NCMEC The Charley Project, The Vanished Podcast, Facebook, Reddit, Websleuths and Wikipedia for information contributing to today's story.This episode written by The Certified Roarikle and John Lordan, produced by LordanArts.This is not intended to act as a means of proving or disproving anything related to the investigation.  It is a conversation about the current known facts and theories being discussed.  Everyone directly or indirectly referred to is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.LordanArts 2025

Lesley Logan talks with Kate Galli about the power of aligning your daily habits with your values to build a body and life you love. They explore Kate's evolution from being an angry vegan to a joyful, aligned advocate, her mindset around habit formation, and why joy and self-compassion are the real game changers. This episode will inspire you to show up for yourself with clarity and intention.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:What led Kate to shift from angry vegan activism to compassionate advocacy.How grief and reflection helped her redefine her purpose and message.Why aligning habits with values creates sustainable change.The steps of Kate's ABC method and how she uses it in real life.Ways to overcome all-or-nothing thinking and perfectionist patterns.How sharing joy and delicious food made her message more effective.Episode References/Links:Kate Galli's Website - strongbodygreenplanet.comKate Galli's Facebook - www.facebook.com/StrongBodyGreenPlanetKate Galli's Instagram - www.instagram.com/strongbodygreenplanetKate Galli's Twitter - twitter.com/strongbodygreenKate Galli's LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/kate-galli-0873332aPlant Positive Journal - beitpod.com/plantpositiveHealthification Podcast - beitpod.com/healthificationWhat The Health Documentary - www.whatthehealthfilm.comGuest Bio:Health Coach, Author and Podcast host Kate Galli. Kate is qualified as a Master Personal Trainer, Life Coach, NLP Practitioner and has also completed the eCornell Plant Based Nutrition Certificate program. Kate first got into fitness as a way to transform her body and confidence. She has spent 18 years helping 1,000's of individuals sculpt a body and life they love. On an actionable level Kate's intention is: to help you create the Mindset that makes your prioritising your health and happiness simple and sustainable. Via the Healthification podcast Kate has interviewed hundreds of passionate and compassionate authors, athletes, doctors and entrepreneurs. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/ Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Kate Galli 0:00  As anyone who's lost the person they love most in the world knows, the shock and the sadness, you have no space for anything else in your world. And two things happened, not instantly, but over the course of the next year, I realized that the sadness at losing my mum is so overwhelming, I legitimately have no more energy to be angry and sad and frustrated at all the non-vegans in the world. I just don't have emotional capacity for that because I've lost my number one person.Lesley Logan 0:33  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 1:16  Hi, Be It babe. Okay, this, today's episode is really fun. I, first of all, like, this woman is just such like an angel when she just talks. She was just like, you just want to listen to her stories. But also I was really excited to chat with her, because I knew we were talking about aligning your purpose and your beliefs. And I was like, okay, yes, you guys all need that. And then her expertise happens to be in a different topic, and I got so interested, based on what she was saying, that I had to go into what she also does, which is not normally what we do here on the show. We don't normally talk about being a plant-based eater, but, actually, don't turn this off, I promise you, I promise you, as someone who is a vegan, who eats meat, I am as, you know, consciously and environmentally sound as I can be with that, I've been really interested in changing that over and so meeting someone like Kate has truly opened my eyes into something more positive and happy. And so whether or not you want that for yourself, I want you to listen to this interview, because her approach to how she wants to change the world had to change at some point in her life. And I think we all have been in a place where we believe something, and someone else we know does not believe that, and it just becomes this friction around us, and we get frustrated because we want things to happen faster. We want them to believe in it sooner. We want them to change everything sooner. And the truth is that there that's not necessarily the way that you get people to be on board with your journey. And so I really, really, I think you can insert any of the words she's using for your beliefs and see how you can use her experience to support you in your journey and what you want to do. Also, also, her Be It Action Items are amazing. She hit all that. She hit the bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted. So she's a winner. Here is Kate Galli. Lesley Logan 3:14  All right, Be It babe, I have a really fun guest. I was looking up all the things they're doing. I really enjoyed how they described a business from hell and still prioritizing themselves. I really, I was like, I was like, oh, someone can do that, then that is a Be It Till You See It podcast guest, if I ever saw one. So Kate Galli, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at?Kate Galli 3:35  Lesley, it is my pleasure to be here. Thank you so much. I am a health coach, author and fellow podcaster, and I help vegans and the plant-based curious to any degree prioritize their health and happiness and thrive with plants. Their happiness component is really core to what I do, and how I do that is I help people create the mindset that makes prioritizing their most effective, eating and exercising action, simple, sustainable and fun. Lesley, I will say everything I speak to is mindset-related, so it is applicable to anyone with a health goal, no matter what way you choose to eat. So everyone's welcome. A little bit about, I guess, how I got into what I do as a health coach. You know, I was a debilitatingly shy teenager, and I joined the gym and started lifting weights specifically to, yes, transform my body also to transform my confidence, and that is one of the things that I love most about what I do now, whether it's in the gym with clients or coaching clients online, is to see this transformation so far as confidence and the ability to back yourself. That is something that I am incredibly passionate about seeing in others.Lesley Logan 4:59  Yeah, I, I am, I agree. I think, like, sometimes people think, like, when you say confidence and working out, it's often like, it is the look of it, the aesthetics of it. But as someone who lives at the gym as well, the when I when I pick up a heavier set of dumbbells, like, there's something really powerful about that and like, so it's actually like, I think hopefully becoming more and more normalized that, like, when you can give yourself a pull up, even if it's assisted, when you can, like, when you can actually do 10 push ups, when before you had to take breaks, like you are building confidence in yourself, because you're showing yourself how much stronger you are. And I think, like we, you know, the strength of, the strength that we all have is something we can all work on, and we have to work on all the time. And so I love that you also highlighted happiness. And I think that's really important. Because I do think that when people go on any kind of health journey, at some point they start doing it as a form of punishment and not a form of pleasure. How did, like, was that your journey? Was you, were you always a happy workout person? Or like, did you have to find that along the way? Kate Galli 6:02  I was probably always a happy workout person. However, I certainly overdid it. I remember in my early 20s, when I was new to the gym and wasn't a personal trainer yet, I do an hour weights and an hour cardio six days a week, and I remember a trainer coming up to me and saying, the more you do with it, your exercise, the more you have to do, and the less you eat with your food, the less you have to eat. And it didn't really click at the time. But as you said, in hindsight, I was a bit about punishment, certainly with the cardio component. Never really liked that, and certainly about restriction with the food component too. There were so many foods that I was fearful of, whether it's fat because it made me fat or gave me pimples, you know, those were my misbeliefs, or whether I was fearful of carbohydrates, which I was that, like a decade, probably, definitely, those were some of the things that you know, made it less fun than it could be. And I think in recent years, even though I've had the fitness component so locked and loaded, I've, I lost the happiness a little bit because I'm so passionate about my mission. And I'm sure you can relate to this, or many listeners can relate to this. You know, we get this drive and this just focus and purpose and just go, go, go, and it's effective until it isn't, and it does get us results. However, the enjoying the journey and the prioritizing the happiness is something that I've really looked to focus on, honestly, just in the couple of, past couple of years. Lesley Logan 7:37  Yeah, I understand, I understand that too, like, I think I grew up going, well, I'll just work harder. Like, you know, if I just work harder, I get better grades. Like, if I work harder, I can make more, like, you know, if you just work extra hours, you get paid more. And then, like, you start your own business, because you're like, I have this impact I want to make. I have this vision I want to do. And because you're so driven for it, it's pretty easy to just keep going, but at some point you wake up and going, oh my God, what am I doing? Like I am my own worst boss. I'm so hard on myself. I'm not happy. I'm doing the thing I said would make me happy, and I'm not, and I'm not happy. And so there's some place where, like, the purpose you have on this planet, and you get misaligned. So you're doing the thing, but you're not enjoying the doing of the thing. And so I feel like we, I feel like we all have to kind of go through that to actually get on the right path, because I don't know. I mean, maybe it's possible just to enjoy the beyond purpose and enjoy it all at the same time. But I feel like for a lot of us, we have to go hold on, where did I make a wrong turn or why am I not doing this. How did you find that?Kate Galli 8:43  Oh, so much. Um, first, I just want to say also that approach doesn't sell the lifestyle. When I was the extreme personal trainer, people might be, they might kind of think, oh, that's slightly inspirational. However, that's too much for me to even try what she does with her food and exercise. Same go with the veganism right? When I was the angry vegan that is not selling anyone on the lifestyle. I'm not welcoming people on board, so I made the change in the hardest, harshest possible way. I don't know how it would have come about if life didn't jump in the way and slap me in the face, but I'll try not to be so long with this. It is a bit heavy. But when I was first vegan, I'd been vegan a couple of years, and I was very much an animal rights activist. This is maybe, I don't know, six years ago now, and I was coming home for Christmas, and my dear mom rang me and she said, Katie, I don't know what to do about Christmas, because you're the animal rights activist, and your dad's anti vegan, and it's all about food. And we always had conflict, Lesley, my dad and I had, we had conflict always, but more so when I gave up all animal products. And she said, unless you want to mastermind a vegan feast and sell the family on it. I'm like, done. I will mastermind that feast. Perhaps you could sell the family on it. We had an amazing Christmas. I made eight new dishes. The food was fantastic. Mum was so grateful. When I was about to fly home to Sydney after that holiday, she said, Katie, will you watch What the Health with me? Now that's a documentary I had been emotionally blackmailing her to try and watch ever since I became vegan, ineffective, surprisingly, and so after I'd made all that effort, she watched it with me. She said, I'll try this plant-based thing for a couple of weeks. Years later, she's still plant-based. She's becoming more animal rights activist like me, our relationship could not be stronger, not the best for her relationship with my father. Anyway, three and a half years ago now, I got the phone call from my father that I always thought I'd get from my mum. Dad's not the healthiest with the way he eats or thinks, and I always thought I'd get the phone call from Mum, Katie, it's your dad. And I got the phone call from dad. Kate, it's your mum. And Mum had died suddenly, and I'd spoken to her that morning, a Sunday morning, at 7 am as I walked along the beaches, like we spoke every single morning, and by 3 pm she was gone. And as anyone who's lost the person they love most in the world knows, the shock and the sadness, you have no space for anything else in your world. And two things happened, not instantly, but over the course of the next year, I realized that the sadness at losing my mum is so overwhelming, I legitimately have no more energy to be angry and sad and frustrated at all the non-vegans in the world. I just don't have emotional capacity for that because I've lost my number one person. I also realized that with Mum, I have no regrets. We both knew how much we loved and respected each other, 100% no regrets there. If that had been my father, I would have had regrets, because our relationship was not as it should be, and a huge component of that was the judgment I held towards him for his actions. And so bit by bit, I forced myself out of that angry vegan and you know, life was just all about spreading this message back then. Now it's all it was about animal rights, nothing else, no space for anything else, wasn't effective, I wasn't happy, and so that is what forced me out of it. And I don't know what else would have, sadly.Lesley Logan 12:40  I'm so sorry, but I really appreciate you sharing, because I think we could insert any word for vegan and anti-vegan. I think we can insert political parties. We could insert like, different war, all the different things, because it really is, it becomes this like thing in the middle. And when families get together, it's just like it's glaringly there, and it starts to feel personal, because they're personal to us, and we love them. We're like, how can, how can I love someone who is again, something I care about so much, so I just appreciate you sharing that, because I definitely think your story, I think anyone can listen to and even if you aren't going plant-based or that's not something you care about, there is someone in your life who doesn't care as much about one thing or cares differently than you do, and you can think about, like, okay, I'm gonna have regrets there. So what can I do about it? The other thing is, it's really, and this is kind of like a sad, funny, but like, I have, I'm not plant-based totally. Like, call me a vegan who eats meat because I'm like, very dairy-free. I am a lot of I'm not so grain-free anymore, but there's a lot of grains I just can't eat. They don't do well. I can't do oats. Oat milk was my favorite. That's not a thing I can do. Like, I'm out on that, but like, at any rate, I choose to eat some meats that I'm very particular about. Like, how are they farmed all the different things. But we're, because of that, we're very aware of other people's dietary needs. And so Brad or somebody, was like, oh, are they vegan? I'm like, oh, you would know. If they were vegan, we would already know. And it's because, and maybe not so more anymore, but like, back when you became a vegan, like, that was kind of a thing, like, you wore it on your shirt. You were telling everyone to do it and I think that what we have learned through so much of this is that whatever it is we care about, yelling at people about how wrong they are is never going to get them to want to join us, you know, that's just not the way to do it. You have to figure out, like, how, what is it that they care about, and how can what they care about align with what we care about, and we can, like, show, you know, they have to experience it. They have to have their time. So anyways, I think that's really beautiful. So how did so, so tell me what's next. So, like, then you, you still wanted to stay on your purpose and your path and your journey of being plant-based. But how did you align changing how you went about it to that purpose?Kate Galli 15:01  So it's a constant battle, right? It's a constant daily awareness. One thing that helps me is with my podcast, I've interviewed, like literally hundreds of the most passionate and compassionate activists or authors athletes around the world. And I look at the ones who seem effective and happy in what they do, and I will say I've got mad respect for any type of activist, even the most extreme ones. However, they're not the happiest, and I worry about their health, and I think they only survive because they live in their little vegan bubble, and they only associate with other vegans. If they had to integrate into the world and associate with all their non vegan friends and family all the time, which is the path I've chosen to, you know, all of my family now and friends basically, are non-vegan. You have to prioritize that happiness, and I actually made it a little bit actionable to help myself get there. I have an ABC and A is an awareness of how my life was going to look in three months, six months, 12 months, if I kept going down that same path, you know, my relationship with my father would be even worse, my relationship with my colleagues, my clients, just random strangers. There was a lot of pain about how it was going to happen if nothing changed. So then B is the brainstorm. I thought, what are some of the things I need to stop doing? I stopped sharing those brutal posts on social media, because to share them, you have to see them, and then you get hate comments. I stopped having those conversations, and everyone knows them, whether it's about politics, as you say, or religion or a war, whatever it is, you know that conversation that isn't going to end well, because either you and that other person had disagree or in some scenarios, especially with veganism, they're just up for the debate. They don't really care either way, they're just like, let's have a debate with this crazy vegan, right? I stopped those conversations, and what I started doing is I started sharing happy, good news stories. I actually created a whole email every week around the good news story. I started sharing delicious recipes. I started sharing delicious food, which, by the way, was my mom's very effective approach. So I'm modeling the love and compassion and deliciousness that she led with in the few years she was plant-based. So those are the things I started doing, and the C is for a commitment. This is why I so widely share I'm no longer an angry vegan, because you can get when little angry activist Kate makes an appearance, someone's going to call me on it, right? They're going to go, hey, aren't you now the vegan that leads with love and compassion and deliciousness? So it's kind of a form of accountability. So, you know, that's the way that I had to have a talk to myself as well. Because initially there was, I guess, an awareness that that was I letting the animals down by no longer flying the flag so aggressively? And I came to the decision, and I talk about this all the time with guests on my podcast, that it's not necessarily what feels right in our heart all the time, it's what is effective. Right? So you, if my big picture is what it is, then I need to take the most effective actions to get there. And they might not always be my natural instinct. You know, sometimes I just need to calm down, get clear on what my vision is, and then take that more effective action. Lesley Logan 18:27  I love this. I love this. Again, you can apply this to anything, but I think it's actually like an awareness of what you want, brainstorm all the different ways you're going to do that, and then commit to doing it like that's whatever it is. But I do think that what you want to, I want to highlight more, is like, I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be all or nothing people, that if we're not all in, then it's not going to work. And I understand, like, the people who talk about manifesting, you have to like, you have to like, do all the things, but that's so much pressure, and it's not always attracting people on the journey. So I love that you, like, made really good, just shared really good recipes with people. I think, like, when people don't realize that, like, it can taste really good, you know what I mean? Like, you can actually make things taste good with it. You can sneak 'em in as like, oh, like, I had, one of my girlfriends was a happy herbivore, and she wrote all the books about the happy herbivore, and she made a cheese ball that was, like, insane. And I would just be like, I'll just, how do I make this cheese ball at home? Like it's the most amazing thing, because I miss I have, I can't do dairy. I miss it. I miss cheese. I want a cheese ball. I want to be with the people they're having cheese at the Super Bowl. I want to have it. And she, like, showed me, and then all of a sudden, it's like, you just put it out. You don't have to tell them what it is. And they dip in, like, this is amazing. It's like, you know, so, like, sometimes it's like, you have to, you get more, you know, bees with honey, right? Like, that's really what it is. So, and I apologize to the vegans listening, if you are against the honey part, I know. Some people like it. Some people don't. You know, there's a whole thing. So anyways, but I think it's really it is that what is the most effective approach to get people to understand what you're wanting them to do? And in any vision, you have to paint the picture of something beautiful that people want to be part of. And sometimes, if we're shouting from the rooftops too loud about all the bad things, it makes people feel almost paralyzed, and they're like, I don't even know what to do next. I like so I'm just, I'm just gonna, I'm actually gonna stand firm in what I'm doing, because I don't, you know. So what an what an amazing thing you did. And also, I like that you use the public accountability to help you stay, stay on because, yeah, we all have instincts. It's like, I'm just gonna yell at that person, because that's what I want to do, because that's gonna, that's gonna make me feel good, but it's not necessarily gonna get you what you want. Kate Galli 20:50  No, agreed, 100%. Lesley Logan 20:52  So, okay, you, we haven't ever really talked about plant-based and I kind of want to get into it, just because I know that you have such a wonderful approach to it. How, how, like, how easy it is to be a plant-based eater. Because I think some people get overwhelmed with, like, if, where am I gonna get my protein, where am I gonna get all these things, and so it's hard to feel like, how do I change over? Do you, is this something that you do in a step by step approach? Is this something like, you, like, try to switch people over all the way, what's, what's the form of action that's easy for people? Kate Galli 21:26  For sure. A little background, you know, I made it harder than I needed to initially, for myself. Before I became vegan, nine years ago, I'd been vegetarian for 23 years, so no meat for 23 years. By that point in time, I'd been a personal trainer, so a low carb, high protein, vegetarian personal trainer for a decade. I decided I needed to be vegan. I walked into the gym and announced to all the other trainers in this gym, bro-type of the gym, that I was going vegan. One of them said, well, goodbye, lean muscle mass. And I realized that if this didn't work for me, it would reflect really badly on the lifestyle. So I put a lot of pressure into basically calculating, not just the macronutrients, they're actually quite easy, but all the micronutrients that I needed to hit in every single meal. So my meals just were a lot of effort and not so much deliciousness early days, I made it really hard because I had that point to prove, you know, cut to the chase nothing changed, right? I didn't gain any fat, I didn't lose any muscle or strength. I gained some energy. It was all good, but I made it hard. So now I look to make it easier for other people. I have a coaching program where I focus on clarity, confidence and consistency. I think they're really important with any health goal. And the clarity is actually where we look into building huge emotional intensity around your why, and we also align that why, or more so the actions you need to take to achieve that why with your most important values and beliefs. So that's getting really clear on your vision and the huge emotional intensity and how it's aligned with those emotional states that you're most drawn to. That clarity will pull you through those struggle straight days that we all get with any health goal, the confidence that's where the food comes in. Also, we're handling relationships with non-vegan loved ones, or whatever it may, might be. So yeah, in the confidence component I am all about, hey, this is the anatomy of a healthy plant-based meal. This is what it looks like. If your goal is muscle gain, you can obviously gain muscle, but you've got to be really aware, not just plant protein. That's pretty easy. You've got to be aware of caloric density often, for example, a big guy with lots of muscle. Not to stereotype, but say, there's the guy that's already happy with his physique. He might try plant-based, for the environment, for his health, whatever it may be. And he might lose a lot of weight just because he's, you know, he's swapped steak for spinach or something. That's not gonna work. It needs to be swapped for sweet potato and black beans, you know, with more caloric density, stuff like that. So that's the confidence. And then consistency is helping people stay on track.Lesley Logan 24:17  Yeah, I think I appreciate you talking about there's, like, different ways to do it, and like, what are your, what are your actual health goals for it? Because it is true. I think people think I'm gonna subs, I'm gonna, I think we're past the point people thinking it won't taste good. I mean, every vegan restaurant I've ever been to makes you realize that you can have vegan comfort food, and it is amazing. You know, like, you can have, you can have all of that, but it is the Can I also lift the way I want to lift. Can I do the things that the hobbies that I want to have, and I think like having joy in our lives is really important, and I hate and I think having joy outside of what we eat, but like in the things we do, but how we eat and how we fuel ourselves affects the things that we do. So I appreciate that you, you share that I am, I mean, I will just say, like, here in the States, we have, in the moment that we're recording, we have a massive bird flu problem, which is why, and it's been going on for a long time, and so eggs have been creeping up and all that. I live in a state where the eggs must be cage-free. So I was actually like, well, that works. I think that that's great. They have to be cage-free. I think they can't be bad. But what does that mean? It means our eggs are $20 for 12 pack. So I was just like, all right, so we're gonna have to think about, you know, maybe, maybe we're going even more plant-based than we were before. And like, how do I as a 42-year-old woman who wants to stay strong, who wants to have the energy to do the business that I do, like, I have to film workouts for Pilates and stuff like that. How do I reduce animal protein? Put it to plant protein and and also, like, you know, keep up what I've got, continue to remain strong, and then hopefully it's cheaper than the $20 eggs. Like, that would be great. Kate Galli 26:03  I've got you it is cheaper. Two things. First off, you know you need to look at tofu scramble to replace those eggs. My dear mom, when she first went plant-based, hated tofu. I won her over with tofu scramble over crispy, baked, smashed potatoes. Loved it. So there are so many delicious recipes out there that you can make on mass. I would also say I also have a 5S strategy for plant-based protein, for just inserting it into your meals and I can run through that strategy. Lesley Logan 26:34  I want to hear it if you don't mind, because all of my ladies are over 40, they have heard from all the different health people we have to have protein with perimenopause and menopause like make sure you're doing your protein. Don't overdo the cardio. So we're all on base with you. So what's, what's the 5S?Kate Galli 26:48  Awesome. So the first S is for the star. So that's when the plant-based protein is the star of the meal. And that's what you used to think of your protein like, right? So it's the steak was the old way. The star might now be the lentils and a curry, right? Or the marinated tofu. It's one kind of hardcore, decent serve of the plant-based protein. The next S is for scatter over you've got your regular meal, maybe your oats, not for you Lesley, but for someone else, who can have oats and you scatter over your hemp seeds, more protein per gram than beef, your pumpkin seeds, whatever it might be. The third S is for a stir through. Again, you've got your meal. It's delicious. Maybe it's a little bit lacking in the protein. And so you stir through your plant-based protein powder into your cereal, or your whatever it may be into your soups, you're just stirring through that additional plant protein. Next up is one of my favorites. It's the side. So maybe I just want that meal, that salad that I've made for everyone else to go with their meal, and it is delicious and abundant. It's just lacking in plant-based protein. So I have a side of a cup of edamame or crispy chickpeas or whatever it may be. The fifth sneaky one is the sauce. You know, early days, PT, personal trainer, a lot of sources were like high caloric density and low nutritional value and just made of processed oils and all of this rubbish. A lot of the plant-based sources are amazingly full of sneaky protein, like a silken tofu in a tofu ricotta type of a sauce, or an edamame guac. So guacamole that's chock full of edamame or whatever it may be. So yeah, they're the 5S and I use a combination of them every single day. I could make it six and make it a snack as well. So, yeah, there's lots. Lesley Logan 28:43  I love that. I love that there's a there's a snack that we, I love when my husband makes me it's this popcorn with spirulina, Oh, little bit of nutritional yeast, salt, and I believe there is some a little bit of garlic, or maybe it's kind there's a tiny bit of something that just gives a little bit little bit of spice. And so yes, your fingers turn like, green or black. So he's like, he eats it with chopsticks. I'm not so good, so I just, I'm like, well, we'll just eat and then we'll wash our hands. But I love that snack, because also, with all that stuff added, you actually end up with protein on your popcorn. Like, it's like, see if there's a way to find these different things and also get all the nutrition from that. Brilliant. So I don't know, Kate, I didn't, I didn't expect to go into thinking maybe I'm gonna be more plant based after this. But I think, I think, I think I am just because, I mean, we already, my husband and I, are already very big on the environment. We're very conscious of, like, if we're gonna eat animal protein, like, how are we getting it? Where is it where is it coming from? We really try to make sure we're really good about that as best we can. But at this point, some point, you go, okay, now it's just becoming more expensive to even do that. Yeah, and it's and that, and that's not, you know, we're not attached to that. We're not attached to it. So I think this is really cool, but also I really love the idea of, like, kind of figuring out which s I want it to be, how, like, how I want to do it, and then, and then be kind to ourselves about trying to add it in, because it can be overwhelming, and we can't do all or nothing. So we have to be able to start to maybe it's like one meal a day that we, you know, change, and then go from there. Kate Galli 30:19  100% and you mentioned, like cost of living, all of that. You know, when I used to be a planner of meal prep, and was very exacting with that, but now I just do food prep, where I prep individual components on the weekend, and I can make a variety of meals. And you know, when I prep my dried chickpeas, which takes no time, or my dried lentils, that is just a colossal amount of very cost-effective plant protein that I can just use in almost a limitless number of meals. And my dried chickpeas and lentils really aren't going up in price. They're incredibly cheap.Lesley Logan 30:57  Yeah, yeah, no, I think that's, I mean, we got so much from you today. We got being it until we see it, and being happy, and are checking our approach to our purpose on this planet. And then we got some just tips to like, adjust our life. Because I do think that no matter what you want to do in this world, what we forget is that our food is fuel. And if your food is not fueling you in a way that actually allows you to show up confidently with energy and stamina and things like that. Then you, you are distracted from the purpose that you have on this planet.Kate Galli 31:30  100% yeah, and whatever your huge purpose is, it is, sadly, going to take longer than you would most love, so you better be fueling your body well and looking after yourself in all the other ways to have, as you said, the sustainability to be in it long term, because it is going to take a while.Lesley Logan 31:47  Yeah, I know. Sorry, folks. You heard it here from Kate. In case you haven't heard it from my mouth, Kate's telling you like it just takes, everything just takes longer than we want. And it's not because you're not great at it. It's not because you don't, aren't, aren't deserving of it. It's not because you like you shouldn't you, in hindsight, your relationship went left when you went right. It's because you becoming the person you have to be who can do the thing, has to get there you have to, you, yourself are a muscle that has to be trained and cultivated and strengthened and challenged to get to the place you want to go. Kate Galli 32:20  Completely agree. Lesley Logan 32:22  Kate, I think you're amazing. I could talk to you forever. We're gonna take a brief break and then find out where people can find you, follow you, work with you. Lesley Logan 32:29  All right, Kate, where do you like to hang out? Where can people connect more if they want to nerd out and just get to know you and work with you more?Kate Galli 32:38  The best place is the main website. So that's strongbodygreenplanet.com. Via the site, you'll find my Plant Positive Journal dedicated to my dear mom, my Healthification Podcast, and basically everything else that I do online. So, strongbodygreenplanet.com. Lesley Logan 32:56  Oh, love it. We'll have all that link below before we let you go. I know you've given us a lot of great things to think about. But for our people who are like, okay, I'm really drawn to Kate. I really love what she's talking about. What are some bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps they can take to be it till they see it? Kate Galli 33:13  I've got to say my number one go-to is to elicit your own personal values if you haven't yet. So your values are those emotional states that you are naturally drawn to. Think of where you spend your time, your energy, your money. My top two are freedom and integrity. But there's no right or wrong. Yours might be love, connection, truth, whatever they are, elicit those values and align them with your most important goal or vision. More so, align them with the actions you need to take to achieve that goal or vision that's going to be bold, because when you, when you have this big, powerful vision that's about more than just you, you're going to be more inclined to stick to it and take those bold actions. It's going to be executable because you have alignment. That is everything. Alignment between what you're looking to achieve and the daily actions you're taking is so much more powerful. It's intrinsic, because what you're looking to do is aligned with your heart. Now you're not stopping yourself, you're not fighting yourself. I call this the stop fighting yourself part of the process. And finally, it's targeted, because, again, you had absolute clarity on where you're looking to go and what you're looking to achieve.Lesley Logan 34:29  You're so great. We are so I, like, lucky to have gotten to know you today. I feel just so honored to have met you, inspired. I'm really excited to to hear how our Be It Pod listeners apply this, what they take out of this, what their favorite part is. So you all make sure that you tag the Be It Pod, tag Kate, and make sure that she hears what your takeaways are. Reach out to her at strong body, strongbodygreenplanet, right? I just think it's really amazing. And I think, your approach can, is something, again, I'll say it one more time for everyone, you can apply this to anything that you care about, and it's going to make life more fun, because it certainly isn't fun to be around the dinner table with people who are like, you know, you know that there's just going to be they're going to say the one thing, and they're going to do it just to piss you off, to see if you can get there and like, if you can just remember what's the purpose, and how can we attract them and what can we lovingly educate, as opposed to yelling? I think it's a wonderful way for us all to be it till we see it. So Kate, thank you so much. Everyone, you know what to do. Until next time. Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 35:40  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 36:22  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 36:27  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 36:32  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 36:39  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 36:42  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On The Other Side of Midnight, Lionel asks where you would take someone in the U.S. to convey the essence of the country. He later discusses the wonders of Christmas, Florida and the ridiculousness of weather advisories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The Other Side of Midnight, Lionel asks where you would take someone in the U.S. to convey the essence of the country. He later discusses the wonders of Christmas, Florida and the ridiculousness of weather advisories. Lionel moves on to talk about the signs of getting old, surviving life without the internet and people who spend their whole day on Facebook. Lionel starts the third hour discussing how people perceive evil. He also gets into ignorance across America, entropy, our fraudulent government with lack of true role models and much more. Lionel wraps up the show talking about the incoming heat, caffeine and his campaign promises if he was running for mayor of New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a broken leg on Christmas to headlining comedy clubs in LA, comedian Sean Corner shares his wild journey of persistence and determination. Watch as he opens up about leaving his engineering career, surviving on a friend's couch, and building his name in the competitive LA comedy scene. Experience the raw honesty as Sean reveals how a drunken Naruto-inspired kick led to a broken leg that delayed - but couldn't stop - his dreams. Through hustle, heart, and humor, he transformed from performing at strip club basements to producing shows with some of comedy's biggest names.Sean gets real about the grind of being an up-and-coming comedian, from hosting open mics to building valuable connections. His story proves that sometimes life's biggest setbacks can lead to the greatest comebacks. Whether you're a comedy fan or someone chasing their dreams, this conversation will inspire you to keep pushing forward, no matter what obstacles come your way.Featuring candid stories about breaking into the LA comedy scene, learning tough lessons, and finding success on your own terms. Watch how determination, talent, and a broken leg changed everything for this rising comedy star.#affiliatemarketing #emailmarketing #leadgeneration #howtomakemoneyonline #growemaillist#standupcomedy #funnyvideo #chocolatesundaescomedy #comedyclub #comedyCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:40 - Sean Conner04:50 - Getting into Comedy Journey09:33 - Comedy Career Beginnings17:06 - What's In This Drink17:40 - Diddy Parties Experience19:36 - Episode Differences: 1 vs 1 Million Downloads23:15 - Problems You Asked For Discussion25:05 - Moving to LA Insights31:15 - Breaking His Leg: Life Changes39:40 - Kenan Thompson Presents Opportunity Impact40:40 - Taking Small Bites vs Big Chunks43:10 - Banned from the Comedy Chateau Incident45:30 - Accidental Chaos Comedy Club Story47:20 - Reaction to Homie's Accident49:00 - First Show After Homie's Passing53:15 - TV Character Identification59:20 - Jimmy Kimmel Residency Journey1:02:40 - The Black House Residency Experience1:06:00 - Wild Party Story with Theo Von1:10:55 - Outro1:13:17 - Toast1:14:10 - Post-InterviewSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/bar-talk-at-open-bar-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Happy Pride! This episode follows the epic love story of filmmaker (and Irina's friend from college) Chris Peckover and costume designer Shannon Short. Hear how Chris randomly contacted Shannon based on a cute Facebook picture and then drove from L.A. to San Diego for a date before Shannon had to embark on a cruise ship for a six-week work trip. Did Chris really go from being a pre-med swimmer at Yale to making one of the most popular Christmas-themed horror movies of all times? And did Branson-born Shannon journey from being homeless in his car in Texas to creating Emmy-nominated costume work in Hollywood after being discovered by the makers of The Mandalorian? For a tale worthy of the sparkliest California dreams, join Michelle and Irina for a two-part episode you won't want to miss!Chris Peckover's IMDBShannon Short's IMDB Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your most profitable campaign window isn't Black Friday or Cyber Monday… but after the holidays, when everyone else is quiet? While most marketers are winding down, savvy brands are doubling down—tapping into the “Q5” period between Christmas and early January, when ad prices drop, engagement spikes, and consumers are laser-focused on their New Year goals. Today we're digging into how AI is revolutionizing brand partnerships, why micro-influencers might be your secret Q5 weapon, and what smart marketers are doing to turn a slow season into a sales surge.To discuss this, I'd like to welcome Xavier de Baillenx, CEO of Ramdam, an AI-powered creator platform working with over 50,000 influencers globally. About Xavier de Baillenx Xavier de Baillenx is a serial entrepreneur and the Co-founder and CEO of Ramdam, an AI-powered platform that streamlines user-generated content (UGC) production for brands, optimizing every step of the creative process. Launched in 2023 by the same team known for their previous venture, Pretty Fun Therapy, acquired by Match Group (the company behind Tinder and Hinge), Ramdam empowers advertisers to connect with the right creators, delivering high-performing ads that elevate social media campaigns and eliminate the guesswork of the creative lottery. The platform quickly gained recognition, with brands like Allianz, Voodoo, and Colgate-Palmolive leveraging Ramdam to achieve up to an 80% improvement in performance compared to traditional UGC marketplaces. Ramdam's rapid success also led to securing $3.15 million in funding in October 2024 to accelerate its global expansion. Xavier's entrepreneurial journey began in 2013 when he co-founded Pretty Fun Therapy with his current team, a venture that was acquired by Match Group, the company behind Tinder and Hinge, in 2016. At Match Group, he led AI innovation, pioneering some of the industry's first consumer brand chatbots that engaged millions of users. With a background in digital development from his time at Universal Music, Xavier brings extensive experience in combining technology and creativity. He holds an engineering degree from CentraleSupélec. Resources Ramdam: https://www.ramd.am/ https://www.ramd.am/ The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Boston, August 11-14, 2025. Register now: https://bit.ly/etailboston and use code PARTNER20 for 20% off for retailers and brands Don't Miss MAICON 2025, October 14-16 in Cleveland - the event bringing together the brights minds and leading voices in AI. Use Code AGILE150 for $150 off registration. Go here to register: https://bit.ly/agile150 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Fred Schneider of The B-52s discusses his massive 10,000+ record collection while sharing stories about the B-52's early days, the original "Rock Lobster" single, vinyl reissues and new boxset. Topics Include: Massive record collection visible in wall-to-ceiling custom cabinets Estimates 10,000+ records, considers himself a "record nut" Collection includes avant-garde, classical, funk, soul, bad records Loves bad Christmas records and Halloween records specifically Been collecting since age 13, started in early days Currently has broken receiver, can't play main system Portable player works for 45s but stops unexpectedly Still adding records but doing major purge now Selling and donating records, too many to listen to Donates to Archive of Contemporary Music organization regularly Most precious records are original 45s from youth Still has first album mother bought thinking Beatles Moved into funk, Led Zeppelin, then New Wave music Was Sirius Satellite Radio DJ for three years Prefers first pressings, doesn't care about reissues much Looking for "When I'm Gone" by Brenda Holloway Will clean up scuffed records if sound improves Vinyl never left his turntable despite CD popularity Listens to music most of day while doing activities Plays classical mornings while reading magazines and coffee Enjoys electronic music from 50s/60s and harp music B-52s sound came from all members' varied influences Band was lumped with punk but more "freak punk" Original "Rock Lobster" single recorded in Georgia mountains DB Records pressed 2,000 copies, sold out quickly Eventually pressed 30,000 total copies of original single Australia embraced band early, rolled out red carpet Band never saw penny from original single sales Talking Heads recommended B-52s to their manager successfully Enter to win a record from us to celebrate Ep500 High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

This week listeners complain about the podcast, an acid trip gone completely wrong, boric acid doggy style, b-hole waxing, a dildo under the Christmas tree, a dogs vulva, an adult film star, identity theft and Nigerian men and lots of stuff in between. Enjoy! If you love the show and want to support us, join our growing community on Patreon to see what we're giving for $5 a month!JOIN OUR PATREON https://www.patreon.com/teatime42069Send your stories to TeaTimeStories42069@gmail.comWatch Harper-Rose's set here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eNpjjGZHLY&t=110sWatch Gabby Lamb's set here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7oOYWgK598

In this episode of The Real Estate Rundown, Owen Dashner and Ted Kaasch kick back and chat about everything from epic family vacations to unsexy but essential business habits. You'll hear hilarious travel stories (including altitude sickness horror), the value of choosing experiences over material gifts, and why going paperless in your business might just save your sanity.Ted drops this week's Gold Nugget—a brilliant parenting hack using the Greenlight card system that not only teaches kids financial responsibility but gives parents a breather from micromanaging chores. Owen throws in a curveball of his own: the underrated power of Dropbox and digital organization.They also recap the latest Omaha REIA luncheon, talk about the importance of community in real estate, and share book and movie favorites that continue to inspire them (spoiler: yes, Deadpool gets mentioned). Whether you're tuning in for real estate insights or just a good laugh, this episode delivers.

Christmas in June, anyone?Reading Plan: Old Testament - 2 Kings 1-3Psalms - Psalm 76:1-6Gospels - Luke 1:45-56New Testament - 2 Corinthians 9Visit https://www.revivalfromthebible.com/ for more information.

"Reunited and it feels so good!"  That's right, all three elves are back this week after most of the month of June spent apart! To celebrate the occasion, they sit down, travel to Boston, and discuss the "Frasier" revival's second Christmas episode (and, as it turns out, series finale!): Season 2, Episode 10's: "Father Christmas"! We can guarantee this is one fun, laugh-filled discussion because even a lesser episode of "Frasier" is still better than a lot of content out there!  So settle back, relax, enjoy, and get excited because this week marks the officially halfway point to Christmas 2025!  As always, thanks for your love and support, y'all!

A law requiring Texas public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments is poised to take effect Sept. 1 after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill Saturday. However, it is expected to face legal challenges. In other news, major U.S. cities are tightening security after President Donald Trump unleashed airstrikes on Iran, a direct military intervention that deepened Washington's role in Israel's war with Tehran and raised concerns about potential retaliation; In a wide-ranging address at Dickies Arena, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders castigated President Donald Trump and the nation's billionaire class in a fiery rally Sunday night, warning that the country is on the precipice of unprecedented danger; and Campo Verde, a Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant where it's Christmas all year, reopened on June 5 with a revamped menu that promises to honor its legacy while taking the next step in its culinary evolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caitlin and Alan debate if Christmas is Heaven or Hell, what counts as Micro Fiction, and wrap up the whole podcast! Maybe. We know nothing about English food at Christmas time, but that won't stop us from talking about it. We sneak in a lot of Scarlette and Browne thoughts. We find The Apple Tree to be a very sad story- but so well done. Thank you to everyone who has listened to the podcast and followed us all the way to this ending!A Portland Row ChristmasThe Apple TreeThese stories might fall into the Flash Fiction categoryThe Wheel of Time pilot with Billy ZaneSardines is a version of Hide and SeekMince Pie is an English thingCoffee Shop AU trope is a fan fiction thingSeriously go listen to Haunting the Narrative because it is do goodFollow Caitlin on BlueSky @inferiorcaitlinFollow the show on Twitter @LockwoodPodcastOur theme music is “Magic Escape Room” by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com. It is licensed under a Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 agreement.If you want to reach out please send an email to contact@hallowedgroundmedia.com or visit our Contact page.

Jesus Christ sermons series Part 1 - Billy Graham. ACU Sunday Series. Redemption 66.8K subscribers 1,065,905 views Premiered Oct 7, 2023 Sermon series about Jesus Christ by Pastor Billy Graham. Content: -Who Is Jesus Christ. The Coming Aspects Of Jesus Christ. -Why We Glory On The Christs Cross. Jesus Said I Am. Beneath The Cross Of Christ. Lord, thank you for the wonderful gift of your blessings. Help us to follow your Word and obey your commands, that we may receive your blessings each day. Grant us and our families peace, joy, and favor through your spiritual blessings. Bless us and our families wherever we go, and bless us as we perform our daily tasks. Thank you that we can walk in the abundance of your blessings through Jesus Christ. In Jesus' Holy Name, We pray, Amen.

Ben Shapiro- Trump DESTROYS Iranian Nuclear Program! The US obliterates Iran's nuclear sites and Trump warns them to make peace. https://youtu.be/wiPjkQfMbIY?si=sxWSYnMZdnvnqPAM Ben Shapiro 7.22M subscribers Jun 22, 2025 The Ben Shapiro Show 1️⃣ Click here to join the member-exclusive portion of my show: https://bit.ly/3WDjgHE 2️⃣ Join millions of people who still believe in truth, courage, and common sense at https://DailyWirePlus.com 3️⃣ My new book, “Lions and Scavengers,” drops September 2nd—pre-order today at https://dailywire.com/benshapiro

Know the Price. Every time I go on a fishing trip, my phone gets damaged by water. To remedy this, my brother gave me a waterproof camera for Christmas. Naturally, he wanted me to send him a few pictures from the new camera. To do that, I needed to figure out how to use the... The post Gospel-Homily for Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (2025) appeared first on St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.

As we approach the Day of the Christian Martyr on June 29, 2025, talking to kids about difficult topics like persecution or the life of a Christian martyr isn't easy—but it's important. In this episode, Kerry sits down with homeschool curriculum author Bonnie Rose Hudson to discuss how to introduce these powerful stories to children in a way that honors truth, age-appropriateness, and their emotional makeup.From personal stories to practical examples, you'll discover ways to guide your kids in understanding faith under fire. Bonnie also shares encouragement for parents and non-parents alike who want to support the global Church and disciple the next generation with bold, faith-filled examples.In this episode, you'll learn:✅How to gauge what details kids can emotionally handle✅Tips for weaving Christian martyr stories into Bible, history, or reading lessons✅Where to find trustworthy, age-appropriate resources✅What to say when your kids ask "Why would God allow this?"✅Encouragement for moms and dads who want their kids to live boldly for Christ✅Special insights on observing the Day of the Christian Martyr with your family

All "homestretch" segments from 06/`6-06/20 with Guy Benson and the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Watch on Philo! - Philo.tv/DTHThe movie kicks off with a dude named Jack Cooper being very proud of whatever he just wrote on his computer. He gets home and sees his daughter, Grace looking at a dating app with her aunt Carrie. When she leaves the room, we find out that this is the first Christmas since Jack's wife died and he's concerned about Carrie. To cheer her up, he takes her to get a picture with Santa despite her not wanting to. When she gets on Santa's lap, she asks Santa to get dad a girlfriend despite the fact that he's currently dating a women named Veronica that she does not like. We then meet Jessica who runs a cafe that needs to come up with $25,000 in 5 days or they're gonna lose it. Jack and Grace are gonna go spend Christmas with Grace's grandparents and she's mad to find out that while Jack is there, he's gonna be doing a little bit of work. There's a cafe that he's supposed to be looking into potentially buying out for his job. When he shows up, we find out that it's Jessica's cafe. And he's sad because it's an institution and he also just met Jessica and they really hit it off. Grace picks up on this and decides that Jessica would be a better fit for her dad than Veronica would be. So she goes to meet with Jessica and gives her the pitch. When Jack finds out what she did, he goes to talk to her and they have one of the more awkward conversations of all time. They end up going to the local bar together and there's karaoke. They bond over their past with music and they take turns singing. He even sings an original that he's working on and she touches his hand. Things are heating up. But keep in mind, he secretly is supposed to be making an offer on her cafe. Instead, he comes up with a plan for her to have a fundraiser concert to help save the cafe. She agrees to give it a shot and Grace is going to drum for her. After their first practice, Jessica and Jack are talking and they almost kiss but he stops her and is like I have a girlfriend and there's also another reason. Before he can expand on that though, they find out that grandpa has collapsed. He's ok though.The event goes as planned and it goes really well until Veronica shows up and yells at Jack about how he's a liar. Jessica overhears all of this and gets mad and leaves.To make matters worse, Grace also finds out that her dad is a liar. But then Grace admits she didn't tell the whole truth either - I didn't promise mom I'd help you be happy, I promised to help you fall in love again.They decide they are going to invest in the cafe. He goes to talk to Jessica. She accepts. And they kiss!Cut to a year later, they are crushing things, there's a second annual concert, and those two love birds are kissing. 

FBI Releases Secret Docs Exposing Mass Voter Fraud, Article by John Zmirak. Trump- Don't Let the Rioters Win and Gold Has Entered 3rd & FINAL Phase: Why $10,000 oz Could Be Coming.   FBI Releases Secret Docs Exposing Mass Voter Fraud John Zmirak. Trump Learned the Bitter Lesson of 2020: Don't Let the Rioters Win Gold Has Entered 3rd & FINAL Phase: Why $10,000 oz Could Be Coming   FBI Releases Secret Docs Exposing Mass Voter Fraud to Rig 2020 Election Against Trump! FAKE Ballots Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/SfK7CHs9ABw?si=39TbBb7dcAc39zo4 Benny Johnson 4.77M subscribers 158,699 views Jun 17, 2025 This story is INSANE! BECOME A MEMBER:    / @bennyjohnson   FOLLOW OUR NEW CHANNELS: Benny On The Block:    / @bennyontheblock   Benny's Brews:    / @bennysbrews   FOLLOW BENNY ON SOCIALS: https://www.bennyjohnson.com/follow CHECK OUT OUR MERCH: https://shop.bennyjohnson.com/ Sign up for The Benny Newsletter: https://www.bennyjohnson.com/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST https://www.bennyjohnson.com/thebenny...   Gold Has Entered 3rd & FINAL Phase: Why $10,000 oz Could Be Coming | Mike Maloney Join Mike Maloney, best-selling author and seasoned gold investor, as he unveils the third and final stage of gold's monumental bull market. In this eye-opening presentation, Mike draws compelling parallels between today's gold surge and the infamous 1970s gold rush — when prices soared 25x in just months. Discover why gold and silver are “Giffen goods” — assets that gain demand as prices rise — and how global fear, greed, and economic instability could ignite the Great Gold & Silver Rush of the 21st Century. Backed by 20+ years of research, historic data, and insider insights, this video reveals: Why institutional and media attention signals a coming stampede How modern markets are primed for a price explosion Why gold could surpass $3,000... $5,000... even $10,000 per ounce If you think gold's best days are behind it, think again. Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/dxr_9zdGmZA?si=E_kn2PyAHqR7-E04 GoldSilver 824K subscribers 58,592 views Jun 17, 2025 Get Mike Maloney's 1st book for free here: http://www.GoldSilver.com/freebook ----------------------------------------------------------------- GoldSilver is one of the most trusted names in precious metals. Since 2005, we've provided investors with both education and world-class bullion dealer services. We offer a wide selection of bullion products, private vault storage, global shipping, and easy payment choices. Buy Precious Metals at: https://www.goldsilver.com Get Free content from Mike's new book here: http://www.ggsr21.com Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/goldsilver?... Get Essential Gold & Silver News—Delivered Twice a Week: https://goldsilver.com/join-our-newsl... Follow Mike on Twitter:   / goldsilver_com   Follow us on Facebook:   / goldsilverdotcom   Check out our sister channel Wealthion @Wealthion featuring regular guests such as Jim Rickards, Rick Rule, Stephanie Pomboy, Lance Roberts, John Hathaway, Alisdair McLeod, Simon Hunt, John Rubino, Jim Rogers, Marc Faber and more. As always, thank you for your support. M.   Article by John Zmirak: John Zmirak. Trump Learned the Bitter Lesson of 2020: Don't Let the Rioters Win Find the article at- https://stream.org/trump-learned-the-bitter-lesson-of-2020-dont-let-the-rioters-win/   Trump Learned the Bitter Lesson of 2020: Don't Let the Rioters Win By John Zmirak Published on June 12, 2025 As gangs of illegal aliens and radical activists attack ICE officers and now local police in the streets of Los Angeles, I'm reminded of the race riots of 2020, and the mistakes most of us made while they were happening. In case you've blotted those ugly memories from your mind, let's review what happened in the aftermath of the botched arrest of career criminal George Floyd:   The police officers involved were immediately pulled from duty, then quickly arrested and charged. The System was working. There was literally nothing to riot about, except the vague and tendentious claim that “systemic racism” was killing black Americans. The Marxist group Black Lives Matter used Floyd's accidental death as a bloody shirt to wave around, demanding (and getting) hundreds of millions of dollars from large corporations to spend however it wished (for instance, on fancy homes and salaries). Conservative pundits and churches adopted that organization's mantra and offered uncritical support — desperate to establish their “antiracist” bona fides and protect their reputations. A series of coordinated “protests” erupted across the country, demanding that governments defund the police. Over and over, these protests turned violent, devolving into riots that saw the looting of neighborhoods poor and rich alike. Our media gaslit us with reports that these events were “mostly peaceful,” even as fires lit by arsonists raged on camera in the background. In blue states like Minnesota and California, Democrat governors who were savagely enforcing COVID lockdowns allowed the rioters to run free — pulling police from the scene and refusing to use their National Guards to protect citizens and their property. This was the starkest example of anarcho-tyranny in U.S. history … until the January 6 fedsurrection, that is. People who sneered when black entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Herman Cain died of COVID after attending a Trump campaign event and insisted that in-person voting was too dangerous to be allowed defended the riots publicly from the charge that they were “superspreader events.” Their excuse? “Racism is a threat to public health.” Trump did not federalize the National Guard in those rogue states to impose law and order. Like many of his supporters, and likely the advisors who convinced him to remain inert, I reasoned, “Let the blue cities burn. We'll make sure the federal government doesn't pay to rebuild them. The Left is trying to trap Trump into overreacting by using force in the hope that civilians will suffer and he will look like the dictator they've been calling him since Election Night 2016.” I now realize Step 6 was a huge mistake, as I'm sure Trump and his team had the chance to reflect on during the four years of lawfare and chaos they all endured under The Secret Committee Formerly Known As Joe Biden.   Now, we need to analyze why this is true so we can give full-throated support to restoring the rule of law today.   Abandoning Territory to Marxist Gangs Is Wrong Donald Trump is president of the entire United States, and he works for every American. That includes law-abiding citizens in blue states and cities who might not support mayors and governors committed to flouting U.S. laws on immigration, citizenship, and public order. Trump represents the harried, hunted police who work in Los Angeles and the taxpayers forced to fund the health care, education, and even transgender treatments of millions of illegal aliens the Biden regime let in.   We're supposed to love our neighbor. At minimum that includes our fellow Americans — even those deluded enough to believe that we owe citizenship and welfare payments to foreigners who broke into our national home. Just as we shouldn't hand out free heroin to addicts and shrug at the thought that they might OD, we shouldn't hand anarchy to Californians and Minnesotans, even if it's what they say they want. “Stinks to be you” isn't a New Testament maxim.   When Moderation Looks Like Weakness, It Is Weakness Letting blue cities burn or sink in their own squalor sounds tempting. However, it's not just a crime: it's a blunder, as political philosopher Yoram Hazony points out.   The spectacle of U.S. cities roiling with chaos, falling into the hands of Leftist mobs waving foreign flags, makes America look weak and vulnerable in the eyes of its foreign enemies. Furthermore, it makes any president who presides over it seem like a wounded, crippled giant. That was true in 2020, and it's even truer today — when the riots are aimed not at some nebulous, made-up bogeyman like “systemic racism” or “whiteness,” but directly at the law enforcement policies that got Trump elected and are, rightly, very popular: mass repatriation of blatantly illegal aliens.   These riots are aimed at Trump as a leader and his voters as citizens. They are armed, organized efforts to deprive the U.S. government of its legitimate monopoly on violence in large swathes of its territory. If Trump isn't willing to take every legal, constitutional measure to crush them and punish the perpetrators, he might as well resign right now and flee with his family into exile like the former Shah of Iran. Of course, that would leave all of us under a revolutionary tyranny every bit as ugly as Iran's.   Mobs Follow the Strong and Scorn the Weak It's a sad fact of fallen human nature: A high percentage of people don't join causes or adopt opinions because of rational argumentation, or even moral sentiments. People flock to the strong and steadfast, and naturally feel contempt for those who lack the courage of their convictions.   One of the main reasons that George Washington became first a national hero, then our leader in the fight for independence, was his obvious personal fearlessness. Bullets whizzed past him, shot through his hat and even his coat, and he was unperturbed. By contrast, the rival General Horatio Gates who sought to replace Washington at the head of the Continental Army disgraced himself by fleeing a 1780 military defeat at Camden, S.C., leaving his beaten troops behind. Trump can't afford to do the same today.   Please Support The Stream: Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day. Even thugs who stand for evil ideas can gather a following for their bravery. In their case, it's the gumption of bullies, and attracts other would-be bullies. But that's how warlords have triumphed all too often for millennia.   The thugs of illegal alien mobs, backed by the bullies in power in cities like Los Angeles, are counting on decent people to hide in their homes and on Trump to hide in the White House. We cannot let these lawless, unpatriotic, un-American mobs raise foreign flags over our cities. There's a word for that: It's “surrender.”   We didn't vote for a white flag, but for the man who stood tall while bleeding and shouted, “Fight, fight, fight!” -----------------------------------------------------------------------     John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or coauthor of 14 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. His newest book is No Second Amendment, No First.   --------------------------------------------------------------------  Check out our ACU Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ACUPodcast   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Also Rate us on any platform you follow us on. It helps a lot. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites ACU on Twitter- https://twitter.com/AmerConU . Warning- Explicit and Violent video content.   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com   Endorsed Charities -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Born! Saving babies and Souls. https://preborn.org/ OUR MISSION To glorify Jesus Christ by leading and equipping pregnancy clinics to save more babies and souls. WHAT WE DO Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. We are designed to strategically impact the abortion industry through the following initiatives:… -------------------------------------------------------- Help CSI Stamp Out Slavery In Sudan Join us in our effort to free over 350 slaves. Listeners to the Eric Metaxas Show will remember our annual effort to free Christians who have been enslaved for simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, join us in giving new life to brothers and sisters in Sudan who have enslaved as a result of their faith. https://csi-usa.org/metaxas   https://csi-usa.org/slavery/   Typical Aid for the Enslaved A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food A dairy goat A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks. Release celebrations include prayer and gathering for a meal, and medical care for those in need. The CSI team provides comfort, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on while they tell their stories and begin their new lives. Thank you for your compassion  Giving the Gift of Freedom and Hope to the Enslaved South Sudanese -------------------------------------------------------- Food For the Poor https://foodforthepoor.org/ Help us serve the poorest of the poor Food For The Poor began in 1982 in Jamaica. Today, our interdenominational Christian ministry serves the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Thanks to our faithful donors, we are able to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions and much more. We are proud to have fed millions of people and provided more than 15.7 billion dollars in aid. Our faith inspires us to be an organization built on compassion, and motivated by love. Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless.   Report on Food For the Poor by Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/592174510   -------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer from ACU. We try to bring to our students and alumni the World's best Conservative thinkers. All views expressed belong solely to the author and not necessarily to ACU. In all issues and relations, we hope to follow the admonitions of Jesus Christ. While striving to expose, warn and contend with evil, we extend the love of God to all of his children. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

JLR wears his short shorts and Charlie almost poops his. Two tears in a bucket, hot dogs, and haircuts. Woman goes on social media to shame Delta flight attendants for how they treated her while she was trying to soothe her baby. Who do you know that is an illustrator? Woman attacks passenger on a plane for being overweight. A couple Hollywood memorabilia items are up for auction that Charlie and Snitzer might be interested in. Duji claims Home Alone is her favorite Christmas movie. Charlie was paid for something he didn't do. Jim Norton joins the show. He talks about his dopamine addiction, what changed after he got married, his career path, and how he met his wife. The summer of Jeffrey continues with S'mores and Whores.

Woman attacks passenger on a plane for being overweight. A couple Hollywood memorabilia items are up for auction that Charlie and Snitzer might be interested in. Duji claims Home Alone is her favorite Christmas movie.

Woman attacks passenger on a plane for being overweight. A couple Hollywood memorabilia items are up for auction that Charlie and Snitzer might be interested in. Duji claims Home Alone is her favorite Christmas movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JLR wears his short shorts and Charlie almost poops his. Two tears in a bucket, hot dogs, and haircuts. Woman goes on social media to shame Delta flight attendants for how they treated her while she was trying to soothe her baby. Who do you know that is an illustrator? Woman attacks passenger on a plane for being overweight. A couple Hollywood memorabilia items are up for auction that Charlie and Snitzer might be interested in. Duji claims Home Alone is her favorite Christmas movie. Charlie was paid for something he didn't do. Jim Norton joins the show. He talks about his dopamine addiction, what changed after he got married, his career path, and how he met his wife. The summer of Jeffrey continues with S'mores and Whores. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 7, 1958, the Martin family of Portland, Oregon—Kenneth, Barbara, and their three daughters—set off for a Sunday drive to gather Christmas greenery. They were never seen alive again. What began as a cheerful holiday tradition ended in one of the most baffling disappearances in Oregon history. Was it a tragic accident on the winding roads of the Columbia River Gorge? Or was something far more sinister at play—something involving suspicious sightings, ex-convicts, and a stolen gun? Decades later, new discoveries raise even more questions. What really happened to the Martins—and why did the river keep their secrets for so long?For additional information about this case, make sure to read J.B. Fisher's book Echo of Distant Water, available HERE.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

A caller said he still uses ‘the clapper' today, for indoor Christmas lights. We then talked about blue blockers sunglasses and the rapping commercial.

Following on from World Book Date, Katie Redford picks up the story of Fran and Joe, two teachers who shared a kiss the night before the Nativity play in the first Fran and Joe Afternoon Drama, Christmas Wings. There is unfinished business between the two of them and the end of the Summer term is fast approaching but what will happen next. It's the Summer Fete and Fran and Joe are on the ice lolly stall, apt as there is a distinct chill in the air between the two.Fran ..... Fiona Button Joe ..... Nikesh Patel Miss Pear ..... Joanna Monro Amber ..... Lena RaymenDirected by Tracey NealeChristmas Wings, a drama set in the wings of a primary school Nativity play, told the story of two teachers, Fran and Joe, who have a heart to heart after exchanging a stolen kiss at the Christmas party the night before. It left the listeners rooting for Joe and Fran and they wanted to know what happened next.We join Fran and Joe once more at another favourite annual event within the school calendar - the St Barnard's School Summer Fete. When we left them at the end of the second drama, World Book Date, they were still dressed as Princess Elsa from Frozen and The Toad of Toad Hall but their relationship had floundered through various bumps and misunderstandings but here they are three months later finding themselves together on the ice lolly stall with Miss Pear taking charge as the Head of Events. There are more warm, funny and poignant stories about love, loneliness and loss. Will Miss Pear leave school on time and will Fran and Joe kiss and make up?The Writer: Katie is a writer and actor from Nottingham. She is a BAFTA Rocliffe TV Comedy winner and writes for TV and Theatre. In addition to Christmas Wings and World Book Date her previous audio work was Yellow Lips for which she was nominated for the Richard Imison Best New Writer in the Audio Drama Awards.The Cast: Nikesh Patel, The Devil's Hour, Starstruck and The Critic. Fiona Button, Trying, Out of her Mind and The Split. Joanna Monro, Rosie in Mamma Mia (West End & International Tour) and the award winning audio drama series Home Front.Production Team: Producer & Director, Tracey Neale Production Co-Ordinator, Ben Hollands Technical Production, Keith Graham & Neva Missirian

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 369The Saint of the day is Saint Paulinus of NolaSaint Paulinus of Nola's Story Anyone who is praised in the letters of six or seven saints undoubtedly must be of extraordinary character. Such a person was Paulinus of Nola, correspondent and friend of Saints Augustine, Jerome, Melania, Martin, Gregory and Ambrose. Born near Bordeaux, he was the son of the Roman prefect of Gaul, who had extensive property in both Gaul and Italy. Paulinus became a distinguished lawyer, holding several public offices in the Roman Empire. With his Spanish wife, Therasia, he retired at an early age to a life of cultured leisure. The two were baptized by the saintly bishop of Bordeaux and moved to Therasia's estate in Spain. After many childless years, they had a son who died a week after birth. This occasioned their beginning a life of great austerity and charity, giving away most of their Spanish property. Possibly as a result of this great example, Paulinus was rather unexpectedly ordained a priest at Christmas by the bishop of Barcelona. He and his wife then moved to Nola, near Naples. He had a great love for Saint Felix of Nola, and spent much effort in promoting devotion to this saint. Paulinus gave away most of his remaining property—to the consternation of his relatives—and continued his work for the poor. Supporting a host of debtors, the homeless and other needy people, he lived a monastic life in another part of his home. By popular demand he was made bishop of Nola and guided that diocese for 21 years. Paulinus' last years were saddened by the invasion of the Huns. Among his few writings is the earliest extant Christian wedding song. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 22. Reflection Many of us are tempted to “retire” early in life, after an initial burst of energy. Devotion to Christ and his work is waiting to be done all around us. Paulinus' life had scarcely begun when he thought it was over, as he took his ease on that estate in Spain. “Man proposes, but God disposes.” Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Dustin Nemos runs www.nemosnewsnetwork.comLow Value Mail is a live call-in show with some of the most interesting guests the internet has to offer.Every Monday night at 9pm ETSupport The Show:

From a broken leg on Christmas to headlining comedy clubs in LA, comedian Sean Corner shares his wild journey of persistence and determination. Watch as he opens up about leaving his engineering career, surviving on a friend's couch, and building his name in the competitive LA comedy scene. Experience the raw honesty as Sean reveals how a drunken Naruto-inspired kick led to a broken leg that delayed - but couldn't stop - his dreams. Through hustle, heart, and humor, he transformed from performing at strip club basements to producing shows with some of comedy's biggest names.Sean gets real about the grind of being an up-and-coming comedian, from hosting open mics to building valuable connections. His story proves that sometimes life's biggest setbacks can lead to the greatest comebacks. Whether you're a comedy fan or someone chasing their dreams, this conversation will inspire you to keep pushing forward, no matter what obstacles come your way.Featuring candid stories about breaking into the LA comedy scene, learning tough lessons, and finding success on your own terms. Watch how determination, talent, and a broken leg changed everything for this rising comedy star.#affiliatemarketing #emailmarketing #leadgeneration #howtomakemoneyonline #growemaillist#standupcomedy #funnyvideo #chocolatesundaescomedy #comedyclub #comedyCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:40 - Sean Conner04:50 - Getting into Comedy Journey09:33 - Comedy Career Beginnings17:06 - What's In This Drink17:40 - Diddy Parties Experience19:36 - Episode Differences: 1 vs 1 Million Downloads23:15 - Problems You Asked For Discussion25:05 - Moving to LA Insights31:15 - Breaking His Leg: Life Changes39:40 - Kenan Thompson Presents Opportunity Impact40:40 - Taking Small Bites vs Big Chunks43:10 - Banned from the Comedy Chateau Incident45:30 - Accidental Chaos Comedy Club Story47:20 - Reaction to Homie's Accident49:00 - First Show After Homie's Passing53:15 - TV Character Identification59:20 - Jimmy Kimmel Residency Journey1:02:40 - The Black House Residency Experience1:06:00 - Wild Party Story with Theo Von1:10:55 - Outro1:13:17 - Toast1:14:10 - Post-InterviewSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/bar-talk-at-open-bar-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

John Wilson onSir Godfrey “Geoff” Palmer, the scientist whose discovery of a new brewing method revolutionized the industry and saved them millions of poundsBarbara Holdridge, the entrepreneur who co-founded a new record label that paved the way for the audiobook industry Kim Woodburn, the reality TV Star who made gained popular recognition through the TV show How Clean Is Your House?Sly Stone the American genre-bending musician who fronted the band Sly and the Family Stone. Interviewee: Catherine Bisset Catrina Rose Matthew Rubery Arlene HirschkowitzProducer: Ribika MoktanDetails of help and support with pregnancy related issues are available at BBC Action Line. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1KhLYgXHRxyw67mkGRRXQ3R/information-and-support-pregnancy-related-issuesArchive used: Scientific, BBC Radio 4, 04/08/2015; Sunday Morning with Cathy Macdonald; Writers and Company, CBC, 24/11/2002; Child's Christmas in Wales, read by Dylan Thomas, Caedmon Audio, 02/1952 https://soundcloud.com/harperaudiopresents/childschristmasinwales ; The Connor Phillips Show, BBC Radio Ulster, 26/04/2024; How Clean is Your House?, S1 E1, Channel Four Television Corporation, dir Simon Bisset, series producer Steph Harris, A Talkbalk production, 2003; I'm a Celebrity Get me out of here 2009, YouTube Upload, 12/02/2015; An excerpt from Sly on the air at KSOL, courtesy of Arlene Hirschkowitz

True grit? Not the movie or book, but a real live individual. I met Laura Bratton about a month ago and realized that she was a very unique individual. Laura was referred to me by a gentleman who is helping both Laura and me find speaking venue leads through his company. Laura is just ramping up her public speaking career and our mutual colleague, Sam Richter, thought I could be of help. Little did I know at the outset that not only would I gain an excellent podcast guest, but that I would find someone whose life parallelled mine in many ways.   Laura Bratton began losing her eyesight at the age of nine years. Like me, she was one of the lucky ones who had parents who made the choice to encourage their daughter and help her live her life to the fullest. And live it she does. Laura attended public school in South Carolina and then went to Arizona State University to secure her bachelor's degree in Psychology. Why ASU? Wait until you hear Laura tell that story.   After securing her degree in Psychology she moved to the Princeton School of Divinity where she secured a Master's degree in Divinity. She followed up her Master's work by serving in a chaplaincy program in Ohio for a year.   Then, if all that wasn't enough, she became a pastor in the United Methodist Church and took a position in South Carolina. She still works part time as a pastor, but she also has taken some other exciting and positive life turns. As I mentioned earlier, she is now working to build a public speaking career. She also does one-on-one coaching. In 2016 she wrote her first book.   Laura shares many poignant and relevant life lessons she has learned over the years. We talk about courage, gratitude and grit. I asked her to define grit which she does. A very interesting and good definition indeed.   I often get the opportunity to have guests on this podcast who share life and other lessons with all of us. To me, Laura's insights are as relevant as any I have encountered. I hope you will feel the same after listening to our conversation. Please let me know what you think. You can email me at michaelhi@accessibe.com.       About the Guest:   At the age of nine, Laura was diagnosed with an eye disease and faced the difficult reality that she would become blind. Over the next ten years she experienced the traumatic transition of adjusting to life without sight.  Laura adjusted to her new normal and was able to move forward in life as she graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in psychology. She then was the first blind student to receive her Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.  She is the author of the book, Harnessing Courage. Laura founded Ubi Global, which is an organization that provides speaking and coaching to empower all people to overcome challenges and obstacles with grit and gratitude. Ways to connect with Dr. Laura:   Link for LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/laura-bratton-speaking   Website https://www.laurabratton.com/   Link for coaching page on website https://www.laurabratton.com/coaching  Link for book on website https://www.laurabratton.com/book   Link for speaking page on website https://www.laurabratton.com/speaking   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Well and a gracious hello to you, wherever you happen to be on our planet today, I am your host, Michael Hinkson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and we sort of get to tie several of those together today, because my guest, Laura Bratton happens to be blind, so that brings inclusion into it, and we could talk about diversity all day. The experts really tend to make that a challenge, but we can talk about it ourselves, but Laura is blind, and she's going to tell us about that, and I don't know what else, because that's the unexpected part of this, but we're going to have ourselves a lot of fun for the next hour. She knows that the only rule of the podcast is you got to have fun, and you can't do better than that. So Laura, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here.   Laura Bratton ** 02:12 Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm excited.   Michael Hingson ** 02:15 Well, this will be some fun, I'm sure, which is, of course, what it's all about. Well, why don't we start by you telling us kind of about the early Laura, growing up and all that, and anything about that that you think we ought to know that'll help us as we go forward.   Laura Bratton ** 02:31 So the early Laura was,   Michael Hingson ** 02:34 you know, that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But yeah,   Laura Bratton ** 02:38 was was fearless. Was involved in so many different activities, and I didn't have any health concerns or vision problems. And then around the age of nine, after the summer, after my second grade school year, my parents started noticing she's just holding books a little bit closer. She's just sitting a little bit closer to the TV than normal, than usually. So my they decided we'll just make a regular pediatric ophthalmology appointment, take her to the doctor, get the doctor to check her out. You know, if you need glasses, that's fine, and we'll just move on with our our summer and prepare for a new school year. So that June, when I had that doctor's appointment, my eyes were dilated. I'd read the the letters on the chart in the room. The doctors had looked in my eyes, and then the doctor just rolled back in his chair and looked at my mom and said, there's a major problem going on, and we need to address this, and I'm going to send you to a retina specialist. There's something major going on with her retinas. So from that appointment that started the rest of the summer and into the fall of just having doctors, different doctors appointments, meeting with specialists, trying to figure out why this 910, year old was all of a sudden having vision problems.   Michael Hingson ** 04:20 So yeah, go ahead that,   Laura Bratton ** 04:22 yeah. So that started the whole vision loss journey,   Michael Hingson ** 04:27 and what was the diagnosis that they finally came up with?   Laura Bratton ** 04:31 So they finally came up with a diagnosis of rare retinal onset disease. So it's not genetic. It wasn't like another accident, physical accident that calls the blindness. It's most similar to macular. So what I was losing first was my central vision. I still had all my peripheral vision, so it's very similar to macular, but not. Not quite macular or star guards. What's happens in children? So that's the diagnosis, just rare retinal disease.   Michael Hingson ** 05:11 Interesting, and they they didn't have any idea that what caused it. Do they have any better idea today? Or is it just so rare that they don't tend to pay a whole lot of attention. Great   Laura Bratton ** 05:23 question, yes and yes. So I've done a lot of genetic testing over the years, and the gene has not been discovered. That is obviously what they are predicting, is that there had to be some kind of gene mutation. But that gene hasn't been discovered. So far, the genes that are identified with vision problems, those have not been the problem for me so far. So the gene, Gene hasn't been discovered. So testing continues, but not exactly sure yet.   Michael Hingson ** 05:59 Yeah. So do you have any eyesight left, or is it all gone?   Laura Bratton ** 06:04 I don't, so to continue kind of that process of of the the early childhood. So I was diagnosed around nine, but I didn't lose any major vision until I was in middle school. So the end of middle school is when I started to lose a significant part of sight. So I went from very quickly from roller print, large print, to braille, and that was a very quick transition. So basically it was normal print to learning Braille and using Braille and textbooks and Braille and audio books and all that. Then through high school, I will throw more a significant amount of vision. So what I have currently is just very limited light perception, no, what I consider no usable vision, just light perception,   Michael Hingson ** 06:55 so you learn braille. So you learn braille in middle school. Then, yes, okay, absolutely. What did you think about that? Because that was certainly a life change for you. How did you deal with all of that?   Laura Bratton ** 07:10 How did I do with the process of learning braille or the emotional process?   07:14 Both,   Laura Bratton ** 07:16 they're kind of related, so both, they're very much related. So learning Braille was incredibly difficult because I was trying to learn it at the same time. Use it with textbooks in middle school level material rather than normal development. Of you learn braille and start out, you know, with with simple books, and slowly move up. I try, you know, I had to make that adjustment from learning Braille and then algebra in Braille or Spanish and Braille. So using the Braille was very difficult, but I was because I was forced to to learn it, because I had to, just to stay in school. You didn't really have a choice. As far as the emotional perspective. My first thoughts was just the denial, oh, it's not that bad, oh, it won't be forever. Oh, it's not going to get much worse than this. Just that denial of the reality. And then I can say more, if it just kind of that whole how that whole process unfolded, that's kind of the whole emotional process. It   Michael Hingson ** 08:34 certainly was a major change for you, yes, but it sounds like by the time all was said and done, and you did have to immerse yourself, like in learning Braille and so on. So it was an immersive kind of thing. You, You did come through it, and you, you seem to be functioning pretty well today, I would gather   Laura Bratton ** 08:55 Yes, because of focusing on the emotional mindset piece. So once that I've sort of began to move out of denial. It was that, okay, well, I can't this is just too hard. And then what I eventually realized and accepted was, yes, it's hard and I can move forward. So just a practical example, is what you were saying about having to be fully immersed in the Braille. Yes, is really hard to jump from learning braille to knowing Braille and algebra. But also choose to move forward. As you said, I choose to immerse myself in this so that I can continue life, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 09:42 and you you have done it. Well, how? How do you view blindness today?   Laura Bratton ** 09:49 That is a great question. So today is the balance of acknowledging. Yes, they're difficult moments. Yes, their stressful moments. Moments, and I have the resources to process that. So now, rather than just being a denial or being stuck in that I can't do this, I can say, okay, yes, this is hard. Yes, I am frustrated. Yes, I am overwhelmed in this moment, but also I can move forward with the gifts and purposes that I have in this world and using that as a strength. So for me, it's that acknowledging the rap the reality, but also moving forward with that belief in myself, trust in myself.   Michael Hingson ** 10:39 So how long did you at the beginning really grieve and view all this in a negative way? Because it sounds like you've evolved from that today.   Laura Bratton ** 10:53 Absolutely. So in my experience, the so I'm going to break the grief and the negative apart, because for me, it was two different experiences. So for me in those middle school, high school days, it was more than negative, and the grief just came along with that. Now even, you know, through college and even now, yes, there are moments that I grieve, but that negativity has turned into the mindset of strength, the mindset of trust, the mindset of okay, I can continue forward Again, living out those purposes, my purpose with those gifts as a source of strength, the source of courage. It's a source of just belief in myself. So my experience now is the mindset of holding both intention, holding space for both when I have those moments that I need to grieve, absolutely, giving myself those space and then at the same time, choosing to move forward with that courage, rather than being stuck in what I was in middle school of that negativity. Does that difference? Does that make us make sense of what I'm trying to separate the two?   Michael Hingson ** 12:19 Well, yeah, they overlap, but I understand what you're saying, Where, where and how were your parents in all of this?   Laura Bratton ** 12:28 So that was the incredible gift, that that was a deep source of strength, that as that middle school child who was in that negative place of denial and I can't, I can't. That was the source of strength. So immediately, when I was diagnosed, even though I didn't have major vision loss, I was diagnosed in elementary school, they wanted to send me to school for the deaf and blind, and so my parents had to fight to keep me in regular school. Again, I wasn't experiencing major vision loss, but just having minor vision loss, the school said, Okay, you're at a public school and going to a different school. So my parents were a source of strength, because they knowledge what was happening, what was going to happen, but also held me to the same standards.   Michael Hingson ** 13:25 And there are some schools, I don't know how much today, but in the past, there were some schools for the blind, and I'm not sure about schools for the deaf and blind, but we'll put them in the same category. But there were some schools that really did have very high standards, and and did do a great job. The Perkins School was one. Tom Sullivan, the actor, went through Perkins and and I know other people who did, but in general, the standards weren't the same, and I had the same issue. I remember my parents. We were in the office of the school principal of Yucca school where I went kindergarten through third grade here in California, okay, and I remember a shouting match between my father and my mother on one side, and Mr. Thompson, the principal on the other. And by the time all was said and done, he decided that it was he was going to acquiesce, because they were not going to let me go to the school for the blind, which would have been like, 400 miles away.   Laura Bratton ** 14:38 Okay, okay, so, so you can relate to that experience.   Michael Hingson ** 14:42 I can absolutely relate to that experience, and I think that it's for kids one of the most important things to hope comes along that parents deal with blindness in a in a positive way. Yes, and don't view it as something that's going to hold you back. I. 100% Yeah, because if they do, then that creates a much more difficult situation. Yes. So it's it's great that you had some parents who really stood up for you and helped as you went   Laura Bratton ** 15:15 Yes, and I was also deeply grateful that they all they held those standards at school, and they also held those standards at home. So they didn't just say, oh, you know, our expectations are lower for you at home, you don't have any more chores. You just kind of do whatever you want, get away with whatever you want. They kept those things standards. I still had chores we just made, you know, the accommodations are adapted if we needed to adapt anything. Yeah, a story that I always, always remember, just like you talking about you vividly remember being in that principal's office. I remember one day my the specific tour was unloading the dishwasher, and I remember thinking, well, oh, I'm not really, I don't really want to unload the dishwasher today. So I just kind of thought, Oh, the blindness will get me out of the situation. So I was like, Mom, I can't unload the dishwasher. I can't see exactly where to put all the silverware in the silverware of her door. And I still, I can still see this in my mind's eye. She was standing in the doorway the kitchen and the hallway, and she just turned around and just said, Laura, unload the dishwasher, put the silverware in the drawer, and just walked away. And that told me she was still holding me to the exact standards. She wasn't saying, Oh, honey, that's okay because of your blindness. Yeah, you don't have to do it. That was such a huge teaching moment for me, because it pulled me I can't use my blindness as an excuse. That was incredible experience and I always think back on and remember,   Michael Hingson ** 17:04 yeah, and I remember growing up, there were chores I did, there were chores My brother did, and there were things that we had to do, but we had, and my brother was cited two years older than I, but okay, but we had very supportive parents for both of us. And one of the things that the doctors told my parents when they discovered that I was blind, was that I was going to take all the love that the family had, even for my older sibling. Oh, my parent and my parents said that is just not so, and they worked really hard to make sure that my brother got all the things that that he needed and all the support that he needed as well. Wow. When he was still in high school, I remember they got him a car, and I don't remember when he got it. Maybe, I don't know whether he was already a senior in high school, but he got a car. And, you know, I didn't want a car. I right. I didn't want that, but, you know, that was okay. I would have driven it around if I got one, but, you know, that's okay, but, but parents are such an important part of the process, yes, and they have to be ready to take the leap, yes, that blindness isn't the problem. It's attitudes. That's really, that tend to really be the problem, right? 100%   Laura Bratton ** 18:24 and thankfully, thankfully, I had that. I had that experience another, another example that I always think of all the time, still such a vivid memory, is as as a family. We were a big sports family, and loved to go to different sporting events, and so we would always go to high school and college football games. And as I was in those middle school, high school years, those first, early days of experiencing difficult vision loss, where obviously I'm sitting in the sands and can't see the field clearly, rather than my parents saying, Oh, you're just going to stay home. Oh, you're not going with us. To be part of this, my dad are really, literally. Remember my dad saying, Here's a radio. I just put new batteries in. Let's go. So I would just sit there and, you know, with with my family, listening to the game on the radio. And that was such a gift, because, again, they didn't say, is what you're saying about the leap. They didn't say, okay, you can do this anymore. They just figured out a way to adapt so that I was still part.   Michael Hingson ** 19:34 Yeah, I've been to a number of baseball games, and the same thing, I've never been I've been to a high school football game, but I've never been to a pro football game, and I've never been to a basketball game, and while I think it would have been fun, I'm a little bit spoiled, and I think that the announcers today aren't as good as the announcers that we used to have, like Dick Enberg doing sports out here, who did. Football chick, Hearn, who did basketball, who could talk as fast as, I mean, he was, he was he taught me how to listen fast. That's great. He he talked as fast as many times books I read talk. He was just incredible. But that's okay. But still, I've been to games, and it is a lot of fun to be able to go and listen. It's even if you're listening on the radio, the point of being at the game is just the sounds and the experience of being at the game and hearing and interacting with all the sounds, because you're not hearing that as much through the radio as you are listening to the fans as they yell, or as the Yes, as the foul balls coming at you. You know, yes 100%   Laura Bratton ** 20:50 and just to feel the energy, you know, and your team's doing well, your team's not doing well, just to feel that energy, and there's to also to be there and have that, that fun experience with your family or friends, or you know, whoever you're with, that is such a fun experience. So yes,   Michael Hingson ** 21:08 so when you went into high school, did, what did you study? Or what did you do there?   Laura Bratton ** 21:15 What were your interests? So in college, when I   Michael Hingson ** 21:18 was thinking high school, but you can do college. So   Laura Bratton ** 21:21 High School, honestly, I didn't have specific professional interests, because it was just so much focused on the blind surviving and all the surviving, just the New Black, because the blindness was literally happening during high school, right? So my only focus was just survival passing because it was all of my energy was focused on the the learning Braille and just completing the assignments. Fast forward to college. My focus was definitely. My major was psychology. My focus was on psychology. A lot because of my personal experience, because of that experience in high school, and just that that not only that desire from my personal experience, but just using that experience to then help and support others from the mindset of of again, moving through that, that negativity to that, that foundation of grit. So it was definitely focused on psychology to be able to support others from a mindset perspective.   Michael Hingson ** 22:36 So how did you bring that into play in college?   Laura Bratton ** 22:40 So that was my focus. My My major was psychology, and then I I spent that, those years in college, figuring out specifically what area of psychology I wanted to focus on, which what, what facet of psychology I wanted my focus to be so that was, that was the purpose of the like psychology and taking different classes within psychology to try to figure out where my strengths within that Major   Michael Hingson ** 23:16 and what did you discover?   Laura Bratton ** 23:20 So what I discovered was I wanted the psychology to the mindset, to support people with to be that holistic perspective of, yes, the psychology, but also the spiritual connection and just our physical well being all connected together, so supporting our healthy mindsets and emotional health was not just psychology. It was the psychology, physical taking care of ourselves and the spiritual taking care of ourselves, all connected, combined together. So that's that's what led me to doing a master of divinity to be able to focus on and learn the spiritual part   Michael Hingson ** 24:15 of the mindset. So what part of psychology Did you eventually settle on   Laura Bratton ** 24:22 the holistic approach. So rather than just focus on specifically the mindset, focusing on us as a whole, being, supporting us through that mental, physical, spiritual connection that the healing, the empowerment came through, through all of that. So in that masters, what I focus on specifically was chaplaincy, so supporting people specifically I was a hospital chaplain, so focusing on helping people within the hospital setting, when they're there for different physical reasons and. Being able to be that spiritual presence focusing on both the spiritual and the emotional.   Michael Hingson ** 25:07 And where did you do your undergraduate study?   Laura Bratton ** 25:11 So I did my undergrad at Arizona State, and I was going to say a large reason, but not just a large reason, pretty much the whole reason I chose ASU was for their disability resources. So a major focus that that they emphasize is their disability resources is not a separate part of the university, but it's completely integrated into the university. So what I mean by that example of that is being a psychology major. I still had all the same classes. I was still in all the same classes as all the other psychology students on campus. I just had the accommodations that I needed. So that would be double time all testing or note takers, if I needed note takers in a class. So they did an incredible job, like they had a whole Braille lab that would print Braille books and provide books in PDF format. So the accommodations that I needed as a person who was blind were integrated in to the whole college experience. So that was incredibly powerful for me as a person who had just become blind and didn't know what resources were available.   Michael Hingson ** 26:37 Did you have any major challenges and major issues in terms of dealing with blindness and so on, while you're at ASU,   Laura Bratton ** 26:44 not at all. I am so grateful for that, because I wasn't the only person on campus who was blind. I wasn't the first blind person. I certainly wasn't the last so because they had so much experience, it was, it was an incredible, again, empowerment for me, because on the emotional perspective, it taught me, and literally practically showed me, yes, I give me a person with a disability and be integrated into the world, because They they showed me the resources that were available. So I was deeply, deeply grateful for what they taught me. Now, where did you grow up? So I grew up in South Carolina,   Michael Hingson ** 27:31 so that is and that's why I wanted to ask that, because we hadn't mentioned that you were from South Carolina before, but that was a major undertaking. Then to go all the way across country to go to ASU, yes. On the other hand, they do have a pretty good football team.   Laura Bratton ** 27:49 Just say Right, right, right   Michael Hingson ** 27:52 now, my I went to University California, Irvine. I don't even know. I'm sure they must have some sort of a football team today, but they do have a pretty good basketball team, and I haven't heard whether they won the Big West, but I haven't Yeah, but I haven't heard that they did. So I'm afraid that that they may not have until going to march madness. Yeah, but whatever,   Laura Bratton ** 28:21 team for March Madness spell your bracket in a different way.   Michael Hingson ** 28:25 Well, they've been in the big dance before they got to the Sweet 16 once, which was pretty cool. Wow, that's impressive. Yeah, that was pretty cool. That's so cool. What did your parents think of you going across country   Laura Bratton ** 28:42 again? Just like you talked about your parents being that taking that leap, they were incredibly supportive, because they knew ASU would provide the resources that I needed. Because again, in those years as I'm losing a major part of my sight, we didn't know other people who are blind. We didn't know what resources were available. Obviously, my parents reach out to people around us, you know, to connect with people who are blind, to learn about that, but we didn't have a lot of experience with that. So what we knew, and what my parents were excited about was ASU would be a place that I can not only have that college experience, but be taught the resources. And one of the major resources was my disability coordinator, so my disability coordinator, who was in charge of of creating all my accommodations, she was also blind, and that was such a healing experience for me, because she became a mentor. She was blind since birth. She. And so obviously we had different experiences, where I was just newly blind. She had been blind, but still, she was an incredibly powerful resource and mentor of just telling me, teaching me, not just telling me through her words, but living through her actions, you still have a full life like you're you're still a few a full human like you. This life still goes on. So she just modeled that in the way that she lived. So she she was, I'm so grateful for her mentorship, because she was very real. She had minimized blindness. But also she told me and taught me and showed me there's still a full, great life ahead,   Michael Hingson ** 30:53 which is really what all of us are trying to get the world to understand. Blindness isn't the end of the world. It's not the problem   Laura Bratton ** 31:02 exactly, exactly, she literally modeled that,   Michael Hingson ** 31:06 yeah, which was pretty cool. Well, then where did you go to get your Masters of divinity?   Laura Bratton ** 31:11 So then I went to get my masters at Princeton Theological Seminary, and that was a completely different experience, because, where as you, was completely set up for people with disabilities in the master's program, they had not had someone come through their program who was blind. So in that experience, I had to advocate and be very, very clear on what my needs were, meaning what the accommodations were that I needed, and then advocate that to the administration, which that wasn't a gift, because ASU had given me the foundation of knowing what I needed, what the accommodations Were then available. And then Princeton gave me the opportunity to become my own advocate, to force me to speak up and say, These are my needs, and these are accommodations I have. With these accommodations, I can be an equal student, so I'm not asking, Hey, give me good grades because I'm blind, but make the accommodation so that I have my books and PDF so I have double time on the test. So that was just as healing and just as powerful, because it gave me the opportunity to advocate and become clear on my needs so that I could communicate those needs. So   Michael Hingson ** 32:38 this is part of Princeton in New Jersey. Yes, so you were were in Jersey for a while, huh? Yes,   Laura Bratton ** 32:45 I went from sunny weather to   Michael Hingson ** 32:50 snowy weather. Well, you had some of that in South Carolina too, though,   Laura Bratton ** 32:53 yes, true, but from undergrad, it was quite the change.   Michael Hingson ** 32:58 Ah. But the real question is, when you were in New Jersey. Did you get to meet any members of the family? You know what I'm saying, the mob, Oh yes, absolutely being bada. Boom. Come on now,   Laura Bratton ** 33:11 definitely, definitely, definitely, absolutely, absolutely, yeah, lot of local restaurants and Oh yes,   Michael Hingson ** 33:21 oh yes. When we were building our home in New Jersey, my wife was in a wheelchair her whole life, and we decided that when we went to New Jersey, because I was going to be working in the city New York, we wanted to build a house, because it's cheaper to build an accessible home for somebody in a wheelchair. My wife then it is to buy a house and modify it so we wanted to build. And it turns out that the person who financed the building, we got a mortgage and all that without any difficulty, but we had to get somebody to build the house. And the realtors had people they worked with, the financier. Part of that was from a guy, well, let's just say his main business was, he was in the garbage business, and his last name was, was Pinto. So, you know, let's just say we know where he got his money. You know,   Laura Bratton ** 34:18 yes, yes. I had several those experiences too. Yeah, the garbage business seems to be big in Jersey. It   Michael Hingson ** 34:25 is big in Jersey, but, but, you know, but they were all, they were all very nice to us good. And so it really worked out well. It did. It all worked out. We had a wonderful home. The only difference between our house and the others around us is we had to include an elevator in the house, okay? Because we couldn't have a ranch style home. There wasn't room, and so we had to have and all the other homes in the development were two story homes, okay, but we had to have an elevator. So that was essentially about a $15,000 An uplift over what the House would have cost otherwise. But right again, you build it in so it's not that huge of a deal,   Laura Bratton ** 35:06 right? That's perfect. So all your neighbors are jealous.   Michael Hingson ** 35:10 Well, they didn't have the elevator. They didn't come and ride it much. So they didn't ask for their their their bigger challenges were, who's giving the biggest party at Christmas or Halloween? So we didn't participate in that, so we weren't we weren't a problem.   35:28 That's great,   Michael Hingson ** 35:30 yeah, so you've talked about grit a couple times, so tell me about grit, because clearly that's important to you,   Laura Bratton ** 35:39 yeah? So it's so important to me, because that was a main source of empowerment. So just as I talked about that negativity in the middle school high school, what grit helped me to do is take the overwhelming future that I was so fearful, I was extremely anxious as I looked at the whole picture everything ahead of me. So the grit came in and taught me. Grit is taking it day by day, moment by moment, step by step. So rather than looking at the whole picture and getting overwhelmed, the power of grit taught me all I need to do is trust myself for this next hour. All I need to do is trust in the support that my parents are giving me this next day. So breaking it down into manageable goals was the strength of the grit. So to break it down, rather than the whole future,   Michael Hingson ** 36:49 I didn't ask, do you did you have any siblings? Do you have any siblings?   Laura Bratton ** 36:53 Yeah, so I have one older brother. Okay, so   Michael Hingson ** 36:57 how was he with you being that you were blind. Was he a good older protective brother who never let anybody near his sister?   Laura Bratton ** 37:06 He was a good older protective brother in that he did exactly what my parents did in not having different expectations. Yeah, he so he's five years older. So when I'm 14, losing a significant amount of vision, or 15, losing a certain amount of division. He, you know, was 1920 doing great in college. So a perfect example of this connects with the grit he, he taught me, and again, not in word, not so much in words, but again, in those actions of we will figure this out. We don't know the resources that are available. We don't know exactly what the future looks like, but we as a family will figure this out. Me, as your older brother, our parents being our parents, we will figure it out day by day, step by step. And I remember a lot of people would ask my parents, what's her future, and then even ask my brother, what's her future? What's she gonna do? And they would honestly answer, we don't know, but as a family, we'll figure it out, and we'll provide the strength that she needs, and that's what I mean by the grit. So it wasn't, this is her future, and they just, you know, named it for being home with us, right? But it was, I don't know, but day by day, we'll have the grit to figure it out. So I'm glad you asked about my siblings, because that's a perfect example of how that grit came into play and was such a powerful source of strength.   Michael Hingson ** 38:54 So what did you do after you got your master's degree?   Laura Bratton ** 38:58 So after I got my master's degree, I then did a residency, just like I was talking about the chaplaincy. I did a residency specifically in chaplaincy to to complete that process of being a chaplain. So in that that was a year long process, and in that process, that was an incredible experience, because, again, it taught me, you are a complete human with gifts and talents. You just happen to be blind and need specific accommodations because of the blindness. So what I mean by that is, just as ASU gave me the resources regarding blindness, and just as Princeton gave me the gift to advocate for those resources, the experience in the chaplaincy taught me when I walked into a high. Hospital room and introduced myself as the chaplain on the unit. The patient didn't know, or didn't care how long I had been blind, or how did I make it on the unit? Or how did I know they wanted chaplain? They didn't care. They were just thankful and glad that I was there to serve them and be in that Chaplain role. So it was that's why it was empowering of healing to me, because it taught me not to focus so much on the blindness, but to view myself as that whole person, especially in that professional experience, so I can give endless examples of specifically how that, how, just the patient reaction taught me so much.   Michael Hingson ** 40:49 Where did you do your chaplaincy?   Laura Bratton ** 40:52 I did it at the Clinton clinic in Ohio. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 40:56 my goodness, you did move around. Now. What got you there? Speaking of snow in the winter, yeah,   Laura Bratton ** 41:02 literally, I Yes, I can talk about that. And a lot of experiences there with snow, like effect snow is real. So they were very strong in their chaplaincy program and developing Kaplan's and also their Kaplan Z training was a focus that I wanted that holistic mind, body, spirit. It wasn't just spiritual or wasn't just psychological, it was the holistic experience of a whole person. So how wanting that to be my focus moving forward, that's where I chose to go to be able to focus on that. So again, it was such an incredible source of of healing through just through those patient interactions.   Michael Hingson ** 41:58 Well, one of the things that is clear about you is you're not bitter about any of the things that have happened, and that, in reality, you are a person who appreciates and understands the concept of gratitude.   Laura Bratton ** 42:11 Yes, yes. And specifically, let me go back to those high school days, and then I'll come back to the chaplain days, the way of the gratitude my focus started was not because I wanted gratitude, not because I chose to woke up, wake up one day and say, Oh, I'm so grateful for this blindness. But it all came through a mentor who said to me in those high school days, Laura, I want you to start writing down three things that you are grateful for each day and every day, I want you to write down three things that you're grateful for. So in my mind, my immediate reaction as a teenager, high schooler, was that's not good advice. I'm not sure you're a good mentor. I'm experiencing a major change in life, permanent life event. I don't know that there's a lot to be grateful for. So in my stubbornness, I said, Okay, I'm going to prove her wrong. So I started to think of the three things each day I was grateful for. And over the weeks that I did this, I then realized what she was teaching me, she was showing me. She wasn't asking me to be grateful for the blindness. She was asking me to recognize the gifts that the support that I had within the blindness. So, for example, the supportive parents, the older brother, who didn't make accommodations, or I mean, did make accommodations. Didn't lower expectations because of the blindness. So fast forward to the chaplaincy. I was incredibly grateful for all those patient experiences, because, again, it taught me to view myself as the whole person, not so hyper focused on the blindness. So one specific example that sticks out and was so clear to me is one day I had a patient request that one to see a chaplain, and I went in to this specific unit, and the so I walked in, my walked into the room, the patient took a look at my guide dog and me, and said, You're blind, like completely with this question or voice. And my thought was, well, I think so. I mean, that was this morning when I woke up, and so I said, Yes. And she said, Okay, then I'll, I'll share honestly with you how I'm doing and what I had learned, what I learned after my visit with her is she would not open up to the doctors, the nurses, the social workers, anyone who walked in the room. When I walked in the room and she didn't feel like she was being judged on her physical appearance, she was willing to open up and honestly share how she was feeling emotionally with her physical diagnosis. So that led that one conversation led to multiple visits where she could move forward in her healing emotionally because she was willing to open up and share and be honest with me as the chaplain. So that was an incredible situation of gratitude, because it taught me, yes, this is hard, yes, this is stressful. Yes, there are moments of being overwhelmed, and also their deep, deep moments that I am incredibly grateful for, that other people who are side sighted don't have that opportunity.   Michael Hingson ** 46:36 One of the things that I talk about and think about as life goes on, is we've talked about all the accommodations and the things that you needed to get in order to be able to function. What we and most everyone, takes for granted is it's the same for sighted people. You know, we invented the electric light bulb for sighted people. We invented windows so they can look out. Yes, we invent so many things, and we provide them so that sighted people can function right. And that's why I say, in large part, blindness isn't the problem, because the reality is, we can make accommodations. We can create and do create alternatives to what people who can see right choose, and that's important for, I think, everyone to learn. So what did you do after your year of chaplaincy?   Laura Bratton ** 47:39 So after my year of chaplaincy, after that incredible experience of just offering the patient care, I completed the part of the well after assorted in the master's program. But then after that, also completed my ordination in the Methodist Church. So I was appointed. I went to the process the ordination process, and then I was appointed to a local church back here in South Carolina. And again, with my focus on chaplaincy, my focus on patient care, I was appointed to that church for because what they needed most in the pastor the leader, was that emphasis on the pastoral care the mind, body, spirit connection. So as I became pastor, I was able to continue that role of what I was doing in the Kaplan see, of using both my professional experience as well as my personal experience of providing spiritual care to the members. So that was an incredible way. And again, that gratitude, it just I was so grateful that I could use those gifts of pastoral care, of chaplaincy to benefit others, to be a strength to others. Again, is that that whole person that that we   Michael Hingson ** 49:13 are now? Are you still doing that today? Or what are you doing   Laura Bratton ** 49:16 now? So I'm still I'm still there part time, okay,   Michael Hingson ** 49:21 and when you're not there, what are you doing?   Laura Bratton ** 49:23 I'm doing professional speaking, and it's all centered around my passion for that again, came when I was at Princeton, when I was doing the focus on chaplaincy, I became so passionate about the speaking to share my personal experience of the change I experienced, and also to empower others as they experience change, so not to be stuck in that. Negativity like we talked about in those middle school, high school days, but rather that everybody, regardless of the situation, could experience change, acknowledge it, and move forward with that balance of grit and gratitude. So that's my deep passion for and the reason for the speaking is to share that grit gratitude, as we all experience change.   Michael Hingson ** 50:26 So what made you decide to begin to do public speaking that what? What was the sort of the moment or the the inspiration that brought that about,   Laura Bratton ** 50:40 just that deep desire to share the resource that I'd experienced. So as I received so much support from family and community, is I had received that support of learning how to use the grit in the change, and then as I received the sport support of how to use the gratitude in the change, the reason for this, speaking and what made me so passionate, was to be able to empower others to also use this resource. So I didn't just want to say, okay, it worked for me, and so I'll just keep this to myself, but rather to use that as a source and empowerment and say, Hey, this has been really, really difficult, and here's how I can use the difficulty to empower others to support others.   Michael Hingson ** 51:31 So how's that working for you?   Laura Bratton ** 51:34 Great. I love, love, love supporting others as they go through that change. Because again, it comes back to the blindness. Is not not all we focus on, it's not all we think about, it's not all we talk about, it's not all we do, but being able to use that as a shrink to empower others. So just speaking to different organizations as they're going through change, and working with them speaking on that. How can they specifically apply the grit, the gratitude? How does that? What does that look like, practically, in their organization, in their situation? So I love it, because it takes the most difficult thing that I've been through, and turns it around to empower others.   Michael Hingson ** 52:24 What do you think about the concept that so many people talk about regarding public speaking, that, Oh, I couldn't be a public speaker. I don't want to be up in front of people. I'm afraid of it, and it's one of the top fears that we constantly hear people in society have that is being a public speaker. What do you think about that?   Laura Bratton ** 52:47 So two, two perspectives have helped me to process that fault, because you're right. People literally say that to me every day. How do you do that? I could never do that. I hear that every single day, all day, and what I've learned is when I focus on, yes, maybe it is the large audience, but focusing on I'm speaking to each person individually, and I'm speaking. I'm not just speaking to them, but I was speaking to serve them, to help again, that empowerment, to provide empowerment. So what I think about that is I don't focus on, oh my gosh. What are they going to think of me? I'm scared up here. Rather to have that mindset of, I'm here to share my life experiences so that they can be served and empowered to continue forward. So just shifting the mindset from fear to support fear to strength, that's that's how I view that concept of I could never do that, or that's my worst fear.   Michael Hingson ** 54:01 So a lot of people would say it takes a lot of courage to do what you do, what? How do you define courageous or being courageous?   Laura Bratton ** 54:08 Great question. That's a working, work in progress. So far, what I've learned over the years and again, this is a process. Not there wasn't just one moment where I said, Okay, now I'm courageous, and I'm courageous forever, or this is the moment that made me courageous, but how I understand it and how I process it now is for me and my experience courage is accepting and acknowledging the reality and then choosing to move forward with the grit, choosing to move forward with the gratitude. So holding both intention, both can be true, both I can acknowledge. Okay, this is difficult. Cult, and also I can also believe and know. I can have the grit moment by moment by moment. I can have the gratitude moment by moment by moment. So for me, courage is holding both intention the reality and what I mean by both is the reality of the blindness and reality of the frustration of people's faults, judgments. You know all that you can't do this. How can you do that without sight holding all of that at the same time as I have the support I need to move forward? So for me, Courage looks like acknowledging why I'm overwhelmed and then choosing at that same time to move forward with the support that I have. Mm, hmm. So again, that's what I mean by it's not just like one moment that, oh yeah, I'm gonna be courageous now forever, there's certainly a moment so I don't feel courageous, and that's okay. That's part of garbage. Just acknowledging that frustration and also choosing to move forward. So it's doing both it at the same time.   Michael Hingson ** 56:10 We live in a world today where there is a lot of change going on, yes, and some for the good, some not for the good, and and all sorts of things. Actually, I was reading an article this morning about Michael Connolly, the mystery writer who, for four decades, has written mystery books. He's lived in Los Angeles. He had a wonderful house, and everything changed when the fires hit and he lost his home and all that. But he continues to to move forward. But what advice would you give? What kinds of things do you say to people who are undergoing change or experiencing change?   Laura Bratton ** 56:52 I'm so glad you asked that, because I I didn't mention this in the grit so much of the grit that I experienced. So the advice I would give, or practically, what I do with someone that just what I did right before our we connected, was being being that grit for someone going through change. So in that, for example, in that speaking when I'm speaking to a group about the change they're experiencing, acknowledging, for them to acknowledge, let me be your grit. You might be overwhelmed. You might be incredibly fearful and overwhelmed by the future, by the task in front of you. So let me be the example of grit to to show you that there is support, there is courage, there is that foundation to be able to move forward. So that's my first advice, is just allowing others to be your grit when you don't feel like you had it, because, again, in those high school days and and even now days when I don't feel like I have any grit, any courage, and yet, I'll lean on the courage, the strength, the grit, of those around me so once they acknowledge and allow me to be their grit, and they their support through that change, then allowing them to slowly have that grit for themselves, and again reminding them, it's not an instant process. It's not an instant do these three steps and you'll have grit forever. But it's a continual process of grit and gratitude that leads us through the change, through the difficulty.   Michael Hingson ** 58:46 Have you used the technique that that person that you talked about earlier in high school used when she asked you to write down every day three things that you were grateful for?   Laura Bratton ** 58:56 Yes, absolutely, and the the funny part of that, what that makes me laugh is a lot of people have the exact same reaction I had when I present it to them. They immediately say, I'm not going to do that. That's no Why would I do that? They immediately think that is a horrible piece of advice. And how can I recommend? And I just, I don't say, Oh, well, just try it anyway. I just say, Well, okay, just try it and see. Just, just prove me wrong. And just like my experience, they try it and then a week or two days like, oh, that actually worked. I didn't think that would so, yeah, I'm so glad you said that, because that happens a lot. People said that is that doesn't make sense. Why are you telling me to be grateful in the midst of this overwhelming situation? So yes, great, great perspective that happens all the time.   Michael Hingson ** 59:55 Well, we've been doing this now for about an hour, but before we wrap up, do you. Have any other advice that you want to pass on for people who are dealing with change or fearing change in their lives right now,   Laura Bratton ** 1:00:08 the advice would be, take it step by step, moment by moment, rather than trying to navigate through the whole change at one time that's overwhelming, and that that's not the process that is most healing. So to trust in yourself, to trust that grit around you, and then just like, like you were saying, and ask me, and it doesn't seem like it'll work, but try the gratitude, try that three things every day you're grateful for, and just see what happens as you navigate through the change. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:52 And it really does work, which is the point?   Laura Bratton ** 1:00:54 Which is the point? Right? Right? We don't think it's going to but it, it totally does   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:59 well. Laura, I want to thank you for being with us. This has been absolutely wonderful and fun, and I hope that people who listen got and who watch it got a lot out of it. And you, you provided a lot of good expectation setting for people. And you, you've certainly lived a full life. We didn't mention we got us before you we we sign off. You're also an author,   Laura Bratton ** 1:01:24 yes. So I wrote harnessing courage again, just like the reason I speak, I was so passionate about taking the grit and the gratitude that I use that was such a source of Empower for me, I wanted to tell my story and tell it through the perspective of grit and gratitude so that other people could also use it as a resource. So the book tells my story of becoming blind and adapting and moving forward, but through the complete expected perspective of the gratitude, how I didn't believe the gratitude would work, how I struggled with thinking, Oh, the gratitude is ridiculous. That's never going to be source of empowerment. Yet it was so. The purpose of the book, my hope, my goal for the book, is that people can read it and take away those resources as they face their own change their own challenges.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:30 And when did you write it? So I wrote   Laura Bratton ** 1:02:33 it in it was published in 2016 Okay, so it that that definitely was, was my goal and passion, and that just writing the book was incredibly healing. Was like a great source of strength. Cool,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:50 well, I hope people will get it. Do you do any coaching today or   Laura Bratton ** 1:02:54 Yes, so I do coaching as well as the speaking so the the one on one coaching, as people are experiencing difficult, difficult or just navigating through change, I do the one on one coaching as well as the speaking,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:11 which is certainly a good thing that chaplaincy taught you. Yes, 100% Well, thank you again for being here, and I want to thank all of you for being with us today, wherever you are. We would appreciate it. I would definitely appreciate it. If when you can, you go to wherever you're listening to or watching the podcast and give us a five star review. We absolutely value your reviews. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this, and I'm sure Laura would. So you're welcome to email me at Michael, M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I, at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to hear your thoughts. And also, of course, as I said, we'd love your your five star reviews, wherever you're listening. Also, if any of you, Laura, including you, have any thoughts of others who we ought to have on this podcast, we're always looking for more guests, and we really would appreciate it if you'd let anyone know who might be a good guest in your mind, that they can reach out or email me, and I'll reach out, but we really would appreciate that. But again, Laura, I just want to thank you one more time for being here and for taking all this time with us today.   Laura Bratton ** 1:04:27 Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for hosting this podcast. Incredibly powerful and we all need to be reminded   **Michael Hingson ** 1:04:37 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Many times, the words “hope” and “disappointment” go together...

Grinch: an unpleasant person who spoils other people's ________ or ______________. The Grinch couldn't enjoy the joys of Christmas because his heart was __________________ too small. [Jeremiah 17:9] “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Our heart can cause us to make _________ choices. ______________ will cause your heart to shrink and turn you into a grinch. [Proverbs 18:1 CSB] One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound wisdom. [1 John 2:9] If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. You have an enemy who wants to __________ your ________. [John 10:10a] The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. _______________ will steal the joy that Gad has given you. Lasting _________ only comes from Jesus. Jesus needs to be the _____________ of our joy. [Nehemiah 8:10c] Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” The world didn't give you ________ and it can't take it away. Don't look on the _________________ to change something on the ___________________. [Ezekiel 36:26-27] And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. God wants our hearts to __________________. If you have settled for anything other than a _________- ________ life you have settled for something that is too ___________. [Psalm 51:10 ESV] Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

In this episode, we dive into the latest buzz in the world of film and TV! Somehow Spaceballs has returned, there's a new trailer for The Naked Gun, Willem Dafoe may soon learn the true meaning of Christmas, there's a whole bunch of Pixar news, even more Harry Potter casting announcements, and Reacher is set to head to "The Big Apple". Tune in for all the hot takes and updates!

Steven Crowder, Tucker Carlson, Dinesh D'Souza. Why Tucker Carlson is Dead Wrong about Trump, Israel, and Iran and Why Dinesh Supports Israel's Attack.   Why Tucker Carlson is Dead Wrong about Trump, Israel, and Iran Who is Iran? What is their quest? What is their favorite color? In this video, we explore what the United States' relationship should be with that terrorist hot spot in the Middle East. Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/BPKNm9dW1n8?si=5X1vgs7_nW49PWrw StevenCrowder 5.69M subscribers 89,938 views Jun 16, 2025 DOWNLOAD THE RUMBLE APP TODAY: https://rumble.com/our-apps Join Rumble Premium to watch this show every day! http://louderwithcrowder.com/Premium Bite-Sized Content: https://rumble.com/c/CrowderBits Subscribe to my podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/louder-with-... FOLLOW ME: Website: https://louderwithcrowder.com/ Twitter:   / scrowder   Instagram:   / louderwithcrowder   Facebook:   / stevencrowderofficial     THE DISRUPTOR Dinesh D'Souza Podcast. 8 min Clip. Watch the entire video at- https://youtu.be/Zghpku5chYE?si=-IQmXvTPU_6T2CMK Dinesh D'Souza 783K subscribers 5,364 views Jun 17, 2025 The Dinesh D'Souza Podcast In this episode, Dinesh takes note of the 10th anniversary of Trump coming down the escalator and announcing his run for President, and examines how Trump has transformed American politics as its chief disruptor. Dinesh argues that self-deportation is the best way to get the illegals home and shows how it can be encouraged. Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman joins Dinesh for his take on the Israel-Iran conflict. — Dinesh D'Souza is an author and filmmaker. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he was a senior domestic policy analyst in the Reagan administration. He also served as a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is the author of many bestselling books, including "Illiberal Education," "What's So Great About Christianity," "America: Imagine a World Without Her," "The Roots of Obama's Rage," "Death of a Nation," and "United States of Socialism." His documentary films "2016: Obama's America," "America," "Hillary's America," "Death of a Nation," and "Trump Card" are among the highest-grossing political documentaries of all time. He and his wife Debbie are also executive producers of the acclaimed feature film "Infidel." — Want to connect with Dinesh D'Souza online for more hard-hitting analysis of current events in America? 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Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless.   Report on Food For the Poor by Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/592174510   -------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer from ACU. We try to bring to our students and alumni the World's best Conservative thinkers. All views expressed belong solely to the author and not necessarily to ACU. In all issues and relations, we hope to follow the admonitions of Jesus Christ. 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Author : W.E.B. DuBois Narrator : Boocho McFly Host : Joshua Tuttle Audio Producer : Chelsea Davis Artist : Louise R. Latimer “Jesus Christ in Georgia” was printed in The Crisis in the 1911 Christmas issue. It later appeared as “Jesus Christ in Texas” in Darkwater: Voices from the Veil. Use of the n-word 2010 […]

When Lori Lyons became a stepmom, she knew exactly what she didn't want: the tension, jealousy, and divided loyalty she had grown up with as a child of divorce. Instead, she envisioned something radical for the time—a family that included everyone, even her husband's ex-wife. In this heart-opening episode of A Fresh Story, Lori invites us into her Louisiana home and into a decades-long story of blended family done beautifully right. A Hall of Fame sports writer, adoptive mom, caretaker, and storyteller, Lori's life is a patchwork of intentional relationships, deep empathy, and the kind of resilience you can only earn the hard way.From taking off her engagement ring before a pickup at her now-stepkids' house to asking her husband's ex-wife to be her adopted daughter's godmother, Lori's story is a masterclass in humility, generosity, and healing generational hurt. She shares the tender details—how Cheryl became “Nanny,” how they tag-team holidays and emergencies, and how they grieved, celebrated, and raised children together as a team. Her voice is strong and steady, grounded in years of lived wisdom, but it's the softness underneath—the mother who wanted her daughter to feel included, the woman who chose peace over pride—that stays with you.This is more than a story about co-parenting—it's a story about what becomes possible when we abandon old rules about exes, stepfamilies, and women's roles, and build new families from the heart. Lori reminds us that the people who show up for us—who wash dishes in our kitchens after the Christmas parade, who split the mother-of-the-groom dance without blinking—those are our people. This episode will make you cry, laugh, and maybe even believe that a peaceful, joyful blended family isn't just possible—it's worth fighting for.

Join Pete & Abbey for another Therapy Crouch episode packed with dilemmas and belly-laughs. From launching a “No Knobs” dating database and conquering the 12 Buffets of Christmas to planning a solo Western ranch adventure for the big 4-0, the gang dish out unfiltered advice on love, life and wardrobes that never stay tidy. Plus: pot-smoking partners, falling for your best friend and which Premier League club Pete secretly wishes he'd played for... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's series, Pastor Ryan Kimmel speaks on Luke chapter 24.Ryan serves as the lead pastor of Peace Church, a multi-site church located south of Grand Rapids, Michigan. A graduate of Kuyper College and Calvin Theological Seminary, Ryan loves to teach the Bible as he leads one of the fastest-growing churches in the nation. Along with writing for ResoundMedia.cc, Ryan loves to be with his family, fish for bluegill and crappie, and enjoys listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Ryan is married to Tiffany and together they have four children, a dog named Bear, and a bunch of chickens.

I'm finally behind the microphone again, bringing you all the cozy Christmas vibes as we countdown to Christmas 2025. Today, I read an Irish Christmas Story called "Frank Forrest's Mince-Pie" by Fr. Patrick Augustine Sheehan. It tells the story of a young man named Frank who has some strange Christmas dreams about Mince pies, an act of kindness - and of course, what Victorian Christmas story would be complete without some ghostly visitors! I also recommend a book of Christmas stories and share some Irish Christmas traditions!  Timestamps: 00:00 Life Update! 05:00 Cozy Book Corner: Book Recommendation - The Valancourt etc 08:45 Christmas Traditions in Ireland - National Museum of Ireland 15:52 Story Intro 17:14 Frank Forrest's Mince-Pie by Francis Augustine Sheehan 32:07 Reflections and Closing Thoughts       Ways to support the show: Rate and review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-cozy-christmas-podcast/id1523423375  Buy me a coffee? www.ko-fi.com/cozychristmas  Ornaments, Mugs, and Notebooks: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CozyChristmasPodcast  Logo shirt designs: http://tee.pub/lic/edygC_h4D1c    Contact Me: facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozychristmaspodcast  instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cozychristmaspodcast/  twitter: https://twitter.com/CozyXmasPod  youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCikiozEbu0h9pKeI1Ei5TQ email: cozychristmaspodcast@gmail.com        #cozy #christmas #christmaspodcast #podcast

Satanic displays at Christmas. Black Masses inside statehouses. Inverted pentagrams across from nativity scenes. This isn't art—it's a mockery of faith, a provocation hiding behind the First Amendment. And it's spreading. This is The Real Story. This episode is brought to you by Preserve Gold. Visit: https://drphilgold.com/  Get a FREE precious metals guide that contains essential information on how to help protect your accounts. Text “DRPHIL” to 50505 to claim this exclusive offer from Preserve Gold today.

It's time for your weekly dose of Christmas magic! 

Join Opie and the crew for a wild ride at Gebhards Beer Culture, where the conversation veers from crooning about "Blue Christmas" to debating Michael Bublé's lisp and the genius of Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds. The gang dives into pizza controversies, pineapple toppings, and a bizarre beachside Christmas tree fantasy. Things get gritty with Ron's oozing foot reveal—eczema or something worse?—and a heated rant about overblown riots and Broadway musicals (spoiler: Phantom gets no love). From Trump's questionable taste in Les Mis to Fiddler on the Roof sing-alongs, this episode is a chaotic mix of laughs, music trivia, and questionable hygiene. Grab a Miller Lite and tune in for the madness!

Ben Shapiro. Israel's DEVASTATING Offensive Continues…While Trump Plays 4D Chess Israel's devastating offensive against Iran's nuclear and missile capacities continues, while President Trump continues to play 4D chess; Tucker Carlson and others attack President Trump for not abandoning Israel; and the patriotic Army parade goes swimmingly as protesters shout at the moon. Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/d0eJMYlQYWE?si=-SKDyyMjQErn4wRo Ben Shapiro 7.22M subscribers 182,566 views Jun 16, 2025 The Ben Shapiro Show - - 1️⃣ Click here to join the member-exclusive portion of my show: https://bit.ly/3WDjgHE 2️⃣ Join millions of people who still believe in truth, courage, and common sense at DailyWirePlus.com 3️⃣ My new book, “Lions and Scavengers,” drops September 2nd—pre-order today at https://dailywire.com/benshapiro

It’s Auntie season! And no, I’m not talking about Christmas, but the sweet sweat of summer. Su Adds to Queue some great shows and defines what a perfect “door shoe” is. Plus Ku is extremely chill walking down the aisles of Costco to tariff/disaster-prep shop. We have a website! Sign up to find out what’s happening next with the Aunties at ADDTOCART.WORLD. To see all products mentioned in this episode, head to @addtocartpod on Instagram. To purchase any of the products, see below. Su’s Add To Queue: Paradise on Hulu Four Seasons on Netflix Celeb addicted pod Style tips pod Ku’s Very Chill Costco runs based on this list here. Su’s favorite door shoes: Malibu Sandals for life! Quince suede clog Please note, Add To Cart contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.