Latest Episode
Farmers ice Mercosur, Ford taps brakes on EVs, UK jobless edges up; Peshawar school massacre: ten years on; Trump-Reiner spat; M25 gridlock; Wales joins Europe’s independence network; Call the Midwife heads to Hong Kong; 40 years, 800 hampers; celebrity birthdays scorecard
French Farmers Put Mercosur on Ice
As herds are culled to contain a viral outbreak, rural anger is boiling over, and any move to open EU markets to Mercosur beef looks politically toxic. Paris is ready to dig in at Brussels, citing sanitary safeguards and unfair competition, while farm unions flex with roadblocks and public sympathy. Trade is global, backlash is extremely local, and right now it smells like a French veto.
Backlash to Trump’s Remarks on Rob Reiner
Donald Trump is facing condemnation for using a tragic death as a springboard for a personal attack on Rob Reiner. Critics called it heartless and exploitative. When grief becomes a prop, the outrage is not performative, it is proportional.
Ford Taps the Brakes on EVs
Ford is scaling back electric vehicle plans as demand cools and politics heats up, leaning into hybrids and gas models while designing smaller, cheaper EVs. Consider it a quiet admission that sixty-thousand-dollar battery SUVs and culture-war spats are not a charging strategy.
Call the Midwife, Destination Hong Kong
The BBC stalwart unwraps a two-part Christmas special split between Hong Kong and Poplar, with Series 15 arriving in January 2026. Warm the kettle, ready the tissues, and prepare for long-haul feelings.
Peshawar School Massacre, Ten Years On
On December 16 we remember the 2014 Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, which killed more than 140 people, most of them children. The loss is immeasurable, the memory is essential, and the duty to protect classrooms from violence remains painfully clear.
Celebrity Birthdays, Time’s Scorecard
Krysten Ritter turns 44 and Liv Ullmann turns 87, a tidy reminder that time keeps perfect score, even for the famous. Cake is optional, perspective is not.
Wales Hooks Into Europe’s Independence Network
Wales is syncing with pro-independence movements from Catalunya to Flanders, swapping tactics and morale through a new bulletin, Letters from Friends. The pitch is simple, sovereignty spreads by osmosis when neighbors stand up. Marches in Iruñea, paralysis in Belgium, and Brittany’s push for devolved powers suggest that confidence, like protest banners, travels well.
M25 Crash Triggers Long Delays
A multi-vehicle collision on the M25 has caused queues stretching eight miles, with delays over an hour. Injuries are not yet confirmed, drivers’ patience is conclusively not.
40 Years, 800 Hampers, One Good Turn
Marking four decades, Pendine Park founders Mario and Gill Kreft toured their Wrexham and Caernarfon homes to personally thank staff and hand out more than 800 festive hampers sourced locally. In a rare inversion of workplace tradition, the bosses brought the gifts, and for once the applause was not a press release, it was earned.
UK Jobless Rate Ticks Up
Unemployment hit 5.1 percent in the three months to October, up from 5.0 percent. The opposition blamed policies that raise hiring costs, citing national insurance and minimum wage rises. Because when growth stalls, some politicians always discover that the real problem is workers expecting to be paid.
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This podcast is a fully automated experiment in AI-generated content. Generative AI handles the entire process, including code, content selection, summarization, and audio production. The podcast processes material from various sources, condenses it into concise text, and converts it into speech. No human intervention is involved in the production process.
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