Menowercogitatus; Not So Frivolous Friday

I cast around for something to post today. Fell short. Then I realised it is the penultimate Friday, which can only mean that next week it will be FFF time again. Crikey. 

But to put only that for a post would be too frivolous. Time for some more recommended listening?

While oot and aboot, I wanted something shorter in length per episode than my usual podcast choices, so threw my 'net' into the ether pool, and it brought me back...

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I consider myself a reasonable wordsmith... but these two knock the spots off that leopard! It's worth scrolling all the way back to the beginning (in 2019) and treating yourself to a daily half-hour of lexicographical profligateness. The joy for me is that due to menosoup, I can keep going back, and it will all be as new again... although there are a few I took to writing down, coz they were just too juicaluscious. (Yes, I made that one up - you won't find it over at Purple...)

Oh, and I have a good Scots/Geordie word to rhyme with purple... I do it all the time. Hirple. 

Moving along - another slightly nerdy one, but despite its apparently flippant approach, deals with quite a serious matter. Online badgering, hectoring, bullying, trolling...

The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks. There are only six episodes, so short and, ultimately, sweet. The podcaster, Dylan, has written a book on facing one's online hecklers and engaging them in conversation. In this program, he takes a look at the early years of online nonsense. The internet was only beginning to reach the masses as SWep1:Phantom Menace hit movie theatres. The actor who played the character in the title suffered real mental anguish resulting from the backlash that was unleashed... but there is a happy ending. I binge-listened to this on one very, very... very wet day.

Now for three that I have mentioned before. The first is Empire - but season three, which started in May. Series one was an in-depth look at the British Raj; series two thoroughly explored the Ottoman Empire. The third has taken us intimately into slavery. It has just completed the run on this subject, and I consider it compulsory listening. As Anita and William are not the experts on this subject, there are lots of guest presenters/interviewees to help delve into the nitty-gritty... and some of the surprising positive stories. There is proper, grown-up discussion throughout and always an appropriate approach to a hot topic. I cannot recommend this podcast highly enough. You can find it on Spotify or Apple podcasts - this link will go to Google Podcasts.

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For the second familiar one, I point you once more to Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart, The Rest Is Politics... but the sister podcast subtitled Leading. The link with the image will take you to Google Podcasts with the complete listing of the interviews they have covered so far. They have all been informative and sometimes enlightening listening, but some of my personal faves so far have been; Michael Johnson (sportsman), Brian Cox (actor), Mary McAleese (ex-Irish President), Kate Raworth (doughnut economist), and the double-episode guest I would like you to consider lending your ears to today.

Yuval Noah Harari is one of the sharpest, most innovative thinkers on the planet at this time. In the FIRST PART, the current disruption in his homeland of Israel is discussed at length, but also the wider context of the deterioration of democracy in current politics. It is raw and very pertinent. It helps to have heard this part before going to the next, but the SECOND PART does stand alone if you can't face the mainly political one. In this, we learn much more about the man himself - and about the human condition. The clarity, the lucidity, the crystalline thinking is something to behold. 

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To finish, let me embed a short podcast from Dan Snow's History Hit series - one I think many of you will enjoy... a sort of potted summary of Scottish Clans; an enormous and complex subject jammed into 26 minutes! This is an Acast player, so you should not find it truncated. Just in case it doesn't work here for you, you can jump to it from here.

That should fill a few spare hours! "Avagoodweegend Mates!!!"