Menonday Art Vibe; Audio File

Welcome to June... More visual arts will ensue, but today I bring you something just a wee bit different. 

This falls into the podcasts label as well. Kevin McCloud is a very popular presenter of programs on architecture here in the UK (I'm sure the long-running show Grand Designs is seen around the world, too). Tim Ross is as well-known in Australia, perhaps less internationally. 

For most of their joint adventures in architecture and design, they stick to that specifically. This particular episode, though, takes a strong detour into art and is very much worth the listen. It's a get-your-cuppa-and-settle-in-for-a-nice-intellectual-saunter sort of listen. Janet Holmes a Court is using her wealth for the betterment of the society around her and talks movingly about where she sees art in the social context, why it is important, and how it relates to architecture... which she sees (as do I) as an art form of its own. It was good enough for me to want to share it with you. It is unclear to me (until this post goes live) whether the link below will give you the full 58 minutes or just a teaser clip. If it's the latter, and in case you fancy listening to all the other conversations Kev and Tim have, you can do so at this link.

Menondering; This, That, The Other...

April is a slightly challenging month for me. It didn't used to be, but the way things have fallen, it has become something of an administrative month... and I am finding, despite once being an ace administrator, that I am now a bit more of an ostrich. I have to work hard on myself to get things done. Home insurance, vehicle insurance, vehicle registration, vehicle service... and now for the first time, add in MOT (in early May, but still to get booked), certain other fiscal matters. I am realising my age and the desire to not have to deal with all this stuff. Gone are the days when things were set in place and then left to roll over. Now, every year, one must do one's diligence and be prepared to shift to yet another provider to get the best deals. 

Ugh.... Anyway, bit by bit, I am chipping away at the tasks. In between, I continue to distract myself with viewings, listenings, and yarnings. 

I have been watching Person of Interest on Prime... the looming of AI makes this a disturbing, yet riveting watch. Now we also have The Copenhagen Test and The Capture, two shows taking us on a trip into the hi-tech chicanery available to us. On a lighter note, there have been the likes of Great British Menu, Beyond Paradise, and Race Across the World. 

Books listened to have been from authors such as L J Ross, Richard Osmond, Stuart MacBride, Marion Todd, Denzil Meyrick, and Alex Pine. I am reaching the 'caught up' stage for most of these now and am on long waiting lists for the next in series (if at all they are yet available). 

I did a podcast post recently, but this week, on The Rest Is Politics: Leading, the interview was no less a person than Volodymyr Zelenskyy... and if I tell you it was beyond impressive, trust me - it's fifty minutes of your time well worth spending. The warmth, the charm, the dedication, the logic and strategic-mindedness... the common sense that flowed from him was moving in the extreme. I am going to embed it here - but you may have to go to Spotify for the whole thing (or find it on your own preferred platform).

Menowercogitatus; Involves Thinking

There's an awful lot going on in the world, heh na? Sitting in The Hutch, the riskiest thing in life for me is that the ceiling falls in. (Trust me, that's a distinct possibility, and I'm not talking metaphorically.) Of course, there are many for whom more than the ceiling collapsed.  It is tempting to bury my head entirely in my yarn works and some of the more distracting listening and watching, keeping the world at bay.

I'm rather too concerned a human being to play ostrich, though. I like to stay informed and educated. Take the recent events nearby; the fire that really b******d up a lot of folks' plans. There has been a lot of speculation and plenty of folk willing to jump on the doom train (pardon the transport reference), but in truth, the actual cause has yet to be fully investigated. I have come across an excellent short video by a professor specialising, among other things, in fire engineering. His credentials having been vetted, I am happy to share this with you here. It's eight minutes, and I found it informative and rational:

Then there is the more distant stuff happening, which is affecting the whole world at one level or another. I have mentioned once or twice before that I greatly enjoy the podcast called Empire, run by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. There are lots of history shows out there, but these two make sure that every corner is explored, that time is taken to dig deep and add to knowledge and understanding, expanding appreciation of the role of history in showing us what is happening now. This was especially pertinent when, last week, three shows were dedicated to interviewing some prominent Iranian expats, and we were able to hear their perspectives in relation to the history of Persia/Iran. If you are at all interested and care about geopolitics, and particularly the current schemozzle, then I cannot recommend this trio of podcasts highly enough. I link you to them via the YouTube feed, rather than the Spotify. These are not for agreeing or disagreeing, but for absorbing and broadening one's sense of what the heck is going on.

Ali Ansari

Kim Ghattas

Christiane Amanpour

A lot of podcasts now have membership setups so that you can listen uninterrupted, and get extras and such like. I have resisted the majority, perfectly happy to put up with (skip) ad-breaks and come back weekly for episodes. So far, though, two have absolutely captured me and are worth every penny: Empire, and Sherlock & Co. I've told you about them before (check back on the label if you missed them). 

Now I have found a new source of excellent listening for which I have been happy to fork out some of my meagre pension! This, I think is particularly good value, as one is joining not a single podcast, but a host of several podcasts, so lots to listen to for a humble twenty bucks per year. 

Noiser. Click the image to be transported there!

Quality productions, and again, historically based. There are some readings of Austen, Conan Doyle, and Dickens, but other shows explore actual historical events and epochs. Iain Glen's narration of Real Vikings is fabulous, lending dramatic gravitas. I have just started Detectives Don't Sleep, which is equally as captivating. I am looking forward to working my way through everything on offer! 

So yes, they help to temper the mood against the weight of world affairs...

Menorminating: Situation What

March arrived - with a bang, for some. You don't need me to tell you of the despair and disgust felt here in The Hutch. 

So distraction is the need, the therapy. All my usual stuff: binge-watching, batch-listening, yarn-working mania. The yarn yarns have their place on Saturdays, so let me share a bit of the other. First, let me show you the contrast between the end of one month and the start of another:

After a couple of days of the blurgh, there was another morning of brightness before it all fell away once again. But when that brightness shows, the whole room becomes a palace...

I long for more than one day in ten of such light and warmth (it reached 9°C!) At least that was two days in the past seven. More will come, I'm just getting impatient now. I particularly wish it to be at least dry for the weekend after next. That's when my visitor will be here.

Anyhoo, for those of you who can access British-made dramas, I can recommend a four-parter called The Game. It may not be the most clever of plots, as such, but the interplay of the characters is what captured my interest - and with two of my favourite actors, Jason Watkins and Robson Green. Very bingeable.

Another series I have much appreciated (enjoyed isn't quite the right word for a program that deals with the subject matter it does), is called Catch Me A Killer. Micki Pistorius was the first serial killer profiler in South Africa, and this series is based on her autobiographical book of the same name. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you are keen on forensic policing and the courage of one woman to bring in this detective approach, then definitely give it a go.

Then it's the season of the cooking shows, so Masterchef Professionals and Great British Menu let slip three eps a week. 

For my Aussie fix, I have watched the latest season of Mystery Road Origin, as well as a documentary exploration show called Hunting Outback Gold. Highly recommended.

Recent podcasts have included:

Uncovered - from the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Investigative reporting of the true crime and revelatory nature... There are lots of seasons to pick from, so that'll take a while.

Crime Next Door - from BBC Sounds... can you access that from outside the UK? I'm sure it will be available on your chosen listening platform.

In case you are despairing that I am listening only to true crime, take heart. 

Joe Marler Will See You Now - total mayhem! I am giving the tubular link, although I watch it on Spotify. It is available to listen to only on BBC Sounds, but much of this daft show relies on the visual. I wonder if this item will work overseas? Joe is a retired Rugby player who has quite the line in patter/banter and has an ability to draw others out - hence the premise of the show.

Screw This - Let's Try Something Else - that's the Spotify link, but it is also available on Apple Podcasts, and I think that's all. A shame, because I think most of you would enjoy this program. It is only six eps and spends time with various community initiatives around the UK, from buying a farm to building a local wind turbine to creating hubs... It's a real feel-good, ground-roots kind of show, full of hope and positivity. A much-needed mood-lifter...

That'll do you for now. Roll on springtime!!! 

Menopod; Listen In

Haven't done a round-up of podcasts for a while. During the recent viral infection, eye symptoms meant that viewing was limited, so listening was boosted a bit. I had all my regular podcasts to keep up with (remember I have a whole list of ongoing and limited series on the label at the foot of the post!), but I needed some extra to keep me company. 

I do have audiobooks as well, but listening to the same voice all the time can become irksome. Variety required!

For non-fiction, The Guardian's podcasts page can be relied upon. Dipping into the Science Weekly podcast, I had fun listening to their most recent three-parter, The Scottish Tea Mystery (you can listen to part one by clicking the image).

It's a scam with a twist - one that might actually have Scotland providing high-quality tea leaves and starting a whole new cash crop! It's an entertaining listen and to be enjoyed as you slurp on a delicious hot cuppa.

For light-hearted entertainment, I can highly recommend spending half an hour a week with Mr Bill Nighy and his musings on life, love and everything! Click the image to visit.

You can listen on any of the linked platforms from his landing page. Reading the blurb there will give you a good idea of the slightly tongue-in-cheek approach that will carry through the programme. In the first episode, some of the questions seem a little "AI", but they get better, and Bill's responses are always amusing, sometimes laugh-out-loud worthy, and occasionally, actually quite sensible. 

The next podcast I'd like to introduce is from the National Trust for Scotland. Their Love Scotland series is now in its eleventh season.

By clicking the image, you'll be taken to the landing page, which always has the most recent shows. To start, scroll to the bottom of the page and find all the seasons to explore.

You can pick and choose from subjects that interest you most, or opt to start at the beginning and work all the way through to the current episodes... which I am slowly doing now!

It will not surprise you to know that I have also added a true crime podcast to my list! Who doesn't love a mystery, right?

I recalled hearing about this couple, but had no idea of the complexity or depth of the situation. 

Clicking the image takes you to the iHeart page, but no actual links... you will need to search by title on your favourite listening platform in order to hear this podcast. Excess wealth, poor mental health, wishes and fantasy versus reality... It's all there.

Last for today, but by no measure the least, a new podcast to the scene of classical music.

This one only came to my notice as I was preparing this post, so I have only heard the teaser and intro posts at this point... but already impressed enough to place it here as it has been added to my Spotify library and I am looking forward to hearing what this brings out.

There you go - a little something for everybody, I think! Any recommendations in return?

Mennnooootalot Continued

Last Thursday I told you where I was and what the town was like... but what exactly did I do with my August? As the titles have suggested, not a great deal! I took a couple of wanders along the prom in the very fine weather, but mostly I spent time processing all the photos from the recent road tripping and setting up the posts you were reading throughout that month. I didn't even lift a crochet hook.

Mainly, I was spending time binge-watching and listening to catch up on stuff that falls behind when I am on the road. 

Telly series, such as The Gone [4 *], Darby and Joan [3.5 *], Recipes For Love And Murder [4.5 *], Outrageous [3.5 *], Shardlake [3 *], Annika [4 *], Fake or Fortune [5 *]... to name a few! 

I had all my usual podcasts, but there are some new ones added since the last time I shared them with you.

Grace Dent's Comfort Eating. Those things you like to scoff when no one's looking.

Luke Lamana's Redacted. Some of it you know - or think you do...

The Spy Who... true tales of derring-do.

The Crime Agents. A crime reporter and a retired, high-ranking police officer debate and narrate policing in modern UK.

There have been a couple of other limited series as well, but because I've dropped the links on completion, I don't have them to share. Naughty YAM. 

One that is absolutely fun and binge-worthy, though, is Sherlock and Co. I have been working my way through all the series, and am now going to join up on that Patreon link, because they are that good!

Using the premise of podcasting as the 'diary' of Dr John Watson, we are introduced to a beautifully voiced Sherlock Holmes (actually, both actors are not dissimilar in tone to Cumberbatch and Freeman, if you watched those tele-films). The 'Mrs Hudson' character has a twist... and there's a dog. It is doing for the sleuthing classic in podcast format what Elementary did for the televisual Holmes and Watson adventures. Brilliant mayhem. I cannot recommend this one highly enough. 

To end this interim post (between road trips, that is), a wee video. I mentioned last week the foul weather that hit the Cowal coast... Mostly, Dunoon is reached via ferry. However, for many locals, the road route is just as busy and there is only one route in and out. It has been a source of local disgruntlement forever...

First Friday Filmclub...ish

A slight variation - this is a listening thing, rather than a watcher... I couldn't resist it, having so recently shared my visit to Duff house with you! I even mentioned meeting an Aussie expat (Rosemary) who is a guide at the house, and who gets to speak to the professor during his visit. 

I listened to this on Spotify, but I know a few of you prefer not to use that platform - you fan find it on other platforms, but I share with you here a version I found on the tubular, and which has the addition of an intro that is quite charming. Dr Kevin James is Scottish Studies Foundation Chair & Professor of History at Guelph Uni in Canada. It's an entertaining thirty-five minutes, and I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did! (And I include a rose for Rosy, to acknowledge Nature Friday!)

Menokreatikkul; Saturday Stitches

I've had a lazy sort of week, if I'm honest. Reading, listening, watching, hooking...

Podcasts are the best things to hook the crochet stitches by. Currently, I'm thoroughly enjoying working my way through several years of Sherlock & Co. (Also available on other platforms.)

Oh, what's that WIP in front of me? For the first time in ages, I picked up a Tunisian hook. I have several balls of this almost weightless size 3 mohair/viscose blend yarn, which has no details of length or weight per ball, so this is just one of those 'work it and find out' projects that I tend to do a lot of.

I had a notion of something all lacey and airy... however, patterns were eluding me and I also realised that it's been so long since I did any Tunisian hook work, I really needed to keep things simple.

That said, I didn't want just the plain Simple Stitch, either. So this is by way of an experiment. It's entirely possible someone else will have come up with it somewhere, but for now, let's call this the Long Yarn YAMmy - or something. Being furtherly truthful, it kinda happened by accident. Thinking a gal cannot have too many stoles/shoulder wraps, I chained up 60 and worked a straight loop on, loop off return. Due to the yarn being almost imperceptible to the fingers, so light and airy is it, and very slippery on the hook, the tension of that first forward and return row was very slack. The next row was a simple stitch format, but come the third row, I chose deliberately to pull the yarn longer and not from the front post below, but through the entire fabric...

This was a bit tricky the first few rounds, but now that I'm getting more fabric formed, it is becoming a bit easier (and more familiar). The return row is standard per the simple method.

Then, each alternate row is standard Simple Stitch, pulling the yarn through the long front post of the preceding row...

If you've never done Tunisian Crochet, this will mean nothing to you, but I know at least two or three readers here are familiar with the technique. 

Anyway, I am quite pleased with the resulting patterning and am thrilled with the feel of the yarn itself. It will be like wearing gossamer. The fabric created by this technique of yarn work crosses the divide between crochet and knitting. There is a distinct back and front to the product, which I very much like. As the work grows, I am reconsidering how it might end up... you'll find out when I do!

Me...Not Today

I'm generally scheduled with posts as much as a fortnight ahead (and more in the case of the themed days). For some reason, I have a blank, and here I am the night before, wondering how to fill the blank. 

No worries, let's just drop a couple of crumbs and wish you a happy Friday...

First, have been beavering away at the Tunisian stitch project using the surprisingly delicious poly-yarn. There were six skeins per colour...the project has grown like topsy! I adored working on this stuff. Again, no pattern, making it up as I go along. Trusting the process. Following the hook. The garment was almost completed, and I wanted to add pockets... and hat... maybe some other bits. I am stymied as of the time of typing as the yarn ran out. Now I have to wait. I had already reordered a batch, and the app tells me it just cleared customs - if I'm lucky, it will be here by tomorrow. Maybe Monday. 

It might seem the wrong end of the year to be building such heavy-duty warm wear. However, winter does seem determined to linger, as it so often does in Fearburary and am willing to bet that when I get on the road, I will need all the crochet stuff on board!

And before you ask, yes, yarns and hooks will be riding along on the impending trip...

While working on the craft this week, I have been binging some more new podcasts... and I couldn't wait to share this one among you, my pet-loving readers. The program is from 2022, but it is a subject we are all aware of but perhaps don't know much about. It is sometimes thorough and challenging listening, but it is super important. I am sharing it with you via an equally important web page. While USA-focused, readers elsewhere should know that similar stuff is happening in the UK, Australia... anywhere there is a demand for puppies. I am going to count this as my "Menoturals" posting to share with the LLB gang and their Nature Friday blog hop (see the badge on the sidebar!) and invite those who feel awakened and informed by your listening to consider sharing it widely. Forewarned is forearmed, right? Click the image to go to the ADL web page, and you can listen to all episodes from there or select it from your chosen podcast platform.

Oh... and to end today, a reminder that next week is FFF time already!!!

Menowercogitatus; Tickling The Little Greys

Time for another podcast post. I suspect you will all have surmised by now that I am partial to reading/listening to things that will make my brain work. The intellect is a tool that can be honed, stretched, moulded and challenged. It does not always have to be a forensic enquiry, history, or current affairs situation. It's okay to have a bit of lighter entertainment without necessarily 'dumbing down'. That is why I quite enjoy the distraction of foodie podcasts. 

Podcasts such as Comfort Eating with Grace Dent...

...or Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster.

Both have a silliness about them, but also a degree of pathos and a lot of deep and meaningful about the importance of food in life and community/society. And then there is Empire Of Tea with Sathnam Sanghera. (It's a BBC podcast; I hope it is available for all, but maybe a search on your chosen streamer will bring it to you.)

And sport. Sport is distracting, right? I am following a series just now for the cycling enthusiasts among you - and I know I have several readers who fall into this category! Ghost In The Machine looks at the case of "motor doping" and the one and only person who, thus far, has been caught and banned from riding.

Then, reverting to type, we have Legacy with Peter Frankopan and Afua Hirsch in a somewhat more intellectual, exegetical series that has recently been launched.

This pair of presenters, both good in their own right, are not quite as slick and easy together as William Dalrymple and Anita Anand on Empire, and the show does feel rather more scripted... but this may simply be due to the nature of the approach being taken.

Legacy takes a long, deep look at some key historical figures through the lens of modern mores. This subject is very much to the fore these days, as in many corners, there is the discussion on maintaining historical accuracy versus interpretation and 'sanitisation'. So far, the three characters explored have been Napoleon, Rhodes, and Picasso, and just starting is the series on Gorbachev.

That's the lot for this quarter's roundup of listenings!

Menorvation; A Final Friday Feature

Regular readers will be aware that I am rather partial to a podcast or dozen. Some are limited series, others are ongoing. It is a privilege to listen to so many wonderful things 'free to air'... albeit quite often interrupted by advertising. I listen not just for entertainment or escapism (in fact, rarely that) but to exercise the little grey cells. Keeping the mind and intellect functioning at a higher register than just the daily 'what's to eat?' mechanics. Life's small tasks are essential for physical function, but we, the Human Critter, have been blessed with something that can take us well beyond that. (I am not just talking about imagination - other critters are likely to have that ability, too.) The gift of reasoning must be nurtured; however, it can be utilised against as much as for us as a society, mainly due to another part of our processing unit known as the ego, which can be right little mischief.

This is not to be a philosophical post, though (at least not directly). I am once again going to impress upon you the value of listening to (and reading about) history. Many great leaders verse themselves, in particular, in Roman and Greek history, as they attempt to avoid the pitfalls of democratic governance and seek to improve. At least, the good leaders do. Some just look at the tyranny and think, "I'll have a bit of that, ta..." Either way, they look to history. Some attempt to rewrite it when they get to a place of power.

That is why podcasts such as Empire are so essential. Yes, I'm banging on about that again. William Dalrymple and Anita Anand - and a host of excellent guest presenters - have sought to delve widely and deeply and are attempting to leave no stone unturned in seeking to understand what drives human societies at different times to rise to prominence and then fade away again. Looking at empires means looking at the prevailing societal culture and pressures, the individuals who develop as leaders, their 'enablers', motivations and aims... and finding the commonalities between them all with a desire to understand how things stand in our current page of history.

I have been an avid listener since the pod began in August 2022 and when, after the recent conclusion of the Russian Empire series, in which Anne Applebaum brought us right up to date with Putin's mark on history and filling in the picture on Ukraine, it was announced that a 'club' was being launched, I did something I very rarely do. I joined. Not a superficial yes, please, but the full Gold Membership level. It's a tad rash of me, but this is how much I adore this programme. Now I get the gold lettering on my club feed, with no ads and bonus episodes. I will not be availing myself fully of the £300 subscription, as any live shows (for which I would be given a ticket) are not likely to be nearby... and the book discounts can only be applied at a single outlet where even with the 20% off, they cost more than my preferred Kindle options**. But I parted with my carefully tended savings because I have already so much appreciated the first fifteen months and look forward to the next twelve - it works out at something like 35p per day. I consider this a very cost-effective education! Yes, there is stuff that I already know, but being reminded is no bad thing. There is a great deal that I didn't know, though, and even the presenters have sometimes been taken aback at what their (and their team's) research has brought out.

Being in the club meant joining up at something called Discord. A rather unfortunate name for a place where one goes to share words with fellow "Empirees". 

Conveniently, that thing emails me when there are a bunch of new messages, so I don't have to have it open all the time on my 'shelf'. There are another four or five gold members, so I am not the only one lost to the charm of this gig! There is a booklist and recommendations thread, a questions thread, episode-specific threads, series threads... and everyone is there for the one unifying thing: a fab programme with personable hosts and heaps of suggestions for follow-up research..........and you know me and that particular warren!

Through this network, too, one learns of other related viewing and listening options. One such is...

Click the image to go to the podcast source.

A joint production between the Australian Broadcasting Company and Canadian Broadcasting Company, I have already devoured the whole first series and into the second by the time you read this. 

In these days of recognising how the victors not only wrote the history (according to their glorification) but also looted and plundered, this pod takes a sharp look at museums (and some private collections) and asks big questions. I was immediately connected to the subject matter in only the second episode of series one. I lived in Benin City for some time and visited the museum there - as well as the live foundries that still create bronzes for the tourist market... though rarely to the standard of craftsmanship of the ancient pieces held by the British Museum. I found myself making use of the paper hankies throughout... This is a fresh and different angle to take on history, so stick this one on your listening list!

**As a footnote to this feature post, I will say that one book did actually work out cheaper with the club discount than the Kindle version (very unusual!)...

I am only on chapter three at the time of writing, but I can highly recommend this if you have any interest at all in exploring the state of world politics a little further. AA is a consummately smooth writer, so the reading is easy - though the concepts explored demand stopping quite often to mull them over and place them in context three years from publication (Orig. 2020) 

Ms Applebaum and I would likely part ways on some issues, but there is no denying her depth of understanding and insight, particularly on matters in Eastern Europe. 

There you go, another Final Friday Featured... what have you all got to offer in return? 

ADDENDUM;

I scheduled this post a week ago... then on Sunday, an article appeared echoing exactly my point about the currency of history...(click this link to read it). As the programme being discussed is on the BBC, I am not sure whether those of you outside the UK will see it - but if you have access to Beeb shows in some way, it is quite likely one that will be shown internationally.

Menorikkul; A Sound Or Two

But lots to listen to...

Time to update on podcasts I've been spending time with. You can click the label below the posts to look back over all my recommendations. To be honest, I am a little amazed at how much I enjoy podcasts, given that I don't actually like radio, per se. You'd think there would not be much difference... but I just have no particular interest in radio programmes as such. I guess podcasts lean more towards the audiobook format, and I have definitely gotten into audiobooks. 

Anyway, here are some more that I have deep-dived on and felt rewarded. They would all be classed as 'grown-up' listening. It's not that I don't listen to comedy or entertainment. But mostly, I prefer thought-provoking and socially meaningful items. That said, there is a slightly lighter side to the first of this post's selection - but only slightly. It took place in a lovely little seaside town that when I visited it a few years back, I might have paid even more attention to had I been aware of this story.

👁‍🗨 Did one man’s friendship with a dolphin go way – way – too far? It’s 1987 and the British seaside town of Amble has seen much better days. So when a wild bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Freddie appears in the harbour, it feels like a miracle. Everyone wants to swim with him. But Freddie chooses one person above all others: Alan Cooper, a dedicated animal rights activist committed to freeing captive dolphins. Then Alan’s friendship with Freddie is turned against him, and a devastating accusation spirals out of control. 👁‍🗨

Click the image to go to the Wondery site, where you can select other streaming platforms if you prefer.

There are several series of the Intrigue podcast from BBC Sounds. If you can't access the Beeb, then click the image to go to Spotify (or search on your fave streamer). This series has a science/tech/political interest but from the social impact angle. Worth scrolling right back to the beginning; murder and the lust for power in China... S2 reveals wartime intrigue... S3 escaping under the Berlin Wall... oh go on, it is all... intriguing!

Another from BBC Sounds is The Lazarus Heist. Click the image to go to this presentation of it on YouTube. Warning, you need to go to item 11 on the playlist to get the very first episode. Work from there, then go to item 10 for the interim before going to item 1 and starting the second season. This one is all about computer hacking, big-time money laundering and how need (and in this case, greed) is the mother of invention.

Finally, for today, yet another Beeb offering, but specific to Scotland. This case, however, is something that is likely to be played out in many other places, for there are always predators. No matter how many efforts are made to play that down. 

Clicking the image will take you to the page where all those streaming buttons are 'live' so you can select your preferred platform.

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...

CLICK IMAGE TO JUMP TO PODCAST

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.

CLICK IMAGE TO JUMP TO PODCAST

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. 

CLICK IMAGE TO JUMP TO PODCAST

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!!!"

Menowercogitatus; Thinking Thursdays

This month I would like to draw your attention to two podcasts which reflect on Russia; first in the Soviet era as it started to break down, and second, very current discussions with expatriate/exiled Russians and giving a view of life under Putin that we see/hear/read very little about from that insider's experience.

THE LAST SOVIET

Sergei Krikilov was the cosmonaut who had to remain for an extended period in space station Mir while, down on Earth, the country he left, the CCCR, burst out of its shackles, the Berlin wall was demolished, and a new country known as the Russian Federation was born. 

The story is told to us by Lance Bass, who (we are told, though I confess I have no idea) was a member of the boy band NSYNC. It seems he always wanted to be an astronaut. Thus, he grabbed the chance with all he had when offered the opportunity to share in an international relationship-building exercise by trying out for cosmonaut training in Baikonur. While we get a little insight into how that was for Lance, the main focus of the podcast never gets lost. Krikilov spent ten months in orbit. Initially, he had the company of several cosmonauts - including the British chemist Helen Sharman. Latterly he had only one other companion. But he also had a 'radio pal' - a lady in Australia who called him up for a chat whenever he was overhead.

There are eight half-hour episodes; through them, we are reminded of the changes that took place on the world's stage from 1991-92. It is entertaining recent history, and I highly recommend it.

NEXT YEAR IN MOSCOW

This is another eight-episoder, but each of an hour. And quality time they are, too. Let me give you the blurb from the Economist's page so you get the gist.

Which does not convey the effect these interviews and observations have. I cannot impress on you enough how very worthwhile listening to these different points of view and experience is and that your time would be well-spent here. That is, if you are at all interested in current affairs and in acknowledging that, as one interviewee puts it, "Russia and Russians are not Putin." 

Of course, there are many there who are devotees of the man; but it is important to understand that there are hefty numbers who are not. This podcast seeks out some prominent voices among the latter.

I have been so impressed by this; it remains on my playlist, for it would bear another listen. That's the level of regard I have for this podcast. Each episode provoked deeper thinking and helped build an appreciation of life under a very different regime from what I or you, my readers, experience. India, the UK and the USA, as well as many other countries of the world, face political challenges, no doubt. Nothing quite like what has been going on in Russia, though. 

Do give it a hearing - let me know what you think. Just click the titles of each show above to go to live links.

Menorrikkul; Listen Up

It has been a while since I updated you on some top listenings on the intermutts. Given my recent incapacity, podcasts have been a bit of a blessing. 

You may observe something of a theme to the list today; I cannot escape my deep and abiding interest in current affairs, history... and true crime. What is it with that??? I am not alone in appreciating the latter, so such podcasts are proliferating. I suppose murder/mystery novels have been equally popular for over a century now, so these might be considered an extension of that. (Hands up, fellow followers of Ruth Rendell, Colin Dexter, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Anne Cleves, LJ Ross........ and then all the Nordic Noir...)

Anyhoo, to what have I leant my ear of late?

I have previously pointed you to The Rest Is Politics (which, if you didn't explore, I continue to recommend for deeper exposition of British and Foreign Affairs with two men who know how to disagree agreeably). Now Alistair and Rory have a sister podcast which I am sure many of you will appreciate. It is called Leading. These chats/interviews with prominent public figures are informative, revealing and fun. Only ten so far, and even if one is not particularly fond of the person being focused, I have found them all to be worth my time investment. [To date; Michael Heseltine, Maria Litvinenko, Alan Milburn, Michel Barnier, Michael Johnson, David Lammy, Fiona Hill, Bertie Ahern and Bernie Sanders.]

While listening to History Hit (check out the podcasts label below to be reminded!) a few weeks back, there was a guest from the Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Dr Andrew Hammond has a good Glasgow accent! Anyway, as curator of the museum, he also runs a podcast called... you guessed it! *click the image to go there.* I have not listened to the entire back catalogue but have been through quite a few. It is easy to pick, as the titling is well representative of the content. If you listen to no other, though, I would point you to two very recent episodes: Ukraine & Intelligence, One Year On, and Espionage and the Metaverse... everyone should listen to that last one. 😬

A few more current affairs/historical pods have been added to my list, but I will leave them for another post; let us now move on to true crime. Not all podcasts are equal (she writes, rather obvious though it be...) As with books, one is attracted by a particular presentation style (authorship). I also like to ensure that the pods selected have sound research and checkable data... no sensationalism or over-theorising (read conspiracism... come to think of it, that applies to every podcast I choose!)

Canadian True Crime has been a good listen. Intriguingly, like Spycast, the creator and presenter is non-native to the host country. In this case, Kristi Lee is an Aussie. She and her family moved to Canada about 14 years back. She clearly has a strong investigative mind and presents the cases as neutrally as possible. 

Australian True Crime is similarly compelling. The two presenters are personable (and just occasionally, a little bit 'ditzy') and, when conducting interviews, know how to ask probing questions but also display deep emotional intelligence.

In fact, if you enjoy the sound of the Australian voice, you could do worse than explore the podcasts of The Australian newspaper. Look, in particular, for those by Hedley Thomas; his investigative reporting has brought justice (ref Teacher's Pet).

What about UK representation? Well, for that, I listen to Scotland Yard Confidential. This one is a Spotify production (through Parcast), so you can only listen to it there. For this, cases are taken directly from SY files and go back to the 1880s and come up as current as the 2000s. They are narrated by John Hopkins, who played Sgt Dan Scott in Midsomer Murders (...go on, hands up!)

Give My Noise a go for something else entirely and wholly interactive. I have pointed you to the Indian tanpura sounds, but you can find others, such as Gregorian voices or Japanese Oase, and you can layer them, change the tones and tempos, and just generally have fun. There is even a guided meditation room. There is much to learn, but even the basic sounds are soothing for background work. For an example of what can be achieved, let me leave you with this bliss...

Menowercogitatus; Thinking Thursdays

Well, I think reading the title of this episode from Dan Snow's History Hit series will tell you all you need to know as to why this is getting posted for your listening delight today! Something to enjoy with your morning cuppa. (Alternative listening link.)

Menowercogitatus; Thinking Thursdays

At the risk of raising groans, I wish to share two more podcasts that have been enthralling me. I don't think it will surprise any of you to know that I have a love of history (with, perhaps, a particular penchant for the modern rather than the ancient, but it's all good!)  I admit it; I am fascinated with strategy and political practice throughout the different eras, mainly how it has played out during the past 200-ish years. These are important because they feed directly into the social situations of their times. ...but let me not get distracted with a treatise on why history is an important living study for future use. What is clear, if we are paying attention, is that it appears every second generation has to recycle all their grandparents' lessons. There seems little evidence that even in this supposedly enlightened, well-educated age, humankind, en masse, can or is willing to change that habit. I appreciate the podcast Warfare (from the History Hit 'library') for its insights into past and present views on the how and why of conflict.

Anyway, on Tuesday, the 59th anniversary of the assassination of JFK (I was four years old, and I still recall the sense of shock as my mother listened to the radio that day - and we were in rural Suffolk, with no connection to America at all. Such was the impact), Warfare provided the following conversation with Dierdre Henderson, one-time staffer and acquaintance of Kennedy. Entertaining, and some insights that are precious for the record. (If you don't want to use Spotify, you can listen here or search for it on your favoured platform.)

Concerning social setting, I have been binge-listening to the first season of the Bad Women podcast over the last week and now getting into season two. The depth of research the presenter has gone to, first to write her book and then organise this broadcast, is wonderful. We learn a great deal about life as a woman in the late nineteenth century and, in particular, about the women who ended up at the wrong end of society for many different reasons. Still, they all landed in Whitechapel in the year a mad murderer scared and enthralled society. Hallie endeavours to right the wrongs served those women by history but also seeks to unravel the peculiar, almost cult-like industry that has arisen from the cases. Be prepared to be astounded and shocked at some of the things you hear from those with a vested interest in keeping the Ripper myth alive. I give you the very first episode here, and you can decide whether it demands you listen to more or is just not your bag. 

(Again, you can listen here, if preferred.)

Menowercogitatus; Thinking Thursdays

As mentioned last week, I have been following my curiosity all over the intermutts and finding some wee gems of reading, listening and viewing. Let me link some here and invite you to share the exploration.

I have discreetly, to those I felt could hear without them taking a threatening stance against my argument, shared the view that the biggest issue with our growing climate concerns is not simply the CO2 outputs but the population that drives the emissions. Our biggest enemy is our own imbalance of numbers. It was with some degree of relief (and perhaps a little vindication) that I read the following on Tuesday morning.

As a global society, we are 'ostriches' - hiding our heads about this one bold fact. I recall so very clearly, at the age of ten, declaring to my mother that I never wished to have children. She smiled and said I'd likely have a change of heart once I 'met the right fellow' - but I never did have the reproductive urge, and I discovered that most men do. Indeed, all the men I ever met. They all wanted to spread their seed. And that is another aspect of the discussion in that article which is perhaps only lightly touched upon - the male of the species detests the idea of the women having control over whether they add to the weight of numbers. Anyway, I leave you with that one to mull over.

What else caught my attention? With Remembrance Day having all its usual poignancy, there has been the added dimension of active conflicts remaining all over the place. Of course, everybody is acutely aware of that in Ukraine. One of the factors that arise in occasional reports is that of war crimes. I have often been struck by the fact that we almost always perceive such actions as being perpetrated by 'the other side.' regardless from which side we are looking. We have all heard and read of veterans who cannot share their experiences. We have to allow for that being not only that they witnessed horrors, but just possibly may have contributed to them. That is the nature of war. Within that arena, too, are to be found those who actually appear to relish or embellish their experience. A tribunal in Australia has been causing much thinking around such matters. 

The Guardian has no paywall, so you can freely listen - and it is compelling as we discover that the difference between a war hero and a war villain is a thin veil of uniform. We cannot help but think that for all the upgrading of codes of conduct and international regulation, the military ranks can be open hiding places for the bullies and braggarts of the world.

Okay, that's the reading and listening offers - how about viewing? You might be forgiven for thinking, 'wait, this is all from the newspaper of YAM's choice and what had this to do with intermutts surfing?' Fair question - it is just that threads develop, don't they when one goes ether diving. There was lots of other stuff, but these three are nicely grouped. For viewing, then, once again from the Guardian, but much lighter in topic, is a reporter's search for an alternative to NHS medicine to relieve his Multiple Sclerosis. It is a series of 15-minute videos and is ongoing. At the publication of this post, there are three episodes available.

Long-term readers and those who have paid attention know that I was fifteen years in practice as a Homoeopathic Physician, with Counselling, Nutrition and Remedial Therapies thrown in. The latter covers a range of modalities from massage, Radiance Therapy, aromatherapy, reflexology and such. What took me to that career was my need for alternatives, having found that the orthodox medicines tended to overload and even aggravate my condition (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and have significant side and secondary effects. Homoeopathy got me walking again after a stint in a wheelchair and on crutches. Neither were the healing effects slow - once correctly diagnosed and prescribed, the change occurred within a fortnight. However, the individualised nature of natural remedies is also their downfall; orthodoxy demands one size fits all medicine and substances that can be controlled en masse. Individualising is messy - and requires of practitioners who might prescribe it a significant ability in assessment and analysis.

It is also important to remember that most doctors in the UK's NHS are under enormous time pressure, so they could not possibly take the time required with patients to make the individualised assessments for specific remedies. Worth noting, too, that recently, there was a move to Social Prescribing - what befuddled me is that in today's society, we need the doctor's permission/prescription to do what comes naturally!!!

Anyway... lots of food for thought there to keep you out of mischief today! Or you may simply prefer to have a cuppa and gander at the latest fashion news...