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Every once in a while, I meet someone whose story reminds me why inclusion and communication go hand in hand. My guest this week, Shabnam Asthana, is one of those people. She's a global PR leader, entrepreneur, and author who has spent her life turning words into bridges that connect people and purpose. We talk about her journey from teaching and lecturing at India's National Defence Academy to leading global communications for major brands—and what it taught her about empathy, leadership, and real inclusion. Shabnam shares how storytelling can turn data into emotion, and why true diversity is less about representation and more about respect. Her message is powerful and deeply human: being unstoppable begins with an open heart, quiet courage, and the willingness to rise again. If you're ready to lead with empathy and communicate with purpose, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends. Highlights: 00:43 – Hear how early role models and a working mother raised ambitions and set a path toward leadership. 03:39 – Learn why strong communication skills pointed her toward PR and how debates built confidence. 05:24 – See why teaching became the first step when women in PR roles were rare in smaller cities. 08:12 – Discover what it took to lecture at India's National Defence Academy and earn respect in a rigid setting. 12:09 – Understand the leap from academia to corporate PR after being scouted for communication excellence. 15:50 – Learn how serving as a spokesperson shaped internal and external messaging at a Swedish-Indian firm. 17:01 – Gain a humble view of global work and why inclusion means moving from tokenism to listening. 21:08 – Compare India and Sweden and see how representation differs from real inclusion in practice. 24:18 – Learn how small, specific acts like adding sign to slides can make people feel genuinely seen. 34:24 – Find out how storytelling turns CSR spreadsheets into human change that inspires action. 43:22 – Explore the choice to found Empowered Solutions and why entrepreneurship kept growth alive. 53:06 – Take a fresh definition of an unstoppable mindset rooted in resilience and an open heart. About the Guest: A multi-faceted Professional, who has fast tracked from being a reputed National name to a well-respected and emulated global one! Shabnam Asthana has added new dimensions to Global PR and Communications. She has to her credit, post graduate degrees in English Literature, Public Relations and Advertising, an MBA in Marketing Management & several International certifications including a prestigious Hon. Doctorate in Business Administration from the National American University USA (NAU). She has over 25 years of rich professional experience. She started her career in the educational field as a high school teacher and then moved on to the role of a Lecturer at the prestigious National Defence Academy, Khadkwasla. She was the only civilian who compered for the Passing out parades, PT & Equestrian display and the Graduation ceremony of the NDA for 3 consecutive years. This was covered live on Doordarshan. It was after one of the Passing out Parades that she was compering at the NDA, that a senior position in a reputed company was offered to her and thus began her foray into the corporate world. After her successful corporate stint in senior positions with reputed companies including Multinationals in India and abroad and reputed real estate businesses, she started her own PR and communications firm, Empowered Solutions in 2005 which has been running successfully since then. Adding offices in USA and Canada as part of its international expansion. Ways to connect with Jan: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabnam_Asthana Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shabnamasthana/?hl=en Linked in - https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-shabnam-asthana-7b174a5 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ShabnamAsthana/ X - https://x.com/shabnamasthana VyaapaarNiti Expert Profile - https://www.vyaapaarniti.com/expert/dr-shabnam-asthana- Tring Celebrity Platform - https://www.tring.co.in/shabnam-asthana About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, Hi again, everyone. I am your host, Michael Hingson, and you are here listening to or watching or both, unstoppable mindset today, our guest is a person of many talents, and I think you're going to be as amazed about her as I am. Shabnam Asthana is a person who has been involved in she was a teacher for a while. She's been very heavily involved in a variety of things at the corporate level. She started her own marketing firm in 2005 and I don't know what all my gosh, she's got so many things, it's really hard to keep up, but I'm sure she's going to tell us all about it, and I am looking forward to that. And I really appreciate all of you being here with us. So Shabnam, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. And thank you for being here.   Shabnam Asthana ** 02:15 Thank you, Michael, truly wonderful to be with here, and thank you for that amazing introduction. You make me feel as if I've worn a professional cape of so many accolades and so many things. It's wonderful to be here with you.   Michael Hingson ** 02:32 Michael, well, you do have lots of awards and lots of accolades.   Shabnam Asthana ** 02:38 That's just one part of the journey. The true reward is in the, you know, work that I do, these stories, that I shape, the narratives that spring in that is the true reward. And of course, accolades are always welcome, and they are a way of encouragement, which do ensure that, yes, I continue doing the good work.   Michael Hingson ** 03:00 Well, why don't we start back at the beginning, which is always fun to do. Why don't you tell us about the early Shabnam growing up?   Shabnam Asthana ** 03:08 Okay, that's something which is very close to my heart. I was born in India in a small city called Bokaro, Steel City. It was a Steel City. It was an industrial town, and we were a very close knit community, and we had lots of, you know, interaction with people. I came from a background where both my parents, my mother and my father were working, and at that point of time, a working woman was sort of seen as a novelty, not something I'm talking way, way back. And now the people will also guess my age, I guess because it's pretty way back. And that was the time when we weren't India was still developing, and women were still not seen as the working class, you know, especially in senior corporate positions. And my mother was a senior officer in the steel plant, so that set my aspirations and ambitions very high. And I wanted to emulate her. I wanted to be someone who was working now what I would do I was not very sure of, but yes, I wanted to be working. And then later on, my sister, my both my sisters, were also working, my older siblings, and of course, that set the tone for me to also hop into the professional shoes, and, you know, chart out a career path for myself. So,   Michael Hingson ** 04:44 so what? What did you do? As far as schooling? Did you go to college?   Shabnam Asthana ** 04:51 Yes, I went to the local school there, which was an English medium good school called sin Xavier School. And that was some. Thing which really groomed me for the future, that set the foundations for my career. And after that, I did my schooling in the my college, sorry, in the capital city of India, which is Delhi. And then on, I moved to a place which is close to Mumbai, which is Pune, and I continued my education there. And of course, my career started in Pune. That is when I got into academics, and then henceforth,   Michael Hingson ** 05:34 so when you were in college, and as you were coming out of it, what did you want to do with your life? What was your plan? Or did you have one?   Shabnam Asthana ** 05:43 Yes, I did have one. Like I said, I was always good in communications, and people used to tell me that you are a good communicator. I used to win all the debates. I used to win elocution competitions. And I said, Well, yes, communication does seem to be my forte, so why don't I build on that? And then I saw my father, he was in the public relations industry, and I somehow at the back of my mind, I said, Yes, that is something I would surely want to do. So why not try my hand at PR? And that's how the seeds of my career was planted in my mind, and then it developed there on.   Michael Hingson ** 06:30 But you started out in education and in teaching.   Shabnam Asthana ** 06:34 Yes, that's very interesting. I'll tell you. I wanted to start my career in PR, but I was in a place which was a small city, and it was a place called Jamshedpur, before I moved on to Pune, and there, the career scope was very limited. We didn't have women in the PR. In fact, it was unheard of. So the best thing, or the easiest thing that a woman could do was to hop on the bandwagon of academics. And not saying that it was something you know, that was not looked up to. But yes, I did enjoy my role as a school teacher. That was my first job in Jamshedpur, a small it was, again, a steel city in India, and I became a high school teacher, and quite enjoyed it, because that was also communication. It was the way you communicated with your students, and, you know, sort of got them into, got them interested in what they were learning. So that was, again a stepping stone, and it was the area of communications which expanded later on.   Michael Hingson ** 07:47 So how long did you stay in teaching?   Shabnam Asthana ** 07:51 I was there for about two years in Jamshedpur, and then I moved on to Pune. And guess what the next opportunity I got was as a lecturer in the National Defense Academy. That was a place where the future generals were being groomed, and I was a civilian who, sort of, I was the only civilian, probably, who got into the teaching profession there and there I spent a good four years truly memorable. Worth remembering recounting. There was so many incidents, and I loved teaching. That was something which I did at the National Defense Academy too. Although that was at a higher level, it was very different from the school teaching which I had done. This was more, you know, on a national level, where you had to be more, and there was a lot of discipline which came in, because it was the future, you know, Army personnel, Navy personnel, so all that, there was a lot of discipline that came in and that groomed me better. I understood what the world of discipline meant in the true sense, because I lived   Michael Hingson ** 09:10 it right. What? How did you discover the job at the defense Academy? Though that's certainly a whole lot different than teaching high school students or maybe not.   Shabnam Asthana ** 09:23 It is a whole lot intimidating. Let me tell you that it's very intimidating to walk into a room full of, you know, future generals, army people you don't know who you know who you are, I mean, who they are, and you sort of get very intimidated by the kind the aura is very, very intimidating.   Michael Hingson ** 09:46 How did you discover that job? Yes,   Shabnam Asthana ** 09:49 that was done. We in India, we have something which is called the employment exchange. So you register there and you give your qualify. You list down your qualifications, and you know whatever you are planning to do, and they invite you for certain vacancies. So one fine day, I was just sitting and having my lunch at home when I received a letter, and the letter was an interview call for the National Defense Academy. I literally jumped out of my skin because I was a school teacher, and then being asked to appear for an interview in the National Defense Academy itself was a big leap for me. Whether I got it or not was a different thing. But then to sort of come on board and go and sort of appear for an interview was also something very exciting. And when I went there, I was like, I said, the only civilian The rest were army officers, wives and daughters, you know, related to the working personnel there. So when I went, I was interviewed by the three representatives from all the three wings, that is the Navy, the Air Force and Army. And that was a very good experience. They asked me a lot of questions, and I believe it was later on I was told that it was my confidence that got me in. So thanks to that, I   Michael Hingson ** 11:23 was going to ask you why you why you got in, or why you think you got in. And yes,   Shabnam Asthana ** 11:30 yeah, I did ask them that later, and unofficially, I was told that. Well, it was the way you carried yourself, the confidence and, you know, the excitement and enthusiasm that you shared, which was very, very refreshing.   Michael Hingson ** 11:48 So what exactly did you do at the academy?   Shabnam Asthana ** 11:53 I was teaching them English, and I was teaching them literature. I don't know how interested they were in literature, but then the feedback that I got, which was, you know, the it was a routine feedback, which we have the teachers get. So I used to get good marks, and people used to say, yes, that, you know, your classes are engrossing. It's good. And then, apart from that, there was something very interesting I did, which was I compared for their passing out parades, and I compared for all their shows. And that was something which was covered on television, and that gave me a different kind of foothold in my profession, where I was being seen, where I was being heard, and my confidence grew by leaps and bounds. I was being accepted as a woman. I was being accepted as a civilian. And that was something which was very, very heartwarming for me,   Michael Hingson ** 13:01 and I would assume, very difficult to achieve,   Shabnam Asthana ** 13:05 I think so I do yes, in retrospect, yes.   Michael Hingson ** 13:09 So you did that for roughly four years. Yes. And why did you leave that? What was your? Was your thought about that,   Shabnam Asthana ** 13:21 okay, I would have gone on. It was such a glorious part of my career. But, you know, change, they say, is constant, and that is something which happened. I was comparing for a passing out parade when the chairman of a corporate company which was doing rather well, heard me, and he was impressed by my communication, my speaking abilities, my, you know, the way I was presenting things. And he said he offered me a job, and he said, Why don't you come and join my office and come in as a PR person for my company, and that's exactly I was actually, you know, not very sure whether I wanted to leave this an industry and career where I was already established, where people knew me, and just hop on to the corporate world. But if you remember, that was my ambition. That was what I had always won right at the start. So the moment it came, it almost felt as if it fell into my laps. And I said, Why don't I do that? Yes, and this is a good opportunity, and I must take it up. My I spoke to my family, and they too, felt that it was a good stepping stone to move on. And so I accepted it, and that was my entry into the world of PR, in the corporate   Michael Hingson ** 14:48 world. So what year was that this   Shabnam Asthana ** 14:53 was way back on now you are prompting me to give away my age, which is like. Like ancient, I'd be a fossil. Okay, yes, this was way back in the 90s,   Michael Hingson ** 15:06 okay, and that was kind of what I was curious about. So at that time, industry was a little bit more stable than it was later on, but, but still, you You did it, and you so you stepped into that goal, into that role, and so you became part of the PR world, which is, as you said, what you wanted to do initially, anyway. So, so how long did you stay at that company? I   Shabnam Asthana ** 15:39 stayed there for about four years, and then the chairman of the company passed away. Unfortunately, he was on a trip to China, and he suffered a massive cardiac arrest, so I was working very closely with him in his office, and as is the norm of the industry, once the leader is not there things you know, sort of crumble, and you know, there's reorganization. New faces come in, and normally the new people bring their own teams. So I felt as if, you know, before they told me to sort of move out or something. I don't know why I pre empted that. I said, Why don't I myself make a shift and join some other industry? I mean, join some other company, which I did. Again, I applied. It was a Swedish company, and again, it was one of the best moves that I could have made. I spent a good 12 years in that company, which Hogan is India Limited, I must name them. They were brilliant. And I spent a very, very good part of my career with that company.   Michael Hingson ** 16:56 And so again, you did primarily PR, or what did you Yes, it was   Shabnam Asthana ** 17:02 PR and it was handling the chairman and managing director's office. So the entire communication was handled through me, the internal as well as the external communication. I was a spokesperson, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 17:18 so you became so in a sense, sort of the face of the company.   Shabnam Asthana ** 17:21 Yes, I did. It's nice to feel that yes, that it was a good many years that I was the face of the company in terms of communication, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 17:33 right, right. And, and where were you doing this?   Shabnam Asthana ** 17:38 This was in Pune, and their head office was in Sweden. I used to sort of move between the two. It was a very global company. The subsidiary was an Indian subsidiary, but the parent company was Swedish. So we had a lot of global travel   17:56 that kept you busy. That did so   Shabnam Asthana ** 17:59 there were conferences, and there were so many meetings which were happening,   Michael Hingson ** 18:03 yes, right? So what did, what did you? What did you learn from all of that? Do you think   Shabnam Asthana ** 18:12 it was a very humbling experience? You know, more than the excitement, I was armed with a lot of excitement, because that would have been one of my first trips outside India. I was I had a lot of excitement, lots of things were on my mind, but then ultimately, when one does travel and work in a global company, it's a very humbling experience, because you are exposed to your strengths and also your blind spots, your strengths, your weaknesses, everything comes to you and then you feel that diversity is not always about representation. It's about respect and inclusion is moving from tokenism to listening. That is what I felt, you know, adapting various voices to your workplace, working in unison, trying to empathize with people from different cultures, different streams, different departments, all that really broadened my horizon. So that was something which I learned.   Michael Hingson ** 19:30 So what was the culture like, in terms of since you were at a global company, as it were, how was it different when you were dealing with Sweden, as opposed to when you were dealing with India.   Shabnam Asthana ** 19:45 In India, we don't have diversity as a choice. In India, we are served diversity on a platter because you are born with being diverse. You have. Are numerous religions, you have culture. So we are adaptable people in that sense. But strangely enough, it's a paradox. If I would tell you that inclusion is still a work in progress. Inclusion isn't automatic. It doesn't come to you like that. You have to work for it. Now there is a big change, but I'm talking of the days, way back in the 90s when women in boardrooms were a novelty. So sometimes it was just purely for ornamental value. Sad to say that. But gradually you had to open up, you have to open the doors, and you have to say, look, we are here for a reason. And please listen to our voices too. And that's how we started. I started sort of, I remember once when I was moving in India. I mean, not in Sweden, but once when I was in India, and I was in a strategic board meeting. I was the only woman in the room, and the people were sort of, I could sense the expressions. People were curious, people were dismissing. People were sort of, you know, not sort of prepared to take or listen to me, that was a little bit of a setback. But then gradually, when I started moving abroad, and I started seeing more women, and then gradually, when I was moving so were the others, and they too saw the kind of change that was happening. And so it was pretty difficult in India, initially, if I were to be very honest, Sweden was more inclusive. I could see a lot of women in the workforce. And gradually, since we were sort of interacting with each other, we absorbed each other's cultures and values, and the company became very, very inclusive. So it was a pleasure to work there.   Michael Hingson ** 22:08 Okay, so in a sense, there were, there are parts of Sweden that made you happier than what you were in the East initially experiencing in India.   Shabnam Asthana ** 22:19 Absolutely, absolutely, and I have no hesitation in saying that, because they were welcoming. They were welcoming. And the not necessarily my company, but any company in India, the representation of women, especially in PR, was very, very limited. Now we have evolved, and it's a world of difference, and I'm so happy to see that.   Michael Hingson ** 22:48 How about you, may or may not have a lot of expertise in this, but how about if we're going to talk about inclusion and so on, people with disabilities, both in India and in Sweden and so on and again. I don't know whether you really had much experience or exposure to that. I   Shabnam Asthana ** 23:06 do. I did have my share of exposure, maybe not extensive, but yes, I do. I remember there's this one incident I'd like to talk to you about. It was in Paris. I was in a conference, and there was a deaf girl in the conference room. I could see people making presentations and knowing fully well, because we had the list of participants, and we had their intros, their introductions with us, my team. And you know, of course, I headed that team. We made a special endeavor to include sign in our presentation. And she was so happy because she said, you know, she came to me and she expressed to me that although I have participated so many times in meetings, and especially corporate meetings, I am so happy to see. It was the first time that I felt I was seen and I was not just a presence. So she was very happy with the kind of, you know, preparation that we did for her especially. So I believe it's very nice if people learn to respect each other and learn to believe that not everybody is similar. You may have so many strengths which I don't have. I do not see any physical disability as a handicap. I'm very, very sure about that, I do not see anybody who appears different or who doesn't have the same listening capacity, hearing capacity, to be different from me. They have their own strengths. So I truly believe that, you know, disability. In that sense, is something which does not put a person in the back seat. How.   Michael Hingson ** 25:09 How was that attitude received? Well, both at the company, when you were when you were in the room with her, and you were signing and so on. How did other people receive that? And how was that kind of attitude received initially in India?   Shabnam Asthana ** 25:29 Well, to be very honest, Michael, it wasn't something that is the done thing. People do not accept that. They are like, well, it's a general presentation. We really don't have to make specific I do remember a person who came up to me and said, Shabnam, why did you make a very specific presentation? It was a very general presentation by you doing that, you have set a precedent for others to sort of make them feel small, you know. So he took it in a very negative way. Said, you've made us feel very small. I said, no, please do not look at it that way. It is something where we have made her feel a part of us. It is not trying to belittle anybody, trying not to, you know, get a an edge over others. All of us are the same. It's just that I made it a little easier for her. That's what I just told him, and probably he did, walk away with a smile. I don't know whether it was a sarcastic one or whether it was a smile of acceptance, but then I got my   Michael Hingson ** 26:38 point. I took was this was this in Sweden or India. This was in Paris. In Paris, okay, yes,   Shabnam Asthana ** 26:46 okay, this was a conference, which was   Michael Hingson ** 26:49 she said that, right? Well, you know, the reality is that's all part of the inclusive mindset and the inclusion mindset, and it is so true that most people don't tend to realize it Yes. So I hear what you're saying,   Shabnam Asthana ** 27:10 yes, and realization and sort of acceptance has evolved. People are more accepting. People are more flexible. You know, the rigidity earlier, people were very rigid. Now there is a lot of flexibility. I believe that, right?   Michael Hingson ** 27:32 Well, I think it's better. I'm I think there are still all too many people who tend not to really have an overly inclusive mindset. And it is, it is something that that will be with us for a while, and hopefully over time, people will become more open and realize the value of inclusion. In this country, we have, well and around the world, we have a significant number of people who have these so called physical disabilities, and the reality is that the disability is more caused by inaction mostly than it is by real action.   Shabnam Asthana ** 28:12 Absolutely yes. And I also seriously believe that diversity enriches the outcomes. I have some I have practical experience, and I've seen that. So inclusion enriches outcomes in many ways, right?   Michael Hingson ** 28:35 How has all of your traveling and all of your exposure in various places around the world. How has that tended to shape your understanding of diversity and inclusion?   Shabnam Asthana ** 28:50 Okay, yes, that's a very interesting question. I have seen that challenges are real, biases, stereotypes and expectations that women need to prove themselves twice as much also exists in many, many parts of the world. So they have been. I mean, there have been certain cultures, certain countries, which are very easy to breeze through when you are at work meetings or you're talking to people. But there are certain countries in the let's say in the Middle East, the Far East, which are still not very open to, you know, women taking on lead roles, women strategizing, women talking things that would influence decisions. So sometimes there's also a word I'd like to put in here that sometimes it is not country specific. Specific. It is very individual, specific. So there, like you said, you know, there are certain mindsets which still exist. There are people who may be residing in countries that are very open and very receptive, but their own mindset is limiting. And it is a mindset which is closed, it is rigid. So that stops and that prevents any inclusion. You know that, if I were to put it that way, so I would say it's not merely, not always country specific. Yes, individuals have to evolve themselves and change their mindsets. So it's sometimes I've seen it's countries are good, but some individuals are rigid. I've seen some individuals that are good, but the countries that are rigid. So it sort of works both ways.   Michael Hingson ** 30:54 And it's not just about women, it is about anybody who is different. Yes, then the so called norm, whatever that happens to be, absolutely   Shabnam Asthana ** 31:03 inclusion is not limited to women. So again, I'd like to clarify that it's inclusion is a broad spectrum. So yes, of course, we are a small part of it. But yes,   Michael Hingson ** 31:17 you have written a book, yes, romancing your career and and also you've done a lot of mentoring, obviously, and so on. But what do you mean when you talk about women? And I would say anybody who's different need to define success on their own terms. Tell me more about that.   Shabnam Asthana ** 31:41 So women, or anybody, let's not be very specific about women, because then it would be detracting from the main subject of inclusion. Anybody who wants to be heard has to believe in one thing, that silence is not the answer. Courage is so you have to move from silence to courage. Try and portray your point of view. Speak to people if they listen to you good enough if they don't, it's not as if the doors are closed. If the doors are closed, you can surely open a window for yourself, and it works. So just being silent or being very subdued or being very you know sad that your point of view, or being upset, for that matter, that your point of view is not being listened to is not the answer. You have to show courage. You have to do your homework, right? Remember that value is something that takes anybody places. It's not about being a woman, it's not about being any nationality, any ethnicity. It's just that you have to carry value in whatever you are trying to bring to the table. Once people see value, they will forget whether you are of XYZ nationality or you're an Indian, or you are of any other you're any other gender, if I may say that. So it's the value that a person should work towards. Everybody should work towards bringing value to the table. That is what will get you noticed, and that is what will see you going places. Yes, it did.   Michael Hingson ** 33:43 And again, I think one of the important things is that, from my standpoint, and I keep pushing it, but it's there is that it also is the same for for so called disabilities. One of the things that I maintain is that everybody on the planet has a disability, and the disability for most people is that you depend on light in order to function, and when suddenly light disappears, you have a big problem, unless you have a way to get light back on demand. But we are. We're not ready to accept that as a as a race yet, so people think that's cute, but, but they're not ready to accept it. It doesn't change the fact that it's really there. But the fact of the matter is that that people do have to speak up for themselves, and there are ways to do that, and there are ways not to do that. It isn't a matter of being obnoxious and demanding, but it is all about, as you expressed it earlier, being confident and showing that confidence and showing your knowledge and showing what you bring to the table absolutely well. You've been involved in PR for a long time, and I'm sure that you would agree, one of the main tools that people in the public relations world and elsewhere have to offer is storytelling. I believe the best salespeople are people who can tell stories and can help relate. But my question would be to ask you, how can storytelling bridge communities and bring people together?   Shabnam Asthana ** 35:31 Storytelling is a very, very strong element of PR. Storytelling humanizes everything. It brings in a lot of connection. So people connect automatically, if your storytelling is good, so like I keep telling all my juniors as well or new interns who join in corporate fact sheets can be informative. They can give you facts, but storytelling will transform everything. So you move from information to transformation. Storytelling is the human angle to everything. All of us love you a human angle. For example, let me tell you I was in a meeting which was quite a few years ago, and the CEO of the company was telling me they've done a lot of work in corporate social responsibility. So he wanted to tell me about all the expenditure that they've done. They've uplifted so many schools. They've done so much. They've spent so much on education, they've spent so much on water, on sanitation and so many other things, which has improved the lives of the citizens there. I told him, could you tell me one story of one life that has been affected. So he was at a loss because he had not he did not dive deep into that. He didn't look beyond the numbers and the figures. So his HR person stepped in and he told me a story of a girl. She was an Indian girl. Her name was Aarti. How they had transformed her life, and she had moved on to studying in Howard, and she was being employed in one of the top American companies there. So that was something, a story of transformation. So that is so you know, I believe the power of storytelling and that connected everybody, even his own people, were not aware. The employees were not aware. They were just sort of working like robos, putting in their number of hours, doing their work, not going beyond their call of duty to actually see what was happening to the effects, the efforts of their activities. This was something which we brought out in all their corporate brochures, in all the marketing that they were doing, in all the marketing collaterals that worked wonders. We had lots of inquiries for people who wanted to support them in many ways. We had an interview of the girl, and it was something which was very we added a human angle. So like I said, storytelling humanizes the entire concept, and that is something which connects people. So, yes, it's very   Michael Hingson ** 38:42 interesting. Did he learn to tell stories after that?   Shabnam Asthana ** 38:46 I believe so, because he was so he was really taken aback. And he said, Wow, I never really thought about it. And you told me, You changed my perspective. You made me see it differently. And if I were to say we got a good retainership After that, because he was very happy and my contract was renewed. So that was something which sort of affected the contract too well.   Speaker 1 ** 39:19 The reality is that when you tell a story, it is telling stories is something that most everyone can truly relate to, and when you tell a story that someone listens to or hears and reacts to it,   Michael Hingson ** 39:40 there's nothing better than that, and it's really important that that kind of thing happens. So I'm really glad to hear that you like storytelling. I think it is so important that we have that   39:51 absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 39:54 yeah, it's so important to be able to do that. Well, you've told us a little bit. About inclusion and diversity and so on in India and in other countries. Do you think it's changing, both in India and in other countries? And how is it changing?   Shabnam Asthana ** 40:15 It is changing. If you go back to the 90s to the present day, you will see that people have become I think it has a lot to do with travel. It has a lot to do with interaction. So people are interacting with each other. I speak to you, you speak to me, you tell me something about you, and I say, Hey, is that worth listening to? Yes, it is. And I try and change my mindset. I become more receptive. I try and tell you my viewpoint. You listen to me. You hear me out. So I have seen companies that have moved beyond check boxes of how many women, how many people with disabilities they've, you know, inducted in the employment stream, in their jobs, and it's become more of the CEOs or the top management asking their people, how many voices have we listened to? How many decisions have been made by these people whom we have taken in. You know, how have we evolved as a company? So that has made me see in boardrooms, in various meetings, that the top management is also very aware of what kind of decisions, what policies, are being framed with people as a diverse group. And it's not funneled or restricted to just the top few. It trickles down and it goes to the people they've hired from diverse groups, and it becomes like a voice of the company. So I have seen that changing, and I have seen that diversion is now diversity sort of is moving more towards the corporate DNA. So it is not a demand anymore. It's not a checkbox. It's more as if it is flowing in naturally, and people are more aware of it. So that's what I've seen.   Michael Hingson ** 42:32 It's a mindset, it is, and people are starting to adopt that. How is it changing in India? You said that in India there's a lot more diversity. But you said inclusion isn't so much there.   Shabnam Asthana ** 42:46 Yes, it is in see in India, it was globally, I saw that diversion was backed by policies, and there was a certain framework which had a set of rules. It had a set of code of conduct. But in India, it was more based on individual goodwill. So we had people, if the CEO or the top management was pro diversity, it would happen automatically, because the ones at the junior level had no choice. They had to naturally comply. But here now in India, it's become more organized, more structured, and people, there are departments now which look into issues of diversity and inclusion, and they try and make the organization work towards that. So they are big companies. They are small companies in India, all are trying to absorb this in the corporate DNA, like I said. So people are conscious. And there are conscious. There are seminars which are happening. People are being spoken to. There is workplace, you know sensitization that follows. People talk about it, people discuss it, and there is a lot of exchange of dialog which happens. So people talk, people learn, people adapt   Michael Hingson ** 44:15 well. So you you work for the Swedish company, for you said, like, 12 years, and then what did you   Shabnam Asthana ** 44:25 do after that? I moved on to, you know, start my own company, which was empowered solutions. That's my brain child, and it's a communications PR and communications company, and I, sort of, I'm the founder director for that the Empowered solutions is my company now, and we are completed. It was set up in 2005 October.   Michael Hingson ** 44:50 2005 what? What made you decide to leave the bigger corporate world and take on all of the challenges of entrepreneur? Leadership and starting your own company, because that certainly is a major change.   Shabnam Asthana ** 45:04 It is I was in the top management. I had a set job, I had the name, the recognition, everything that comes with that. But somehow there was still that kind of, I would say, curiosity, to experiment and to try on newer things. And I am a person who gets a little bored of stagnation, and I had almost reached the height of my career in these companies, and there was nothing more I could do unless I bought over those companies and sort of, you know, became the president and the chairman, which I would I could not do. So I said, Why don't I sort of diversify and take all this learning that I have, all the goodwill that I've earned over the years with the people that have been my clients, with my colleagues, with the people I've met in my business conferences. Why don't I take all this and try and set up something on of my own where I am at liberty to do whatever I want to do without the time pressure, you know, without a pressure of morning meetings and you know, things which have to be a nine to five kind of a role here, I do agree that it is a 24 by seven job that I'm doing at present, because I'm always available. And, you know, I believe that accessibility is very important if you have to be successful, you can't sort of close off and say, no, no, I'm, you know, if somebody needs you, you can't say, Okay, I'm just closing my door and my office. So that was the the, you know, the excitement of experimenting once again and seeing, of course, entrepreneurship is something which is very exciting, and that was something which I wanted to experiment and try and see how I could change that. And, you know, get it into my career. And, you know, get off the normal nine to five job. So that's what I did. I wanted to experiment.   Michael Hingson ** 47:21 So tell me a little bit more about if you would what your company does and how you serve clients and so on. And where are your clients?   Shabnam Asthana ** 47:29 Okay, so basically, it is a PR and communications company, and we have clients now globally. I have primarily in India, because that is where my office is. But I do have clients in Europe, in us, in Canada, where I am currently. And yes, it is more about public relations and communications, and that's what we do. So it's essentially a diversification of I have also taken on writing as part of one of my services. So I do a lot of book writing. I take on people who want to be either who want to tell a story, and who don't have either the time or the expertise. I write for them. I ghost right for them. We also do events. So we have done a couple of events globally, not on a very large scale, but yes, we do have. So it's events, it's public relations, it's communications, it's training, and it's writing.   Michael Hingson ** 48:39 So that's it, right? Well, so you have written one book. Are you looking at doing any more books? By any chance?   Shabnam Asthana ** 48:49 Now I have ghost written about 16 books. So they're all ghost written and under a contract where I don't disclose the names of the books. But yes, I've authored three books, and the first one was romancing your career, a very interesting and fascinating book. That was my first book, and later on, I went on to do two biographies, and yes, I'm doing a couple more correctly, where they are being authored by me. So I'm writing the biographies.   Michael Hingson ** 49:26 So today, in all the work that that you're, that you're doing, do you, do you get involved with many international projects?   Shabnam Asthana ** 49:39 Yes, not many, but yes, we are doing a slow and steady progress there. And we do, I do, keep getting a lot of inquiries. And I must say that I have got a couple of inquiries recently which are very interesting. And I. Working on those. Maybe it's a little premature to tell you that, but yes, there is one big project that has come my way, and we're planning to expand from there. Well.   Michael Hingson ** 50:12 So you have experienced a lot of different countries and so on, and India is certainly becoming more of an economic and a world power in the in terms of what all is happening. Do you think that that the attitudes of India and the way India deals with inclusion and so on is making a difference, and Will that continue to happen?   Shabnam Asthana ** 50:43 Well, Michael, it will, because we are moving out of our country, and we have, you know, taken spots in so many other countries. So if we want to be included, it's high time we practice the same. So we have to welcome other cultures. We have to welcome other nationalities if we hope to be welcomed in other countries as well. So that is something which has really influenced the thinking of people, because we can't be rigid. We can't be, you know, thinking in our own way. And say, Well, let's not do it, because we have to welcome other countries if we have to work and move out of India. So yes, Michael, I will say that very hard. It's very heartening to note that it is changing, and it will continue to do so. In fact, you know, India is moving from being seen as an outsourced to something which people sort of welcome with open arms. But then, yes, things are changing. There are things which are happening which may limit the movement of people, or it may increase the flow of people. But then, well, we have to adopt, adapt and move on.   Michael Hingson ** 52:04 Yeah, well, there's always going to be some of that which makes which makes sense. Yes. What kind of advice would you give to someone, especially young professionals, women and others who are different? What advice would you give to someone who may feel excluded or undervalued in their careers.   Shabnam Asthana ** 52:25 The best thing that I would like to say is that if you hear a no, don't let it bog you down, because be sure that tomorrow you will hear a better yes, it will be something that is shaping the way for your future. So you must not let any naysayers or any projects that fail bog you down just because you're a woman or because you're different or anybody you know. You have to show your courage, you have to be resilient, and you have to lean on your inner strengths. The best magic, the you know, time tried and tested formula, which I would advocate, is leaning on your inner strengths. All of us have a lot of strengths, believe you me, we may not know it, but all of us have a lot of strengths. So when you see a situation that is not to your liking, just lean on your inner strengths. Take a deep breath and say today's no will be a yes tomorrow, and that is the courage that you must move ahead with anybody, irrespective of whether you are a woman or you are any person who is stepping into the corporate world. Just value yourself. Always Be confident. Wear the confidence. And that's the best accessory that you would have.   Michael Hingson ** 54:03 How would you define unstoppable mindset?   Shabnam Asthana ** 54:08 Unstoppable mindset is not something which is something which rises beyond limitations. And by limitations, I don't mean only individual limitations. It may be the limitations of the other people. Let that not define your limitation. Your the term unstoppable, to me, is a term which shows resilience. It shows something where you can fumble. It's very natural to fumble, to stumble, to fall down, to face challenges, to face, you know, rejections. It's very normal, but unstoppable is. Being able to get up again with greater strength, with a better mindset, more courageously, and more importantly, with an open heart, which says, Yes, I will do it. You cannot say you cannot. You know, sort of put me down in any way. My courage is there, my inner strength is there. I am unstoppable in that sense.   Michael Hingson ** 55:28 I think the most important thing that you just said is that you have to do it with an open heart. I think everyone should do that you may learn that your idea may not be the best solution, and it might be the best solution, but you won't know that until you truly have an open heart and an open mind.   Shabnam Asthana ** 55:46 Truly, yes, absolutely, an open heart, I would say, is really, really key. It's very, very important.   Michael Hingson ** 55:56 What keeps you motivated as you continue to advocate for adverse diversity and inclusion and equity and so on.   Shabnam Asthana ** 56:04 What keeps me motivated? Michael, are many things, but then what i If I could just zero down on a couple of them, I would say that what keeps me motivated is the trust that people had in me, and, you know, to give me certain jobs, roles, the trust that they had to sort of say, okay, you can do it. And then I did it. And the people, what keeps me motivated is something also very nice, which somebody came up to me at a recent conference in Germany, and they said, you know, the reason why I didn't give up is because of you. That is me, because I motivated them to do something, and that was your motivation for me, I was like, Okay, if I can motivate you, I too can stay motivated for a long, long time to come. And that's something which I do. I try to inspire and I try to inspire myself as well in the process.   Michael Hingson ** 57:07 Well, if you could leave everyone who is involved in hearing this podcast and so on today, if you could leave them with one powerful message about embracing diversity and so on. What would that message be?   Shabnam Asthana ** 57:23 Well, that message would be that whatever is happening today, if you feel that there is even a little bit of acceptability, that is because somebody else has worked towards it, so now it is your chance to give it back to society, to keep working, to keep opening doors for people, for a better tomorrow, for a more inclusive tomorrow. And diversity doesn't and inclusivity doesn't happen overnight. You have to work towards it. There is a it's the whole process, and you have to work towards it relentlessly. Continue working. Somebody else has worked. They have pushed you forward. They have done a whole lot of things. Now it's your turn to do your bit and ensure that the people who are coming after you come to a better tomorrow, a more inclusive tomorrow.   Michael Hingson ** 58:27 It also, by definition, means that we need to learn how to work with each other and support and help each other,   Shabnam Asthana ** 58:34 of course. And empathy. Empathy is the key, empathy, sensitivity, all that.   Michael Hingson ** 58:41 So if people would like to reach out to you, maybe use your company services or talk with you. How can they do that?   Shabnam Asthana ** 58:48 They could contact me. You can write to me at my email id, which is Shabnam, S, H, A, B n, a m, at empowered solutions, my company name, E, M, P, O, W, E, R, E, D, S, o, l, U, T, I O, N, S, dot, I n, that's my name. The emails will reach me. That's an inbox which you know I'm monitoring myself, and be sure that you will receive a reply. I'd love to hear from people, and I love to communicate. I love to write back. So very welcome.   Michael Hingson ** 59:30 And I would ask, just sort of on principle, if anyone reaches out to Shabnam, who has heard this podcast, please mention that, just so that she knows where you where you discovered her, and I think that would be a good thing to do. Well, I want to thank you for being here. I think this has been absolutely wonderful. I think we've learned a lot I have and I value the insights that you bring. So I hope that other people will take the. Those same insights away, there's there's a lot to learn here, and there's a lot to gain from this. So I want to thank you again for being here, and maybe we'll have to do this again in the future.   Shabnam Asthana ** 1:00:12 I'd love to do that. And Michael, I'd like to thank you for hosting this wonderful, wonderful show. I have seen your episodes. They are brilliant, and it's really nice. I was so looking forward to this. It's been an absolute pleasure to interact with you, and I hope that we'll be doing more of this in the near future.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:35 Well, we'll have to explore that, and I want to thank all of you who are out there watching and listening. I want to thank you for being here. We appreciate you very much. Wherever you're listening or watching. Please give us a five star review. We value that very highly. We really would appreciate you saying good things about us. A five star review is always a wonderful thing. I'd like to hear from you as well. I'd like to hear what your thoughts are about this podcast. Feel free 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 from you. Love to hear your thoughts. We value them, and we take all the comments that we get from people very much to heart. So we appreciate you doing that. And if you know anyone else who ought to be a guest on our podcast, who you think ought to be a guest, let us know. Introduce us. Shabnam, that's also true for you, please. If you know anyone who ought to be a guest, we'd love to meet people and have them come on the podcast and also help us show how we're all more unstoppable than we think we are, or we thought we were. So once again, though, I want to thank you for being here. Shabnam, this has been wonderful. Thank you very much.   Shabnam Asthana ** 1:01:51 Thank you, Michael, thank you to all the listeners.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:01:59 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.

In this episode of Challenge Accepted, Frank Lourence takes the reins solo to explore "The Boys" Season 4, Episode 5, titled "Beware the Jabberwocky." Dive into the chaos as Frank breaks down key moments, shares his favorite scenes, and provides insightful analysis on the intricate relationships and character developments. From Billy Butcher's dangerous secret to the rise of Stan Edgar, this episode is packed with action, wacky adventures, and emotional depth. Timestamps and Topics: [00:00] Introduction: Frank flying solo, Thomas at Xavier School of Gifted Youngsters. [00:22] Episode overview and key moments. [00:53] Billy Butcher's revelation and its implications. [01:12] The infected farm animals and the high stakes. [01:32] Victoria Neuman and Stan Edgar's return. [02:13] Homelander's manipulation and rising tension. [03:17] A-Train's blackmail and alliances. [05:19] Hughie's emotional struggle and his father's transformation. [08:17] Analysis of the episode's themes and character arcs. [13:19] Predictions for future episodes and the overarching narrative. [15:21] Closing thoughts and viewer engagement. Key Takeaways: Billy Butcher's dangerous secret could change everything. The return of Stan Edgar adds a new player in the chess game against Homelander. Homelander's manipulation of his son Ryan foreshadows future conflicts. A-Train's blackmail solidifies uneasy alliances. Hughie's emotional journey with his father showcases Simon Pegg's stellar performance. The balance of absurdity and serious themes continues to be a strength of the series. Memorable Quotes: "Billy reveals that there's this virus that can kill the empowered people, the superheroes, with no respect to the fact that Kimiko and Starlight are in the room." "Stan Edgar back in this chess game is very important. Giancarlo Esposito is amazing." "Homelander is doing a really good job of locking him [Ryan] in." Call to Action: Subscribe to Challenge Accepted, leave a review on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode with your friends using the hashtag #ChallengeAcceptedPodcast. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content! Links and Resources: IMDb for episode references: IMDb Emergency Awesome YouTube channel for fan theories: Emergency Awesome

In which we celebrate our tenth anniversary by X-Plaining what may be the most reviled X-arc; you should not try this at home; Mystique is so much better than this story; Azazel is a really boring devil; Nightcrawler should probably be missing a hand; the Xavier School definitely does not have an HR department; and we would prefer that you not pee on Iceman.

Ascension of the Lord - Mark 16:15-20 In a career spanning over 25 years, Sharon has gained extensive experience in the education sector, both in independent and Catholic secondary and primary schools in the United Kingdom, Tanzania and Australia with a focus on educational leadership, Catholic Identity, curriculum innovation and experiential learning. Currently on the Executive team at Brisbane Catholic Education, Sharon has also held senior leadership roles with Catholic Education, Cairns. Sharon has co-designed and facilitated numerous immersive experiences and recently completed research with a focus on intercultural dialogue and inculturation, with First Nations Peoples. Sharon's qualifications include:  Master of Theological Studies (ACU),  Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD),  Master of Religious Education (ACU),  Master of Education (ACU). Sharon is the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) representative on the National Catholic Education Commission's Faith Formation and Religious Education Standing Committee (NCEC FFRE). Sharon is a delegate on the Xavier School of Mission Advisory Board (Holy Spirit Seminary) and was Chair of the Plenary Council: Discernment and Writing Group for the ‘Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community' and a Pilgrimage Leader for six World Youth Days.

India, a continent-sized country, exhibits profound regional economic disparities, with some regions having economic outputs comparable to upper-middle-income countries, while others resemble the impoverished regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Dore discusses how these disparities affect development and the importance of focusing on regional nuances to foster equitable growth across India. The book provides a deep dive into these issues, offering lessons and insights on leveraging regional strengths and addressing challenges through targeted development strategies. The episode highlights the need for precise regional analysis and development policies that consider the unique economic landscapes of India's diverse regions. What is more conducive to the economic development of a nation—specialisation or diversification? What is the role of data in harnessing regional potential effectively? How can India implement lessons from global economic governance to improve its regional development strategies?Episode ContributorsPoornima Dore is a practicing economist, driving impact through finance, innovation and digital transformation. She previously served as director of analytics, insights and impact at Tata Trusts and is a highly sought-after advisor for leaders across diverse sectors. With a management degree from Xavier School of Management and a PhD in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, she has, over the years, driven large programs at the intersection of business, philanthropy, academia and government, activated private sector investments in data-driven governance, digital public goods, regional growth, urbanization, and migration, and designed special institutional programs on impact and SME financing. She serves on the board of select institutions as well as ministerial committees and has been recognized as one of the top 100 Analytics Leaders in South Asia. Suyash Rai is a deputy director and fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms, and the performance of public institutions in India. His current research looks at the financial sector, the fiscal system, and the infrastructure sector.Suggested Readings:Regional Economic Diversity: Lessons from an Emergent India, by Poornima Dore and Krishnan Narayanan Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

In which you, too, can use Cerebro; Jubilee is here, for some reason; the Xavier School should absolutely not be accredited; Hulk Hands would solve many of Rogue's problems; Sauron gets a gun; Psylocke pulls a Lois Lane maneuver; you really shouldn't spring a Phoenix costume on anybody; Joseph has (another) identity crisis; and Canada has problems.

Eli asks Callum, Xavier and Thomas questions about reptiles, such as the most venomous snake, if birds and turtles are reptiles and other questions, listen to this and find the answers to these questions and learn new things about reptiles see what Eli asks and what reptiles are and other questions in Reptile Madness. Check out all the podcasts from Nativity at https://www.archdradio.com/podcasts/slp/nativity-2

Featuring Cameron Guile as Cameron Guile, and the Xavier School radio ad narrator. Not a hoax, not a dream...in this episode, a character dies! And…gets better. In this special episode, we look at the comic book that inspired the podcast's name. It's the first time Professor X dies and comes back, but it won't be the last! The comics: X-Men #1 (1963), X-Men #42 (1968), and X-Men #65 (1970). Twitter: @notadreampod Instagram: @notahoaxpod Email: notahoaxpod@gmail.com Patreon: patreon.com/notadreampod Music: Big Boi Pants by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com - used with Creative Commons license Sound clips from All-Star Superman (2011), Justice League Unlimited (2004 - 2006), Batman Beyond (1999 - 2001), X-Men: The Animated Series (1992 - 1997), The Dark Knight (2008), Spider-man (2002), Superman (1978), The Transformers: The Movie (1986), Justice League (2001 - 2004), Doom Patrol (2019 - ), WandaVision (2021), and X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men (1989). Episode Art from X-Men #42, by Sal Buscema and Sam Rosen. Clips and art used for purposes of research and criticism (Fair Use).

Do You Expect Us To Talk? continues with the second X-Men film. Following an attack on the president by a mutant, tensions rise. Military scientist Colonel William Stryker has a grudge with Xavier and mutants in general and plans an attack on Xavier School for the gifted and to take Xavier and Cerebro technology to use at his own ends. Meanwhile Xavier sends the X-Men to find the mutant who attacked the White House as Wolverine returns to Xavier School after failing to discover more about his past, while Jean's powers are expanding and unstable. Join Becca, Dave and Chris as we discuss if this is one of the best superhero movies, Goldeneye reunions, Ian McKellen acting like a 13 year old girl, the the most obvious heel turn that has been put on screen and how Bobby's little brother is a little shit. You can follow us on Becca, Chris and Dave on Twitter You can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Podcasts, all you have to do is search. Also, if you like us leave us a lovely review as it helps us grow. If that wasn't enough, you can even you can follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Do You Expect Us To Talk Will Return with X-Men: The Last Stand  

“Being the first woman in every single job I have done means, I get to see just what it means to be in a job that feels built for someone else. I always say, ‘We're all in the same storm, we're not in the same boat'”   This is what Unilever's chief human resources officer or CHRO Leena Nair said in an interview to Harper's Bazaar last month. It was before she was announced the head of Chanel.   This response of hers fits perfectly in her situation today. The 52-year-old was on Tuesday appointed the new global CEO of French fashion house Chanel. She will be based in London for her new role. As an India-born woman of colour, Nair's appointment at the helm of Chanel is certainly an outlier.    Chanel has for long been a tightly-controlled family fashion house. More importantly, unlike other India-born CEOs of global companies --- most recently Parag Agrawal who took charge of Twitter earlier this month --- Nair's educational and professional credentials are for the most part, ‘Made in India'.    She completed her schooling in Maharashtra's Kolhapur before earning a degree in electronics engineering from Walchand College of Engineering in Maharashtra's Sangli.   Nair went on to complete her MBA from the Xavier School of Management in Jamshedpur where she was a gold medallist. She joined Hindustan Unilever in 1992 as a management trainee.    Nair was among the few women employees to opt for a factory role. It took her to different factories of HUL in Kolkata, Tamil Nadu's Ambattur and Maharashtra's Taloja.    In her 30 years at HUL, she rose through the ranks and held posts such as the employee relations manager, HR manager and executive director HR.    After three years as head of leadership and organisational development in London, she was appointed as chief human resources officer or CHRO in 2016, with responsibility for the company's 1,50,000 people across more than 100 countries globally. Nair was also made a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive.   She became the first woman, first Asian and youngest ever CHRO at Unilever and member of the Unilever Leadership Executive. At HUL, over a period of 10 years starting 2010, she helped the company achieve a 50/50 gender balance across global leadership.    Her agenda at HUL also included a commitment to pay the living wage across its whole suppl

In the epilogue to E is for Extinction, we get our first fill-in artist, there are some love triangle twists, and we're introduced to the freaky new students of the Xavier School. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eforevolution/message

Welcome to the podcast – “Story-Pod with Nischala”. As part of this exclusive podcast, you can tune into stories with amazing people across the world. Through these stories, you will listen to ideas that matter, real-world insights and positive inspiration. As part of the series “The Shero Diaries”, our Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Nischala Murthy Kaushik talks with influential and powerful women leaders from across the world. In each episode, we profile a corporate shero and you will hear about their personal life and career journey, choices and decisions which influenced them and reflections from these experiences. Our featured shero in this podcast Riju Vashisht Riju Vashisht serves as Genpact's Chief Transformation Officer responsible the company's overall integrated transformation services. Previously, Riju served as Genpact's Digital Solutioning and Automation leader, where she focused on driving cutting edge digital solutions and expanding the company's RPA business. Prior to that, she was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Genpact's Consumer Goods, Retail, Life Sciences, and Healthcare businesses. In that capacity, she led global operations, digital transformation and employee engagement for these verticals and drove continuous improvement, productivity, and learning and development efforts to help clients with their business transformations. In addition to two stints at Genpact, Riju has also worked at Walmart, Whirlpool and Unilever in her career which spans more than 2 decades. A Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Riju earned an MBA from the Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur and a BS in engineering at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology. This podcast has 3 sections Know your shero – in which we talk about backstories around the influence of family, upbringing, education and her career journey. We also look at forward-looking stories on where our shero is headed Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, Skills – in which we talk unfiltered about leadership, making choices and skills to lead in today's era. We also dwell into ideas on how to build diverse and inclusive organizations Rapid Fire – in which we hear quick and quirky responses from our guests

Have you ever been on a trip and recognized a scene from your favorite movie? Have you ever planned a vacation to the setting of a favorite book? Today, we're discussing trips to destinations featured in your favorite books, movies, and television shows.Destinations From BooksOur ExperiencesSalem, MA – The House of the Seven Gables by Nathanial HawthornLondon, England - The DaVinci Code by Dan BrownKing's Cross Station, London, England – Harry Potter booksDublin, Ireland, Ulysses, James JoyceOur SuggestionsTop WIthens, West Yorkshire, England – Wuthering Heights, Emile BronteAshdown Forest, East Sussex, England – Winnie the Pooh, AA MilneDublin, Ireland - Ulysses by James JoyceHanapepe Vally, Kauai, Hawaii, Jurassic ParkRestaurante Botin, Madrid, Spain - The Sun Also Rises, Ernest HemingwayCerveceria Alemana in Madrid, Spain. You can sit at Hemingway's table.Elephant Café, Edinburgh, Where J. K. Rowling wrote a lot of the Harry Potter booksDestinations from Movies and TelevisionOur ExperiencesTrim Castle, Trim, County Meath, Ireland - BraveheartRoslyn, WA – Northern Exposure (Cicily, Alaska), The Brick Saloon.Cliffs of Moher, Ireland – The Princess Bride, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceFort Worth Water Gardens, Fort Worth, TX - Logan' Run moviePhiladelphia Museum of Art, Philadephia, PA – RockyMovie filming tours Hualoa Ranch, O'ahu, HI - Jurassic Park, LostUnion Theological Seminary, New York City, New York - A Beautiful Mind and othersOur SuggestionsLos Angeles, CANew York City, NYHatley Castle, Colwood, British Columbia – Arrow, Smallville, Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men movies, and Deadpool.Great Site for Trips Inspired by Books and MoviesOn TripFiction.com, you can enter your favorite authors or books to find related destinations. You can also enter a destination and get book ideas for your next vacation.Question: Where do you want to go to live out your favorite book or movie? **Let us know on Facebook and Instagram.** For Current Promotions and complete show notes, go to Shayne.FUN/att61. Grab your free download: Top Items to Buy Before Your Theme Park Vacation to Save You Money and Stress!Ready to plan your vacation?  Ryan and Shayne are both Travel Advisors with Creating Magic Vacations and will make YOU the travel-planning superhero.Contact Ryan at DisneyTravelDad.Com.Contact Shayne at Shayne.fun.Never miss an episode and help us take you to the top with us be subscribing and leaving a 5-Star review on your favorite podcasting app:Apple PodcastsStitcherAmazon MusicSpotifyiHeartRadioGoogle Podcasts

Do You Expect Us To Talk? continues with the second X-Men film. Following an attack on the president by a mutant, tensions rise. Military scientist Colonel William Stryker has a grudge with Xavier and mutants in general and plans an attack on Xavier School for the gifted and to take Xavier and Cerebro technology to… Read the full article

This week on Creannotators, I talked with novelist Carrie Harris about her work X-Men: Liberty and Justice For All, the first entry in Aconyte Books line of Marvel’s Xavier School prose stories! We talk about Carrie’s history with X-Men comics, the specific era of X-Men and characters Harris is working with (right down to the in-continuity […] The post Creannotators #25: “X-Men Liberty and Justice For All” Interview With Writer Carrie Harris appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

The Zeb Wells written run on New Mutants (the 2009 to 2011 volume) is definitely an underrated gem of the era, bringing the Xavier School students of the 1980’s Chris Claremont X-Men into the 2010’s as fully formed young adults, graduating to X-Men status. Through connections to X-Men history and lore, Wells and company weave […] The post Krakin’ Krakoa #53: How Zeb Wells’ New Mutants Leads to 2020 Inferno 2.0 appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Class is in session! Join On Point Games on the next leg of their adventures with the Unreal X-Men, an X-Men themed campaign set in 1994 at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Meet a cast of new characters as they have interactions with some familiar faces and try to survive in not only the Marvel Universe, but also survive being awkward teenagers. The Unreal X-Men is an Actual Play podcast playing the Mutants & Masterminds Roleplaying Game created by Green Ronin Publishing. 'Halloween Again' https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Zombie_Dandies/Halloween_Again LIcensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Become a Patron! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/on-point-games/message

She may be only 7 years old, but Kayleigh Dryden has already proven she is not one to skirt around the big issues.The St Francis Xavier School pupil got sick of wearing her pinafore to school each day.So she decided to take her problem right to the top. She wrote to the school's board of trustees, asking if she could wear shorts and a T-shirt in summer.Principal Carmel Jolly told Simon and Phil the board considered Kayleigh's proposal and said ‘that's great, why not’.LISTEN ABOVE

It's back to school and we take a look at some of our favorite schools in TV and movies. From Bayside to Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters..... and everything in-between we pick our Top 5. What are your favorite schools? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Ben and Pogues return to the Xavier School for the Gifted to watch X2: X-men United. They talk weird titles, clear prisons, and questionable school safety protocol.

On today's episode, we're gearing up to talk Jason Aaron's Wolverine & the X-Men, but in order to do that, we have to give you some context. So join us as Reed gives a potent summary of Scott & Logan's motivations for the Schism event, Charlie explains why a Death Seed is a watermelon seed but for Death, Mikey takes us into Uncle Fantomex's World, and we're all haunted by the ghost of Grant Morrison as we untangle the Xavier School's cast of characters. Topics Discussed: Sometimes the Solution Is Just Fanfic; “The Fuck Is Spider-Island?”; Hope's Power Doesn't Make Any Damn Sense; A Brief History of Quentin Quire and Also Punk; Why Kids Shouldn't Fight; Does Schism Even Make Sense?; Evan is Baby, Call 911; The Five Labors of Deadpool; Zen and the Art of Selective Comics Reading

Subscribe to our podcast on: iTunes – Google Play – Stitcher Radio – Spotify – Web Player Hire Josh Ochs to speak at your organization. Recently, we sat down with Lori Davis from Xavier School to discuss her school’s experience watching the Smart Social Digital Citizenship Speech Videos. Instead of having Josh as a guest speaker, their school opted to get one of our off-the-shelf video modules to screen to their students. In this episode, Lori describes how the videos helped her educate students on how they can make their online presence the number one ticket to getting into their preferred university. Key Takeaways: Digital natives are living with the consequences of their digital footprint. So, it’s important for them to receive guidance Through the Digital Citizenship Speech Videos, students learn that sending a positive message online and on social media will get you further than being negative or remaining anonymous One of the key things that students learned from watching the Digital Citizenship Speech Videos is to volunteer their phones when pictures are being taken, so that they can better control their digital footprint A great key takeaway for students using social media to shine online is to use the same picture on all social accounts What value did the Digital Citizenship Speech Videos provide for your school? Every year we have a summit on human dignity. We pick a topic every year and this year’s theme was technology and social media, that’s how I found you. We bought the program and I showed it in the gym. Our school had a giant screen and we think your videos were effective. What was the student’s reaction after watching our Digital Citizenship Speech Videos? It went great. I walked in with a red solo cup in my hand and I asked them straight away, “do you know what connotation this cup has?” Of course, the students laughed and they were all able to say red solo cups symbolize alcoholic drinks. I told them a little story about how one year I decided to bring my breakfast of overnight oatmeal in a red solo cup. The first day I walked in I had to walk through parents and students coming into school. I thought to myself, “is this weird that I have a red solo cup at 8:00 in the morning?” I’m telling them the story and that’s how we started off our discussion. We went into the four videos and in-between each video I showed a couple of slides with ideas from your book, I thought it would be helpful to our students. What were the biggest lessons your students learned? At the end of each day when our students went back to their first-period class, there was a series of reflections that they did. There were certain key things that stood out to them and I think one of them is so simple which is volunteering their phones when pictures are taken. That was a lightbulb moment for some of the kids. I can control my image that way and not be at the mercy of whoever’s clicking away and posting. At the very end, I had the students Google themselves and they were very interested in sharing what they found with me. It was a wide variety. We discussed security controls and talked about not being so anonymous online so that a school or an employer won’t be able to find you. I think that was a key thing for the older grades because they think they’re being sneaky or hiding everything. What do your students think about the “getting fired” segment? I think it resonated with the seniors the most because they’re closest to that. Even though it’s about an employer it still sends the message that positivity is going to get you further. What would you say to educators who have yet to take part of our digital safety curriculum? My school is unique in that we devoted a whole week to technology and social media. We had your program and a district attorney come and talk about the criminal aspects of social media. I was very excited that they allowed me to present your program to the whole school by grade level. I don’t know how much we would have even covered if we didn’t devote a whole week to social media safety. I think it’s kind of scary how you can get fired with one tweet. Digital natives are living with the consequences of their digital footprint. So, it’s important for them to receive guidance. How can educators keep the digital safety conversation going? I was approached by one of the technology teachers, she sat in and watched one of the Digital Citizenship Speech Videos. She was on board with your message; I’m going to be giving her your book. I’ve discussed quite a few things in my classroom and have taken a deep dive into your presentation. I don’t know exactly where we’re going to take this yet but I think it definitely brought it to the forefront of everybody’s mind. I’ll be working with the technology teacher a little bit and just see what the next steps are. What is one quick tip from the Digital Citizenship Speech Videos that you can share with students? I think one key piece of advice you give is to use the same picture on all of your social profiles so colleges and employers can quickly identify you online. Having a bunch of different headshots across your social media profiles creates confusion and suspicion.

Welcome to Marvel Saga, a mostly monthly podcast from the creative minds behind Comic Reflections and the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! Comic Reflections, hosted by Nicholas Prom, looks at comics from the Silver and Bronze Ages. The Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!, co-hosted by Jerry McMullen, is a weekly show looking at comics, movies, and TV shows with reviews, previews, and interviews. In this issue, Spider-Man visits his Doctors, Namor makes a big entrance into New York City, the Fantastic Four survive a small encounter, Stephen Strange finds a new calling in life, and a Beauty and the Beast enrolls at the Xavier School. 

Covers, Covers, Covers… Prime Robots and Punk Mutants!  This week on the podcast Johnny and Brian are talking about comic book covers again. This time around Johnny has Optimus Prime and Brian has Quentin Quire! Plus Chuck Bartowski is SHAZAM! Thor opens to a huge overseas box office! Mark Hamill’s personality explodes into different parts in a Justice League Action short. News Bites Zachary Levi cast as Shazam Thor: Ragnarok Opens to Thunderous $107.6M Overseas Mark Hamill appears as himself in this Justice League Action short Cover Up Optimus Prime – Johnny       The Transformers (2009 IDW) #1 (RI cover) Artist – Tim Doyle The Transformers Dark Cybertron #1 (Virginia Comicon Convention exclusive) Artist – Romulo Farjardo Jr., Rob Liefeld The Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #1 (Yesteryear Comics ex.) Artist – Urszulla Mos, Jamie Tyndall The Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #10 Artist – Tim Scioli Transformers Generation 2 (Marvel) #1 Artist – Derek Yaniger Transformers Timelines #7 (Fun Publications) (Diamond ex.) Artist – Thomas Deer, Dan Khanna Quentin Quire – Brian      First appearance: New X-Men #134 Created by: Grant Morrison Frank Quitely Summary: Quire made his first appearance in New X-Men #134 (January 2003). His first appearance...

Hello! In this episode, our blorks Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) read a title that was effectively rebooted--without being renumbered! It's Peter David's and Larry Strohman's X-Factor #71, published by Marvel Comics in 1991! There's the usual creator bios, and enough X-Men backstory to help frame the issue being read. Then, they dive into the history of the X-Men, including some of Chris' personal reminiscences collecting the X-Men series! It's like attending a day of classes at the Xavier School for Gifted Children, without paying tuition! Thanks to Jesse DeJong for the suggestion! weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com facebook.com/cosmictmillhistory @cosmictmill weirdsciencedccomics.com chrisisoninfiniteearths.com weirdcomicshistory.blogspot.com

Welcome to our podcast covering the history of Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics. In the thirty-fifth episode of Ultimate Losers, Peter Parker takes a trip to the Xavier School for Gifted Children and meets the titular jerk professor. Issues: Ultimate Spider-man 43-45 (Irresponsible part 2) In this episode the losers discuss: Skipping school, Kitty Pryde's awkward flirting and Aunt May's guilt complex. Follow along on with the companion image gallery here: www.ultimateloserspodcast.wordpress.com Intro music is "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" from "Live (Only Not)" by Lemon Demon. You can purchase the album here: lemondemon.bandcamp.com/album/live-only-not

The Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Lauren and Returning-Back-To-The-Podcast Agent Haley take advantage of Agent Stargate Pioneer's vacation absence and review X-Men The Animated Series "Days Of Future Past." Agent Haley and Agent Lauren also continue the Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel Collector Corp Women Of Power crate giveaway, run down the week in Marvel news and talk some podcast feedback.   THIS TIME ON LEGENDS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: [01:50]   Giveaway: Marvel Collector Corps Crate Women Of Power X-Men The Animated Series “Days of Future Past" The weekly Marvel News YOUR feedback!!!! Highlights From The Live Chatroom   LEGENDS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. MARVEL COLLECTOR CORPS CIVIL WAR CRATE [02:19]   The hosts continue their next giveaway for the Marvel Collector Corps Women Of Power crate. By our live streamed show on July 20th, 2016 let us know which male Marvel Cinematic Universe character you would like to see gender swapped and WHO you would cast in the role. Make them good, make them funny but most of all just get them into us so you can be included in this Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D. awesome giveaway.   badgerspoon ‏@badgerspoon Jun 25 @LegendsofSHIELD Lindsey Lohan for Toni Stark! #genderswap   X-MEN THE ANIMATED SERIES “DAYS OF FUTURE PAST” [03:19]   X-Men The Animated Series “Days of Future Past”   Part 1   Directed by:   Written by: Julia Lewald Avengers: United They Stand (TV Series) (story editor - 13 episodes) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV Series) (writer - 3 episodes) Young Hercules (TV Series) (1 episode, 1999) (writer - 1 episode, 1999) (consulting producer - 36 episodes) Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) X-Men (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes)   Part 2   Written by: Robert N. Skir Gargoyles (TV Series) (1 episode, 1995) (writer - 3 episodes, 1996) Spider-Man (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes, 1992) (teleplay - 1 episode, 1994) X-Men (TV Series) (writer - 3 episodes, 1994) (written by - 2 episodes, 1993)   Written by: Marty Isenberg Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Series) (3 episodes, 2015) (written by - 1 episode, 2014) Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (TV Series) (story by - 2 episodes, 2015) (written by - 2 episodes, 2015) (supervising producer - 20 episodes) Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV Series) (3 episodes, 2006 - 2007) (writer - 6 episodes, 2003 - 2004) Spider-Man (TV Series) (writer - 6 episodes) Gargoyles (TV Series) (1 episode, 1995) (writer - 3 episodes, 1996) Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes, 1992) (teleplay - 1 episode, 1994) X-Men (TV Series) (writer - 3 episodes, 1994) (written by - 2 episodes, 1993)   Talking Points:   Haley and Lauren relive their memories of seeing this on television for the first time on 1993 Is the X-Men theme song the best theme song ever? The style of the episodes are definitely set in the 90’s Older Wolverine has some interesting drawn figure, right down to his lips The sentinels have an awesome business plan Steeling a bus is the most practical mode of transportation All security centers are known as Mission Control The order of violence to get attention while entering into the Xavier School is indeed high All assassins should write the name of the person they are trying to kill on the palm of their hand Lauren’s reasons for hating Jean begin in this X-Men series Haley loves seeing Jean get kidnapped Trump would hold anti-mutant rallies Mutants are usual terrible fixing things with time travel The animation is very close to what the comic books had in them at the time (but not meant to be watched in high definition) This series is why Rogue is Haley’s favorite Haley runs down a some of her quotes from the episodes   NEWS [32.33]   NETFLIX SERIES   Luke Cage at SDCC http://sdccblog.com/2016/06/netflix-to-bring-marvels-luke-cage-to-sdcc-2016/   Punisher premiere date? http://epicstream.com/news/Marvels-Punisher-Netflix-Series-Release-Date-Revealed   GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 & BEYOND   http://epicstream.com/news/Spider-Man-Spin-off-Movie-Featuring-Silver-Sable-Rumored   MARVEL   Marvel reveals how Cap became HYDRA http://www.newsarama.com/29904-how-steve-rogers-became-a-hydra-agent-spoilers.html#st_refDomain=t.co&st_refQuery=/NclumGfUR3   Canadian PM Justin Trudeau joins Alpha Flight http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/justin-trudeau-joins-alpha-flight-in-marvel-comic-book/   FEEDBACK [40:02]   OUTRO [40:23]   Haley, Lauren and Stargate Pioneer love to hear back from you about your top 5 Marvel character lists, your science of Marvel questions, who would you pick in an all-female Avenger team, or who’s Marvel abs you would like to see. Call the voicemail line at 1-844-THE-BUS1 or 844-843-2871.   Join Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D. next time as the hosts discuss the X-Men The Animated Series "The Phoenix Sage." You can listen in live when we record Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM Central time at Geeks.live (Also streamed live on Spreaker). Contact Info: Please see http://www.legendsofshield.com for all of our contact information or call our voicemail line at 1-844-THE-BUS1 or 844-843-2871   Don’t forget to go check out our spin-off podcast, Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D..: Longbox Edition for your weekly Marvel comic book release run-down with segments by Black Adam on S.H.I.E.L.D. comics, Lauren on Mutant Comics and Neil with his pull list run-down. Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Longbox Edition is also available on the GonnaGeek.com podcast network.   Legends Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is a Proud Member Of The GonnaGeek Network (gonnageek.com).   This podcast was recorded on Thursday June 30th, 2016.   Standby for your S.H.I.E.L.D. debriefing ---  

Comics on Consoles returns for issue #7, where the show takes its very first journey to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters by diving into the hit 2004 action RPG X-Men Legends. By giving listeners a concise and comprehensive history lesson in regards to the X-Men in comics, film, and video games, host Chris Clow then dives head-on into one of the most highly-regarded comics-based games of the entire sixth generation of consoles. Why is it so well-regarded, though? Does it represent the X-Men well? Is the gameplay memorable? Find out in issue #7 by listening now! Plus, Chris announces the subject of issue #8, as well as a release window for issue #9! Music by BenSound.com. X-Men film theme composed by John Ottman.