Podcasts about Yang

Sam and Andy come together to celebrate the Beavers 2 game win streak. They get hyped over the teams hot shooting, compare Jorge Diaz Graham to an either very young or very old Andre Iguodala, and do the first Kenpom Ponderings of the season. Plus on the Young Hansen Corner - Sam and Andy break down Yang's first career start and explain how Blazer/Beaver Bias is affecting him. Follow The Payton Years on X @YearsPayton

What does it mean for your reality that every moment of your life is being co-written by you and God? Josh Trent welcomes Dr. Steven Young, Hermetic Expert, to the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast, episode 784, to explore how every moment in our lives is co-orchestrated by both God and the self, why our wounds are divine assignments, how we can shift reality using frequencies, and why imagination is more powerful than desire. Get 33% Off Dr. Steven Young's Hermetics Course Dr. Steven Young's Hermetics Course bridges the modern and the mystical by teaching the Seven Hermetic Principles, the universal laws revealed in The Kybalion, in an actionable, science-meets-spirit format. This course empowers you to reshape your reality from the inside out by mastering principles like Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, and Polarity. Beyond philosophical teachings, this immersive program provides tools to rewire your mind, reprogram limiting beliefs, and recalibrate your energy, whether you're healing trauma, improving your health, or simply raising your vibration. 33% OFF WITH CODE "JOSH33" In This Episode, Dr. Steven Young Uncovers: [00:50] God Orchestrates Every Single Moment How both God and ourselves orchestrate every moment of our lives. Why we're a God self. How humans used to communicate via telepathy. Resources: Dr. Steven Young 754 Dr. Steven Young | How to Use Your Mind to Change Reality Beyond Limitations [03:55] Purpose: The Ego vs God How the ego and infinite God can be harmonized. Why God doesn't have free will, but humans do. How we exist in a purpose that's beyond comprehension. Why we either produce from lack or wholeness. How the frequency of lack produces more lack. [10:05] God Experiences Life Through You Why we need to learn to honor our mothers. How our wounds are a gift from God. Why the dense energies we're given will eventually expand. How God experiences infinite frequencies through humans. Why God wants to have experiences through us. Resources: 538 John Wineland | A New Masculine Paradigm: Leading With Love, Living Your Truth + Healing The World [15:25] What Dictates Your Reality Why we shouldn't rely only and knowing and intellect. How the relationship to an object dictates our reality. Why many parents overprotect their children and create friction in their relationship. How polarity works. Resources: Cosmic Joke [18:55] The Pendulum Swing Why people who ask for connection experience extreme loneliness. How God makes us experience the polar opposites. Why getting off the pendulum swing allows us to become nothing and everything. Resources: The Punisher (2004) [21:50] Relationship Pendulum What Steven's visit to Tibet with his ex-partner taught him. How he's struggled in finding a partner. What led him and his ex-partner to start getting back together. [26:15] Distorted Sexual Energy How the Yin and Yang symbol represents God, and both sides are one. Why Steven doesn't judge malevolent sexual energy. How sexual energy is a creative force. Why lack represents separation. [31:35] The Root Source of All Addiction Why we need to honor the anger that we feel towards the demonic sexual energy. How the Western healing system tells us something's wrong with us. Why God loves us no matter what we do. How addictions distract us from feeling ourselves. Resources: Your Brain on Porn by Gary Wilson [37:10] Spiritual Separation + Deception Why labels put us in a box and separate us from the infinite. How the spiritual people live in separation. The purpose of deception in the human experience. [39:50] The Power of Words How Steven's brain got attacked by flash-eating bacteria. Why we should rely more on intuition than intellect. How the word "vulnerability" implies we put ourselves at risk. The problem with conscious capitalism. Resources: Emotional Epigenetics™: The Sacred Science of Identity Transformation (Remember Who You Are) [46:25] A Business Is a Living Entity The five planes of existence. Why businesses are living things. How the intention and desire behind creating a business shape its outcomes. Why our desire to have a thriving future wants to happen. [51:10] The Purpose of Hermetic Laws How Steven was called to create the course. Why hermetic principles help us navigate the five planes of existence. How hermetics create more peace in our lives. Why Steven's favorite hermetic law is the law of correspondence. [54:50] Everything In Your Life Is a Manifestation How we need to look beyond things to understand them. Why the double slit experiment confirms the hermetic laws. How we don't need to step into our power because we've always been beyond powerful. Why we're never not manifesting. How our conscious awareness slows down vibration to change wave form to solid. Why we create reality just like God. Resources: Patch Adams (1998) What The Bleep Do We Know?! (2004) [01:00:40] How Imagination Can Shift Reality How what we imagine creates our reality. Why our imagination is more powerful than our conscious desires. How schools take away our imagination to keep us enslaved. Resources: An Experimental study of imagination. [01:04:20] Science and Spirituality Are One How alchemy merges science and spirit. Why spirit and science operate as one. How religion separated science and spirituality. Why we're now heading toward the merge of science and spirituality. [01:08:05] Recognize Your Subconscious How Carl Jung impacted Steven's work. Why our work here is to recognize our subconscious self. How Steven's partner shows him love even when he's not loving. [01:13:00] Advanced Hermetics Why the hermetic teachings become more powerful once we start embodying them. How advanced hermetic practices reveal our shadow and ego. Why hermetics are the source code for all spiritual teachings. How people can de-materialize and re-materialize to time travel. Why Atlantis was an advanced civilization that communicated telepathically. Resources: Byron Katie [01:20:20] The Third Reality How everything has been happening faster in the last 5 years. Why we're finally starting to remember our divinity. The importance of choosing what we allow into our consciousness. How chaos is being balanced out. Resources: 782 Tom Bilyeu: Do THIS Before AI Takes 300 Million Jobs [01:25:10] Nothing Can Grow Without Space How Steven's friend spent 9 months in silence in a monastery. Why we can't have an experience without space. How nouns and judgment put us in a box. Why so many people don't feel fulfilled. How cognitive biases prevent us from seeing the opposite story. "For 36,000 years, humanity lived in complete harmony with dimensional beings because we understood and lived by the Hermetic laws. We lost that knowledge after the reset, but now we're seeing and experiencing a resurgence of that wisdom. We are remembering our divinity and accessing pure source code of reality." — Dr. Steven Young Leave Wellness + Wisdom a Review on Apple Podcasts All Resources From This Episode Dr. Steven Young 754 Dr. Steven Young | How to Use Your Mind to Change Reality Beyond Limitations 538 John Wineland | A New Masculine Paradigm: Leading With Love, Living Your Truth + Healing The World Cosmic Joke The Punisher (2004) Your Brain on Porn by Gary Wilson Emotional Epigenetics™: The Sacred Science of Identity Transformation (Remember Who You Are) Patch Adams (1998) What The Bleep Do We Know?! (2004) An Experimental study of imagination. Byron Katie 782 Tom Bilyeu: Do THIS Before AI Takes 300 Million Jobs Josh's Trusted Products | Up To 40% Off Shop All Products Biohacking⁠

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 207-points this morning from yesterday's close at 27,550 on turnover of 8.8-billion N-T. The market tumbled nearly 300 points on Monday amid investor concerns over an A-I bubble - which triggered heavy selling in the bellwether electronics sector, to pull the broader market into negative territory. Top trade negotiator claiming Taiwan 'very likely' to secure stacking relief from US The government's top trade negotiator says the U-S and Taiwan are in the final stages of trade negotiations and the outcome will "very likely" result in Taiwan obtaining tariff stacking relief. According Yang Jen-ni, she firmly believes the negotiating team will achieve such that goal, as it has been working to ensure that any adjusted tariff rate for Taiwan will not be added to the existing ones. Yang says Taiwan might also obtain most favored nation status under Section 232 of the U-S Trade Expansion Act. She's also denying reports the U-S government is seeking a commitment from Taiwan to train American workers in the semiconductor manufacturing sector and other tech industries as part of the trade deal. CDC marks World AIDS Day with a drag show to fight HIV stigma And, The Centers for Disease Control marked World AIDS Day by inviting drag queens for a performance it says was aimed at breaking down stigma (汙名) against people living with HIV. Held under the theme of "Breaking Myths, Keeping Love on Track," the event featured performances by several local drag queens. C-D-C Director-General Philip Luo says more than 1,000 HIV infections were reported last year, and Taiwan's policies on testing, follow-up, and treatment are on the right track, which has led to a decline in new infections this year. Luo also says HIV testing has been more active this year than last year and the C-D-C has forecast that new HIV infections this year will fall below 900, to a 22-year low. Hong Kong arrests more suspects in fire probe as death toll hits 151 Hong Kong authorities said on Monday they had arrested 13 people for suspected manslaughter (誤殺) in a probe into the city's worst fire in more than half a century. At least 151 people are now known to have died. Laura Westbrook reports. Congo Declares Ebola Outbreak Over A recent Ebola outbreak (爆發) in southern Congo has been declared over by health officials, after no new cases were reported for 45 days. Congo's health minister says the outbreak resulted in 53 confirmed cases and 43 deaths. The government announced the latest outbreak of the virus in September in the southern Kasai province town of Bulape, and it spread from there to at least four other towns. It was Congo's 16th outbreak of the disease since it was first reported in the country in 1976. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 臺企銀Hokii數位帳戶超方便，邀朋友開戶再完成任務各拿一百元獎勵金！ 還能抽RIMOWA、Galaxy S25 Ultra、AirPods4等夢幻好禮～ 年末小紅包這裡領

This episode we look at many of the natural events and talk about those observing and writing things down, and why they may have wanted to do so. For more, check out our podcast blogpage:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-139   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 139: Observing the "Natural" World. Members of the Onmyou-ryou, dressed in the official robes of their office, sat around in their observation tower, measuring the location of the stars.  They kept their light to a minimum, just enough so that they could write down their observations, but not so much that it would destroy their vision.  As they looked up, suddenly they saw a strange movement: a streak through the sky.  They waited, and observed, and then there was another, and another after that.  It was as if the stars themselves were falling from the heavens.  They watched as it seemed that the constellations themselves were melting and falling apart.  Quickly they scribbled down notes.  Tomorrow, with the light of day, they would consult various sources to see just what it could mean.  For now, their role was simply to observe and record.   Welcome back, everyone.  It is the height of holiday season in the US as I record this, and in our narrative we are in the middle of the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, who came to power in 672 and who has been shoring up the Ritsuryo state instigated by his late brother, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou.  We have talked in recent episodes about how Ohoama put a lot of the state under the control of members of the royal family, or at least those with claims to royal blood, and how he had also begun work on the Chronicles—the very works that we have been using to try and understand the history of this and earlier periods.   It seems clear that Ohoama and his cohorts were doing their best to solidify their control and, in the process, create what they felt was a modern state, leveraging the continental model, but not without their own local flavor.  After all, they were also investing in the kami based rituals of state and specifically in Ise shrine, which they claimed as an ancestral shrine for their lineage. This episode, let's dig into another thing that was getting reported around this time.  And that is… science!  Or at least observations of the world and indications of how people were interacting with it. Before going into the subject, I want to acknowledge that "science", or "Kagaku" in modern Japanese, may not look like what we think of as "science" today.  The word "Kagaku" itself appears to come about in the late Edo period, and became associated with the western idea of "Science" in the Meiji period.  Today we think of it as observations, yes, but also testing via the scientific method. I think it might be more appropriate to categorize a lot of earlier science under a term like "learning" or "study", and it seems to have encompassed a wide range of topics of study, some of which we would include as "science" and some which we might refer to more as "arts".  There is also a very fine line with religion and philosophy as well. From a modern perspective, I think one could fairly argue that "science"—particularly the so-called "hard" sciences—refers to something that can be empirically tested via the scientific method.  So you can see something, form a hypothesis, create a test, and then that test should produce the same results no matter who conducts it, assuming you account for the variables. And please don't @ me about this… I know I am simplifying things.  This isn't a podcast about science unless we are talking about the social sciences of history and archaeology. In contrast to our modern concept of science, much of what we see in the Asuka era is built around using our reasoning to arrive at the truth of something.  In cases where we are dealing with clearly physical phenomena that have observable causes and effects, this can lead to remarkably reliable results.  One example of this is calendrical science—it isn't that hard to observe the passing of days and seasons.  Even the rotation of the earth and the movements of stars and even something with as large a period as comets could be observed and tracked, especially if you had centuries of data to comb through.  In fact, they often would predict things that it turns out they couldn't, themselves, see.  They could predict that an eclipse would occur, for example, even when that eclipse was only visible somewhere else.  And they didn't have to calculate gravitational pull, mass, or distances between different heavenly bodies for that to occur. Similarly, in the agricultural sphere: you had so many people who observed the seasons and would figure out new ways of doing things.  It doesn't take an understanding of chlorophyl to know that plants generally do better when exposed to sunlight. I believe the leap happens when you get to things that go beyond purely observable means.  Sickness, for example—how do you explain viruses or germs without equipment like microscopes to see what our eyes alone cannot?  And if such "invisible" things could cause so much damage, then why could there not be other "invisible" elements, such as kami and boddhisatvas?  And as humans we are driven to make connections.  It is one of the things that has driven our technological innovation and rise, but it is also something that can easily go awry.  Like when you are sitting in a dark house, alone, and you hear a noise.  Rationally, you might know that houses settle and creak, but that doesn't necessarily stop your brain from connecting it with thoughts that someone must be in the house making that noise. Or even how we make judgments based on nothing more than how someone talks or what they look like, because our brains have made connections with those things, for good or ill. A large part of the rationalization that was accomplished in Asian thought had to do with concepts of Yin and Yang, the negative and the positive, the dark and the light.  This was thought of as a kind of energy—qi or ki—that was embedded in things.  We discussed this somewhat back in episode 127, because yin yang theory, along with the five element theory, known as Wuxing or Gogyou in Japanese, became embedded in the idea of the calendar.  Why was summer hot, except that it was connected with an excess of fire energy?  And the cold, dark days of winter would be associated with an excess of water, naturally. I should note that while this is one of the more comprehensive philosophical systems in use, it was not the only means by which various phenomena and effects were rationalized.  After all, it had to be imposed on a framework of how the world otherwise worked, and descriptions of the world came from a variety of places.  There was, for example, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or Sanhaijing, which detailed the world as envisioned in the period before the Qin dynasty, although there were occasional updates.  The Sanhaijing  described regular plants and animals in the same breath as gods and monsters.  There were also various buddhist sutras, which brought their own cosmological view of the universe that had to be squared with other visions, including those passed down locally describing the archipelago as the "Reed Plain" and giving particular importance to eight of the islands—though which eight depends on which variant of the creation myth you are referencing. To categorize the study of the natural—and what we would consider the supernatural—world around them, the Ritsuryou set up specific bureaus.  One of these was the Onmyou-ryou, the Bureau of Yin-yang, also known as the Onyo no Tsukasa.  This Bureau oversaw divination, astronomy, time, and calendars.  At its head was the Onmyou-no-kami.  Below them were the various scholars studying the core subjects, as well as technical practitioners to carry out the rites and divination. On the continent, priority was generally given to astronomical and calendrical studies, and many of the more magical practices or rituals would fade away, likely because there were local Taoist institutions who could take up much of that work.  In Japan, however, it seems that the calendrical studies tended to ossify, instead, while onmyoji came to fill a role not just for the state but also among the population for divination and other such practices.  Even into the Edo period one could find private onmyoji, and the Bureau itself lasted until the very beginning of the Meiji period. Another important institution of the Ritsuryo government for learning was the Daigakuryou, the Bureau of Great Learning.  Students of Japanese may recognize the term "Daigaku" referring, today, to universities. The original concept for the Daigaku-ryou, or Daigaku no Tsukasa, was focused on the study of those things that were considered perhaps a bit more practical and necessary to anyone who might want a political career.  Since this was founded on concepts of Confucian government, it is little wonder that it was originally designed to focus on Confucian studies, among other things.  This fits into the idea of a supposed meritocracy, where one's education was part of the examination.  You may recall from Episode 115 we talked about the National University in Chang'an, which is likely something that the Daigaku Ryou could only ever dream of becoming. Early arts taught at the Daigaku Ryou included the Confucian classics, mathematics, writing, and Chinese pronunciation.  These were all things that you would need to know to become a part of the bureaucracy The idea of a school may have been born along with the early institution of the government, with mention as early as 671, in the last year of Naka no Oe's reign, but we don't have it clearly established in the code until later.  Full operations may have been somewhat delayed due to the tumultuous events of Ohoama's accession to power in 672, but we do see it explicitly mentioned in the year 675.  On the first day of the year we are told that Students from the Daigaku Ryou, along with students from the Onmyou-Ryou and from the Gaiyaku Ryou, the Bureau of External Medicine; along with the Woman of S'ravasti, the Woman of Tara, Prince Syeonkwang of Baekje, and Silla labourers offered presents of drugs and various rarities. We talked about the first two, the Daigaku-ryou and the Onmyou-ryou, but the Gaiyaku Ryou doesn't seem to have a lot of information out there beyond this mention.  Later there would a "Ten'yaku Ryou", or Bureau of Medicine, established in the code.  Since we don't have any extant codes from this period beyond what was written down in the Nihon Shoki, we don't know for certain what the Gaiyaku-ryou was , and it is possible that the Gaiyaku-Ryou was a precursor to the Ten'yaku Ryou.  "GAI" means "outside" or "external", leading me to wonder if this referred to external medicine in contrast to internal medicine, or if it meant medicine or drugs from outside teh archipeloago. I would point out that these students are found with the Woman of S'ravasti, or Shae; the Woman of Tara; a Baekje prince and Silla labourers.  In other words, they were all people from outside of the archipelago.  This is not entirely surprising as it was from outside that much of the learning was coming into the country. "Yaku" or "Kusuri", which can be translated as either "Drugs" or "medicine", could refer to a number of things.  How effective they were is somewhat questionable. Almost certainly some of them had confirmed medicinal efficacy, but others may have been thought to have been effective due to things like their connection to the five elements, or wuxing, theory. For example, something red might be assumed to have a warming effect because of the presumed presence of the fire element.  And the power of the placebo effect no doubt made them seem at least partially effective.  Consider, for example, how many people will swear by certain remedies for the common cold when all it really does is distract you, or perhaps make you a bit more comfortable, until the symptoms pass on their own. A more certain science was probably that of Astronomy, which we've mentioned a few times.  The passage of the stars through the sky was something that could be easily observed.  There is a theory that some of the first lines in the Yijing, or book of changes, may actually be a description of the changing of seasons as different aspects of a given constellation rise over the horizon, and the placement of certain stars would help in the adjustment of the lunar calendar, since the moon's orbit does not match up exactly with the solar year, and year the solar year was quite important to things like agriculture and even sailing to the mainland. This all makes 675 a seemingly banner year for science, as four days after the presentation of medicine to the throne, the government erected a platform by which to observe the stars.  This wouldn't need to be much—it could have been an earthen mound, or just a tower, from which one could get above the ground, presumably see over any buildings, to the horizon.  Granted, Asuka might not be the best place for such observations, with the nearby mountains meaning that the true horizon is often obstructed.  Nonetheless, it may have been enough to make calculations. Astronomy platforms, or Tenmondai, would continue to be used up until at least the Meiji period.  Without a telescope, observations were somewhat limited—though they also didn't have the same level of light pollution that we have today.  Remember, many woke just before dawn and went to sleep not too long after the sun went down, which only makes sense when you are living in a place where creating light, while doable, also ran the risk of burning your entire house to the ground. It is worth noting that the sky for the ancient Japanese was likely quite different than what most of us see when we look up, unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place with very little light pollution.  For many of those living today in the cities and suburban landscape, go outside at night and you might see the moon and some of the brightest stars, but for most of the ancient Japanese, they would look up and see the heavenly river, the Amakawa, or Milky Way.  They would have looked up at a sky glittering with myriad dots of light, as well as planets and more.  It was both familiar and strange—something one saw regularly and yet something that was also extremely inaccessible. Astronomical observations would have been important for several reasons, as I've mentioned.  They would have been used to keep the calendar in check, but they would also have likely been used to help calibrate the water clock, which helped to tell time.  Of course, going back to the five elements and yin yang theory, it is also believed that the energy, the qi or ki, changed with the seasons and the movements of the stars and planets—planets were not known as such, of course, but their seemingly erratic movements compared to bright lights in the sky meant they were noticed and assigned values within the elemental system. One of the things that came with the changing seasons, the heavenly movements, and the flow of ki was a concept of "kata-imi", literally directional taboos.  There were times when certain directions might be considered favorable or unfavorable for various actions.  This could be something as simple as traveling in a given direction.  In the centuries to come this would spawn an entire practice of kata-tagae, or changing direction.  Is the north blocked, but you need to travel there, anyway?  Well just go northwest to say hello to a friend or visit your local sake brewery, and then travel due east.  Ta-da!  You avoided going directly north!  There were also mantra-like incantations that one might say if they had to travel in an inauspicious direction to counteract the concept of bad influences. This also influenced various other things, and even today you will often see dates where a year and month might be followed by simply the character for "auspicious day" rather than an actual day of the month. So observing the heavens was important, and it was also important that they tostudy the works of those on the continent, whose records could help predict various astronomical phenomena.  Except that there was one tiny problem:  I don't know if you've noticed, but Japan and China are in two different locations.  Not all astronomical phenomena can be observed from all points of the globe.  The Northern Lights, for example, are rarely seen in more southerly latitudes, and while eclipses are not too rare, a total eclipse only impacts certain areas of the earth, along relatively narrow paths. I mention this because it isn't always clear if the records we get in the Nihon Shoki are about phenomena they directly observed or if they are taking reports from elsewhere and incorporating them into the narrative.  One such event is the comet of 676. The entry in the Nihon Shoki tells us that in the 7th lunar month of the 5th year of Temmu Tennou, aka 676 CE, a star appeared in the east that was 7 or 8 shaku in length.  It disappeared two months later. We've mentioned some of this before, but the sky was divided up into "shaku", or "feet", though how exactly it was measured I'm not entirely sure.  It appears to be that one foot was roughly 1.5 degrees of the sky, give or take about a quarter of a degree, with 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.  So it would have been about 10 to 12 degrees in the sky.  Another way to picture it is if you hold out your arm towards the object, and spread your index and little finger, it would probably fit between those two points.  This comet hung around for some time, and a great part about a comet like this is that it was viewable from multiple locations.  After all, as the earth turned, different areas were exposed to the comet as it passed through our part of the solar system.  Thus we have records of it from not just the Nihon Shoki:  We also find it in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, where it was thought to have foretold the end of Bishop Wilfred's control of Northumbria.  We also see it in Tang, Silla, and Syrian sources. These sources aren't always in complete agreement.  For one thing, they noted when they first saw it, which might have been impacted by local conditions.  And then conversion between lunar and solar calendars can also sometimes get in the way.  Roughtly speaking, we have the Nihon Shoki providing dates of somewhere from about August or September of 676, on the Western calendar, to October or November. Tang sources put it from 4 September to 1 November.  Silla Chronicles claim that it first appeared in the 7th lunar month, so between August and September.  A Syrian Chronicle notes a comet from about 28 August to 26 October in the following year, 677, but this is thought to have been a mistake.  European sources generally seem to claim it was seen in August and lasted for three months.  All of these sightings put it at roughly the same time. Working with that and with known comets, we think we actually know which comet this is:  The Comet de Cheseaux also known as the Comet Klinkenberg-Cheseaux.  And I should mention this is all thanks to a research paper by M. Meyer and G. W. Kronk.  In that paper they propose that this is the comet with the designation of C/1743 X1, or the common names I just mentioned.  If so, based on its trajectory, this comet would have been visible in 336, 676, 1032, 1402, 1744, and is next predicted to show up in 2097.  And no, those aren't all exactly the same amount of time.  It is roughly every 350 years or so, but with the movements of the solar system, the planets, and various gravitational forces that likely slow or speed up its movement, it doesn't show up on exactly regular intervals.  Still, it is pretty incredible to think that we have a record of a comet that was seen the world over at this time, by people looking up from some very different places. Comets were something interesting for early astronomers.  They may have originally been seen as particularly ominous—after all, in the early eras, they were hardly predictable, and it would take years to get enough data to see that they were actually a somewhat regular occurrence.  In fact, it is likely that early astronomers were able to figure out eclipse schedules before comets.  Still, they seem to have come to the realization that comets were in fact another type of natural and reoccurring phenomenon.  That isn't to say that they didn't have any oracular meaning, but it did mean they were less of an obvious disturbance of the heavenly order. We have another comet mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 681, but that one seems to have had less attention focused on it, and we don't have the same details.  Then in the 8th lunar month of 682 we have an entry about a Great Star passing from East to West—which was probably a shooting star, rather than a comet.  Comets, for all that they appear to be streaking across the sky thanks to their long tails, are often relatively stable from an earthbound perspective, taking months to appear and then disappear again. Then, on the 23rd day of the 7th month of 684 we get another comet in the northwest.  This one was more than 10 shaku in length—about 15 degrees, total, give or take.  Given the date, we can be fairly confident about this one, as well: it was the famous Halley's comet.  Halley's comet is fascinating for several reasons.  For one, it has a relatively short period of about 72 to 80 years, though mostly closer to 75 to 77 years in between sightings.  The last time it visited the earth was in 1986, and it is expected back in 2061.  Halley's comet has been recorded since the 3rd century BCE, and, likely because of its short period, it was the first periodic comet to be recognized as such.  There are other periodic comets with short periods, but many of them are not visible with the naked eye.  Halley's comet is perhaps the most studied comet, given its regular and relatively short periodicity.  It is also connected to the famous writer, humorist, and essayist, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain.  He was born only a few days after the comet reached perihelion in 1835 and died a day after it reached the same point again in 1910, and while he may not have visited Japan in his lifetime, it was a period of great change both in his home country of America and in Japan.  America, of course, would undergo a Civil War over the issue of slavery in the early 1860s, and shortly after that Japan would have its own civil war in the form of the Meiji Revolution.  And while he never visited—and translation could only do so much to capture the art of his prose—Mark Twain's works were apparently quite influential in Japan in the early 20th century. Of course, comets were just one of the celestial phenomena to be observed.  The astronomers were interested in just about anything happening in the sky.  We have accounts of both solar and lunar eclipses, and not necessarily full eclipses either.  We even have notice of the movement of some planets, such as in 681, when they noted that the planet mars "entered" the moon. Obviously the astronomers weren't recording every raincloud that came through—at least not in the main chronicles—but they did capture a fair number of events.  They did record particularly memorable storms.  For instances, in the 8th lunar month of 675 there was a storm that is said to have caused sand to fly and which then damaged houses.  This sounds like a wind storm without rain—after all, if there was rain, you would expect that the sand would have been wet and tamped down.  It is possible to have hurricane level winds without the rain.  While typhoons typically bring rain, especially as they usually build up their strength at sea, it is possible to have the winds alone, as I've experienced, myself, in Tokyo.  This most likely happens in an isolated area—there is water and rain somewhere, but the typhoon can be large, so parts of it may only get the wind and little or no rain.  I wonder if something like that happened in this instance.  It is also possible that this record refers to actual sand being brought across from the continent.  In some instances, sand can be lifted up from as far away as Mongolia and carried all the way to Japan, though it is pretty rare. And it wasn't just wind and sand.  We get accounts of hail coming down as large as peaches, torrential rainstorms, and even ash, likely from a volcanic eruption that was otherwise unrecorded.  There are also accounts of snow, though typically recorded in times where you wouldn't expect to see it, such as the third lunar month, which would mean snow in late April or early May. Mostly these storms are mentioned in terms of how they affected the immediate fortunes of the living, but sometimes storms did even more damage.  In 682, for example, a hoar-frost was reported in both Shinano and Kibi in the 7th lunar month.  On its own, this probably wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but the chroniclers add that because of storms the "five grains had not formed".  So storms had diminished the crops and the hoar-frost was apparently the killing blow.  The harvest that year would be lean, and it would not be a happy time for many that winter. And then, just as important as what was happening was what was not.  There are several mentions of droughts, particularly towards the end of Spring, early Summer.  This is traditionally a drier period, and if it is too dry it could harm the harvest.  And so the government was expected to find a way to bring the rain—a tall order, the general resolution to which seems to be prayers and rituals designed to bring rain.  In a place like Japan, I suspect that it was usually just a matter of time before the prayers were "successful", thus reinforcing their presumed efficacy. Some of the things that they recorded were a bit more mysterious.  For example, in the second lunar month of 680 we are told that a sound like drums was heard from the East.  There are many things this could theoretically be, from rumbles of thunder to some other phenomenon, though the following year we have a note about thunder in the West, so theoretically they knew the difference between thunder and drums.  Later that same year, 680, we are told that there was a "brightness" in the East from the hour of the dog to the hour of the rat—about 8pm to midnight.  Was this some kind of aurora?  But wouldn't that have been in the north, rather than the east?    Could it have been some kind of lightning?  But that is a long time for a lightning storm to hang around.  And there are other strange things, some of which seem impossible and we have to doubt.  For example, in 684 they said that, at dusk, the seven stars of the Big Dipper drifted together to the northeast and sank.  Unless they are just recording the natural setting of the stars of the big dipper.  Certainly, over time the constellation appears to rotate around the north star, and it dips down to or below the horizon in the autumn months.  So were they just talking about the natural, yearly setting of the stars, or something else? There may be some clues in that the 11th lunar month, when that was recorded, we see several other heavenly phenomena recorded.  Two days after the Big Dipper set, at sunset, a star fell in the eastern quarter of the sky that we are told was as large as a jar.  Later, the constellations were wholly disordered and stars fell like rain.  That same month, a star shot up in the zenith and proceeded along with the Pleiades until the end of the month.  While this sounds like shooting stars and a possible meteor shower, a later commenter suggested that this was all a heavenly omen for the state of the court, showing the "disordered" state of the nobility at this time.  Of course, this was also a year and change before the sovereign's eventual passing, so there is also the possibility that the Chroniclers were looking at events later and ascribing meaning and importance after the fact. In another account of something seemingly wonderous: in 682 we are told that something shaped like a Buddhist flag, colored like flame, was seen by all of the provinces and then sank into the Japan sea north of Koshi.  A white mist is also said to have risen up from the Eastern mountains. There are various things that could be going on here.  It strikes me that the white mist could be a cloud, but could also be something volcanic.  And the flame colored prayer flag makes me think about how a high cloud can catch the light of the rising or setting sun.  That could look like a flag, and can seem extremely odd depending on the other conditions in the sky. Or maybe it was aliens. Okay, it is unlikely that it was aliens, but I think that these do give an idea of the kinds of records that were being made about the observed phenomena.  Obviously the Nihon Shoki is recording those things that were considered particularly significant for whatever reason.  This could just be because it was something odd and unexplained, or perhaps it was more well known but rare.  It may have even had religious connotations based on some aspect, like evoking the image of Buddhist flags.  And it is possible that it was thought to have had significant impact on events—perhaps even an impact that isn't clear to us today, many centuries removed from the events. Some things were clear, however.  Lightning strikes are often mentioned specifically when they strike something of note.  In 678, we are told that a pillar of the Western Hall of the New Palace was struck by lightning, though apparently the building itself survived.  Then, in 686, Lighting appeared in the southern sky with a large roar of thunder.  A fire broke out and caught the tax cloth storehouse of the Ministry of Popular affairs, which immediately exploded in flames.  After all, a thatched roofed, wooden building filled with kindling in the form of cloth—and likely a  fair amount of paper and writing supplies to keep track of it all—sounds like a bonfire waiting to happen.  There were reports that the fire had actually started in Prince Osakabe's palace and then spread to the Ministry of Popular Affairs from there. It is also worth noting that recording of such events was still somewhat new to the archipelago as a whole. They were learning from the continent, but also defining their own traditions. Observations of natural phenomena weren't just relegated to celestial occurrences or weather.  After all, there was something else that one could observe in the sky:  birds.  Now this wasn't your average bird-watching—though I'm not saying that there weren't casual birders in ancient Japan, and if we ever find someone's birding diary from that era I think that would be so cool.  But there were some things that were significant enough to be mentioned. For example, in 678 we get a report of "atori", or bramblings.  Bramblings are small songbirds which are found across Eurasia.  Notably they are migratory, and are known to migrate in huge flocks especially in the winter time, and sure enough on the 27th day of the 12th month we are told that the bramblings flew from the southwest to the northeast, covering the entire sky.  This makes me think about some of the other mass migrations that used to occur that have largely been reduced significantly due to habitat loss, disruption to traditional migratory routes, and other population pressures on various bird species.  Still, having so many birds that it blocked out the sky certainly seems a significant event to report on.  We later see a similar account in 680, with the flock moving from southeast to northwest.  Given the location of Asuka it sounds like they were flocking in the mountains and heading out over the Nara Basin, perhaps seeking food in another mountainous area. In 682, the birders were at it again.  This time, around midday on the 11th day of the 9th lunar month, several hundreds of cranes appeared around the Palace and soared up into the sky.  They were there for about two hours before they dispersed.  Once again, cranes are migratory and known to flock.  Cranes are also known as a symbol of long life and joy—and I can understand it.  Have you ever seen a flock of cranes?  They are not small birds, and they can be really an incredible sight.  Flocks of cranes themselves were probably not that rare, and it was no doubt more about so many gathering around the palace which made it particularly special. It wasn't just birds in the sky that were considered important symbols, though.  Birds often are noted as auspicious omens.  Usually strange birds, plants, or other such things are found in various provinces and presented to the throne.    So in 675, Yamato presented auspicious "barn-door fowl", likely meaning a fancy chicken.  Meanwhile, the Eastern provinces presented a white falcon and the province of Afumi presented a white kite.  Chickens are associated with the sun and thus with the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and albino versions of animals were always considered auspicious, often being mentioned in Buddhist sources.  Later, in 680, we see a small songbird, a "Shitodo", also described as white, and probably albino, sent to the court from nearby Settsu. Then, in 681 there is mention of a red sparrow.  Red coloration is not quite the same as albinism, though it is something that does occur at times, when the brownish coloration comes out more red than brown, and I suspect this is what we are talking about.  This is most likely just a recessed gene or genetic mutation, similar to causes for albinism, but just in a different place in the DNA.  As for why it was important:  I'd first and foremost note that anything out of the ordinary (and even some ordinary things) could be considered a sign.   Red was also seen as an auspicious color, so that may have had something to do with it as well.  And then there is the concept of Suzaku, the red bird of the south.  Suzaku is usually depicted as an exotic bird species of some kind, like how we might depict a phoenix.  But it was also just a "red bird", so there is that, and perhaps that was enough.  Not that this red sparrow was "Suzaku", but evoked the idea of the southern guardian animal.  A year prior, in 680, a red bird—we aren't told what kind—had perched on a southern gate, which even more clearly screams of the Suzaku aesthetic. It is probably worth noting here that in 686, towards the end of the reign, not that anyone knew it at the time, Ohoama decided to institute a new nengo, or regnal period.  It was called Shuuchou—red or vermillion bird—and it likely referred to Suzaku.  This nengo was cut short, however, with Ohoama's death that same year.  Nengo were often chosen with auspicious names as a kind of hope for the nation, so clearly "red bird" was considered a good thing. A month after the red sparrow, Ise sent a white owl, and then a month after that, the province of Suwou sent a red turtle, which they let loose in the pond at the Shima palace.  Again, these were probably just examples of animals seen as auspicious, though they would have likely been recorded by the Onmyou-ryou, who would have likely combed through various sources and precedents to determine what kind of meaning might be attached to them. Color wasn't the only thing that was important.  In 682, the Viceroy of Tsukushi reported that they had found a sparrow with three legs.  There are numerous reasons why this could be, but there is particular significance in Japan and Asia more generally.  A three legged bird is often associated with the sun Andusually depicted as a black outline of a three legged bird inside of a red sun.  In Japan this was often conflated with the Yata-garasu, the Great Crow, which is said to have led the first mythical sovereign, Iware Biko, to victory in his conquest of Yamato.  Thus we often see a three legged crow depicted in the sun, which was an object of particular veneration for the Wa people from centuries before.  And I suspect that the little three-legged sparrow from Tsukushi  I suspect that this had particular significance because of that image. Animals were not the only auspicious things presented to the throne.  In 678, Oshinomi no Miyatsuko no Yoshimaro presented the sovereign with five auspicious stalks of rice.  Each stalk, itself, had other branches.  Rice, of course, was extremely important in Japan, both from a ritual and economic sense, so presenting rice seems appropriate.  Five stalks recalls things like the five elemental theory—and in general five was consider a good number.  Three and five are both good, prime numbers, while four, pronounced "Shi", sounds like death and is considered inauspicious.  Three, or "San" is sometimes associated with life, and five is associated with the five elements, but also just the fact that it is half of ten, and we have five fingers on one hand and in so many other ways, five is regarded as a good number in much of Asia. That the stalks had multiple branches likely referred to them bearing more than the usual amount of rice on them, which seems particularly hopeful.  Certainly the court thought so.  In light of the auspicious gift, all sentences of penal servitude and lower were remitted.  In 680, Officials of the Department of Law gave tribute of auspicious stalks of grain, themselves.  I'm not sure, in this case, that it was all that they hoped, however, as that began three days straight of rain and flooding. A year earlier, in 679, we are told that the district of Ito, in Kii, immediately south of Yamato, sent as tribute the "herb of long life".  We are told that it "resembled" a mushroom—probably meaning it was a mushroom, or maybe something formed into a mushroom shape.  But the stem was about a foot long and the crown was two spans, about 6 feet in diameter.  This is pretty incredible, and I have to wonder if there is a bit of exaggeration going on here. Another tribute was a horn found on Mt. Katsuraki.  It branched into two at the base, was united at the end, and had some flesh and hair still attached, about an inch in length.  They claimed it must be horn or a Lin, or Kirin, sometimes referred to as an Asian unicorn—a mythical creature considered to be quite auspicious and benevolent.  This was on the 26th day in the 2nd lunar month of the year 680, probably around March or April.  I highly suspect that what they found was an oddly shaped bit of antler from  a buck whose antlers had begun to come in and which might have been taken out by wolves or bears or something else altogether.  The fact that the ends were said to be fused together could just be referring to some kind of malformation of the antlers.  The fur and flesh could mean that the antlers were still growing—antlers would probably just be coming in around early spring time.  Still, there is no telling how long it was there, so it could have been from the previous year as well.  Attributing it to a kirin seems a bit of a stretch, but it was clearly something unusual. Animals and plants were recorded in tribute, but also when something odd happened.  Fruiting out of season was one such occurrence, which we've seen elsewhere in the chronicles as well.  There was even a record when the famous Tsuki tree outside of Asukadera had a branch fall down.  Presumably it was a large and noticeable branch, and by now this appears to have been a tree with a bit of age to it that had seen a lot, so it makes sense it got a mention. Finally, we go from the heavens to the earth.    Perhaps the most numerous observations in the Chronicles were the earthquakes.  We've noted in the past that Japan is extremely active, volcanically speaking, so it makes sense that there are multiple accounts of earthquakes each year, especially if they were compiling reports from around the country.  Most of these are little more than just a note that there was an earthquake, but a few stand out. The first is the 12th lunar month of 678.  We are told that there was a large earthquake in Tsukushi—modern Kyushu. The ground split open to the width of about 20 feet for more than 30,000 feet.  Many of the commoners' houses in the area were torn down.  In one place there was a house atop a hill, and though the hill crumbled down the house somehow remained intact.  The inhabitants had apparently been home and must have been oblivious, as they didn't realize anything had happened until they woke up the next morning. Again, probably a bit of hyperbole in here, but if we think back to things like the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, where large areas of land shifted noticeably along the fault lines, it is likely that this was a similar or even more catastrophic event.  And here I'll give a quick plug for Kumamoto, which is still working to rebuild from the earthquake, and if you ever get a chance, I recommend a visit to the Kumamoto Earthquake Memorial Museum or Kioku, where you can see for yourself just how powerful mother nature can be. Another powerful earthquake was mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 684.  If the earthquake in Tsukushi had hit mostly agricultural areas, based on the description, this seems to have hit more populated regions.  We are told that it started in the dark of night, the hour of the boar, so about 10pm, give or take an hour.  The shaking was so bad that throughout the country men and women cried out and were disoriented—they could not tell east from west, a condition no doubt further hindered by the dark night sky.  There were mountain slides and rivers changed course, breaking their banks and flooding nearby areas.  Official buildings of the provinces and districts, the barns and houses of the common people, and the temples, pagodas, and shrines were all destroyed in huge numbers.  Many people and domestic animals were killed or injured.  The hot springs of Iyo were dried up and ceased to flow.  In the province of Tosa, more than 500,000 shiro of cultivated land sank below sea level.  Old men said that they had never seen such an earthquake.  On that night there was a rumbling noise like that of drums heard in the east—possibly similar to what we had mentioned earlier.  Some say that the island of Idzu, aka Vries Island, the volcanic island at the entrance of Edo Bay, increased on the north side by more than 3,000 feet and that a new island had been formed.  The noise of the drums was attributed to the gods creating that island. So here we have a catastrophic quake that impacted from Iyo, on the western end of Shikoku, all the way to the head of Edo Bay, modern Tokyo.  This appears to be what seismologists have labelled a "Nankai Trough Megathrust Earthquake".  Similar quakes have occurred and are predicted to occur in the future., along a region of Japan from the east coast of Kyushu, through the Seto Inland Sea, including Shikoku, through the Kii peninsula and all the way to Mt. Fuji.  The Nankai Trough, or Southern Sea Trough, is the area where the continental shelf drops down, and where the Philippine tectonic plate slips underneath the Eurasian—or more specifically the Amuric—plate.  As these plates move it can cause multiple events all along the trough at the same time.  Since being regularly recorded, these quakes have been noted every 100 to 150 years, with the last one being the Showa Nankai quakes of 1944 and 1946. For all of the destruction that it brought, however, apparently it didn't stop the court.  Two days after this devastating quake we are told that Presents were made to the Princes and Ministers.  Either they weren't so affected in the capital, or perhaps the date given for one of the two records is not quite reliable.  Personally, I find it hard to believe that there would be presents given out two days later unless they were some form of financial aid.  But what do I know?  It is possible that the court itself was not as affected as other areas, and they may not have fully even grasped the epic scale of the destruction that would later be described in the Chronicles, given the length of time it took to communicate messages across the country. Which brings us back to the "science" of the time, or at least the observation, hoping to learn from precedence or piece out what messages the world might have for the sovereign and those who could read the signs.  While many of the court's and Chronicler's conclusions may give us pause, today, we should nonetheless be thankful that they at least decided to keep notes and jot down their observations.  That record keeping means that we don't have to only rely on modern records to see patterns that could take centuries to reveal themselves.  Sure, at this time, those records were  still a bit spotty, but it was the start of something that would be remarkably important, and even though these Chronicles may have been focused on propaganda, the fact that they include so many other references are an incalculable boon to us, today, if we can just see to make the connections.  And with that, I think I've rambled enough for this episode.  We still have a couple more to fully cover this period. Until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Senin, 1 Desember 2025Bacaan: "Serahkanlah segala kekhawatiranmu kepada-Nya, sebab Ia yang memelihara kamu."Renungan: Allah yang kita kenal di dalam nama Yesus Kristus adalah Allah yang bertanggung jawab dan begitu luar biasa. Lihatlah betapa besar kuasa dan hikmat-Nya, sehingga kehidupan di alam semesta ini tetap berjalan setiap detik. Siapakah yang sanggup memelihara kelangsungan hidup hewan di hutan, tumbuhan liar di padang, mengatur musim-musim, mengatur siklus air di bumi, dan memberi nafas manusia yang jumlahnya miliaran? Pemazmur mengetahui dengan pasti siapa yang sanggup mengatur semua itu sehingga ia berkata, "Engkau yang memberi minum gunung-gunung dari kamar-kamar loteng-Mu, bumi kenyang dari buah pekerjaan-Mu. Engkau yang menumbuhkan rumput bagi hewan dan tumbuh-tumbuhan untuk diusahakan manusia, yang mengeluarkan makanan dari dalam tanah dan anggur yang menyukakan hati manusia, yang membuat muka berseri karena minyak, dan makanan yang menyegarkan hati manusia." (Mzm 104:13-15). Nabi Eliapun sungguh merasakan pemeliharaan Tuhan pada masa kelaparan. Tuhan mengutus burung gagak untuk membawa makanan bagi Elia ketika Elia tinggal di tepi sungai Kerit. Jika Tuhan sanggup memerintahkan burung gagak untuk memelihara kehidupan nabi Elia, maka Ia juga sanggup menyediakan apa yang kita butuhkan. Yang terpenting adalah adanya iman di hati kita yang percaya sepenuhnya bahwa Dia akan memelihara kita di dalam kelimpahan-Nya. Tuhan Yesus memberkati.Doa:Ya Allah, Engkau pernah memelihara nabi Elia dengan mencukupkan kebutuhan makannya melalui burung gagak. Tambahkanlah imanku, agar aku tidak meragukan kuasa-Mu untuk tetap memelihara kehidupanku. Lepaskanlah semua kekhawatiran dalam hidupku, dan ajarilah aku berserah bahwa di dalam nama-Mu ada jalan keluar untuk setiap permasalahan hidupku. Amin. (Dod).

In this week's Huddle Breakdown Extra Time, Alan and James react to Celtic's shock 3–1 win away to Feyenoord, a performance nobody expected after the St Mirren debacle. They break down how Celtic produced one of their best European displays in years — pressing with intelligence, controlling transitions, and showing real identity and bravery — while also asking whether it was an outlier or the start of something real. The lads analyse the tactical changes under O'Neill and Maloney, standout displays from Yang, Donovan, Idah & Scales, and where caution remains ahead of a tricky trip to Easter Road. Want to support the channel? - https://huddlebreakdown.comLike this video and want more content like it? Subscribe to the channel below and hit the bell to get notified every time a new video goes live. Follow us on Twitter: @huddlebreakdown@Alan_Morrison67 @jucojames Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dibawakan oleh Y. Sandra Isrudianti dan Dony Hari Nugroho dari Komunitas Pukat Labuan Bajo di Keuskupan Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Daniel 7: 15-27; Mazmur tg: T.Dan 3: 82.83.84.85.86.87; Lukas 21: 34-36.PROGRAM STRATEGIS Tema renungan kita pada hari ini ialah: Program Strategis.Renungan kita di hari terakhir tahun liturgi C ini sepatutnya berisi sebuahoptimisme. Kata sakti “program strategis” yang dipakai secara merata diberbagai tingkat kehidupan dapat kita pakai untuk memperkuat semangat itu. Sebuahprogram selalu berupa rencana kegiatan untuk dilakukan, dan strategis menunjukpada pilihan terbaik untuk dilakukan.                                                                                                                      Kehidupan rohani atau ziarah iman kita di dunia ini sangatmembutuhkan suatu program strategis, sesuatu yang sangat penting juga baginegara, organisasi gereja dan aktivitas sosial lainnya. Kehidupan rohani atauziarah iman yang paling konkret dan mendasar ialah seorang pribadi beriman.Agama, Gereja, pelajaran agama, keluarga, persekutuan, kelompok doa, semuanyamenjadi instrumen yang memupuk dan memperkuat kehidupan rohani pribadi itu.Yang akan selamat melalui keputusan pengadilan terakhir nanti ialah pribadiitu, dan bukan instrumen-instrumen tadi. Jadi program strategis yang kita maksudkan di sini ialahuntuk pribadi kita masing-masing. Di akhir tahun liturgi ini, lalu untukmenyambut tahun liturgi A yang ditandai dengan Minggu Pertama Adven, mendesainsebuah program hidup rohani yang strategis ialah sesuatu yang sangat tepat.Metode untuk membuat program ini sederhana, yaitu kita mulai dengan kata kunciutama: Bersiap siaga atau waspada, sebuah kata yang sering dipakai oleh Yesusdalam pengajaran-Nya kepada kita tentang penyambutan Kerajaan Allah. Mengapa dipilih kata strategis dalam semangat bersiap ini,karena kesadaran perlu dibangun, kelupaan perlu diingatkan, kemalasan perludisuntik kerajinan, masa bodoh perlu dibakar semangatnya, cuek perlu ditutupidengan kepekaan, menyendiri perlu diberi vitamin hidup bersaudara dan bersama,dan kesedihan perlu diubah dengan suka cita. Kata kunci bersiap menjadi pentingdan mendesak supaya orang-orang beriman cepat lepas dari gaya lama, yang selamaini sudah cukup menyiksa namun kurang disadarinya. Mulai dengan bersiap, dan kita selanjutnya mengisi: denganberdoa dalam ketekunan supaya kita dapat menguasai diri dari godaan-godaan sijahat, lalu kita menjadi aman di hadirat Tuhan; dengan berpuasa dan mati ragademi memberi peluang lebih besar kepada jiwa untuk fokus kepada Tuhan, daripada terbawa-bawa oleh nafsu atau tipu daya duniawi; dengan taat-setia selalukepada Allah yang senantiasa melihat dan menyayangimu; dengan bangga danbersyukur atas segala kebaikan dari Tuhan; dengan selalu bersuka cita; denganmengampuni sebanyak 70 kali 7 kali; dengan bersaksi tentang Yesus; denganmencintai sesama tanpa kenal lelah. Selamat berziarah iman dalam masa Advenini. Marilah kita berdoa. Dalam nama Bapa... Ya Bapa yang baik,utuslah Roh-Mu untuk membantu kami hidup selalu dalam kesiap-siagaan. Kemuliaankepada Bapa dan Putra dan Roh Kudus ... Dalam nama Bapa ...

On this episode, we chat with bestselling author Lyla Lee to chat about her new YA romance novel, The Cuffing Game, a modern Korean American take on the timeless enemy-to-lovers tale Pride & Prejudice, remixed with the chaotic reality TV energy of Love Island about an aspiring student producer who reluctantly recruits her crush to participate in the college dating show she is producing. Lyla shares with us her journey to becoming an author of young, middle-grade, and young adult fiction, as well as all her inspirations for The Cuffing Game.Follow Lyla on Instagram at @authorlylalee and check out her newest novel The Cuffing Game available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba November 2025 book club pick is Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin KingThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

Andrew Yang joins Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan to discuss the rise of populism, AI's impact on inequality, and how data ownership and Universal Basic Income could shape a fairer future. They explore the failures of the two-party system, the dangers of unchecked technology, and the need for smarter, people-centered policies. Yang shares his vision for rebuilding trust in democracy and creating real economic opportunity for everyone. Watch the full episode ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question for Andrew? Drop it in the comments section below or send us a text or voice memo to mailbag@andrewyang.com! ---- Follow Andrew Yang: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check Out Utopias Podcast ---- Get 50% off Factor at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Factor Meals⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get an extra 3 months free at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Express VPN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get 20% off + 2 free pillows at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Helix Sleep⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Use code: helixpartner20 Get $30 off your first two (2) orders at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wonder ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠| Use code: ANDREW104 ---- Subscribe to the Andrew Yang Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer and cartoonist Gene Luen Yang joins the podcast to talk about his comics life and his upcoming run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yang discusses his daily life, his upcoming graphic novel, Overrated, embracing change, advocating for comics, its impact on his own work, having different inputs, his project that impacted him the most, collaborations and collaborators, Superman Smashes the Klan, figuring out which for-hire projects to take, how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came together, impact of Eastman & Laird, the TMNT phenomenon, building his run, keeping those characters fresh, what keeps him excited for comics, tips for creators, and more.

[PODCAST : Episode 42]✨ “Pertanyaan Akan Mengembalikan ke Jalan yang Benar” ✨Assalamualaikum sahabat FUSI Voice!

What is the Yin & Yang symbol? What do the words Yin & Yang mean? What is meant by harmony or balance in the universe? Have you started your FREE TRIAL of Who Smarted?+ for AD FREE listening, an EXTRA episode every week & bonus content? Sign up right in the Apple app, or directly at WhoSmarted.com and find out why more than 1,000 families are LOVING their subscription! Get official Who Smarted? Merch: tee-shirts, mugs, hoodies and more, at Who Smarted?

What if the biggest barrier to healing… is the belief that you're broken? So many of us are doing everything right — eating better, moving more, trying to fix our health — but deep down, we're carrying a quiet belief that we're not enough. That our body is the problem. That healing has to come through restriction, guilt, or perfection. But what if real change begins not with feeling shame — but love? In this week's episode, we sit down with Ocean Robbins, CEO of the Food Revolution Network, for a deep, honest conversation about what it means to root health in compassion — not shame. Ocean is the son of John Robbins, who famously walked away from the Baskin-Robbins empire to write Diet for a New America. Ocean has forged his own path — helping millions transform their relationship with food and health to experience what truly matters to us in life. In this episode we explore: Why so many people feel like they're failing at health How Ocean's upbringing shaped his values and mission The tension between grief, perfectionism, and purpose What it means to choose love — again and again This conversation was one of our most soulful and resonant yet — and I'm so glad to have Po back for it. You're definitely in for a treat. So whether you've felt stuck, not enough, and are looking for a gentler path forward — this episode is for you. Until next time… Live well and RAK ON, – Dr. Rak

In this episode of Smashing Secrets Feng Shui, Chloe dials in from Dahab, Egypt (with a rogue mosquito and roaming camels for company) while Jo unpacks one of the most powerful astrological shifts on the horizon: the Yang Fire Horse year of 2026.

스포티파이가 링크를 뿌셔뿌셔한다면, 나는 URL을 생으로 올리겠다.참고: 로봇 '양들'이라고 복수형으로 주로 나오는 건 테크노 오리엔탈리즘 2.0 내의 에세이에서임.---✍️ 녹취록: https://aimdreaming.imaginariumkim.com/after-yang-saying-goodbye-to-yang-인종적-색맹-가장-판타스틱한-무/☕️ 한아임한테 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠커피 사주기⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://buymeacoffee.com/ithaka

Kaedah-Kaedah Kematian adalah bagian dari ceramah agama dan kajian Islam ilmiah dengan pembahasan Al-Bayan Min Qashashil Qur’an. Pembahasan ini disampaikan oleh Ustadz Abu Ya’la Kurnaedi, Lc. pada Senin, 19 Jumadil Awal 1447 H / 10 November 2025 M. Kajian sebelumnya: Meninggalnya Nabi Sulaiman ‘Alaihis Salam Kajian Tentang Kaedah-Kaedah Kematian 1. Kematian yang pasti dan tiba-tiba Yang pertama, kematian […] Tulisan Kaedah-Kaedah Kematian ditampilkan di Radio Rodja 756 AM.

Mary Golda Ross was the first Indigenous woman in the U.S. known to have become an engineer. Her impact on the field of aerospace engineering is hard to quantify, because much of her work is still classified. Research: Agnew, Brad. “Cherokee engineer a space exploration pioneer.” Tahlequah Daily Press. 3/27/2016. https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/golda-ross-left-teaching-to-support-war-effort/article_c500cbc4-eeba-11e5-9b57-2b127651fcb5.html Agnew, Brad. “Golda’ Ross left teaching to support war effort.” Tahlequah Daily Press. 3/20/2016. https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/golda-ross-left-teaching-to-support-war-effort/article_c500cbc4-eeba-11e5-9b57-2b127651fcb5.html Brewer, Graham Lee. “Rocket Woman.” Oklahoma Today. July/August 2018. Cochran, Wendell. “Cherokee Tear Dress Facts.” The People’s Paths. https://www.thepeoplespaths.net/Cherokee/WendellCochran/WCochran0102TearDressFacts.htm Hogner-Weavel, Tonia. “History of the Cherokee Tear Dress.” Cherokee Nation. Via YouTube. 9/15/2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90V5fM0DiMk Lake, Timothy. "Mary Golda Ross". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Golda-Ross. Accessed 21 October 2025. Margolis, Emily. A. “Mary Golda Ross: Aerospace Engineer, Educator, and Advocate.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/mary-g-ross-aerospace-engineer Museum of Native American History. “Historic Trailblazer: Mary Golda Ross.” Via YouTube. 12/17/2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzC14hGbPug National Park Service. “Mary G. Ross.” https://www.nps.gov/people/mary-g-ross.htm New Mexico Museum of Space History. “Mary Golda Ross: First Native American Aerospace Engineer.” Via YouTube. 3/31/2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT9r5trwZEs Oklahoma Hall of Fame. “Mary Golda Ross Induction Ceremony Video.” 11/22/2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bovabx6ITW4 Rosengren, Paul Lief. “Mary Golda Ross: She Reached for the Stars.” IEEE-USA and Paul Lief Rosengren. 2025. Schroeder, Mildred. “A Far-out Cherokee Chick.” San Francisco Examiner. 4/16/1961. Smith, Betty. “Pure Cherokee Gold.” Tahlequah Daily Press. 6/26/2008. https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/archives/pure-cherokee-gold/article_44c0a25a-94e2-53d8-b80c-be1ff86305e7.html Viola, Herman. “Mary Golda Ross: She Reached for the Stars.” American Indian: Magazine of Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Vol. 19, No. 4. Winter 2018. https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/mary-golda-ross-she-reached-stars Wallace, Rob. “Mary Golda Ross and the Skunk Works.” National World War II Museum. 11/19/2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/mary-golda-ross-and-skunk-works Watts, Jennifer. “John Ross: Principal Chief of the Cherokee People.” Tennessee State Museum. https://tnmuseum.org/junior-curators/posts/john-ross-principal-chief-of-the-cherokee-people Yang, John. “The cutting-edge work of Native American aerospace engineer Mary Golda Ross.” 11/26/2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-cutting-edge-work-of-native-american-aerospace-engineer-mary-golda-ross Zhorov, Irina. “Years Later, Miss Indian America Pageant Winners Reuniteg.” NPR Code Switch. 7/12/2013. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/12/201537264/Years-Later-Miss-Indian-America-Pageant-Winners-Reunite See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, I get into the harmony that exists between dominance and submission through the lens of masculine and feminine energy. I break down what true dominance looks and feels like and why domineering energy is not dominance. I reflect on ancient rites of passage with an example from Africa and bring in an example from salsa dancing as well.Listen in to learn about the spiritual purpose of rites of passage for men, why dominance without care becomes domineering, why the stages of development matter so much for boys, and more.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 — Intro00:34 — Welcome: The Yin & Yang of Submission00:55 — A Word on Coaching 01:28 — What Women Want: Dominance & Devotion 02:14 — True Dominance is Service 02:45 — To Be Dominant, You Must Be Submissive03:20 — Rites of Passage: The Bullet Ant Ritual 05:37 — The Difference Between Dominance and Domineering 06:00 — Submitting to a Higher Purpose 06:57 — Life Stage 1: The Bond With Mom 09:39 — Life Stage 2: Building Self-Worth With Dad 13:04 — Life Stage 3: The Male Mentor 14:40 — A Lesson in Service From a Salsa Class 15:40 — The Sioux: Warriors & Lovers Without Shame 18:11 — Conclusion & Outro___________________________If you found some value today then help me spread the word! Share this episode with a friend or leave a review. This helps the podcast grow.You can also watch the episodes on youtube hereFollow me on Instagram @anyashakhYou can book a discovery call at https://anyashakh.com/mentorship

Bowen Yang is a comedian, writer, and Saturday Night Live cast member who stars as Pfannee in the movie musical Wicked and its upcoming sequel Wicked: For Good. In this conversation from April 2025, Yang sits down with Willie Geist to reflect on his extraordinary rise to fame, growing up as the son of Chinese immigrants, and the experience of coming out to his parents. He also talks about how a childhood trip to New York that included visiting Broadway, taking the NBC Studio Tour, and sitting in Studio 8H felt like an early glimpse of his future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we discuss Edward Yang's Mahjong, including the ways in which the film is challenging for viewers, the film's exploration of an evolving Taiwan, and Yang's mastery of tone.See where Mahjong is available to watch.Supplemental Material:• The Criterion Collection's A Confucian Confusion / Mahjong: Two Films by Edward Yang Blu-ray• Mahjong (The Criterion Channel)• Spotlight on Edward Yang with Dennis Lim (The Criterion Channel)Additional Audio Sources:• The Criterion Collection's A Confucian Confusion / Mahjong: Two Films by Edward Yang Blu-rayIf you'd like to support the show, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share the podcast with someone who might enjoy it.If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about the show, you can email us at scenebyscenepodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Letterboxd: Joe | Justin

Andrew Yang traces his path from failed entrepreneur to 2020 presidential candidate driven by a single realization: automation has already destroyed millions of American jobs, and the next wave will be exponentially worse. Through his work with Venture for America, he witnessed firsthand the economic devastation in Detroit, Ohio, and the Midwest—where automated manufacturing jobs created the conditions that elected Donald Trump. Yang argues that artificial intelligence will soon eliminate truck driving, retail, call centers, and even white-collar professions like law and accounting. His solution is Universal Basic Income—a $1,000 monthly Freedom Dividend for every American adult, funded by a Value Added Tax on tech companies. He dismantles objections about affordability and work ethic, revealing how the policy would grow GDP by $2.5 trillion, create 4.5 million jobs, and transform America into a human-centered economy before technological displacement pushes society off a cliff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series spoilers abound! We're watching Season 3, Episode 16 “An Evening with Mr. Yang” and the 2007 thriller movie “Zodiac”. Santa Barbara has its most notorious serial killer active again, and this time they're targeting Shawn. Will he be able to solve the riddles, catch the guy, and save the girl? We're talking future endeavors, the need for silliness, obsession, and more. So grab your popcorn and join Kylie and Skyler on this new episode of Phsysics 101!Want to keep up with us and new episode drops? Join us on Instagram and Tumblr @phsysics101podcast.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phsysics101podcast/Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/phsysics101podcast

Join us as we discuss our October 2025 book club pick, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker, a Chinese American horror story taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic following Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner haunted by the trauma of witnessing her sister's murder in a NYC subway station, as well as what appears to be her sister's actual hungry ghost. We follow Cora and her co-workers on a blood-soaked quest as they try to simultaneously figure out how to exorcise her ghost, as well as solve a series of serial murders in NYC, all involving East Asian women.Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba November 2025 book club pick is Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin KingThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

Welcome Back From The Weekend!!! We Talk About The Best & Worst Parts, The Inventor Of The Frozen Burrito Is Dead, Stealing Never Pays, Getting Body Parts Instead Of Neds, We Spoke To An Awesome Listener From Alaska, Jeff Hensley Stops By, & Yin n Yang!!!

In dieser Folge von "Welt.Macht.China" geht es um ein Thema, das für viele Menschen in China fester Bestandteil des Alltags ist: die Traditionelle Chinesische Medizin (TCM). Sie beruht auf jahrtausendealtem Wissen über das Gleichgewicht von Yin und Yang sowie den Energiefluss im Körper – und verspricht Heilung auf natürliche Weise. Wir fragen: Welchen gesellschaftlichen und ideologischen Stellenwert hat TCM heute in China? Wie wird sie genutzt, vermarktet – und manchmal auch überhöht? ARD-Korrespondentin Eva Lamby-Schmitt nimmt uns mit nach Shanghai, in eine TCM-Cocktailbar und eine Apotheke, um zu zeigen, wie alt und neu, Wissenschaft und Aberglaube, Heilkunst und Geschäft aufeinandertreffen. Außerdem berichtet Cui Mu von der Deutschen Welle aus Bonn, wo er eine Akupunktur-Session besucht hat – und erklärt Host Joyce Lee, wie TCM auch in Deutschland Einzug hält, etwa als Ergänzung in der Krebstherapie. Eine Folge über Tradition und Moderne, Glauben und Fakten – und die Frage, wie viel Heil in der Heilkunst wirklich steckt. "Welt.Macht.China" ist der China-Podcast der ARD. Aktuelle und ehemalige Korrespondent*innen und Expert*innen haben sich zusammengetan, um einen vielfältigen Einblick zu geben in das riesige Land. Es geht um Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur, das Leben und den Alltag in der Volksrepublik, außerdem um Klischees und Chinas Rolle in der Welt. Eine neue Folge gibt es jeden zweiten Dienstag in der ARD Audiothek und in allen anderen Podcast-Apps: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/welt-macht-china/10494211/ Ihr habt Anmerkungen, Lob und Kritik? Schreibt uns an weltmachtchina@ard.de. Und hier noch ein Podcast-Tipp von uns: Wer die KI bestimmt, bestimmt die Zukunft. Und neben den USA ist da vor allem ein Kandidat im Rennen: China. Was hinter der chinesischen KI-Strategie steckt, wie das Land gerade seine Technologie heimlich in die ganze Welt exportiert und wir davon abhängig werden: Darum geht es in der neuen Folge "Der KI-Podcast" (ARD). Jeden Dienstag in der ARD Audiothek und überall, wo es Podcasts gibt. https://1.ard.de/der-ki-podcast

Morning light rises over the tea fields of Wudang, as I learn how to absorb 陽氣 (Yang energy) from the sun, and try to understand what “effortless movement” and “being like water” mean. During this 氣功 (Qì Gōng) practice I realize that stillness might be the hardest movement of all.. and that real strength is found in softness. I reflect on my current state of weakness and understand that strong emotions drain vital energy.Along the way, I meet Yuan Yuan — a fellow practitioner that mirrors my own purpose. She reminds me that simplicity itself is the path, the 道 (Dào). Through our conversation, I begin to see that there are concrete ways to cultivate one's energy and preserve this precious life force that we all have within, the 氣 (qì). There is a beautiful notion in Chinese spirituality known as 修行 (xiū xíng) — a way of training and discipline that helps purify the heart (修心 xiū xīn), restore balance and harmony, and open the way towards inner liberation. Martial arts is one such path of 修行.

What if one side of your body suddenly stopped moving — and your doctor said, “It's a migraine”?Hemiplegic migraines are rare, disorienting, and often confused with strokes. They challenge everything you think you know about how your brain, body, and energy connect.In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, hosted by Diane Ducarme, we explore the science and the story behind this rare form of migraine — one that blurs the line between neurology and mystery. Together, we look at how the body can temporarily lose its flow, and how to gently help it find its rhythm again.In this episode, you'll learn:

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Wuhan Campaign. As Japanese forces pressed toward central China, Chiang Kai-shek faced a brutal choice: defend Wuhan with costly sieges or unleash a dangerous flood to buy time. The Yellow River breached its banks at Huayuankou, sending a wall of water racing toward villages, railways, and fields. The flood did not erase the enemy; it bought months of breathing room for a battered China, but at a terrible toll to civilians who lost homes, farms, and lives. Within Wuhan's orbit, a mosaic of Chinese forces struggled to unite. The NRA, split into competing war zones and factions, numbered about 1.3 million but fought with uneven equipment and training. The Japanese, deploying hundreds of thousands, ships, and air power, pressed from multiple angles: Anqing, Madang, Jiujiang, and beyond, using riverine forts and amphibious landings to turn the Yangtze into a deadly artery. Yet courage endured as troops held lines, pilots challenged the skies, and civilians, like Wang Guozhen, who refused to betray his country, chose defiance over surrender. The war for Wuhan was not a single battle but a testament to endurance in the face of overwhelming odds.   #173 The Fall of Wuhan Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the last episode we began the Battle of Wuhan. Japan captured Anqing and gained air access to Jiujiang, Chinese defenses around the Yangtze River were strained. The southern Yangtze's Ninth War Zone held two key garrisons: one west of Poyang Lake and another in Jiujiang. To deter Japanese assault on Jiujiang, China fortified Madang with artillery, mines, and bamboo booms. On June 24, Japan conducted a surprise Madang landing while pressing south along the Yangtze. Madang's fortress withstood four assaults but suffered heavy bombardment and poison gas. Chinese leadership failures contributed to the fall: Li Yunheng, overseeing Madang, was away at a ceremony, leaving only partial contingents, primarily three battalions from marine corps units and the 313th regiment of the 53rd division, participating, totaling under five battalions. Reinforcements from Pengze were misrouted by Li's orders, arriving too late. Madang fell after three days. Chiang Kai-shek retaliated with a counterattack and rewarded units that recaptured Xiangshan, but further progress was blocked. Li Yunheng was court-martialed, and Xue Weiying executed.   Madang's loss opened a corridor toward Jiujiang. The Japanese needed weeks to clear minefields, sacrificing several ships in the process. With roughly 200,000 Chinese troops in the Jiujiang–Ruichang zone under Xue Yue and Zhang Fukui, the Japanese captured Pengze and then Hukou, using poison gas again during the fighting. The Hukou evacuation cut off many non-combat troops, with over 1,800 of 3,100 soldiers successfully evacuated and more than 1,300 missing drowned in the lake. Two weeks after Hukou's fall, the Japanese reached Jiujiang and overtook it after a five-day battle. The retreat left civilians stranded, and the Jiujiang Massacre followed: about 90,000 civilians were killed, with mass executions of POWs, rapes, and widespread destruction of districts, factories, and transport. Subsequently, the Southern Riverline Campaign saw Japanese detachments along the river advance westward, capturing Ruichang, Ruoxi, and other areas through October, stretching Chinese defenses thin as Japan pressed toward Wuchang and beyond. On July 26, 1938, the Japanese occupied Jiujiang and immediately divided their forces into three routes: advancing toward De'an and Nanchang, then striking Changsha, severing the Yue-Han Railway, and surrounding Wuhan in an effort to annihilate the Chinese field army. The advance of the 101st and 106th Infantry Divisions slowed south of the Yangtze River, yet the Central China Expeditionary Army remained intent on seizing Ruichang and De'an to cut off Chinese forces around Mount Lu. To this end, the 9th and 27th Infantry Divisions were deployed to the sector, with the 9th regarded as an experienced unit that had fought in earlier campaigns, while the 27th was newly formed in the summer of 1938; this contrast underscored the rapidly expanding scope of the war in China as the Japanese Army General Staff continued mobilizing reservists and creating new formations. According to the operational plan, the 101st and 106th Divisions would push south toward De'an to pin Chinese defenders, while the 9th and 27th Divisions would envelop Chinese forces south of the river. Okamura Yasuji ordered five battalions from the 9th to move toward De'an via Ruichang, and the Hata Detachment was tasked with securing the area northwest of Ruichang to protect the 9th's flank. North of the Yangtze, the 6th Infantry Division was to move from Huangmei to Guangji, with Tianjiazhen as the ultimate objective; capturing Tianjiazhen would allow the 11th Army to converge on Wuhan from both north and south of the river.  The operation began when the 9th Division landed at Jiujiang, threatening the left flank of the Jinguanqiao line. The Chinese responded by deploying the 1st Corps to counter the 9th Division's left flank, which threatened the Maruyama Detachment's lines of communication. The Maruyama Detachment counterattacked successfully, enabling the rest of the 9th Division to seize Ruichang on August 24; on the same day, the 9th attacked the 30th Army defending Mount Min. The Chinese defense deteriorated on the mountain, and multiple counterattacks by Chinese divisions failed, forcing the 1st Corps to retreat to Mahuiling. The seizure of Ruichang and the surrounding area was followed by a wave of atrocities, with Japanese forces inflicting substantial casualties, destroying houses, and damaging property, and crimes including murder, rape, arson, torture, and looting devastating many villages and livelihoods in the Ruichang area. After Ruichang and Mount Min fell, the Maruyama Detachment and the 106th Infantry Division advanced on Mahuiling, seeking to encircle Chinese forces from the northwest, with the 106th forming the inner ring and the Maruyama Detachment the outer ring; this coordination led to Mahuiling's fall on September 3. The 27th Infantry Division, arriving in late August, landed east of Xiaochikou, providing the manpower to extend Japanese offensives beyond the Yangtze's banks and outflank Chinese defenders along the river. Its main objective was to seize the Rui-wu highway, a vital route for the continued advance toward Wuhan. After the fall of Mahuiling, Japanese command altered its strategy. The 11th Army ordered the Maruyama Detachment to rejoin the 9th Infantry Division and press westward, while the 101st Infantry Division was to remain at Mahuiling and push south toward De'an along with the 106th Infantry Division. This divergent or “eccentric” offensive aimed to advance on Wuhan while protecting the southern flank. The renewed offensive began on September 11, 1938, with the 9th Infantry Division and Hata Detachment advancing west along the Rui-yang and Rui-wu highways toward Wuhan, followed days later by the 27th Infantry Division. Initially, the Japanese made solid progress from Ruichang toward a line centered on Laowuge, but soon faced formidable Chinese defenses. The 9th and 27th Divisions confronted the Chinese 2nd Army Corps, which had prepared in-depth positions in the mountains west of Sanchikou and Xintanpu. The 27th Division encountered stiff resistance from the 18th and 30th Corps, and although it captured Xiaoao by September 24, its vanguard advancing west of Shujie came under heavy attack from the 91st, 142nd, 60th, and 6th Reserve Infantry Divisions, threatening to encircle it. Only the southward advance of the 101st and 106th Divisions relieved the pressure, forcing the Chinese to redeploy the 91st and 6th Reserve Divisions to the south and thereby loosening the 27th's grip. After the redeployment, the 9th and 27th Divisions resumed their push. The 9th crossed the Fu Shui on October 9 and took Sanjikou on October 16, while the 27th seized Xintanpu on October 18. The Hata Detachment followed, capturing Yangxin on October 18 and Ocheng on October 23, further tightening Japanese control over the highways toward Wuhan. By mid-October, 11th Army commander Okamura Yasuji resolved to sever the Guangzhou-Hankou railway to disrupt Chinese lines. On October 22, the 9th and 27th Divisions attacked toward Jinniu and Xianning. By October 27, the 9th had captured Jinniu and cut the railway; the 27th Division extended the disruption further south. These actions effectively isolated Wuchang from the south, giving the Imperial Japanese Army greater leverage over the southern approaches to Wuhan. The push south by the 101st and 106th Infantry Divisions pressed toward De'an, where they encountered the entrenched Chinese 1st Army Corps. The offensive began on September 16 and by the 24th, elements of the 27th Division penetrated deep into the area west of Baishui Street and De'an's environs. Recognizing the growing crisis, Xue Yue mobilized the nearby 91st and 142nd Divisions, who seized Nanping Mountain along the Ruiwu Line overnight, effectively cutting off the 27th Division's retreat. Fierce combat on the 25th and 26th saw Yang Jialiu, commander of the 360th Regiment of the 60th Division, die a heroic death. Zhang Zhihe, chief of staff of the 30th Group Army and an underground CCP member, commanded the newly formed 13th Division and the 6th Division to annihilate the Suzuki Regiment and recapture Qilin Peak. Learning of the 27th Division's trap, Okamura Yasuji panicked and, on the 25th, urgently ordered the 123rd, 145th, and 147th Infantry Regiments and mountain artillery of the 106th Division on the Nanxun Line, along with the 149th Regiment of the 101st Division on the Dexing Line, to rush to Mahuiling and Xingzi. To adapt to mountain warfare, some units were temporarily converted to packhorse formations. On the 27th, the 106th Division broke through the Wutailing position with force, splitting into two groups and pushing toward Erfangzheng and Lishan. By the 28th, the three regiments and mountain artillery of the 106th Division advanced into the mountain villages of Wanjialing, Leimingguliu, Shibaoshan, Nantianpu, Beixijie, and Dunshangguo, about 50 li west of De'an. On the same day, the 149th Regiment of the 101st Division entered the Wanjialing area and joined the 106th Division. Commanded by Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, the 106th Division sought to break out of Baicha and disrupt the Nanwu Highway to disrupt the Chinese retreat from De'an. At this juncture, Xue Yue's corps perceived the Japanese advance as a predatory, wolf-like maneuver and deemed it a strategic opportunity to counterattack. He resolved to pull forces from Dexing, Nanxun, and Ruiwu to envelop the enemy near Wanjialing, with the aim of annihilating them. Thus began a desperate, pivotal battle between China and Japan in northern Jiangxi, centered on the Wanjialing area. The Japanese 106th Division found its rear communications cut off around September 28, 1938, as the Chinese blockade tightened. Despite the 27th Division's severed rear and its earlier defeat at Qilin Peak, Okamura Yasuji ordered a renewed push to relieve the besieged 106th by directing the 27th Division to attack Qilin Peak and advance east of Baishui Street. In this phase, the 27th Division dispatched the remnants of its 3rd Regiment to press the assault on Qilin Peak, employing poison gas and briefly reaching the summit. On September 29, the 142nd Division of the 32nd Army, under Shang Zhen, coordinated with the 752nd Regiment of the same division to launch a fierce counterattack on Qilin Peak at Zenggai Mountain west of Xiaoao. After intense fighting, they reclaimed the peak, thwarting the 27th Division's bid to move eastward to aid the 106th. Concurrently, a portion of the 123rd Regiment of the 106th Division attempted a breakout west of Baishui Street. Our 6th and 91st Divisions responded with a determined assault from the east of Xiaoao, blocking the 123rd Regiment east of Baishui Street. The victories at Qilin Peak and Baishui Street halted any merger between the eastern and western Japanese forces, enabling the Chinese army to seal the pocket and create decisive conditions for encircling the 106th Division and securing victory in the Battle of Wanjialing. After the setback at Qilin Peak, Division Commander Masaharu Homma, defying Okamura Yasuji's orders to secure Baishui Street, redirected his focus to Tianhe Bridge under a pretext of broader operations. He neglected the heavily encircled 106th Division and pivoted toward Xintanpu. By September 30, Chinese forces attacked from both the east and west, with the 90th and 91st Divisions joining the assault on the Japanese positions. On October 1, the Japanese, disoriented and unable to pinpoint their own unit locations, telegrammed Okamura Yasuji for air support. On October 2, the First Corps received orders to tighten the encirclement and annihilate the enemy forces. Deployments were made to exploit a numerical advantage and bolster morale, placing the Japanese in a desperate position. On October 3, 1938, the 90th and 91st Divisions launched a concerted attack on Nantianpu, delivering heavy damage to the Japanese force and showering Leimingguliu with artillery fire that endangered the 106th Division headquarters. By October 5, Chinese forces reorganized: the 58th Division of the 74th Army advanced from the south, the 90th Division of the 4th Army from the east, portions of the 6th and 91st Divisions from the west, and the 159th and 160th Divisions of the 65th Army from the north, tightening the surrounding cordon from four directions. On October 6, Xue Yue ordered a counterattack, and by October 7 the Chinese army had effectively cut off all retreat routes. That evening, after fierce hand-to-hand combat, the 4th Army regained the hilltop, standing at a 100-meter-high position, and thwarted any Japanese plan to break through Baicha and sever Chinese retreat toward De'an. By October 8, Lieutenant Colonel Sakurada Ryozo, the 106th Division's staff officer, reported the division's deteriorating situation to headquarters. The telegram signaled the impending collapse of the 106th Division. On October 9, Kuomintang forces recaptured strategic positions such as Lishan, tightening encirclement to a small pocket of about three to four square kilometers in Nantianpu, Leimingguliu, and Panjia. That night, the vanguard attacked the Japanese 106th Division's headquarters at Leimingguliu, engaging in close combat with the Japanese. Matsuura and the division's staff then took up arms in defense. In the early hours of October 10, Japanese forces launched flares that illuminated only a narrow arc of movement, and a limited number of troops fled northwest toward Yangfang Street. The two and a half month battle inflicted tremendous casualties on the Japanese, particularly on the 101st and 106th divisions. These two formations began with a combined strength of over 47,000 troops and ultimately lost around 30,000 men in the fighting. The high casualty rate hit the Japanese officer corps especially hard, forcing General Shunroku Hata to frequently airdrop replacement officers onto the besieged units' bases throughout the engagement. For the Chinese, the successful defense of Wanjialing was pivotal to the Wuhan campaign.  Zooming out at a macro level a lot of action was occurring all over the place. Over in Shandong, 1,000 soldiers under Shi Yousan, who had defected multiple times between rival warlord cliques and operated as an independent faction, occupied Jinan and held it for a few days. Guerrillas briefly controlled Yantai. East of Changzhou extending to Shanghai, another non-government Chinese force, led by Dai Li, employed guerrilla tactics in the Shanghai suburbs and across the Huangpu River. This force included secret society members from the Green Gang and the Tiandihui, who conducted executions of spies and perceived traitors, losing more than 100 men in the course of operations. On August 13, members of this force clandestinely entered the Japanese air base at Hongqiao and raised a Chinese flag. Meanwhile, the Japanese Sixth Division breached the defensive lines of Chinese 31st and 68th Armies on July 24 and captured Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei Counties by August 3. As Japanese forces advanced westward, the Chinese Fourth Army of the Fifth War Zone deployed its main strength in Guangji, Hubei, and Tianjia Town to intercept the offensive. The 11th Army Group and the 68th Army were ordered to form a defensive line in Huangmei County, while the 21st and 29th Army Groups, along with the 26th Army, moved south to outflank the Japanese. The Chinese recaptured Taihu on August 27 and Susong on August 28. However, with Japanese reinforcements arriving on August 30, the Chinese 11th Army Group and the 68th Army were unable to sustain counteroffensives and retreated to Guangji County to continue resisting alongside the 26th, 55th, and 86th Armies. The Chinese Fourth Army Group directed the 21st and 29th Army Groups to flank the Japanese from the northeast of Huangmei, but they failed to halt the Japanese advance. Guangji fell on September 6, and while Guangji was recovered by the Chinese Fourth Corps on September 8, Wuxue was lost on the same day. Zooming back in on the Wuhan Front, the Japanese focus shifted to Tianjiazhen. The fortress of Tianjiazhen represented the 6th Infantry Division's most important objective. Its geographic position, where the Yangtze's two banks narrow to roughly 600 meters, with cliffs and high ground overlooking the river, allowed Chinese forces to deploy gun batteries that could control the river and surrounding terrain. Chinese control of Tianjiazhen thus posed a serious obstacle to Japan's amphibious and logistical operations on the Yangtze, and its seizure was deemed essential for Japan to advance toward Wuhan. Taking Tianjiazhen would not be easy: overland approaches were impeded by mountainous terrain on both sides of the fortress, while an amphibious assault faced fortified positions and minefields in the narrow river. Recognizing its strategic importance, Chinese forces reinforced Tianjiazhen with three divisions from central government troops, aiming to deter an overland assault. Chinese preparations included breaching several dykes and dams along the Yangtze to flood expanses of land and slow the Japanese advance; however, the resulting higher water levels widened the river and created a more accessible supply route for the Japanese. Instead of relying on a long overland route from Anqing to Susong, the Japanese could now move supplies directly up the Yangtze from Jiujiang to Huangmei, a distance of only about 40 kilometers, which boosted the 6th Division's logistics and manpower. In August 1938 the 6th Infantry Division resumed its northward push, facing determined resistance from the 4th Army Corps entrenched in a narrow defile south of the Dabie Mountains, with counterattacks from the 21st and 27th Army Groups affecting the 6th's flank. The Dabie Mountains are a major mountain range located in central China. Running northwest to southeast, they form the main watershed between the Huai and Yangtze rivers. The range also marks the boundary between Hubei Province and its neighboring provinces of Henan to the north and Anhui to the east. By early September the 6th had captured Guangji, providing a staging ground for the thrust toward Tianjiazhen, though this extended the division's long flank: after Guangji fell, it now faced a 30-kilometer front between Huangmei and Guangji, exposing it to renewed Chinese pressure from the 21st and 27th Army Groups. This constrained the number of troops available for the main objective at Tianjiazhen. Consequently, the Japanese dispatched only a small force, three battalions from the Imamura Detachment, to assault Tianjiazhen, betting that the fortress could be taken within a week. The KMT, learning from previous defeats, reinforced Tianjiazhen with a stronger infantry garrison and built obstacles, barbed wire, pillboxes, and trench networks, to slow the assault. These defenses, combined with limited Japanese logistics, six days of rations per soldier, made the operation costly and precarious. The final Japanese assault was postponed by poor weather, allowing Chinese forces to press counterattacks: three Chinese corps, the 26th, 48th, and 86th, attacked the Imamura Detachment's flank and rear, and by September 18 these attacks had begun to bite, though the floods of the Yangtze prevented a complete encirclement of the eastern flank. Despite these setbacks, Japanese riverine and ground operations continued, aided by naval support that moved up the Yangtze as Matouzhen's batteries were overtaken. After Matouzhen fell and enabled a secure riverine supply line from Shanghai to Guangji, 11th Army commander Okamura Yasuji quickly sent relief supplies upriver on September 23. These replenishments restored the besieged troops near Tianjiazhen and allowed the Japanese to resume the offensive, employing night assaults and poison gas to seize Tianjiazhen on September 29, 1938, thereby removing a major barrier to their advance toward Wuhan along the Yangtze. The 11th Army pressed north along the Yangtze while the 2nd Army, commanded by Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, concentrated the 3rd, 10th, 13th, and 16th Infantry Divisions around Hefei with initial aims at Lu'an and Heshan and the broader objective of moving toward the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains. When Chinese forces began destroying roads west of Lu'an, Naruhiko shifted the 2nd Army's plan. Rather than pushing along a line from Lu'an to Heshan, he redirected toward the Huangchuan–Shangcheng corridor, where more intact roads remained accessible, and Chinese withdrawals in the Huangchuan–Shangceng area to counter the 11th Army's Yangtze advance allowed the 2nd Army to gain speed in the early stage of its offensive. The 10th and 13th Infantry Divisions were ordered to begin their advance on August 27, facing roughly 25,000 Chinese troops from the Fifth War Zone's 51st and 77th Corps, and achieving notable early gains. The 10th captured Lu'an on August 28, followed by the 13th taking Heshan on August 29. The 10th then seized Kushi on September 7. Meanwhile, the 13th crossed the Shi River at night in an attempt to seize Changbailing, but encountered stiff resistance from multiple Chinese divisions that slowed its progress. To bolster the effort, Naruhiko ordered the Seiya Detachment from the 10th Division—three infantry battalions—to reinforce the 13th. Despite these reinforcements, momentum remained insufficient, so he deployed the 16th Infantry Division, which had arrived at Yenchiachi, to assault Shangcheng from the north. After crossing the Shi River at Yanjiachi, the 16th outflanked Shangcheng from the north, coordinating with the 13th from the south; the Chinese withdrew and Shangcheng fell. Following this success, Naruhiko ordered the 13th and 16th Divisions to push deeper into the Dabie Mountains toward Baikou and Songfu, while the 10th and 3rd Divisions moved toward Leshan and Xinyang, with Xinyang, a crucial Beijing–Wuhan Railway node, representing a particularly important objective. The Japanese advance progressed steadily through the Dabie Mountains, with the 10th executing bold maneuvers to outflank Leshan from the south and the 3rd penetrating toward the Beijing–Wuhan railway north of Xinyang, collectively disrupting and cutting the railway near Xinyang in October. An independent unit, the Okada Detachment, operated between these forces, advancing through Loshan before sealing Xinyang on October 12. The seizure of Xinyang effectively severed Wuhan's northern artery from external reinforcement and resupply, signaling a decisive turn against Wuhan as a Chinese stronghold. While the 2nd Army advanced in the Dabie Mountains, another critical development was taking place far to the south. By the end of 1937, southern China became more crucial to the Republic of China as a lifeline to the outside world. Guangzhou and Hong Kong served as some of the last vital transportation hubs and sources of international aid for Chiang Kai-Shek, with approximately 80 percent of supplies from abroad reaching Chinese forces in the interior through Guangzhou. Imperial General Headquarters believed that a blockade of Guangdong province would deprive China of essential war materiel and the ability to prolong the war. As I always liked to term it, the Japanese were trying to plug up the leaks of supplies coming into China, and Guangzhou was the largest one. In 1936 the Hankow-Canton railway was completed, and together with the Kowloon-Canton railway formed a rapid all-rail link from south China to central and northern China. For the first sixteen months of the war, about 60,000 tons of goods transited per month through the port of Hong Kong. The central government also reported the import of 1.5 million gallons of gasoline through Hong Kong in 1938, and more than 700,000 tons of goods would eventually reach Hankou using the new railway. In comparison, the Soviet Union in 1937 was sending war materiel through Xinjiang to Lanzhou using camels, with Chinese raw materials traveling back either the same route or via Hong Kong to Vladivostok. By 1940, 50,000 camels and hundreds of trucks were transporting 2,000–3,000 tons of Soviet war material per month into China. Japanese planning for operations began in early November 1937, with the blockade's objectives centered on seizing a portion of Daya Bay and conducting air operations from there. In December 1937, the 5th Army, including the 11th Division, the Formosa Mixed Brigade, and the 4th Air Brigade, were activated in Formosa under Lt. Gen. Motoo Furusho to achieve this objective. Due to the proximity of Daya Bay to Hong Kong, the Japanese government feared potential trouble with Britain, and the operation was subsequently suspended, leading to the deactivation of the 5th Army. By June 1938, the Battle of Wuhan convinced Imperial General Headquarters that the fighting could not be localized. The headquarters reversed policy and began preparations to capture Guangzhou and to expedite the settlement of the war. During the peak of the battles of Shanghai and Nanjing, urgent demands for aerial support at the Battle of Taiyuan in the north and at Canton in the south forced the Nationalist Air Force of China to split the 28th Pursuit Squadron and the 5th Pursuit Group , based at Jurong Airbase in the Nanking defense sector. The squadron was divided into two smaller units: Lt. Arthur Chin led one half toward Canton, while Capt. Chan Kee-Wong led the other half to Taiyuan. On September 27, 1937, the 28th PS under Lt. Arthur Chin dispatched four Hawk IIs from Shaoguan Airbase, and the 29th PS under Lt. Chen Shun-Nan deployed three Hawk IIIs from Tianhe Airbase. Their mission was to intercept Japanese IJNAF G3M bombers attempting to strike the Canton–Hankow railway infrastructure. The two flights engaged the Japanese bombers over Canton, claiming at least two kills; one G3M dumped fuel and ditching off the coast of Swatow, with its crew rescued by a British freighter, though one of the gunners died of battle injuries. In October 1937, amid mounting demands and combat losses, the Chinese government ordered 36 Gloster Gladiator Mk.I fighters, whose performance and firepower surpassed that of the Hawk IIs and IIIs, and most of these would become frontline fighters for the Canton defense sector as the war extended into 1938. On February 23, 1938, Capt. John Huang Xinrui, another Chinese-American volunteer pilot, took command of the renewed 29th PS, now equipped with the Gladiators. He led nine Gladiators from Nanxiong Airbase on their first active combat over Canton, supporting three Gladiators from the 28th PS as they intercepted thirteen Nakajima E8N fighter-attack seaplanes launched from the seaplane tenders Notoro Maru and Kinugasa Maru. The battle proved challenging: most of the Gladiators' machine guns jammed, severely reducing their firepower. Despite this, five of the E8Ns were shot down, confirmed by Capt. Huang and his fellow pilots who managed to strike the Japanese aircraft with only one, two, or three functioning guns per Gladiator. Chin later revealed that the gun jams were caused by defective Belgian-made ammunition. The combat nevertheless proved tragic and costly: Lt. Xie Chuanhe (Hsieh Chuan-ho) and his wingman Lt. Yang Rutong pursued the E8Ns but were stymied by inoperable weapons, with Lt. Yang killed in the counterattack, and Lt. Chen Qiwei lost under similar circumstances. The 4th War Area Army, commanded by He Yingqin, was assigned to the defense of south China in 1938. General Yu Hanmou led the 12th Army Group defending Guangdong province. The region's defense included about eight divisions and two brigades of regular army troops stationed around Guangzhou, with an additional five divisions of regular troops deployed in Fujian. The 4th War Area Army totaled roughly 110,000 regular army troops. By this time, most regular army units in Guangxi and four Guangdong divisions had been redirected north to participate in the Battle of Wuhan. Beyond the regular army, two militia divisions were deployed near Guangzhou, and the Guangxi militia comprised five divisions. Militia units were typically raised from local civilians and disbanded as the army moved through new areas. Their roles centered on security, supply transportation, and reconnaissance. Guangdong's main defensive strength was concentrated in Guangzhou and the immediate environs to the city's east. Other Chinese forces defended Chaozhou and western Guangdong. Defensive fortifications included the Humen fortress guarding the Pearl River mouth and three defensive lines near Daya Bay. Guangzhou housed three batteries of four three-inch guns, a battery of three 120mm guns, and Soviet-supplied 37mm anti-aircraft guns. The Imperial Japanese Navy conducted an aerial and naval interdiction campaign aimed at China's communication lines to neighboring regions. Japan believed that the blockade would hasten the end of the war, and disruption of the Chinese logistics network was the primary objective in Guangdong province from August 1937 until October 1938. The 5th Fleet's blockading actions extended along the coast from Haimenchen, Zhejiang to Shantou, with the 5th Destroyer Squadron patrolling the coast south of Shantou. At times, units from the Marianas were deployed to support coastal blockade operations in south China, usually consisting of cruisers accompanied by destroyer flotillas. One or two aircraft carriers and fleet auxiliaries would also be on station. Naval interdictions focused on stopping junks ferrying military supplies from Hong Kong to coastal China. The first recorded attack occurred in September 1937 when eleven junks were sunk by a Japanese submarine. Although Japan successfully blockaded Chinese shipping and ports, foreign shipping could still enter and depart from Hong Kong. The central government had established Hong Kong as a warehouse for munitions and supplies to pass through. Aerial interdictions targeted Chinese railway bridges and trains in Guangdong. Starting in October 1937, the Japanese launched air raids against the Sunning railway, focusing on government facilities and bridges in Jiangmen and towns along the railway. By 1938, airstrikes against the Kowloon–C Canton railway became common, with damaged trains periodically found along the line. An air-defense early warning system was created to divert trains during raids into forested areas that offered overhead concealment. In May 1938, the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office approved a Chinese request to construct and operate a locomotive repair yard within the New Territories to keep the railway operational. Airstrikes against rail facilities in Guangzhou were designed to interrupt rail supplies from Hong Kong so Japan would not need to commit to land operations in south China. However, the air raids did not severely impede railway operations or stop supplies moving through Hunan or Guangxi. The blockade in south China also targeted aircraft flying out of Hong Kong. In November 1937, a Royal Navy aircraft from HMS Eagle encountered Japanese naval anti-aircraft fire off the coast of Hong Kong. In December 1937, fifteen Japanese bombers overflew Lantau Island and the Taikoo docks. In August 1938, Japanese naval aircraft shot down a China National Aviation Corporation passenger plane, and two Eurasia Aviation Corporation passenger planes were shot down the following month. Beyond military targets, the Japanese conducted politically motivated terror bombing in Guangzhou. Bombing intensified from May to June 1938 with incendiary munitions and low-level strafing attacks against ships. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, operating from Formosa and the carrier Kaga, conducted about 400 airstrikes during this period and continued into July. By the end of the summer, Guangzhou's population had dwindled to approximately 600,000 from an original 1.3 million. From August 1937 to October 1938, casualties in Guangzhou were estimated at 6,000 killed and 8,000 injured. On October 12, 1938, Japanese forces from the 21st Army, including the 5th, 18th, and 104th Infantry Divisions, landed in Guangzhou, launching the operation at 4:00 am with elements of the 5th and 18th Divisions hitting Aotou and elements of the 104th Division landing at Hachung in Bias Bay. Initially totaling about 30,000 men, they were soon reinforced by a further 20,000, and resistance was minimal because most of Yu Hanmou's 12th Army Group had been redeployed to central China to defend approaches to Wuhan, leaving only two regular Chinese divisions, the 151st and 153rd, to defend the region. By the night of October 12, the Japanese had established a 10-kilometer-deep beachhead and advanced inland; on October 13 they seized the towns of Pingshan and Tamshui with little opposition, and on October 15 they converged on Waichow and captured it. The fall of Pingshan, located on the Sai Kong River with a deep, broad river and only a flimsy crossing, and Waichow, where Chinese defenses included trenches and concrete pillboxes, surprised observers since these positions had been prepared to resist invasion; nonetheless, Chinese forces fled, opening the road to Guangzhou for the Japanese. Between October 16 and 19, three Japanese columns pushed inland, with the easternmost column crossing the East River on the 16th and the 5th Infantry Division capturing Sheklung on the 19th as Chinese forces retreated. By the night of October 20, Guangzhou's defenders withdrew and adopted a scorched-earth policy to deny resources to the invaders. On October 21, Japanese tanks entered Guangzhou without infantry support, and a regiment from the 5th Infantry Division captured the Bocca Tigris forts with no resistance. With Guangzhou secured, the Guangzhou–Wuhan railway and the Hong Kong–Guangzhou railway were severed, supplies to Wuhan were cut, Chiang Kai-Shek faced a daunting and depressing task, he had to abandon Wuhan. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Yangtze became a bloodied artery as Chinese and Japanese forces clashed from Anqing to Jiujiang, Madang to Tianjiazhen. A mosaic of Chinese troops, filled with grit and missteps, held lines while civilians like Wang Guozhen refused to surrender. The siege of Wanjialing crowned Chinese resilience, even as Guangzhou buckled under a relentless blockade. The Fall of Wuhan was all but inevitable.

Jessica reports LIVE from Jakarta while Spencer analysis every detail from GymCastic headquarters on the first day of event finals! World Championships Headquarters Get for all Jakarta Worlds Videos, Interviews, Podcasts, Fantasy, Guides Extended Episode + Live Q&A (Members) +30 extra minutes of analysis, behind-the-scenes secret stories, and answering your questions. Here's how to ask questions live. Can't make it live? Add Club bonus episodes to your favorite podcast player (instructions here). Tip: After logging in, refresh this page and the extended player will appear below.  Headlines IOC stops Olympic talks with Indonesia over Israeli athlete ban How to Report Exploitative Photography during a FIG meet  Contact the FIG and LOC safeguarding officers on site. They are listed in the work plan, which is accessible on the event page (e.g. Jakarta: https://live.gymnastics.sport/event_detail.php?idevent=17810 They can also be reached by phone or WhatsApp. Anonymous reports can be filed directly to the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation   FIG Safeguarding page Chapters 00:00 – Intro & Sponsors — Gymnastics Medicine, Club Gym Nerd 02:00 – Welcome from Jakarta: Jessica & Spencer on Day 1 of Event Finals 03:40 – Headlines: IOC vs. Indonesia, Fujitsu robots & FIG ethics 08:10 – Are the medals light or heavy? 08:35 – Women's Vault Final 09:00 – Melnikova, Fontaine & Josc medal recap 09:45 – Deng's vault crash & DNS rule explained 12:30 – Antwerp flashback & Voinea precedent 14:15 – Valen's “no-pike” Rudi & judging notes 15:40 – Kalmykova, Schönemaier & Fontaine highlights 20:05 – Melnikova's Cheng vs. form deductions 21:30 – Vault wrap-up 22:20 – Women's Uneven Bars Final 22:45 – Hit-a-thon! Skye Blakely sticks 24:20 – Melnikova & McDonald clean hits 26:10 – Yang's no-release issue 27:30 – Zoya's one-leg heroic routine 29:20 – Bars recap 30:00 – Men's Floor Final 30:25 – Jake Jarman's triple-double clinic 32:05 – Luke Whitlock & Yulo analysis 34:10 – Minami's honest fall 35:25 – Milad's Shushunova & artistry talk 37:05 – Floor medal recap 38:00 – Pommel Horse 38:20 – Highlights & scoring notes 41:00 – PH results 41:40 – Rings Final 42:00 – Whittenburg, World Champion at 31 43:20 – Adem celebration & medal reaction 46:00 – Nelson's style points 48:20 – Awards of the Day & BTS Teaser 48:40 – Best routines, surprises & Club Gym Nerd info 52:00 – Live Q&A & upcoming finals preview 54:35 – Show Close 55:00 – Tomorrow's coverage preview & sign-off from Jakarta How Do I Watch the Competition? All sessions of the competition will be streamed on Eurovision Sport. Follow along here! Gymnastics Indonesia's YouTube channel will stream all qualification sessions Live scores from the FIG and Swiss Timing Check out NBC's behind-the-scenes mini-doc on the US Women's World Trials US viewers check out Peacock and NBC broadcast schedlue here. GymCastic Updates Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Coming Up 6 days of LIVE podcasts at World Championships in Jakarta Club members get extended coverage and can join us live to ask questions immediately after the meet Play our World Championships Fantasy Game! Win a Club Gym Nerd Scholarship: Go to our Forum > Show Stuff > GymCastic Scholarship We are matching every new sponsorship If you would like access to the club content, but aren't currently in a position to purchase a membership, all you need to do is fill out the form that's linked in our message board If you would also like to sponsor a scholarship, please email editor@gymcastic.com. Thank you! Support Our Work Club Gym Nerd: Join Here Become a Sponsor: GymCastic is matching all donations Nearly 50 scholarships have been awarded so far Learn More Headstand Game: Play Now Forum: Start Chatting Merch: Shop Now Thank you to our Sponsors Gymnastics Medicine Beam Queen Bootcamp's Overcoming Fear Workshop Huel Daily Greens Ready to Drink - Get 15% off your purchase for New Customers with our exclusive code GYMCASTIC at huel.com/GYMCASTIC. Use our code and fill out the post checkout survey to help support the show! Resources Jakarta schedule & times: See our live podcast times on the Worlds HQ schedule Guides: Download the quick-reference guide on the Jakarta Headquarters page The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer's GIF Code of Points Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Kensley's men's gymnastics site Neutral Deductions Unlock the Extended Episode Join Club Gym Nerd → Choose a plan Complete checkout — your site account is created. Log in here → /my-account/ Return to this page and refresh. The extended player appears automatically.

Wir leben in einer Zeit, in der endlich wieder zueinander finden muss, was seit Jahrtausenden getrennt ist: das Yin und das Yang, die weibliche und die männliche Energie, die in jedem von uns steckt.

Krystal and Saagar discuss Amazon replaces workers with AI bots, Yang says phones should be banned in schools, Zohran decimates Cuomo in debate, health insurance death spiral. Andrew Yang: https://blog.andrewyang.com/p/noble-mobile To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A week of Midlands opposition lands Pompey an away point. Hugh, Andy, and Freddie review the game against Leicester and the rise of Yang. The lads then dive into the game against potentially the Championship's best team in Coventry. Dan from Every Step Along the Way Podcast (@EveryStepAlong) joins the show to give you the lowdown on everything you need to know about the early kickoff vs Stoke.

【欢迎订阅】 每天早上5:30，准时更新。 【阅读原文】 标题：Chen Ning Yang, Chinese Nobel Laureate in Physics, Dies at 103正文：1.Chen Ning Yang, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who gave up his US citizenship to become a citizen of China in 2015 and helped persuade other scientists to do the same, passed away. He was 103.2.Yang died of illness on Saturday in Beijing, according to a statement posted on the Tsinghua University website.3.The Nobel Prize Committee in 1957 recognized Yang and fellow physicist Tsung-Dao Lee, both of whom were born in China and later became naturalized US citizens.知识点：citizenship n /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/the status of being a citizen and having the rights and duties of a country 公民身份，公民权• He gave up his US citizenship to become a citizen of China. 他放弃了美国国籍，成为中国公民。• Good citizenship involves obeying laws and respecting others. 良好的公民意识包括守法和尊重他人获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！ 【节目介绍】 《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。 所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。 【适合谁听】 1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者 2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者 3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者 4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等） 【你将获得】 1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景 2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法 3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

主播：Sofia（中国）+ Maelle（法国） 音乐：Thinking About You01. A Farewell to a Physics Legend 一位物理巨匠的谢幕2025年10月18日，BBC（英国广播公司）报道了物理学家杨振宁逝世的消息：Chinese Nobel laureate and physicist Chen Ning Yang dies aged 103中国诺贝尔奖得主、物理学家杨振宁去世，享年103岁Laureate /ˈlɔ:riət/ n. 荣誉获得者，获奖者Physicist /ˈfɪzɪsɪst/ n. 物理学家That report marks the passing of a true titan (巨匠). 在物理学界，杨振宁教授是一个iconic figure。Iconic /aɪˈkɑ:nɪk/ adj. 标志性的、象征性的It means someone or something that is very famous and admired (令人钦佩的), representing a particular idea or era (时代). 他被广泛认为是可以和爱因斯坦和牛顿比肩的物理学家。“比肩”这个词可以有两种表达方式：1) In the same breath：两件事情一起说，一起做；在这里意思是“可以与……比肩”。Eg. He was often mentioned in the same breath as Newton and Einstein (牛顿和爱因斯坦). 2) The same caliber as...：与……齐名Eg. He is widely regarded as a physicist of the same caliber as Einstein and Newton.02. The Making of A Child Prodigy 天才少年的诞生让我们一起来了解一下，这位伟大科学家不平凡的一生里有哪些传奇色彩？我们都知道，杨振宁教授是一位杰出的物理学家（a distinguished physicist）。He demonstrated (展示) extraordinary talent (非凡的天赋) from a very young age.Distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/ adj. 卓越的，杰出的它比excellent更正式庄重一些。��What kind of extraordinary signs did he demonstrate as a child?有一个流传很广的故事：杨振宁先生大概四岁的时候，他母亲开始教他认字，在短短一年多的时间里，他竟然就认识了三千多个汉字（three thousand Chinese characters）！更神奇的是他数学方面的天赋。他父亲的一位朋友，听说他是神童，就故意出了一道数学题想考考他。He solved it in what seemed like no time (一眨眼的功夫). 在场的大人们都惊呆了。It sounds like he was a true “child prodigy (天赋异禀的神童)”. Prodigy /ˈprɑdədʒi/ n. 天才“Child prodigy”就是指神童。后来在16岁——大多数孩子还在读高中的年纪，他直接考入了顶尖的National Southwestern Associated University（西南联合大学）。这也为他成为一代科学巨匠，埋下了最初的种子。中国当时正深处抗战和内战的动荡之中。It has been a time of great uncertainty (充满不确定性) during that period in China. 这对于一位有志于攀登科学巅峰的年轻人来说，前方的道路也充满了不确定性（uncertainty）。03. Journey Across the Ocean 赴美求学的黄金时代Where could a young scholar (年轻学者) find the environment to pursue pure science (追寻纯粹的科学研究)? 其实答案就在大洋彼岸——America。二战后的美国，不仅远离战火，而且政府和大学更是投入了空前的资源用于基础科学研究。那里汇聚了全球顶尖的头脑，拥有当时最先进的实验室和理论平台。That's why he went to the United States for his studies. For a talent like Chen Ning Yang, it was a golden opportunity (黄金机会) to pursue his scientific dreams.于是，就像当时许多有抱负的中国学者一样，杨振宁把握住了机会，踏上了赴美留学的旅程。He entered the top University of Chicago (芝加哥大学) to realize his scientific dream.Enrico Fermi (费米), the Nobel laureate (诺贝尔奖得主) who created the first nuclear reactor (核反应堆)，正是杨振宁在芝加哥的博士导师。他也被业界称为“原子弹之父”。而这也体现了美国当时无与伦比的（unparalleled）科研环境。It was like stepping into a whole new world of scientific possibilities. ��How did Chen Ning Yang's career progress (事业发展) in the United States?杨振宁的事业发展可以说是非常顺利。在费米以及后来另一位关键导师Edward Teller（泰勒）的亲自指导下，杨振宁打下了坚实的基础。Yang's move to the United States for education was clearly the correct path.而这也最终成功地吸引了另一位原子弹之父——奥本海默（Oppenheimer）的注意，并引领他进入了普林斯顿（Princeton）这座学术圣殿的大门。Oppenheimer (奥本海默) was so impressed by Yang's talent that he personally invited him to join Princeton (普林斯顿大学) in 1949. 对于任何物理学家来说，这都是一个“dreamy position（梦寐以求的职位）”。04. From Einstein to Eternity 与爱因斯坦的“跨时代对话”说到他在普林斯顿的时光，这里还有一个科学史上广为流传的佳话（a remarkable story）。当时年轻的杨振宁，竟然与科学巨匠爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein）有过直接的学术交流！It must have been such a “surreal” moment (难以置信的时刻) for a young physicist.Surreal /səˈriəl/ adj. 超现实的，难以置信的这个词用来形容当时杨振宁见到爱因斯坦的场景再合适不过了。他们的见面不是一次简单的问好（a quick hello），而是一次实质性的学术讨论。当时杨振宁和他的合作者正在研究“统计力学”，爱因斯坦对此很感兴趣，所以邀请他们到他的办公室深入交谈。What a historic dialogue (跨越时代的对话)! But even geniuses get nervous! 杨振宁后来坦诚地说，他当时非常紧张，而且爱因斯坦的德语口音很重，他其实没能完全听懂所有的讨论。彼时，年轻的杨振宁正站在那位定义了现代物理学（defined modern physics）的巨人的肩膀上（on the shoulders of the very giant），与之对话（engaged in a dialogue）。It's like a “passing of the torch (火炬的传递)”.这次对话更象征着理论物理学伟大思想的传承。而这位曾经与爱因斯坦对话的年轻人，最终也成为了书写历史的人（a figure who shaped history）。杨振宁的个人生活也伴随着他的学术生涯蒸蒸日上（academic growth）而开花结果（blossom）。他在普林斯顿与杜致礼女士重逢并步入婚姻。这位国民党著名将领杜聿明的长女，成为了他此后长达53年的人生伴侣。05. Revolutionary Contributions to Physics 颠覆物理界的科学贡献Chen Ning Yang was a theoretical physicist (理论物理学家). Why is he considered so great? Theoretical /ˌθiəˈretɪk(ə)l/ adj. 理论上的杨振宁在科学领域的伟大贡献之一就是“宇称不守恒定律”（Parity Nonconservation）。这个发现有多么颠覆呢？它直接引发了物理学界最根本的思维方式的改变，而这一理论也让他与李政道一起获得了诺贝尔奖（the Nobel Prize）。物理学界（physics community）普遍认为，杨振宁还有一个更伟大的贡献（greater contribution），叫做“杨-米尔斯理论”（Yang-Mills theory）。这也被认为是杨老最杰出的代表作。这也就是为什么国际物理学界有一个广泛的社会共识：那就是杨振宁是继牛顿和爱因斯坦之后（alongside Newton and Einstein），最伟大的物理学家之一。06. Rooting and Rebooting 归根与重启His personal journey later in life also captured the world's attention (吸引了全世界的注意). He chose to return to China in his old age. 他全职回到清华大学担任教授，这样一个决定也体现了我们中文里说的“落叶归根（leaf returning to the root）”。But it was more like rooting and rebooting (归根与重启). 他把他一生的智慧、经验和国际资源，都带回了祖国，为中国的科学事业“站台”和“引航”。所以杨老的回国绝非一次象征性的叶落归根（symbolic homecoming）。It was an active, purposeful decision to contribute (饱含深意的、为了奉献的主动抉择). 在某种意义上，他这是在solving his final equation（解答他人生中最后的方程式）——一道关乎祖国未来的方程式。BBC的公告宣告了一个时代的帷幕缓缓落下。但对华夏而言，他所留下的伟大传承，正悄然开启新的篇章。The BBC announcement marked the end of an era. But for China, his legacy is just the beginning. 杨振宁先生给我们留下了科学的瑰宝，更留下了关于家与国、个人与时代的最深沉的思考。

During his time as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011, Prince Andrew developed several controversial connections in Libya that would later haunt his public image. Among them was his reported friendship with Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan gun smuggler with ties to the Gaddafi regime. Kaituni allegedly acted as a middleman who facilitated introductions between Andrew and other Libyan figures, including members of Muammar Gaddafi's inner circle. Multiple outlets have reported that Kaituni boasted of arranging meetings between Andrew and Gaddafi himself, raising questions about the prince's judgment and whether his official role was used to court unsavory foreign contacts. The scrutiny deepened when reports surfaced of a £1 million payment connected to a Libyan-linked network that allegedly benefited Andrew, involving banker Selman Turk and intermediaries once associated with Kaituni.Prince Andrew's name was once again dragged into scandal when reports surfaced linking him to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, businessman Yang Tengbo — also known by the codename “H6.” British security officials alleged that Yang used his relationship with the Duke of York to gain influence and access within elite circles, including royal events and private meetings at Buckingham Palace. Investigators later determined Yang was involved in covert activities on behalf of the Chinese government and banned him from the United Kingdom on national security grounds. While Andrew's representatives claimed he ended all contact after the allegations surfaced, documents and testimonies suggested their connection ran deeper, including multiple meetings tied to trade and investment discussions during Andrew's tenure as the U.K.'s Special Representative for International Trade.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

During his time as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011, Prince Andrew developed several controversial connections in Libya that would later haunt his public image. Among them was his reported friendship with Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan gun smuggler with ties to the Gaddafi regime. Kaituni allegedly acted as a middleman who facilitated introductions between Andrew and other Libyan figures, including members of Muammar Gaddafi's inner circle. Multiple outlets have reported that Kaituni boasted of arranging meetings between Andrew and Gaddafi himself, raising questions about the prince's judgment and whether his official role was used to court unsavory foreign contacts. The scrutiny deepened when reports surfaced of a £1 million payment connected to a Libyan-linked network that allegedly benefited Andrew, involving banker Selman Turk and intermediaries once associated with Kaituni.Prince Andrew's name was once again dragged into scandal when reports surfaced linking him to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, businessman Yang Tengbo — also known by the codename “H6.” British security officials alleged that Yang used his relationship with the Duke of York to gain influence and access within elite circles, including royal events and private meetings at Buckingham Palace. Investigators later determined Yang was involved in covert activities on behalf of the Chinese government and banned him from the United Kingdom on national security grounds. While Andrew's representatives claimed he ended all contact after the allegations surfaced, documents and testimonies suggested their connection ran deeper, including multiple meetings tied to trade and investment discussions during Andrew's tenure as the U.K.'s Special Representative for International Trade.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

During his time as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011, Prince Andrew developed several controversial connections in Libya that would later haunt his public image. Among them was his reported friendship with Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan gun smuggler with ties to the Gaddafi regime. Kaituni allegedly acted as a middleman who facilitated introductions between Andrew and other Libyan figures, including members of Muammar Gaddafi's inner circle. Multiple outlets have reported that Kaituni boasted of arranging meetings between Andrew and Gaddafi himself, raising questions about the prince's judgment and whether his official role was used to court unsavory foreign contacts. The scrutiny deepened when reports surfaced of a £1 million payment connected to a Libyan-linked network that allegedly benefited Andrew, involving banker Selman Turk and intermediaries once associated with Kaituni.Prince Andrew's name was once again dragged into scandal when reports surfaced linking him to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, businessman Yang Tengbo — also known by the codename “H6.” British security officials alleged that Yang used his relationship with the Duke of York to gain influence and access within elite circles, including royal events and private meetings at Buckingham Palace. Investigators later determined Yang was involved in covert activities on behalf of the Chinese government and banned him from the United Kingdom on national security grounds. While Andrew's representatives claimed he ended all contact after the allegations surfaced, documents and testimonies suggested their connection ran deeper, including multiple meetings tied to trade and investment discussions during Andrew's tenure as the U.K.'s Special Representative for International Trade.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

本期节目的目的地是内蒙古（记录短片和图片将在同名公众号呈现）。这是一场打破认知的边境之旅，请跟我们从赤峰出发，沿国境线的边缘北上。在辽上京博物馆重新理解那些历史课本里的“异族”，如何成为中华民族的共同记忆；偶遇诺门罕战役遗址和中东铁路，看看两个邻居对满蒙地区的觊觎和侵蚀；我们也会在壮阔且包容的草原上追逐彩虹、看“瑞士卷”的生成、看牛羊遍地，也在鄂温克人在大兴安岭的森林营地里，看到了驯鹿着仍在坚守古老的生活方式和顽强的生命力。本期路线：北京-赤峰-巴林左旗-乌拉盖-阿尔山-满洲里-牙克石-额尔古纳-根河-满归下期路线：漠河-北红村-呼玛县-黑河-哈尔滨-长春-长白县-临江-集安-丹东-葫芦岛-北京|故事节点|07:17 巴林左旗偶遇“契丹”17:31 藏传佛教和召庙 19:50 阿尔山的熔岩、不冻河和松鼠湖31:39 为什么不愿花钱去“景点”？37:27 旅居者的阿尔山49:07 阿尔山火车站和日军侵入满蒙历程55:24 改变二战轨迹的“诺门罕战役”69:23 草原上的“瑞士卷”72:30 在呼伦贝尔草原追彩虹77:59 满洲里的“红军烈士公园”81:34 沙俄的出海梦和中东铁路86:14 苏联为何刮起“八月风暴”？90:56 蒙东人还是东北人？95:41 牙克石和哈克断崖99:36 呼伦贝尔历史博物馆104:07 初遇鄂温克人111:15 如何喂养驯鹿特别鸣谢：本期节目由京东互联网医院赞助播出。打开京东APP，搜索“问医生”即可进入京东互联网医院的界面，然后在搜索框里输入疾病或医院，即可找到全国三甲医院的医生专家在线问诊。或者，您也可以点击这里→点击查看|壮游者|贝贝&Yang:共同经历了长达6000多公里公路旅行的青年男女。请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。

It's part 2 of our dive into the Insect Apocalypse, with our good friend Dr. Jason Dombroskie from the Cornell University Insect Collection!In this part, Jason fills us in on the drivers of the Insect Apocalypse and - most importantly - what we can do about it.This episode was recorded on August 21, 2025 at Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area in Dalton, NY.. Episode NotesDuring the episode, we made the claim that 40 million acres of the US is lawn, and that that area is equal to all of the country's National Parks put together. True? Well, sort of. The claim that the U.S. has about 40 million acres of lawn—roughly equal to all our national parks combined—is only partly true. A NASA-funded study led by Cristina Milesi estimated that turfgrass covers about 128,000 km² (≈31 million acres) of the continental U.S., making it the largest irrigated “crop” in the country (Milesi et al., Environmental Management, 2005; NASA Earth Observatory). Later analyses and popular summaries often round that up to ≈40 million acres (e.g., Scienceline, 2011; LawnStarter, 2023). By comparison, the total land area of all officially designated U.S. National Parks is about 52.4 million acres, while the entire National Park System—which also includes monuments, preserves, and historic sites—covers about 85 million acres (National Park Service, 2024). So while lawns and parks occupy areas of similar magnitude, lawns do not actually equal or exceed the combined area of the national parks. Is it better to mulch leaves on your lawn or leave them be? Here's what we found: It's generally best to mulch your leaves with a mower rather than rake or remove them. Research from Michigan State University found that mowing leaves into small pieces allows them to decompose quickly, returning nutrients to the soil and reducing weeds like dandelions and crabgrass (MSU Extension, “Don't rake leaves — mulch them into your lawn”, 2012). Cornell University studies similarly show that mulched leaves improve soil structure, moisture retention, and microbial activity (Cornell Cooperative Extension, “Leaf Mulching: A Sustainable Alternative”, 2019). However, in garden beds, wooded edges, or under shrubs, it's often better to leave leaves whole, since they provide winter habitat for butterflies, bees, and other invertebrates that overwinter in leaf litter (National Wildlife Federation, “Leave the Leaves for Wildlife”, 2020). The ideal approach is a mix: mow-mulch leaves on grassy areas for turf health and leave them intact where they naturally fall to support biodiversity and soil ecology. Episode LinksThe Cornell University Insect Collection Also, check out their great Instagram feedAnd their annual October event InsectapaloozaFind out more about the recently discovered species of Swallowtail, Papilio solstitius, commonly known as the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail- https://www.sci.news/biology/papilio-solstitius-13710.htmlSponsors and Ways to Support UsThank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes.Support us on Patreon.Works CitedBiesmeijer, J.C., Roberts, S.P., Reemer, M., Ohlemuller, R., Edwards, M., Peeters, T., Schaffers, A.P., Potts, S.G., Kleukers, R.J.M.C., Thomas, C.D. and Settele, J., 2006. Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in Britain and the Netherlands. Science, 313(5785), pp.351-354. Boyle, M.J., Bonebrake, T.C., Dias da Silva, K., Dongmo, M.A., Machado França, F., Gregory, N., Kitching, R.L., Ledger, M.J., Lewis, O.T., Sharp, A.C. and Stork, N.E., 2025. Causes and consequences of insect decline in tropical forests. Nature Reviews Biodiversity, pp.1-17. Burghardt, K.T., Tallamy, D.W., Philips, C. and Shropshire, K.J., 2010. Non‐native plants reduce abundance, richness, and host specialization in lepidopteran communities. Ecosphere, 1(5), pp.1-22. Colla, S.R. and Packer, L., 2008. Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special focus on Bombus affinis Cresson. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(6), pp.1379-1391. Crossley, M.S., Meier, A.R., Baldwin, E.M., Berry, L.L., Crenshaw, L.C., Hartman, G.L., Lagos-Kutz, D., Nichols, D.H., Patel, K., Varriano, S. and Snyder, W.E., 2020. No net insect abundance and diversity declines across US Long Term Ecological Research sites. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(10), pp.1368-1376. DeWalt, R.E., Favret, C. and Webb, D.W., 2005. Just how imperiled are aquatic insects? A case study of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in Illinois. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 98(6), pp.941-950. Edwards, C.B., Zipkin, E.F., Henry, E.H., Haddad, N.M., Forister, M.L., Burls, K.J., Campbell, S.P., Crone, E.E., Diffendorfer, J., Douglas, M.R. and Drum, R.G., 2025. Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century. Science, 387(6738), pp.1090-1094. Gaona, F.P., Iñiguez-Armijos, C., Brehm, G., Fiedler, K. and Espinosa, C.I., 2021. Drastic loss of insects (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in urban landscapes in a tropical biodiversity hotspot. Journal of Insect Conservation, 25(3), pp.395-405. Gardiner, M.M., Allee, L.L., Brown, P.M., Losey, J.E., Roy, H.E. and Smyth, R.R., 2012. Lessons from lady beetles: accuracy of monitoring data from US and UK citizen‐science programs. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10(9), pp.471-476. Groenendijk, D. and van der Meulen, J., 2004. Conservation of moths in The Netherlands: population trends, distribution patterns and monitoring techniques of day-flying moths. Journal of Insect Conservation, 8(2), pp.109-118. Haddad, N.M., Haarstad, J. and Tilman, D., 2000. The effects of long-term nitrogen loading on grassland insect communities. Oecologia, 124(1), pp.73-84. Hallmann, C.A., Sorg, M., Jongejans, E., Siepel, H., Hofland, N., Schwan, H., Stenmans, W., Müller, A., Sumser, H., Hörren, T. and Goulson, D., 2017. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLoS ONE12 (10): e0185809 Hallmann, C.A., Ssymank, A., Sorg, M., de Kroon, H. and Jongejans, E., 2021. Insect biomass decline scaled to species diversity: General patterns derived from a hoverfly community. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002554117. Harris, J.E., Rodenhouse, N.L. and Holmes, R.T., 2019. Decline in beetle abundance and diversity in an intact temperate forest linked to climate warming. Biological Conservation, 240, p.108219. Hembry, D.H., 2013. Herbarium Specimens Reveal Putative Insect Extinction on the Deforested Island of Mangareva (Gambier Archipelago, French Polynesia). Pacific Science, 67(4), pp.553-560. Høye, T.T., Loboda, S., Koltz, A.M., Gillespie, M.A., Bowden, J.J. and Schmidt, N.M., 2021. Nonlinear trends in abundance and diversity and complex responses to climate change in Arctic arthropods. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002557117. Huryn, A.D. and Wallace, J.B., 2000. Life history and production of stream insects. Annual review of entomology, 45(1), pp.83-110. Kawahara, A.Y., Reeves, L.E., Barber, J.R. and Black, S.H., 2021. Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002547117. Leuenberger, W., Doser, J.W., Belitz, M.W., Ries, L., Haddad, N.M., Thogmartin, W.E. and Zipkin, E.F., 2025. Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(33), p.e2501340122. Liang, M., Yang, Q., Chase, J.M., Isbell, F., Loreau, M., Schmid, B., Seabloom, E.W., Tilman, D. and Wang, S., 2025. Unifying spatial scaling laws of biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Science, 387(6740), p.eadl2373. Lister, B.C. and Garcia, A., 2018. Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(44), pp.E10397-E10406. Owens, A.C., Pocock, M.J. and Seymoure, B.M., 2024. Current evidence in support of insect-friendly lighting practices. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 66, p.101276. Myers, L.W., Kondratieff, B.C., Grubbs, S.A., Pett, L.A., DeWalt, R.E., Mihuc, T.B. and Hart, L.V., 2025. Distributional and species richness patterns of the stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera) in New York State. Biodiversity Data Journal, 13, p.e158952. Pilotto, F., Kühn, I., Adrian, R., Alber, R., Alignier, A., Andrews, C., Bäck, J., Barbaro, L., Beaumont, D., Beenaerts, N. and Benham, S., 2020. Meta-analysis of multidecadal biodiversity trends in Europe. Nature communications, 11(1), p.3486. Pinkert, S., Farwig, N., Kawahara, A.Y. and Jetz, W., 2025. Global hotspots of butterfly diversity are threatened in a warming world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, pp.1-12. Raven, P.H. and Wagner, D.L., 2021. Agricultural intensification and climate change are rapidly decreasing insect biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002548117. Rodrigues, A.V., Rissanen, T., Jones, M.M., Huikkonen, I.M., Huitu, O., Korpimäki, E., Kuussaari, M., Lehikoinen, A., Lindén, A., Pietiäinen, H. and Pöyry, J., 2025. Cross‐Taxa Analysis of Long‐Term Data Reveals a Positive Biodiversity‐Stability Relationship With Taxon‐Specific Mechanistic Underpinning. Ecology Letters, 28(4), p.e70003. Salcido, D.M., Forister, M.L., Garcia Lopez, H. and Dyer, L.A., 2020. Loss of dominant caterpillar genera in a protected tropical forest. Scientific reports, 10(1), p.422. Sánchez-Bayo, F. and Wyckhuys, K.A., 2019. Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers. Biological conservation, 232, pp.8-27. Schowalter, T.D., Pandey, M., Presley, S.J., Willig, M.R. and Zimmerman, J.K., 2021. Arthropods are not declining but are responsive to disturbance in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002556117. Sedlmeier, J.E., Grass, I., Bendalam, P., Höglinger, B., Walker, F., Gerhard, D., Piepho, H.P., Brühl, C.A. and Petschenka, G., 2025. Neonicotinoid insecticides can pose a severe threat to grassland plant bug communities. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), p.162. Shortall, C.R., Moore, A., Smith, E., Hall, M.J., Woiwod, I.P. and Harrington, R., 2009. Long‐term changes in the abundance of flying insects. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2(4), pp.251-260. Soga, M. and Gaston, K.J., 2018. Shifting baseline syndrome: causes, consequences, and implications. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(4), pp.222-230. Stork, N.E., 2018. How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on Earth?. Annual review of entomology, 63(2018), pp.31-45. Tallamy, D.W., Narango, D.L. and Mitchell, A.B., 2021. Do non‐native plants contribute to insect declines?. Ecological Entomology, 46(4), pp.729-742. Thomas, J.A., Telfer, M.G., Roy, D.B., Preston, C.D., Greenwood, J.J.D., Asher, J., Fox, R., Clarke, R.T. and Lawton, J.H., 2004. Comparative losses of British butterflies, birds, and plants and the global extinction crisis. Science, 303(5665), pp.1879-1881. Tierno de Figueroa, J.M., López-Rodríguez, M.J., Lorenz, A., Graf, W., Schmidt-Kloiber, A. and Hering, D., 2010. Vulnerable taxa of European Plecoptera (Insecta) in the context of climate change. Biodiversity and conservation, 19(5), pp.1269-1277. Turin, H. and Den Boer, P.J., 1988. Changes in the distribution of carabid beetles in The Netherlands since 1880. II. Isolation of habitats and long-term time trends in the occurence of carabid species with different powers of dispersal (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Biological Conservation, 44(3), pp.179-200. Van Deynze, B., Swinton, S.M., Hennessy, D.A., Haddad, N.M. and Ries, L., 2024. Insecticides, more than herbicides, land use, and climate, are associated with declines in butterfly species richness and abundance in the American Midwest. PLoS One, 19(6), p.e0304319. Van Klink, R., Bowler, D.E., Gongalsky, K.B., Swengel, A.B., Gentile, A. and Chase, J.M., 2020. Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances. Science, 368(6489), pp.417-420. Wagner, D.L., Fox, R., Salcido, D.M. and Dyer, L.A., 2021. A window to the world of global insect declines: Moth biodiversity trends are complex and heterogeneous. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002549117. Wagner DL, Grames EM, Forister ML, Berenbaum MR, Stopak D. Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021 Jan 12;118(2):e2023989118. WallisDeVries, M.F. and van Swaay, C.A., 2017. A nitrogen index to track changes in butterfly species assemblages under nitrogen deposition. Biological Conservation, 212, pp.448-453. Warren, M.S., Hill, J.K., Thomas, J.A., Asher, J., Fox, R., Huntley, B., Roy, D.B., Telfer, M.G., Jeffcoate, S., Harding, P. and Jeffcoate, G., 2001. Rapid responses of British butterflies to opposing forces of climate and habitat change. Nature, 414(6859), pp.65-69. Warren, M.S., Maes, D., van Swaay, C.A., Goffart, P., Van Dyck, H., Bourn, N.A., Wynhoff, I., Hoare, D. and Ellis, S., 2021. The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002551117. Wilson, E.O., 1987. The little things that run the world (the importance and conservation of invertebrates). Conservation biology, pp.344-346. Yang, L.H. and Gratton, C., 2014. Insects as drivers of ecosystem processes. Current opinion in insect science, 2, pp.26-32.Visit thefieldguidespodcast.com for full episode notes, links, and works cited.

Yi Yi (2000; Dir.: Edward Yang) Canon Fodder Episode 48 Daniel and Corky turn to turn-of-the-century Taiwan to review Edward Yang's richly Renoir-ian tapestry of humanity. Yang offers a seemingly bottomless reservoir of empathy in Yi Yi, but did your hosts appreciate the plunge or did they sink like […] The post Yi Yi (2000) – Episode 48 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Sam and Andy sit down with friend of the pod, Zack Farmer — host of the Unofficial WCC Hoops podcast. They discuss the lay of the land in the WCC for next season, what the Beavers need to do to succeed, and how Santa Clara managed to sign a player from the G League.Plus, on the Yang Hansen Corner, Sam and Andy break down Yang's first two preseason games and debate whether he moves better than Donovan Clingan.Follow The Payton Years on Twitter: @YearsPayton

Hey before I begin the podcast, I just want to thank all of you who joined the patreon, you guys are simply awesome. Please take the time to vote and comment on the patreon polls so I can best tackle the specific subjects you want to hear more about and hell it does not have to be about the Pacific War, I like ancient Rome, WW1, WW2, just toss some ideas and I will try to make it happen.   This Podcast is going to be a very remarkable story about a Korean man who fought for the IJA, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the second world war.  He is also a man whom most than likely never existed.   Did that catch you off guard haha?   If you have a chance you can pull up wikipedia and search Yang Kyoungjong. The first thing you will notice is a disclaimer that states numerous historians who claim Yang Kyoungjong does not exist. Yet this man exists in some history books, there is a iconic photo of him, there is a documentary looking into him, countless Korean stories are writing loosely about him, there is a pretty decent war film and multiple youtubers have covered his so-called story. So how does this guy not exist if his story is so popular?   His story is claimed to be real by military historian Stephen Ambrose who wrote about him in his book in 1994 titled “D-day, june 6th, 1944: the Climactic battle of World War II. There is also references to him in Antony Beevor's book “the second world war” and that of defense consultant and author Steven Zaloga's book“the devil's garden: Rommel's desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day”. In 2005 a Korean SBS documentary investigated his existence and concluded there was no convincing evidence of his existence. For those of you who have ever heard of this man, I guarantee it's because of the 2011 south korean film “My Way”. That's where I found out about it by the way. Many of you probably saw the iconic photo of him, again if you pull up the wikipedia page on Yang Kyoungjong its front and center. The photo shows a asiatic man wearing a wehrmacht uniform and he has just been captured by american forces on the d-day landings.   Now I don't want to jump into the is he real or not busy just yet. So this is how the podcast will go down, very reminiscent of “Our fake History's Podcast” might I add, I am a huge fan of that guys work. I am going to tell you the story of Yang Kyoungjong, then afterwords disclose my little investigation into whether he is real or not.   So without further adieu this is the story of a man who fought for three nations during WW2.   The Story   It was June 1944, the allies had just unleashed Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings at Normandy. Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division was overlooking the capture of Axis forces and reported to his regiment finding four Asians in Wehrmacht uniform around the Utah beach landings. Brewer nor any of his colleagues spoke the language the Asian men spoke, they assumed them to be Japanese.  The four asians were processed as POW's, listed as young Japanese and sent to a British POW camp, before he would be sent to another POW camp in the US. At some point between his capture and the POW camps, he gave his name as Yang Kyoungjong, stated he was Korean and gave an extremely incredible story. To who did he say these things, no one knows.   Yang Kyoungjong was born in 1920, in Shin Eu Joo, part of modern day North Korea. At the age of 18, Yang was forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Japanese army. Korea was one of the bread baskets of Asia and the Empire of Japan had annexed her in 1910. Japan held sovereignty over Korea, making Koreans subjects.    In 1939 the Empire of Japan faced major labor shortages and as a result began conscription of Japanese men for the military, while importing vast amounts of Korean laborers to work in mainland Japan. For the Imperial Japanese Army, Koreans were not drafted until 1944 when things were dire for Japan. Until 1944, the IJA allowed Koreans to volunteer in the army. In 1938 there was a 14% acceptance rate, by 1943 this dropped dramatically to 2%, but the number of applicants increased exponentially from 3000 per annum in 1939 to 300,000 by the end of the war. On paper it looked like Koreans were registering en masse on their on violation, but this is quite the contrary, the Japanese policy was to use force. Japanese officials began press gang efforts against Korean peasants, forcing them to sign applications, it is believed over half of the applications were done in such a manner. Other applicants registered for a variety of reasons, typically because of economic turmoil. Korea would produce 7 generals and many field grade officers. One of the most well known was Lt General Crown Prince Yi Un who would command Japanese forces in the China War.   Thus Yang Kyoungjong was forced into the IJA and would find himself stationed with the Kwantung Army. Quite unfortunately for him, he was enlisted into their service at a time where two major border skirmishes occurred with the Soviet Union. The USSR was seen as Japan's number one rival going all the way back to the Triple Intervention of 1895 when the Russians thwarted Japan's seizure of the Liaodong peninsula after they had won the first sino japanese war. This led to the Russo-Japanese war, where Japan shocked the world being victorious over the Russian Empire. When the Russian Empire fell and the Russian civil war kicked off, Japan sent the lionshare of men to fight the Red Army during the Siberian Intervention of 1918-1922.    Communism was seen as the greatest if not one of the greatest threats to the Kokutai and thus Japan as a whole. As such Japan placed the Kwantung Army along the Manchurian borderlands to thwart any possible soviet invasion. There had numerous border skirmishes, but in 1938 and 1939 two large battles occurred. In 1938 the Kwantung army intercepted a Soviet message indicating the Far East forces would be securing some unoccupied heights west of Lake Khasan that overlooked the Korean port city of Rajin. Soviet border troops did indeed move into the area and began fortifying it. The Kwantung army sent forces to dislodge them and this soon led to a full on battle. The battle was quite shocking for both sides, the Soviets lost nearly 800 men dead with 3279 wounded, the Japanese claimed they had 526 dead with 913 wounded. The Soviet lost significant armor and despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire, the Kwantung army considered it a significant victory and proof the Soviets were not capable of thwarting them.   In theory Yang Kyoungjong would be in training and would eventually reach the Manchuria borders by 1939. Another man sent over would be Georgy Zhukov who was given the task of taking command of the 57th special corps and to eliminate Japanese provocations. What was expected of Zhukov was if the Japanese pressed again for battle, to deliver them a crushing and decisive blow. On May 11th, 1939 some Mongolian cavalry units were grazing their horses in a disputed area. On that very same day, Manchu cavalry attacked the Mongols to drive them past the river of Khalkhin Gol. Two days later the Mongols returned in greater numbers and this time the Manchu were unable to dislodge them.    What was rather funny to say, a conflict of some horses grazing on disputed land, led to a fully mechanized battle. On May 14th, Lt Colonel Yaozo Azuma led some regiments to dislodge the Mongols, but they were being supported by the Red Army. Azuma force suffered 63% casualties, devastating. June saw the battle expand enormously, Japan was tossing 30,000 men in the region, the Soviets tossed Zhukov at them alongside motorized and armored forces. The IJA lacking good armored units, tossed air forces to smash the nearby Soviet airbase at Tamsakbulak. In July the IJA engaged the Red Army with nearly 100 tanks and tankettes, too which Zhukov unleashed 450 tanks and armored cars. The Japanese had more infantry support, but the Soviet armor encircled and crushed them. The two armies spared with another for weeks, the Japanese assumed the Soviets would suffer logistical problems but Zhukoev assembled a fleet of 2600 trucks to supply his forces, simply incredible. Both sides were suffering tremendous casualties, then in August global politics shifted. It was apparent a war in Europe was going to break out, Zhukov was ordered to be decisive, the Soviets could not deal with a two front war. So Zhukov now using a fleet of 4000 trucks began transported supplies from Chita to the front next to a armada of tanks and mechanized brigades. The Soviets tossed 3 rifle divisions, two tank divisions and 2 tank brigades, nearly 500 tanks in all, with two motorized infantry divisions and 550 fighters and bombers.    The stalemate was shattered when Zhukov unleashed is armada, some 50,000 Soviets and Mongols hit the east bank of Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese were immediately pinned down, while the Soviets were employing a double envelopment. The Japanese tried to counter attack and it failed horribly. The Japanese then scrambled to break out of the encirclement and failed. The surrounded Japanese forces refused to surrender as the Soviets smashed them with artillery and aerial bombardment. By the end of August the Japanese forces on the Mongolian side of the border were annihilated. On September 15th the USSR and Japan signed a ceasefire.    The battle of Khalkhin Gol was devastating for both sides. The Japanese claim they had 8440 deaths, 8766 wounded, lost 162 aircraft and 42 tanks. Its estimated 500-600 Japanese forces were taken prisoner. Because of IJA doctrine these men were considered killed in action. Some sources will claim the real numbers for Japanese casualties could have been as high as 30,000. The Soviets claim 9703 deaths, 15,251 wounded, the destruction of 253 tanks, 250 aircraft, 96 artillery pieces and 133 armored cars. Of those tank losses, its estimated 75-80% were destroyed by anti-tank guns, 15-20% field artillery, 5-10% infantry thrown incendiary bombs, 3% mines and another 3% for aircraft bombing.   Back to Yang Kyoungjong, he alongside the other Japanese, Manchu and Korean POW's were sent to Gulags in Siberia. As the war on the Eastern Front kicked off between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, facing annihilation the Soviets did anything possible to survive. One of these actions was to create the Shtrafbats, “Penal battalions”. Stalins order No 227 created the first penal battalions, who were supposed to be around 800 men strong. The first Shtrafbat battalion was deployed to the Stalingrad Front on August 22nd of 1942.   On order was issued on November 26, 1942 “status of Penal units of the army”, it was issued by Georgy Zhukov, now deputy commander in chief who was the man who formally standardized soviet penal units. The Shtrafbats were around 360 men per battalion commanded by mid range Red Army officers and politruks. The men forced into these were permanents or temporaries. Permanents were officers, commanders, the higher ranks guys. Temporary known as shtrafniki “punishees” were the grunts, typically prisoners and those convicted of crimes. From september 1942 to May of 1945 422,700 men would be forced into penal battalions.    Typically those forced into penal military units were one of two things: 1) those convicted of dissertation or cowardice, 2) Soviet Gulag labor camp inmates. It seems Yang Kyoungjong found himself in a very awkward situation as he would be forced into one of these penal battalions and sent to fight on the eastern front. As pertaining to Order No. 227, each Army was to have 3–5 barrier squads of up to 200 persons each, these units would be made up of penal units.    So back toYang Kyoungjong, he would find himself deployed at the third battle of Kharkov. This battle was part of a series of battles fought on the eastern front. As the German 6th army was encircling Stalingrad, the Soviets launched a series of wide counter attacks, as pertaining to “operation star”. Operation star saw massive offensives against Kharkov, Belgorod, Kursk, Voroshilovgrad and Izium. The Soviets earned great victories, but they also overextended themselves. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein seeing the opening, performed a counter-strike against Kharkov on February 19th of 1943, using fresh troops of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps alongside two other panzer armies. Manstein also had massive air support from field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofens Luftflotte 4, 1214 aircraft tossed 1000 sorties per day from February 20th to march 15th. The Red army had approximately 210,000 troops who fought in the Voronezh-Kharkov offensive, the Germans would have roughly 160,000 men, but their tanks outnumbered the Soviets 7-1, they had roughly 350 of them.   The Germans quickly outflanked the Soviets, managing to encircle and annihilate many units. Whenever soviets units made attempts to escape encirclements, the German air forces placed pressure upon them. The German air forces had the dual job of airlifting supplies to the front lines giving the Soviets no breathing space. Gradually the fight focused around the city of Kharkov seeing the Soviets dislodged. The Germans caused severe casualties, perhaps 45,000 dead or missing with another 41,000 wounded. The Germans suffered 4500 deaths, 7000 wounded. The Germans took a large number of prisoners, and Yang Kyoungjong was one of them.   Yet again a prisoner Yang Kyoungjong was coerced into serving another nation, this time for Die Ost-Bataillone. The Eastern Front had absolutely crippled Germany and as a result Germany began to enlist units from just about any nation possible and this included former Soviet citizens. There were countless different units, like the Russian liberation Army, die Hilfswillige, Ukrainian collaborationists, and there were also non-Russians from the USSR who formed the Ost-Bataillone. These eastern battalions would comprise a rough total of 175,000 men. Many of the Ost-Bataillone were conscripted or coerced into serving, though plenty also volunteered. Countless were recruited from POW camps, choosing to serve instead of labor in camps. The Osttruppen were to typically deployed for coastal defense, rear area activities, security stuff, all the less important roles to free up the German units to perform front line service.   There were two different groups, the Ost-Legionen “eastern legions” and Ost-Bataillone “eastern battalions”. The Ostlegionen were large foreign legion type units raised amongst members of specific ethnic or racial groups. The Ost-Bataillone were composed of numerous nationalities, usually plucked from POW camps in eastern europe. They were tossed together into battalion sized units and integrated individually into German combat formations. Obviously the Germans did not get their hands on large numbers of Koreans, so Yang Kyoungjong found himself in a Ost-Bataillone.    In 1944, due to massive losses in the Eastern Front, and in preparation for the allies about to open a second front, the Germans began deploying a lot of Ost-Bataillone along the coastal defense line at Cherbourg. Yang Kyoungjong was enlisted in the 709th static infantry division, a coastal defense unit assigned to defend the eastern and northern coasts of the Cotentin Peninsula. This would include the Utah beach landing site and numerous US airborne landing zones. The sector was roughly 250 km running northeast of Carentan, via Barfleur-Cherbourg-Cap de la Hague to the western point of Barneville. This also included the 65 km of land just in font of Cherbourg harbor. A significant portion of the 709th were Ost-bataillon, countless were from eastern europe, many were former Soviet POW'S. There were also two battalions of the 739th Grenadier regiment whom were Georgian battalions. A significant amount of the 709th had no combat experience, but had trained extensively in the area.   The 709th would be heavily engaged on D-day meeting US airborne units and the 4th infantry division who landed at Utah beach. In the early hours of June 6th, the US 82nd and 101st airborne divisions landed at the base of the Cotentin peninsula and managed to secure a general area for the US 4th infantry division to land at Utah beach, with very few casualties compared to other beach landings. After the landings the forces tried to link up with other forces further east. By June 9th they had crossed the Douve river valley and captured Carentan. House to house fighting was seen in the battle for Carentan, the Germans tossed a few counterattacks, but the Americans held on with the help of armor units of the 13th.    The Americans then advanced to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, now supported by 3 other infantry divisions. The Germans had few armored or mobilized infantry in the area. By June 16th the German command was tossed into chaos as Erwin Rommel wanted them to pull out and man the Atlantic Wall at Cherbourg, but Hitler demanded they hold their present lines of defense. By the 17th Hitler agreed to the withdrawal, under some provisions the men still took up limited defenses spanning the entire peninsula. On the 18th the US 9th infantry division reached the west coast of the peninsula thus isolating the Cherbourg garrison. A battle was unleashed for 24 hours with the 4th, 9th and 79th US infantry divisions driving north on a broad front. They faced little opposition on the western side and the eastern, the center held much stronger resistance. The Americans would find several caches of V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rocket installations at Brix. After two days the Americans were in striking distance of Cherbourg. The garrison commander Lt General Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben had 21,000 men, but many were naval personnel and labor units. Schliebens 709th had performed a fighting withdrawal to Cherbourg and were completely exhausted. The trapped forces were low in provisions, fuel and ammunition. The luftwaffe tried dropping supplies on their positions but it was inadequate.    A general assault began on the 22nd and the German forces put up stiff resistance within their concrete pillboxes. Allied warships bombarded the city on the 25th of june and on the 26th a British elite force, No. 30 Commando launched an assault against Octeville, a suburb of southwestern Cherbourg. The commandos quickly captured 20 officers and 500 men of the Kriegmarine naval intelligence HQ at Villa Meurice. As the Germans were ground down, Schlieben was captured and with that a surrender was made on the 29th.   The Americans suffered nearly 3000 deaths with 13,500 wounded during the operation. The Germans suffered 8000 deaths with 30,000 captured. For the 709th who took a lionshare of the fighting they reported sustaining 4000 casualties.    Amongst the captured was Yang Kyoungjong. As I said in the beginning Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division was overlooking the capture of Axis forces and reported to his regiment finding four Asians in Wehrmacht uniform around the Utah beach landings. Brewer nor any of his colleagues spoke the language the Asian men spoke, they assumed them to be Japanese.  The four asians were processed as POW's, listed as young Japanese and sent to a British POW camp, before he would be sent to another POW camp in the US. At some point between his capture and the POW camps, he gave his name as Yang Kyoungjong, stated he was Korean and gave the story. Apparently Yang Kyoungjob was granted US citizenship and would spend the rest of his life in Illinois until his death in 1992.   So that is the story of Yang Kyoungjong.    The truth Did Yang Kyoungjong exist? Where does his story originate? For those of you who have not guessed it yet, the story I told you was full of details, I simply added based on historical events, with zero evidence at all any man named Yang Kyoungjong was involved in them. I did this specifically to highlight, thats exactly what others have done over the course of many years, creating a sort of mythos. If you know the game broken telephone, thats what I would theorize makes up most of this mans story. But lets go through some actual evidence why don't we?   From the digging I have done, the story seemed to originate with historian Stephen Ambrose book in 1994 titled “D-day, june 6th, 1944: the Climactic battle of World War II”. While writing this book, Ambrose interviewed Robert Burnham Brewer, who served E Company, 2nd battalion, 506th parachute infantry regiment of the 101st airborne division. This same man was portrayed in Band of Brothers by the way. Brewer gave one rather ambiguous account where he spoke about capturing 4 asian men in Wehrmacht uniforms.    Here is patient zero as told to us by Ambrose's book (Page 34, no footnote on the page)   The so-called Ost battalions became increasingly unreliable after the German defeat at Kursk; they were, therefore, sent to france in exchange for German troops. At the beach called Utah on the day on the invasion, Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th Parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division, US Army, captured four asians in Wehrmacht uniforms. No one could speak their language; eventually it was learned that they were Koreans. How on earth did Koreans end up fighting for Hitler to defend france against Americans? It seems they had been conscripted into the Japanese army in 1938-Korea was then a Japanese colony-captured by the Red Army in the border battles with Japan in 1939, forced into the Red Army, captured by the Wehrmacht in December 1941 outside Moscow, forced into the German army, and sent to France”. What happened to them, Lt Brewer never found out, but presumably they were sent back to Korea. If so, they would almost certainly have been conscripted again, either into the south or north korean army. It is possible than in 1950 they ended up fighting once again, either against the US army or with it, depending on what part of Korea they came from. Such are the vagaries of politics in the 20th century. By June 1944, one in six German rifleman in France was from an Ost battalion.   Now digging further since there are no footnotes, it seems Ambrose took an oral account from Lt Brewer, but did not directly quote him and instead abstractly expanded upon his story. Ambrose was guilty of doing this often. As multiple historians have pointed out, Brewer was living in the 1940s and was by no means an ethnographer, he was not a person who could have accurately known the nationality of the four asian men he captured. It is plausible he or other US units around him, just came up with Korean for the four asians who could have been from nearly anywhere in central to east asia. For all we know the men found could have been from Turkestan. What was “asian” to westerners of the 1940's is extremely broad.    If you look up the Ost-Bataillone or Ostlegionen you will see they consisted of captured former soviet soldiers. During the d-day landings, 1/6th of the German forces defending the atlantic coast were made up of the Ost-battailones. They came from numerous places, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Mongolia and numerous parts of the USSR. Needless to say, there were a ton of people whom would be considered asian and could be mistaken to be from Korea, Japan, Burma, etc.    It seems Brewer's vague account was transformed by Amrose, but this only covers one part of all of this, the story, what about the photo?    The iconic photograph is another matter entirely. The photograph has nothing to do with Brewer's account, it is simply a random photograph taken at Utah beach of a captured asian soldier wearing a Wehrmacht uniform. The official description of the photo states “Capture Jap in Nazi uniform. France, fearful of his future, this young Jap wearing a nazi uniform, is checked off in a roundup of German prisoners on the beaches of france. An american army captain takes the Jap's name and serial number” Author Martin Morgan believes the man in the photograph is not Yang Kyoungjong, but instead an ethnic Georgian from the 795th Georgian Battalion, which was composed of Georgian Osttruppen troops or someone who was Turkistani. In 2002 word of the story became more popularized online and in 2004 the iconic photo also began to circulate heavily on the internet. The Korean media became aware of the story in 2002 and when they saw the picture the Korean news site DKBNews investigated the matter. Apparently a reader of the DKBNews submitted biographical details about the soldier in the photo, including his name, date of birth, the general story we now know, his release, life in Illinois and death. The DKBNews journalist requested sources and none were provided, typical.   So some random unknown reader of the DKBNews gave a name, place and time of birth and even where he ended up and died.  In 2005 the Seoul broadcasting system aired a documentary specifically investigating the existence of the asian soldiers who fought for Germany on d-day.   In the SBS special “The Korean in Normandy,” produced and broadcast in 2005 based on rumors of Yang kyoungjog,  they searched for records of Korean prisoners of war during the Battle of khalkhin gol and records of Korean people who participated in the German-Japanese War, and records related to the German Army's eastern unit, but could not find traces of such a person. In addition, the soldiers who served in the Soviet army, who were captured, and then transferred to the German army's eastern units were considered by the Soviet Union to be serious traitors. Accordingly, under a secret agreement between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, they were forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union after the war and held in Gulags.. The SBS production team stated that the rumors that a 'Korean from Normandy' had gone to the United States and that he died in seclusion near Northwestern University under the name of 'Yang Kyoungjong', which they were unaware of, were false. The investigative team looked for any traces of a Yang Kyoungjong and found none, so they concluded although there were accounts of asian soldiers in the German army during WW2, there was zero evidence of the existence of Yang Kyoungjong or any Koreans fighting on D-day for that matter.    The 2005 SBS Special documentary sprang forth a bunch of stories by Korean authors, expanding the mythos of Yang Kyoungjong.   In 2007 author Jo Jeong-rae published a novel titled “human mask” which told the story of SHin Gilman, The story ends with Shin Gil-man, who was conscripted into the Japanese army at the age of 20, as a prisoner of war in Normandy, then transported back to the Soviet Union and eventually executed by firing squad. Another novel called “D-day” by author Kim Byeong-in was release in 2011, just prior to the film My War, the plot is extremely similar to the movie. The main characters are Han Dae-sik and Yoichi, who met as children as the sons of a Japanese landowner and the house's housekeeper, harboring animosity toward each other, and grew up to become marathon runners representing Joseon and Japan. As they experience the war together, they feel a strange sense of kinship and develop reconciliation and friendship.   And of course the most famous story would find its way to the big screen. In 2011 the film My Way came out, back then the most expensive south korean film ever made at around 23$ million.   Then in 2012 a unknown person created a wikipedia page piecing together the Ambrose story, the photo and the unknown DBK readers information. With all of this information becoming more viral suddenly in 2013, two history books hit the scene and would you know it, both have “Yang Kyoungjong” in them.    These are Antony Beevor's book “the second world war” and that of defense consultant and author Steven Zaloga in his book “the devil's garden: Rommel's desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day”. Both authors took the story, name and iconic photo and expanded on the mythos by adding further details as to how the Korean man would have gone from Korea to Cherbourg france.   So Ambrose's story spreads across the internet alongside this photo. Both spark interest in Korea and an investigation receives some random guys testimony, which quite honestly was groundless. Despite the korean documentary stating there was no evidence of a Yang Kyoungjong, it sparks further interest, more stories and a famous film in 2011. 2012 sees a wikipage, it becomes more viral and now seeps into other historians work.   And I would be remiss not to mention the bizarre controversy that broke out in my nation of Canada. A nation so full of controversies today, dear god. Debbie Hanlon a city councilor in St John Newfoundland was absolutely wrecked online in 2018 for an advertisement promoting her real estate business stating “Korean Yang kyoungjong fought with Japan against the USSR. He then fought with the USSR against Germany. Then with Germany against the US! Want an agent who fights for you, call me!” Really weird ad by the way. So it seems her ad was to point out how far she was willing to go for her real estate clients. It was considered extremely offensive, and not the first time she pulled this off, her husband Oral Mews had recently come under fire for another ad he made using a photo of the Puerto Rican cab driver Victor Perez Cardona, where the vehicle turned into a casket. That ad said “He can't give you a lift because he's dead. He's propped up in his cab at his wake! Need a lift to great service, call me!” Hanlon was surprised at the amount of backlash she received since the ads had been running for over 4 years online. She claimed to be the victim of cyberbullying and trolls. So yeah, that happened.    Did Yang Kyoungjong exist, more than likely not, was it possible some Koreans found themselves in a position his story pertains to, you know what it's quite possible. During War a lot of weird things happen. I hope you liked this episode, please let me know in the comments on the Patreon what you think, how I can improve things and of course what you want to hear about next!

This week, we dissect who's in the hunt for individual event medals, obviously the most important phase of the competition. Who are the favorites? Who could pull off an upset? And how can you watch like an expert? UPDATE: Indonesia has denied all Israeli athlete visas. Vault Preview: Deng Yalan vs. the United States of Cheng Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson are tied for the highest combined two vault D-scores this year, but should we be worried that these vaults won't materialize in time for competition? Why Deng Yalan could be the first Chinese gymnast to win a World Championships vault title since Cheng Fei Why you need to keep your eyes on Karla Navas, Angelina Melnikova, and Valentina Georgieva Will the double-twisting Yurchenko and Lopez group have enough D to sneak into vault finals? What do you need to know to watch vault like an expert?  Chapters  00:00 Intro  01:02 Show Open – Welcome to the Worlds Event Finals Preview 02:14 Update from Singapore – Israeli Visa Controversy & FIG Rules 05:53 How to Watch Worlds – BBC & Broadcast Info 06:25 Vault Preview 07:19 Pre-Meet Favorites – Wong, Roberson, Deng Yalan 10:13 Wide World of Spoilers – Melnikova, Navas, Georgieva 13:20 DTY/Lopez Group Questions – Fontaine, Martin & Co. 17:03 How to Watch Vault Like an Expert – Hand Support & Deduction Drama 22:33 Bars Preview 23:02 Pre-Meet Favorites – Nemour, Yang, Roshchina 25:05 What Is an Inbar Skill & Why It Matters 26:17 Wide World of Spoilers – Italians, Blakely, Dutch Contenders 27:34 Questions – Can You Succeed Without Connections? 29:14 How to Watch Bars Like an Expert – Handstands, Kips, & Deductions 31:45  Beam Preview 32:11 Sam Peszek Promo – Beam Queen Fear & Confidence 32:53 Pre-Meet Favorites – Zhou, Zhang, Hwang 35:04 How the Chinese Score 15s on Beam 37:19 Wide World of Spoilers – Nemour, Flavia, Okamura, Blakely 42:22 Coping with No Manila Esposito – Giulia Perotti 45:04 Team Layout Full – Ossysek & Voinea 46:10 Does Big Difficulty Pay Off? 47:02 How to Watch Beam Like an Expert – Why E-Scores Are “Crimes” 50:28 Beam Deductions Explained – Rhythm, Pauses, and Artistry 53:01  Floor Preview 53:22 Pre-Meet Favorites – Roberson, Voinea, Kalmykova 54:44 Why There Are No Clear Favorites This Year 55:36 Wide World of Spoilers – Moerz, Sugihara, Kishi, Ruby Evans 56:13 Who Doesn't Belong in Dance Prison – Fontaine, Marta Pihan-Kuleza, Petisco 58:03 The 3-Pass vs 4-Pass Debate 58:44 How to Watch Floor Like an Expert – Inquiry Rules Explained 01:01:08 When to File a Floor Inquiry & What's Changed 01:02:05  Show Close & Updates 01:02:36 Thank You Gifts & Travel Blessing from Vicky 01:03:21 Worlds Coverage Schedule & Club Gym Nerd Live Access 01:04:00 Sign-Off – “Take off and split on rights!” Bars Preview: The Kaylia Nemour Show How Kaylia Nemour and her gargantuan 6.9 D-score will win the World bars title Could Yang Fanyuwei and her eponymous full-twisting Jaeger give Nemour a run for gold? Which one of the AIN Russians will use the power of an inbar to make it into bar finals? The wide world of spoilers from the Italians, Skye Blakely, and the Dutch Can you qualify to bar finals without connecting everything? We look at Nakamura Haruka dilemma as a case study How can you watch bars like an expert Beam Preview: The Confidence Game Who are the current world leaders on beam? Why Zhou Yaqin and Zhang Qingying are leading the world beam rankings Whatever you do, DO NOT sleep on Hwang Seohyun and her massive new 6.9 D-score Why being a nonchalant beamer is the key to getting a 15 Is doing big-time F+ elements still worth the risk? There are probably 30 people who could legitimately contend for a World beam title, who else is on our list? Why is beam evaluated so harshly? We go over everything you need to know to watch beam like an expert Floor Preview: Doing Less is More Who are our favorites to win the title? Hint: it's nobody Who is currently leading the world floor rankings? Joscelyn Roberson is coming in HOT with her 6.5 D-score, but is she healthy enough to pull it off? Could this be Sabrina Voinea's Paris revenge tour? Why floor is probably one of the most unpredictable events this year. We have a looong list of gymnasts who could contend for a medal Who doesn't belong in dance prison? Why the three or four pass floor routine debate is the "is a hot dog a sandwich" debate of gymnastics How do you submit an inquiry on floor? What are the new procedures to submit an inquiry? WIN STUFF Raffle: Win a Full Commission Episode for $10! Raffle closes Oct. 7th! Club Gym Nerd Membership Scholarship GymCastic is matching all donations Nearly 50 scholarships have been awarded so far UP NEXT: Behind The Scenes: Live Podium Training Report podcast with Q&A from Jakarta on October 17th. SUPPORT THE SHOW Join Club Gym Nerd: https://gymcastic.com/club/ Headstand Game: https://gymcastic.com/headstand-plugin/ Forum: https://gymcastic.com/community/ Merch: https://gymcastic.com/shop/ Try Huel with 15% OFF for New Customers today using my code GYMCASTIC at https://huel.com/gymcastic. Fuel your best performance with Huel today! RELATED EPISODES: Episode – Jakarta World Championships Preview Part One: AA Draft, Stats, Subdivision Deep Dives Episode – Rolled Ankle-Gate! Selection Camp Down to 8 | Perotti Leads Italian World Team Episode – Jakarta World Team Trials Preview & Sho Nakamori on Judge-Eye-View Cameras Episode – Paris World Cup with Laura Cappelle Behind the Scenes – all episodes NEWSLETTERS Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters  RESOURCES The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker. Aimee coached Simone from day one in gymnastics to three back to back World All Around titles, 14 world medals and an unprecedented 5 medals at the Rio Olympics. Get your copy now. And if you loved reading (or listening) to the book, please leave a review. Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation  GIFs of the Week and Meet schedule with links. Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Kensley's men's gymnastics site Neutral Deductions RESISTANCE RESOURCES > here Cover Art & Photos by Steve Cooper © Gymcastic

Last time we spoke about the Battle of Taierzhuang. Following the fall of Nanjing in December 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War entered a brutal phase of attrition as Japan sought to consolidate control and press toward central China. Chinese defense prioritized key rail corridors and urban strongholds, with Xuzhou, the JinPu and Longhai lines, and the Huai River system forming crucial lifelines. By early 1938, Japanese offensives aimed to link with forces around Beijing and Nanjing and encircle Chinese positions in the Central Yangtze region, threatening Wuhan. In response, Chiang Kai-shek fortified Xuzhou and expanded defenses to deter a pincer move, eventually amassing roughly 300,000 troops along strategic lines. Taierzhuang became a focal point when Japanese divisions attempted to press south and link with northern elements. Chinese commanders Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Tang Enbo, and Sun Lianzhong coordinated to complicate Japanese plans through offensive-defensive actions, counterattacks, and encirclement efforts. The victory, though numerically costly, thwarted immediate Japanese objectives and foreshadowed further attritional struggles ahead.   #171 The Flooding of the Yellow River Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. We last left off with a significant event during the Xuzhou campaign. Three Japanese divisions under General Itagaki Seishiro moved south to attack Taierzhuang and were met by forces commanded by Li Zongren, Sun Lianzhong, and Tang Enbo, whose units possessed a decent amount of artillery. In a two-week engagement from March 22 to April 7, the battle devolved into a costly urban warfare. Fighting was vicious, often conducted in close quarters and at night. The urban environment negated Japanese advantages in armor and artillery, allowing Chinese forces to contend on equal terms. The Chinese also disrupted Japanese logistics by resupplying their own troops and severing rear supply lines, draining Japanese ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements. By April 7, the Japanese were compelled to retreat, marking the first Chinese victory of the war. However both sides suffered heavy losses, with around 20,000 casualties on each side. In the aftermath of this rare victory, Chiang Kai-Shek pushed Tang Enbo and Li Zongren to capitalize on their success and increased deployments in the Taierzhuang theater to about 450,000 troops. Yet the Chinese Army remained hampered by fundamental problems. The parochialism that had crippled Chiang's forces over the preceding months resurfaced. Although the generals had agreed to coordinate in a war of resistance, each still prioritized the safety of his own troops, wary of Chiang's bid to consolidate power. Li Zongren, for example, did not deploy his top Guangxi provincial troops at Taierzhuang and sought to shift most of the fighting onto Tang Enbo's forces. Chiang's colleagues were mindful of the fates of Han Fuju of Shandong and Zhang Xueliang of Manchuria: Han was executed for refusing to fight, while Zhang, after allowing Chiang to reduce the size of his northeastern army, ended up under house arrest. They were right to distrust Chiang. He believed, after all, that provincial armies should come under a unified national command, which he would lead. From a national-unity perspective, his aspiration was not unreasonable. But it fed suspicion among other military leaders that participation in the anti-Japanese war would dilute their power. The divided nature of the command also hindered logistics, making ammunition and food supplies to the front unreliable and easy to cut off. By late April the Chinese had reinforced the Xuzhou area to between 450,000-600,000 to capitalize on their victory. However these armies were plagued with command and control issues. Likewise the Japanese licked their wounds and reinforced the area to roughly 400,000, with fresh troops and supplies flowing in from Tianjin and Nanjing. The Japanese continued with their objective of encircling Chinese forces. The North China Area Army comprised four divisions and two infantry brigades drawn from the Kwantung Army, while the Central China Expeditionary Army consisted of three divisions and the 1st and 2nd Tank Battalions along with motorized support units. The 5th Tank Battalion supported the 3rd Infantry Division as it advanced north along the railway toward Xuzhou. Fighting to the west, east, and north of Xuzhou was intense, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. On 18 April, the Japanese advanced southward toward Pizhou. Tang Enbo's 20th Army Corps, together with the 2nd, 22nd, 46th, and 59th corps, resisted fiercely, culminating in a stalemate by the end of April. The 60th Corps of the Yunnan Army engaged the Japanese 10th Division at Yuwang Mountain for nearly a month, repelling multiple assaults. By the time it ceded its position to the Guizhou 140th Division and withdrew on 15 May, the corps had sustained losses exceeding half of its forces. Simultaneously, the Japanese conducted offensives along both banks of the Huai River, where Chinese defenders held out for several weeks. Nevertheless, Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment gradually tilted the balance, allowing the attackers to seize Mengcheng on 9 May and Hefei on 14 May. From there, the southern flank split into two parts: one force moved west and then north to cut off the Longhai Railway escape route from Xuzhou, while another division moved directly north along the railway toward Suxian, just outside Xuzhou. Simultaneously, to the north, Japanese units from north China massed at Jining and began moving south beyond Tengxian. Along the coast, an amphibious landing was made at Lianyungang to reinforce troops attacking from the east. The remaining portions of Taierzhuang were captured in May, a development symbolically significant to Tokyo. On 17 May, Japanese artillery further tightened the noose around Xuzhou, striking targets inside the city.  To preserve its strength, the Nationalist government ordered the abandonment of Xuzhou and directed its main forces to break out toward northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and eastern Henan. To deter the Japanese army's rapid westward advance and penetration into northern Henan and western Shandong, many leading military and political figures within the Nationalist government proposed breaching dams over the Yellow River to delay the offensive, a strategy that would have been highly advantageous to the Nationalist forces at the time. Chiang Kai-shek vetoed the proposal outright, insisting that the Nationalist army could still resist. He understood that with tens of millions of Chinese lives at stake and a sliver of hope remaining, the levee plan must not be undertaken. Then a significant battle broke out at Lanfeng. Chiang also recognized that defeat could allow the elite Japanese mechanized divisions, the 14th, 16th, and 10th, to advance directly toward Zhengzhou. If Zhengzhou fell, the Japanese mechanized forces on the plains could advance unimpeded toward Tongguan. Their southward push would threaten Xi'an, Xiangfan, and Nanyang, directly jeopardizing the southwest's rear defenses. Concurrently, the Japanese would advance along the Huai River north of the Dabie Mountains toward Wuhan, creating a pincer with operations along the Yangtze River.  Now what followed was arguably the most important and skillful Chinese maneuver of the Xuzhou campaign: a brilliantly executed strategic retreat to the south and west across the Jinpu railway line. On May 15, Li Zongren, in consultation with Chiang Kai-shek, decided to withdraw from Xuzhou and focus on an escape plan. The evacuation of civilians and military personnel began that day. Li ordered troops to melt into the countryside and move south and west at night, crossing the Jinpu Railway and splitting into four groups that would head west. The plan was to regroup in the rugged Dabie Mountains region to the south and prepare for the defense of Wuhan. Li's generals departed reluctantly, having held out for so long; Tang Enbo was said to have wept. Under cover of night, about forty divisions, over 200,000 men, marched out of Japanese reach in less than a week. A critical moment occurred on May 18, when fog and a sandstorm obscured the retreating troops as they crossed the Jinpu Railway. By May 21, Li wired Chiang Kai-shek to report that the withdrawal was complete. He mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite units, such as the 74th Army, withdrawn from Xuzhou and transferred directly to Lanfeng, with a resolute intent to “burn their boats.” The force engaged the Japanese in a decisive battle at Lanfeng, aiming to secure the last line of defense for the Yellow River, a position carrying the lives of millions of Chinese civilians. Yet Chiang Kai-shek's strategy was not universally understood by all participating generals, who regarded it as akin to striking a rock with an egg. For the battle of Lanfeng the Chinese mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite forces, comprising 14 divisions totaling over 150,000 men. Among these, the 46th Division of the 27th Army, formerly the Central Training Brigade and the 36th, 88th, and 87th Divisions of the 71st Army were German-equipped. Additionally, the 8th Army, the Tax Police Corps having been reorganized into the Ministry of Finance's Anti-Smuggling Corps, the 74th Army, and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps, the new 1st Army, equipped with the 8th Division were elite Nationalist troops that had demonstrated strong performance in the battle of Shanghai and the battle of Nanjing, and were outfitted with advanced matériel. However, these so-called “elite” forces were heavily degraded during the campaigns in Shanghai and Nanjing. The 46th Division and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps sustained casualties above 85% in Nanjing, while the 88th and 87th Divisions suffered losses of up to 90%. The 74th Army and the 36th Division also endured losses exceeding 75%. Their German-made equipment incurred substantial losses; although replenishment occurred, inventories resembled roughly a half-German and half-Chinese mix. With very limited heavy weapons and a severe shortage of anti-tank artillery, they could not effectively match the elite Japanese regiments. Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps maintained its national equipment via a close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. In contrast, the 74th Army, after fighting in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xuzhou, suffered heavy casualties, and the few German weapons it had were largely destroyed at Nanjing, leaving it to rely on a mix of domestically produced and Hanyang-made armaments. The new recruits added to each unit largely lacked combat experience, with nearly half of the intake having received basic training. The hardest hit was Li Hanhun's 64th Army, established less than a year prior and already unpopular within the Guangdong Army. Although classified as one of the three Type A divisions, the 155th, 156th, and 187th Divisions, it was equipped entirely with Hanyang-made firearms. Its direct artillery battalion possessed only about 20 older mortars and three Type 92 infantry guns, limiting its heavy firepower to roughly that of a Japanese battalion. The 195th Division and several miscellaneous units were even less prominent, reorganized from local militias and lacking Hanyang rifles. Additionally, three batches of artillery purchased from the Soviet Union arrived in Lanzhou via Xinjiang between March and June 1938. Except for the 52nd Artillery Regiment assigned to the 200th Division, the other artillery regiments had recently received their weapons and were still undergoing training. The 200th Division, had been fighting awhile for in the Xuzhou area and incurred heavy casualties, was still in training and could only deploy its remaining tank battalion and armored vehicle company. The tank battalion was equipped with T-26 light tanks and a small number of remaining British Vickers tanks, while the armored vehicle company consisted entirely of Italian Fiat CV33 armored cars. The disparity in numbers was substantial, and this tank unit did not participate in the battle.  As for the Japanese, the 14th Division was an elite Type A formation. Originally organized with four regiments totaling over 30,000 men, the division's strength was later augmented. Doihara's 14th Division received supplements, a full infantry regiment and three artillery regiments, to prevent it from being surrounded and annihilated, effectively transforming the unit into a mobile reinforced division. Consequently, the division's mounted strength expanded to more than 40,000 personnel, comprising five infantry regiments and four artillery regiments. The four artillery regiments, the 24th Artillery Regiment, the 3rd Independence Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, and the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, possessed substantial heavy firepower, including 150mm heavy howitzers and 105mm long-range field cannons, placing them far in excess of the Nationalist forces at Lanfeng. In addition, both the 14th and later the 16th Divisions commanded tank regiments with nearly 200 light and medium tanks each, while Nationalist forces were markedly short of anti-tank artillery. At the same time, the Nationalist Air Force, though it had procured more than 200 aircraft of various types from the Soviet Union, remained heavily reliant on Soviet aid-to-China aircraft, amounting to over 100 machines, and could defend only a few cities such as Wuhan, Nanchang, and Chongqing. In this context, Japanese forces effectively dominated the Battle of Lanfeng. Moreover, reports indicate that the Japanese employed poison gas on the battlefield, while elite Nationalist troops possessed only a limited number of gas masks, creating a stark disparity in chemical warfare preparedness. Despite these disparities, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government were initially unaware of the updated strength and composition of the Doihara Division. Faced with constrained options, Chiang chose to press ahead with combat operations. On May 12, 1939, after crossing the Yellow River, the IJA 14th Division continued its southward advance toward Lanfeng. The division's objective was to sever the Longhai Railway, disrupt the main Nationalist retreat toward Zhengzhou, and seize Zhengzhou itself. By May 15, the division split into two columns at Caoxian and moved toward key nodes on the Longhai Line. Major General Toyotomi Fusatarou led two infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment in the main assault toward Kaocheng with the aim of directly capturing Lanfeng. Doihara led three infantry regiments and three artillery regiments toward Neihuang and Minquan, threatening Guide. In response, the Nationalist forces concentrated along the railway from Lanfeng to Guide, uniting Song Xilian's 71st Army, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, Yu Jishi's 74th Army, Li Hanhun's 64th Army, and Huang Jie's 8th Army. From May 15 to 17, the Fengjiu Brigade, advancing toward Lanfeng, met stubborn resistance near Kaocheng from roughly five divisions under Song Xilian and was forced to shift its effort toward Yejigang and Neihuang. The defense near Neihuang, including Shen Ke's 106th Division and Liang Kai's 195th Division, ultimately faltered, allowing Doihara's division to seize Neihuang, Yejigang, Mazhuangzhai, and Renheji. Nevertheless, the Nationalist forces managed to contain the Japanese advance east and west of the area, preventing a complete encirclement. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Cheng Qian, commander-in-chief of the 1st War Zone, to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 14th Division. The deployment plan mapped three routes: the Eastern Route Army, under Li Hanhun, would include the 74th Army, the 155th Division of the 64th Army, a brigade of the 88th Division, and a regiment of the 87th Division, advancing westward from Guide); the Western Route Army, commanded by Gui Yongqing, would comprise the 27th Army, the 71st Army, the 61st Division, and the 78th Division, advancing eastward from Lanfeng; and the Northern Route Army, formed by Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army and Shang Zhen's 20th Army, was to cut off the enemy's retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River near Dingtao, Heze, Dongming, and Kaocheng, while attacking the Doihara Division from the east, west, and north to annihilate it in a single decisive operation.  On May 21, the Nationalist Army mounted a full-scale offensive. Yu Jishi's 74th Army, commanded by Wang Yaowu's 51st Division, joined a brigade of Song Xilian's 71st Army, led by the 88th Division, and drove the Japanese forces at Mazhuangzhai into retreat, capturing Neihuang and Renheji. The main Japanese force, more than 6,000 strong, withdrew southwest to Yangjiji and Shuangtaji. Song Xilian, commanding Shen Fazao's 87th Division, launched a sharp assault on Yejigang (Yifeng). The Japanese abandoned the stronghold, but their main body continued advancing toward Yangjiji, with some units retreating to Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. On May 23, Song Xilian's 71st Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army enveloped and annihilated enemy forces at Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. That evening they seized Ximaoguzhai, Yangzhuang, and Helou, eliminating more than a thousand Japanese troops. The Japanese troops at Donggangtou fled toward Lanfeng. Meanwhile, Gui Yongqing's forces were retreating through Lanfeng. His superior strength, Jiang Fusheng's 36th Division, Li Liangrong's 46th Division, Zhong Song's 61st Division, Li Wen's 78th Division, Long Muhan's 88th Division, and Shen Ke's 106th Division—had held defensive positions along the Lanfeng–Yangji line. Equipped with a tank battalion and armored vehicle company commanded by Qiu Qingquan, they blocked the enemy's westward advance and awaited Japanese exhaustion. However, under the Japanese offensive, Gui Yongqing's poor command led to the loss of Maji and Mengjiaoji, forcing the 27th Army to retreat across its entire front. Its main force fled toward Qixian and Kaifeng. The Japanese seized the opportunity to capture Quxingji, Luowangzhai, and Luowang Railway Station west of Lanfeng. Before retreating, Gui Yongqing ordered Long Muhan to dispatch a brigade to replace the 106th Division in defending Lanfeng, while he directed the 106th Division to fall back to Shiyuan. Frightened by the enemy, Long Muhan unilaterally withdrew his troops on the night of the 23rd, leaving Lanfeng undefended. On the 24th, Japanese troops advancing westward from Donggangtou entered Lanfeng unopposed and, relying on well-fortified fortifications, held their ground until reinforcements arrived. In the initial four days, the Nationalist offensive failed to overwhelm the Japanese, who escaped encirclement and annihilation. The four infantry and artillery regiments and one cavalry regiment on the Japanese side managed to hold the line along Lanfeng, Luowangzhai, Sanyizhai, Lanfengkou, Quxingji, Yang'erzhai, and Chenliukou on the south bank of the Yellow River, offering stubborn resistance. The Longhai Railway was completely cut off. Chiang Kai-shek, furious upon hearing the news while stationed in Zhengzhou, ordered the execution of Long Muhan, commander of the 88th Division, to restore military morale. He also decided to consolidate Hu Zongnan's, Li Hanhun's, Yu Jishi's, Song Xilian's, and Gui Yongqing's troops into the 1st Corps, with Xue Yue as commander-in-chief. On the morning of May 25, they launched a determined counterattack on Doihara's 14th Division. Song Xilian personally led the front lines on May 24 to rally the defeated 88th Division.  Starting on May 25, after three days of intense combat, Li Hanhun's 64th Army advanced to seize Luowang Station and Luowangzhai, while Song Xilian's 71st Army retook Lanfeng City, temporarily reopening the Longhai Line to traffic. At Sanyi Village, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army captured a series of outlying positions, including Yang'eyao, Chailou, Cailou, Hezhai, Xuelou, and Baowangsi. Despite these gains, more than 6,000 Japanese troops offered stubborn resistance. During the fighting, Ji Hongru, commander of the 302nd Regiment, was seriously wounded but continued to fight, shouting, “Don't worry about my death! Brothers, fight on!” He ultimately died a heroic death from his wounds. By May 27, Chiang Kai-shek, concerned that the forces had not yet delivered a decisive victory at Lanfeng, personally reprimanded the participating generals and ordered them to completely encircle and annihilate the enemy west of Lanfeng by the following day. He warned that if the opportunity was missed and Japanese reinforcements arrived, the position could be endangered. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek issued another telegram, urging Cheng Qian's First War Zone and all participating units to press the offensive. The telegram allegedly had this in it “It will forever be a laughingstock in the history of warfare.” Meanwhile on the other side, to prevent the annihilation of Doihara's 14th Division, the elite Japanese 16th Division and the 3rd Mixed Brigade, totaling over 40,000 men, launched a westward assault from Dangshan, capturing Yucheng on May 26. They then began probing the outskirts of Guide. Huang Jie's Eighth Army, responsible for the defense, withdrew to the outskirts of Guide that evening. On May 28, Huang Jie again led his troops on his own initiative, retreating to Liuhe and Kaifeng, leaving only the 187th Division to defend Zhuji Station and Guide City. At dawn on May 29, Peng Linsheng, commander of the 187th Division, also withdrew his troops, leaving Guide a deserted city. The Japanese occupied Guide without a fight. The loss of Guide dramatically shifted the tide of the war. Threatened on the flanks by the Japanese 16th Division, the Nationalist forces were forced onto the defensive. On May 28, the Japanese 14th Division concentrated its forces to counterattack Gui Yongqing's troops, but they were defeated again, allowing the Japanese to stabilize their position. At the same time, the fall of Shangqiu compelled Xue Yue's corps to withdraw five divisions to block the enemy in Shangqiu, and the Nationalist Army shifted to a defensive posture with the 14th Division holding Sanyizhai and Quxingji. To the north of the battlefield, the Japanese 4th Mixed Brigade, numbering over 10,000 men, was preparing to force a crossing of the Yellow River in order to join with the nearby 14th Division. More seriously, the 10th Division, together with its 13th Mixed Brigade and totaling more than 40,000 men, had captured Woyang and Bozhou on the Henan-Anhui border and was rapidly encircling eastern Henan. By the time of the Battle of Lanfeng, Japanese forces had deployed more than 100,000 troops, effectively surrounding the Nationalist army. On May 31, the First War Zone decided to withdraw completely, and the Battle of Lanfeng ended in defeat for the Nationalists, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to authorize diverting the Yellow River embankment to relieve pressure. The consequence was a deteriorating strategic situation, as encirclement tightened and reinforcement options dwindled, driving a retreat from the Lanfeng front. The National Army suffered more than 67,000 casualties, killed and wounded more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, Lanfeng was lost, and Zhengzhou was in danger.  As in Nanjing, this Chinese army might have lived to fight another day, but the effect on Xuzhou itself was horrific. The city had endured Japanese bombardment since August 1937, and the population's mood swung between cautious hope and utter despair. In March, Du Zhongyuan visited Xuzhou. Before he left Wuhan, friends told him that “the city was desolate and the people were terrified, all the inhabitants of Xuzhou were quietly getting on with their business … sometimes it was even calmer than Wuhan.” The Australian journalist Rhodes Farmer recalled a similar image in a book published at war's end, noting the “ordinary townsfolk who became wardens, fire-fighters and first-aid workers during the raid and then went back to their civil jobs.” Yet the mid-May departure of Nationalist troops left the city and its outskirts at the mercy of an angry Imperial Army. Bombing continued through the final days of battle, and a single raid on May 14, 1938 killed 700 people. Around Xuzhou, buildings and bridges were destroyed—some by retreating Chinese forces, some by advancing Japanese troops. Taierzhuang, the scene of the earlier iconic defense, was utterly destroyed. Canadian Jesuits who remained in Xuzhou after its fall recorded that more than a third of the houses were razed, and most of the local population had fled in terror. In rural areas around the city, massacres were repeatedly reported, many witnessed by missionaries. Beyond the atrocities of the Japanese, locals faced banditry in the absence of law enforcement, and vital agricultural work such as planting seed ground to a halt. The loss of Xuzhou was both strategic and symbolic. It dealt a severe blow to Chiang's attempt to hold central China and to control regional troop movements. Morale, which Taierzhuang had briefly boosted, was battered again though not extinguished. The fall signaled that the war would be long, and that swift victory against Japan was no longer likely. Mao Zedong's Yan'an base, far to the northwest, grasped the meaning of defeat there. In May 1938 he delivered one of his most celebrated lectures, “On Protracted War,” chiding those who had over-optimistically claimed the Xuzhou campaign could be a quasi-decisive victory and arguing that, after Taierzhuang, some had become “giddy.” Mao insisted that China would ultimately prevail, yet he warned that it could not be won quickly, and that the War of Resistance would be protracted. In the meantime, the development of guerrilla warfare remained an essential piece of the long-term strategy that the Communist armies would pursue in north China. Yet the loss of Xuzhou did not necessarily portend a long war; it could, instead, presage a war that would be terrifyingly short. By spring 1938 the Chinese defenders were desperate. There was a real danger that the entire war effort could collapse, and the Nationalist governments' notable success as protectors of a shrinking “Free China” lay in avoiding total disaster. Government propaganda had successfully portrayed a plan beyond retreat to foreign observers, yet had Tokyo captured Wuhan in the spring, the Chinese Army would have had to withdraw at speed, reinforcing perceptions of disintegration. Western governments were unlikely to intervene unless convinced it was in their interests. Within the Nationalist leadership, competing instincts persisted. The government pursued welfare measures for the people in the midst of a massive refugee relief effort, the state and local organizations, aided by the International Red Cross, housed large numbers of refugees in 1937–1938. Yet there was a harsher strain within policy circles, with some officials willing to sacrifice individual lives for strategic or political ends as the Japanese threat intensified. Throughout central China, the Yellow River, China's “Sorrow”, loomed as the dominant geographic force shaping history. The loess-laden river, notorious for floods and shifting channels, was banked by massive dikes near Zhengzhou, exactly along the line the Japanese would traverse toward Wuhan. Using the river as a military instrument was discussed as a drastic option: Chiang and Cheng Qian's First War Zone contemplated diverting or breaching the dikes to halt or slow the Japanese advance, a measure that could buy time but would unleash enormous civilian suffering. The idea dated back to 1887 floods that cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and even in 1935 Alexander von Falkenhausen had warned that the Yellow River could become the final line of defense. In 1938 Chiang, recognizing the futility of defeating the Japanese by conventional means at Zhengzhou, considered unleashing the river's force if necessary to impede the invaders. The political and strategic calculus was stark: protect central China and Wuhan, even if it required drastic and morally fraught measures. A more humane leader might have hesitated to break the dikes and spare the dams, allowing the Japanese to take Wuhan. But Chiang Kai-shek believed that if the dikes were not breached and Wuhan fell within days, the Nationalist government might be unable to relocate to Chongqing in time and would likely surrender, leaving Japan in control of almost all of China. Some have compared the choice to France's surrender in June 1940, underscoring that Chiang's decision came during the country's most terrifying assault, with Chinese forces much weaker and less trained than their European counterparts. The dilemma over whether to break the Yellow River dikes grew out of desperation. Chiang ultimately ordered General Wei Rulin to blow the dike that held the Yellow River in central Henan. There was no doubt about the consequences: floods would inundate vast areas of central China, creating a waterlogged barrier that would halt the Japanese advance. Yet for the plan to succeed, it had to be carried out quickly, and the government could offer no public warning in case the Japanese detected it and accelerated their movement. Xiong Xianyu, chief of staff in the 8th Division at the time, recorded the urgency of those hours in his diary. The Japanese were already on the north bank of the Yellow River, briefly delayed when the Chinese army blew up the railway bridge across the river. The destruction of the dikes was the next step: if the area became a sea of mud, there would be no way the Japanese could even attempt to reconstruct the bridge. Blasting the dikes proved easier in theory than in practice. Holding back such a massive body of water required substantial engineering, dams thick and well fortified. The army made its first attempts to blow the dike at the small town of Zhaokou between June 4 and 6, 1938, but the structure proved too durable; another nearby attempt failed as well. Hour by hour, the Japanese moved closer. Division commander Jiang Zaizhen asked Xiong Xianyu for his opinion on where they might breach the dams. Xiong wrote “I discussed the topography, and said that two places, Madukou and Huayuankou, were both possible.” But Madukou was too close to Zhaokou, where the breach had already failed, presenting a danger that the Japanese might reach it very soon. The village of Huayuankou, however, lay farther away and on a bend in the river: “To give ourselves enough time, Huayuankou would be best.” At first, the soldiers treated the task as a military engineering assignment, an “exciting” one in Xiong's words. Xiong and Wei Rulin conducted their first site inspection after dark, late on June 6. The surroundings offered a deceptive calm: Xiong recounted “The wind blew softly, and the river water trickled pleasantly.” Yet gauging the water level proved difficult, hampered by murky moonlight and burned-out flashlights. They spent the night in their car to determine precisely where to break the dike as soon as day broke. But daylight seemed to bring home the consequences of what they planned to do, and the soldiers grew increasingly anxious. Wang Songmei, commander of the 2nd Regiment, addressed the workers about to breach the dike: “My brothers, this plan will be of benefit to our country and our nation, and will lessen the harm that is being done to the people.In the future, you'll find good wives and have plenty of children.” Wang's words were meant to reassure the men of the political necessity of their actions and that fate would not, in the traditional Chinese sense, deny them a family because of the enormity of their deeds. General Wei confirmed that Huayuankou was the right spot, and on June 8 the work began, with about 2,000 men taking part. The Nationalist government was eager to ensure rapid progress. Xiong recorded that the “highest authorities”,, kept making telephone calls from Wuhan to check on progress. In addition, the party sent performers to sing and play music to bolster the workers' spirits. Senior General Shang Zhen announced to the laborers that if they breached the dam by midnight on June 8, each would receive 2,000 yuan; if they achieved it by six the next morning, they would still be paid 1,000 yuan. They needed encouragement, for the diggers had no artificial assistance. After the initial failures at Zhaokou, Wei's troops relied entirely on manual labor, with no explosives used. Yet the workers earned their payments, and the dike was breached in just a few hours. On the morning of June 9, Xiong recorded a rapid shift in mood: the atmosphere became tense and solemn. Initially, the river flow was modest, but by about 1:00 p.m. the water surged “fiercely,” flowing “like 10,000 horses.” Looking toward the distance, Xiong felt as though a sea had appeared before him. “My heart ached,” he wrote. The force of the water widened the breach, and a deadly stream hundreds of feet wide comprising about three-quarters of the river's volume—rushed southeast across the central Chinese plains. “We did this to stop the enemy,” Xiong reflected, “so we didn't regret the huge sacrifice, as it was for a greater victory.” Yet he and the other soldiers also saw a grim reality: the troops who had taken on the task of destroying the railway bridge and the dikes could not bear the flood's consequences alone. It would be up to the government and the people of the nation to provide relief for the countless households uprooted by the flood. In fact, the previous evening Commander Jiang had telephoned to request assistance for those flooded out of their homes.   Wei, Xiong, and their troops managed to escape by wooden boats. Hundreds of thousands of farmers trapped in the floods were far less fortunate. Time magazine's correspondent Theodore White reported on the devastation a few days later “Last week “The Ungovernable” [i.e. the Yellow River] lashed out with a flood which promised to change not only its own course but also the course of the whole Sino-Japanese War. Severe breaks in the dikes near Kaifeng sent a five-foot wall of water fanning out over a 500-squaremile area, spreading death. Toll from Yellow River floods is not so much from quick drowning as from gradual disease and starvation. The river's filth settles ankle-deep on the fields, mothering germs, smothering crops. Last week, about 500,000 peasants were driven from 2,000 communities to await rescue or death on whatever dry ground they could find”. Chiang's government had committed one of the grossest acts of violence against its own people, and he knew that the publicity could be a damaging blow to its reputation. He decided to divert blame by announcing that the dike had been broken, but blaming the breach on Japanese aerial bombing. The Japanese, in turn, fiercely denied having bombed the dikes. White's reporting reflected the immediate response of most foreigners; having heard about the atrocities at Nanjing and Xuzhou, he was disinclined to give the Japanese the benefit of the doubt. Furthermore, at the very time that the Yellow River was flooding central China, the Japanese were heavily bombing Guangzhou, causing thousands of casualties. To White, the Japanese counterargument—that the Chinese themselves were responsible, seemed unthinkable: “These accusations, foreign observers thought, were absurd. For the Chinese to check the Japanese advance at possible sacrifice of half a million lives would be a monstrous pyrrhic victory. Besides, dike-cutting is the blackest of Chinese crimes, and the Chinese Army would hardly risk universal censure for slight tactical gains.” But, of course, that is exactly what they had done. During the war the Nationalists never admitted that they, not the Japanese, had breached the dikes. But the truth quickly became widely known. Just a month later, on July 19, US Ambassador Johnson noted, in private communication, that the “Chinese blocked the advance on Chengchow [Zhengzhou] by breaching the Yellow River dikes.” Eventually some 54,000 square kilometers of central China were inundated by the floods. If the Japanese had committed such an act, it would have been remembered as the prime atrocity of the war, dwarfing even the Nanjing Massacre or the Chongqing air raids in terms of the number of people who suffered. Accurate statistics were impossible to obtain in the midst of wartime chaos and disaster, but in 1948 figures issued by the Nationalists themselves suggested enormous casualties: for the three affected provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, the number of dead was put at 844,489, with some 4.8 million becoming refugees. More recent studies place the numbers lower, but still estimate the dead at around 500,000, and 3–5 million refugees. In contrast, the devastating May 1939 air raids on Chongqing killed some thousands. Xiong reflected in his diary that the breaching of the Yellow River dikes was a sacrifice for a greater victory. Even to some Japanese it seemed that the tactic had been successful in the short term: the first secretary at the US Embassy in Wuhan reported that the flood had “completely checked the Japanese advance on Chengchow” and had prevented them taking Wuhan by rail. Instead, he predicted, the attack was likely to come by water and along the north shore of the Yangtze. Supporters of the dike breaches could argue that these acts saved central China and Chiang's headquarters in Wuhan for another five months. The Japanese were indeed prevented from advancing along the Long–Hai railway toward Wuhan. In the short term the floods did what the Nationalists wanted. But the flooding was a tactic, a breathing space, and did not solve the fundamental problem: China's armies needed strong leadership and rapid reform. Some historians suggest that Chiang's decision was pointless anyway, since it merely delayed the inevitable. Theodore White was right: no strategic advantage could make the deaths of 500,000 of China's own people a worthwhile price to pay. However, Chiang Kai-shek's decision can be partly explained, though not excused, by the context. We can now look back at the actions of the Nationalists and argue that they should not have held on to Wuhan, or that their actions in breaching the dam were unjustifiable in the extreme. But for Chiang, in the hot summer of 1938, it seemed his only hope was to deny Japan as much of China for as long as possible and create the best possible circumstances for a long war from China's interior, while keeping the world's attention on what Japan was doing. The short delay won by the flooding was itself part of the strategy. In the struggle raging within the soul of the Nationalist Party, the callous, calculating streak had won, for the time being. The breaking of the dikes marked a turning point as the Nationalists committed an act whose terrible consequences they would eventually have to expiate. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In late 1937, China's frontline trembled as Japanese forces closed in on Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek faced a brutal choice: endure costly defenses or unleash a desperate gamble. Chiangs' radical plan emerged: breach the Yellow River dikes at Huayuankou to flood central China, buying time. The flood roared, washing villages and futures away, yet slowing the enemy. The battlefield paused, while a nation weighed courage against civilian suffering, victory against devastating costs.

樊老师毕业了！从2023年到2025年，樊老师在欧洲修了一个学位——当然，所有的学习都会变成游学，她也趁机开始了自己的全球游历，甚至带着妈妈一起旅行了半年。两年的漫漫旅途，樊老师到底学了点啥？又有什么新的经历和发现？我们一起来听她唠唠。|故事节点|04:05 你到底学了点啥？06:27 12个同学之间的“冒犯” 12:09 重新做学生的“反思”20:50 津巴布韦的视障者房东32:06 “保护”自己和“过度”保护36:15 在埃及没被坑39:36 埃塞智斗黑老大49:08 挫败时刻52:31 牛气时刻55:50 释然时刻65:49 母女同游了半年71:53 邪典美食博主上线|壮游者|樊北溟:前深圳某高中语文教师，写作者、读行侠，文章散见同名公众号及《读者》杂志。|主播|Yang:一直边游边学的一名男子。海报：张张广告音乐：Connected by:OceanClouds剪辑：Yang出品：好一个壮游者咨询工作室“壮游者”埃及深度文化之旅旅行团开团了，2025年12月25 日到 2026 年 1 月 1 日，邀请您一起去埃及进行一次深度的文化之旅，再于跨年夜举办一场晚宴，来迎接 2026 年的到来。本次行程特邀埃及历史学者爱德全程导游，主播Yang也会全程陪伴，我们精心设计了古埃及文明主题线路，并配备主题手册；大概有3个博物馆，7个神庙，8个热/门探索地，其中包括金字塔、清真寺、教堂等，还从中挑选了几个非常规、价格贵但文物价值极高目的地，带您梳理古埃及的人文历史脉络，也让一趟旅程不留遗憾。欢迎您加入我们的旅行团，详情您可以查看“壮游者”同名公众号文章，也可以微信咨询（ 微信：zhuangyouzhe2018），期待和你一起探索世界。

Hello nerds.When I first started interviewing Scott Santens years ago during the Nerds for Yang era, he was one of the most relentless and articulate advocates for universal basic income (UBI) in America. Back then, it felt like the country was on the verge of something big. Andrew Yang was on the debate stage making “Freedom Dividend” a household phrase. Silicon Valley technologists were whispering about automation in the same breath as moral responsibility. Even Republican voters were entertaining the idea that direct cash transfers might be less bureaucratic and more empowering than sprawling social programs.Fast forward to 2025, and the conversation feels quieter. The pandemic-era stimulus checks are long gone. Washington has reverted to tribal warfare. Meanwhile, AI is advancing faster than anyone—maybe even Scott and Andrew —predicted. The irony is thick: the very forces that made UBI seem like a radical idea a decade ago are now transforming entire industries before our eyes. And yet, the movement feels stuck in neutral.So when Scott rejoined me on Nerds for Humanity this month from his new base in Washington, D.C., I wanted to know: What happened? Why did UBI lose its moment? And is there a realistic path back to the mainstream before millions of Americans get left behind?The Move to D.C. and the Lost MomentScott began by explaining why he left New Orleans for D.C. a few years ago. “It just seemed that UBI was really a bigger part of the conversation,” he said. “I thought if the Democrats came in again in 2024, I could actually get some traction.”He laughs a little when he says that now. “That didn't end up happening,” he admitted, reflecting on how the Biden reelection froze the kind of idea competition that defined 2020. “The big problem was that Biden decided to run again, and there was no primary process. Then suddenly Kamala comes in and still no primary process. So there was no ideas competition. We really missed out on that.”That lack of competition, Scott argues, has a ripple effect. Political movements thrive on moments of contrast, when new ideas bump up against old dogmas and voters are forced to re-evaluate assumptions. The 2020 race—with Yang, Sanders, Warren, and others pitching structural reforms—was one of those rare idea-rich moments. 2024, by comparison, was a desert.As Scott put it bluntly: “We were close enough to taste it during the pandemic. It really felt like we were actually on the cusp of doing a monthly cash payment that could change things. But none of that happened.”He's not wrong. The COVID checks were, in effect, a large-scale experiment in direct income support. Poverty temporarily plummeted. Families caught their breath. Consumer demand stayed strong. And then we let it all expire.AI Ate the Jobs While America SleptWhat's striking about this quiet period, as I noted to Scott, is that the threat he and Yang warned about—the automation of work—is no longer hypothetical. Knowledge worker jobs are being eaten by AI faster than policy debates can catch up.“I'm a parent of two teenagers,” I told him. “Other parents are starting to wonder if a computer science degree is still the golden ticket. Should we be preparing our kids to be plumbers instead?”Scott nodded grimly. “It's disheartening,” he said. “Now that these impacts are here… this is the stuff that we've been warning about. It's not a sudden thing, but it does seem to already be impacting the entry-level job market.”He pointed to a convergence of pressures: corporate hiring freezes driven by uncertainty around tariffs, companies experimenting with AI productivity tools, and executives under shareholder pressure to “do more with less.” The result: stagnating headcount even in high-growth sectors.“We don't really need people that we likely would have if AI had not been introduced,” he said. I observed from Silicon Valley, “What we're seeing right now is that companies can grow revenue while keeping headcount flat.”It's not a collapse. It's a quiet deceleration—a slow bleed. And that's arguably more dangerous because it doesn't provoke a policy response. There's no headline-grabbing “AI layoffs.” Just the invisible absence of opportunities for millions of new grads.Even top business schools are struggling to place students. “It's like the hardest market in years,” Scott said, and I agreed. “If we hit a recession,” he warned, “that's when all these businesses really lean into productivity. The recession ends, and they realize they don't need those people back.”That scenario—automation accelerated by economic downturn—is the nightmare UBI advocates have been predicting for over a decade. Each downturn becomes a ratchet that permanently eliminates another layer of middle-class work.The Automation MirageWhen politicians talk about “bringing manufacturing jobs back,” Scott and I get visibly frustrated. “I don't think people realize—you don't need that many people in those factories anymore,” I said.He reminded me of a chart he once published showing that U.S. manufacturing output is higher than ever, even though manufacturing employment has fallen dramatically. “We're manufacturing more than ever, we just have fewer jobs,” he said. “If we did reshoring, sure, we could manufacture even more, but jobs would continue going down.”I brought up a U.S. tech investor who recently toured Chinese EV plants. “He said the number of BYD employees per car is something like a fifth of what it is for Ford or GM,” I told Scott. “If we build plants here, we're not going to hire 20 people per car—we'll hire four or five.”Scott didn't hesitate: “Exactly. The only way to bring it back is to minimize labor. American labor is expensive. You can't both re-shore and keep the same job intensity.”Then he pivoted to a deeper critique of political dishonesty. “Trump sold a lot of people false hope,” he said. “He told them, ‘Once I negotiate these trade deals, everything's gonna be back to post–World War II full employment.' But that's a lie. We've heard that lie over and over again, even from people in the AI world. They say this will create more jobs than it displaces. Come on. We all know the realities.”This is the paradox of modern capitalism: productivity growth has decoupled from employment growth. We make more stuff with fewer people. And our political imagination hasn't caught up to that new reality.From Careers to Gigs: The New NormalScott traced this shift back decades. “We know what happened when we displaced people from manufacturing jobs—they went lower down the ladder into lower-paying work,” he said. “You went from careers to gig labor.”He rattled off examples that have become painfully familiar: “People now earn extra money by signing up for Uber, delivering food, DoorDashing. There's just a transformation of what employment even means.”In Scott's view, the only logical response to this is UBI. “You need to make sure everyone actually gets basic income,” he said. “That helps feed demand for new jobs. If people's incomes fall as a result of AI, demand falls. And when demand falls, the entire economy reorients.”He pointed to a staggering statistic: “Right now, the top 10% are buying half of everything produced and sold in the U.S. It's a very unequal consumption economy. The markets start ignoring the basic needs of people and reorient around luxury experiences.”That imbalance, he argued, isn't just economic—it's political. “It leads to people getting violent. It's key to the erosion of democracy.”The Coming Middle-Class AwakeningIf there's any silver lining, I said, it's that the pain is spreading up the income ladder.“I think it's going to affect a lot of middle-class and upper-middle-class people in a way it hasn't before,” I said. “When Andrew talked about truck drivers losing jobs, people thought, ‘My kid's going to college, they'll be fine.' Now they're realizing maybe not.”Scott agreed. “We just didn't realize how fast it would hit arts, music, images, and photos. I didn't think about that. It took me by surprise.”I added, “When he said doctors and lawyers, it felt far away. Now you're like—oh s**t—that's happening right now.”He laughed and I added more examples. “People are winning court cases using ChatGPT as their attorney. And with tools like Sora and Grok Imagine, you can generate realistic videos and images instantly. There's no ground truth anymore.”That last point hits hard. “You just give people a reason to doubt it,” Scott said. “You can have fake security cam footage of Sam Altman stealing something, and people will believe it. Or you can have real footage of Trump doing something, and people won't.”When truth itself becomes negotiable, democracy can't function. Evidence is the oxygen of public accountability. Once it's gone, all we have left are teams—and team loyalty.The Tariff FantasyThat team loyalty came up again when I told Scott about a debate I'd had with a MAGA relative in Florida. My brother argued that Trump's tariffs would pay for his tax cuts. Scott immediately laughed. “Even assuming that were true—which it's not—you're still taxing the working and middle class to pay for tax cuts for the rich,” he said.He broke it down simply: “It doesn't make any sense to say, ‘Tariff revenue will cover it.' Who covers the tariff revenue? It's the consumers. And yet people believe it.”Scott sees this as part of the broader epistemic collapse—people believing “whatever their team is saying,” no matter how illogical. “It's impressive in some ways,” I said. “You can propose policies that hurt your base and they'll cheer you for it.” He nodded. “Yeah. It's really frustrating.”UBI Research: Misunderstood and MisreportedI asked Scott about recent UBI research that some media outlets described as “disappointing.” His response was both sharp and nuanced.“Those weren't negative results,” he said. “They were null results.” He walked me through three often-cited studies: Baby's First Years, the Denver Homeless Pilot, and Sam Altman's Worldcoin/Overture experiment.“The key is to understand what's being tested,” he explained. “These weren't saturation pilots. They gave money to small groups of individuals. But real universal basic income changes communities. It creates new demand, new jobs, new dynamics.”He contrasted these with the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes oil dividends to every state resident annually. “In Alaska, we saw an overall increase in employment due to the dividend,” he said. “Some people worked less, but the spending created new jobs.”That's the essence of his argument: if you only study individuals, you miss the macro effects.He was especially skeptical of the way media covered the Baby's First Years study, which found no measurable difference in children's brain development after four years of $333 monthly payments. “That's a null result, not a failure,” Scott said. “It doesn't mean UBI doesn't work. It just means we didn't see differences yet. Impacts often show up later in life.”He also noted that measuring brain development via EEG scans is an odd and narrow metric. “Maybe families were happier. Maybe they bought what they needed. That still matters.”The Secret Study and New FrontiersScott hinted that a major new study is underway. “There's a study I can't talk about,” he said, smiling, “but it's looking at something no other experiment has looked at. I'm excited for those results.”He also mentioned Jeff Atwood (co-founder of Stack Overflow) is funding a $50 million set of county-level pilots, focusing on rural areas. “That's exciting,” Scott said. “It's a different political slice, and it's potentially saturation-like.”Globally, he's watching Thailand closely. “They announced they were going to do a negative income tax starting in 2027,” he said. “If that happens, they'd be the first country in the world to have a basic income guarantee. It could reduce poverty by over 90%.”Then he sighed. “But the day after they announced it, their prime minister got fired. So who knows.”ITSA Foundation: Building UBI From the Ground UpScott's not just theorizing anymore. His ITSA Foundation is taking action with two ambitious projects launching next year.First, the Bootstraps documentary series, which follows families receiving a basic income to humanize the policy through storytelling. “Storytelling is key,” he said. “People need to feel it, not just read data.”Second, the Comingle app, which will create what he calls “a small basic income floor of around $50 per week without waiting for government.”“You can create it yourself, through community pooling,” he said. “If Bill Gates joined Comingle and put 7% of his income in, everyone's income would go up. Don't worry about him getting $50 a week—everyone benefits.”It's the kind of practical experimentation the movement needs: bottom-up systems proving that shared prosperity can be engineered today, not someday.Reflections: The Hard Politics of Intelligent ReformAfter the interview ended, I stayed live on the stream to share a few personal reflections—some of them, frankly, tinged with frustration.I told my audience that I'm a believer in two three-letter acronyms: UBI and RCV (ranked choice voting). I have conviction that both are essential for a healthier democracy and a fairer economy. Yet it's maddening how little traction they get compared to what dominates our discourse.This morning, I argued politics with another MAGA acquaintance on WhatsApp. He was fired up about “the trans agenda” and “illegals.” When I asked what he thought about RCV or UBI, he admitted he didn't know what they were.And that, I said, is the tragedy. Many voters are animated by cultural wedge issues that barely affect their lives, while transformative structural reforms barely register. People will march for hours over trans athletes, but not over gerrymandering, open primaries, or the collapse of middle-class livelihoods.Maybe that's why Scott is investing in storytelling. “You have to boil this down into a bumper sticker,” I said. “Or a story.” Policy briefs won't cut through a media ecosystem optimized for outrage.It's sobering to realize how little energy we allocate to existential issues—like the sustainability of democracy or the viability of a middle-class life in an AI-driven economy—compared to the performative culture wars that dominate cable news.A Political System Addicted to DistractionI sometimes wonder if America is capable of solving long-term problems anymore. We have the tools and the talent, but not the attention span.We obsess over symbolic fights while the foundations rot. Closed primaries keep extremists in power. Gerrymandered districts ensure incumbents never lose. The electoral incentives all point toward division, not solutions.UBI and RCV are, in many ways, tests of whether we can think systemically again—about incentives, about fairness, about the structural forces shaping our future. And right now, the answer seems to be: not yet.As I told my audience, “It's sad that people will march for red-meat issues where government isn't even the decisive actor, while ignoring how broken the system itself has become.”The AI asteroid is heading straight for us. Millions of jobs—white-collar jobs—are on the chopping block. And neither party is talking seriously about it. Not Trump, not Schumer, not Newsom. Maybe Andrew Yang. Maybe Buttigieg. Maybe Bernie. But as a national conversation? Crickets.What's Next: Awakening or DenialMy optimism, if you can call it that, lies in inevitability. The pain will broaden until reform becomes unavoidable. Middle-class professionals will begin to experience the same precarity that working-class Americans have faced for decades.The good news is that when comfortable people get uncomfortable, politics shifts. The bad news is that it often takes crisis to get there.UBI isn't charity. It's infrastructure for an economy that no longer guarantees stability through employment. It's the plumbing of a post-industrial democracy.Scott put it best when he said: “You have to make sure everyone actually gets basic income so you have that cash. That can feed demand for new jobs. Without it, demand falls, inequality grows, and democracy erodes.”A Call to the NerdsAs we wrapped, I asked Scott how people could stay involved. “Sign up at ItsaFoundation.org,” he said. “Subscribe to the newsletter. Next year we'll have the Bootstraps docu-series, the Comingle app, and events across the country to organize communities.”I told him I'd be cheering him on. Because, frankly, the next five years are going to test whether America is still capable of rational self-government—or if we've outsourced that too.If you've made it this far into this post, you're probably one of the few people left who actually cares about data, ideas, and structural reform. You're a nerd. And that's a good thing.But as I told my audience at the end of the livestream: being a nerd isn't enough. We need to organize, support, and amplify. If we don't, the algorithms will drown out the quiet voices of reason.So if you value this kind of long-form conversation—the kind you won't find on cable news—please consider becoming a Nerds for Humanity YouTube channel member. Memberships help cover the operating costs of the livestream and keep these discussions going. Members also get shout-outs on every show as a thank-you for keeping independent, data-driven political analysis alive.And if you can't join as a member, the next best thing you can do is like, share, and comment. That helps the algorithm surface this content to others who might just be waking up to the same questions we've been asking for years.Bye nerds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nerdsforhumanity.substack.com

A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon In other words, please be trueIn other words, I love you. Sources:Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi'” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology. (initially broadcast in 2022) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Judy Morgan hosts Steve Wohlberg, author of "Will My Pet Go to Heaven?" Steve shares his personal journey of faith and the loss of his dog, Jax, which inspired his book. He discusses biblical verses that suggest animals may be reunited with their owners in the afterlife, such as Psalm 104 and Romans 8. Steve also recounts the impact of his book on others, including a man who found renewed faith after losing his dog. Dr. Judy emphasizes the importance of hope and the unconditional love pets bring, sharing her own experiences with grief and the presence of animals in her life. They also discuss the therapeutic benefits of animals and the lessons they teach us. Listen in! SPECIAL OFFER: Some of Steve's White Horse Media supporters have donated to a "Book Giveaway Fund" and they would like to offer a FREE copy of "Will My Pet Go to Heaven?" for the first 10 callers who call White Horse Media and request a copy. You must say you watched or listened to Steve on this podcast. Call 1-800-78-BIBLE. Callers not in the first 10 group can still order the book. It makes a great gift! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitehorsemedia7 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevewohlberg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whitehorsemedia Website URL: whitehorsemedia.com PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #1 Hi Dr, Judy Morgan, here, let me ask you something, how much have you already spent trying to help your pets? $1000s in vet bills with minimal results, $100s on supplements that didn't work, and countless hours researching and second guessing yourself. What if you could turn all that frustration into real knowledge that actually works? The Holistic Pet Health Coach certification with Dr Ruth Roberts isn't another generic pet nutrition course. This is 16 weeks of veterinary level education. The same training that qualifies for 40 continuing education hours for veterinarians. You'll master how the body actually works, why chronic diseases develop, and how to address root causes using integrative medicine and targeted nutrition protocols. This is about understanding your pet's health at a level most vets never reach. It's about having answers when conventional medicine says there's nothing more we can do. Don't spend another year wondering What If. Go to holisticpethealthcoach.com mention HPHC10 and save 10% on this program that could transform how you care for your pets forever. PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #2 Listen up podcast listeners! Here is your chance to order Dr Judy's recent best selling book, Yin and Yang 2.0 Nutrition for Dogs. Dr Judy Morgan, world renowned holistic veterinarian and veterinary food therapist, shares her passion for healing with whole foods, minimizing the use of medications and chemicals. Making food for your dog doesn't have to be complicated. It can cost less than buying prescription diets and medications. This award winning book includes over 60 new recipes that maximize health with whole foods, not drugs. You can even get a signed copy from Dr Judy herself. Order yours at NaturallyHealthyPets.com and use the code PODCAST65 for 15% off. Your dog is begging for it.

Dave talks to Brooks Headley of Superiority Burger about a range of topics, from constant iteration and refining dishes to the punk-rock urge to zig when everyone else zags. Superiority Burger has moved since they last spoke, so the pair talks about adjusting to the new space, New York, and thoughts on expansion. Dave closes by answering an Ask Dave about prepping frozen fish. Learn more about Superiority Burger: https://www.superiorityburger.com/  Listen to our previous episode with Brooks Headley: https://open.spotify.com/episode/70nvKRNDXARAqCw5mOOslX?si=l9FoKuhwQEq4mOUroRsz5w  Listen to our previous episode with Nancy Silverton: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3MLVEZq7CTbTTEKftrI7xk?si=Cc7FckT9TfWMXnbBYfU4yA  Listen to our previous episode with Mark Ladner: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qjEx81gP1UuGxHwoxjqfq?si=WxuUwMT7SZaakxsNRBoAhQ  Read Dave's writing on Brooks for TIME 100: https://time.com/6964708/brooks-headley/  Hear the Ramones' 'All Quiet on the Eastern Front': https://open.spotify.com/track/3uxp0UwVWJVJqlXnH1d7zi?si=d6f4e464f8094a06  Learn more about Yang's Kitchen: https://www.yangskitchenla.com/  Learn more about Bread and Salt Bakery: https://www.instagram.com/breadandsaltbakery/?hl=en  Learn more about Chi Spacca: https://www.chispacca.com/  Learn more about Smoke House: https://www.smokehouse1946.com/  Learn more about El Bulli: https://elbullifoundation.com/en/  Learn more about Gramercy Tavern: https://www.gramercytavern.com/  Learn more about the Torrance Farmer's Market: https://www.torranceca.gov/our-city/cultural-services/farmers-market  Learn more about South Pasadena Farmer's Market: https://southpasadenafarmersmarket.org/  Learn more about Weiser Family Farms: https://www.weiserfamilyfarms.com/  Learn more about Santa Monica Market: https://www.santamonica.com/experience-santa-monica/farmers-markets/  Learn more about Rustic Canyon: https://rusticcanyonrestaurant.com/  Watch our previous podcast with Jeremy Fox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkVPVTJwnA  Learn more about the Greenmarket: https://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket  Learn more about GPod Potatoes: https://gpodpotatoes.com/ Learn more about Edulis: https://www.edulisrestaurant.com/  Learn more about Arzak: https://www.arzak.es/en/  Send in your Ask Dave questions to bit.ly/AskDaveForm or askdave@majordomomedia.com Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedavechangshow Subscribe to Recipe Club on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@recipeclubofficial Submit your favorite food moments in your favorite movies to majorfoodporn.com Join our community Discord on majordomo.com Host: Dave Chang Guest: Mark Ladner Majordomo Media Producer: David Meyer Spotify Producer: Felipe Guilhermino Engineer: Belle Roman Editor: Stefano Sanchez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joyee Yang, financial educator and content creator with over 300,000 followers, joins Bilal Little at the NYSE to share her path from discovering dividend stocks at 19 to championing ETFs for diversification and risk management. She explains how YouTube and peer creators shaped her financial literacy and why she emphasizes transparency, dollar cost averaging, and long-term investing. Today, Yang is focused on simplifying finance and empowering Gen Z to build sustainable wealth with confidence.