Some quick X threads AND podcasts that I thought were interesting. This post is also an open thread. I welcome any readers to post comments or additional links related to national security or history, even if unrelated to the links below.
Have you ever had a podcast so thoroughly catch you off guard that you had to listen to the end and recommend it to others? This is it. I did not have a podcast on Pinocchio on my bingo card for yesterday, but you should. This is not the Disney Pinocchio we grew up with. Here are just a couple of quotes used to describe Pinocchio: “he’s a puppet to his appetites,” and “through disobedience, there is a widening of his soul.” Throughout the podcast, I could not stop thinking about growing up, my sons, and my relationship with my father. I probably need to own this book. Here is the description:
“Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio is a dark, dazzling Italian fable that is worlds apart from Disney’s sanitized version. Beneath its fantasticism and humor, the story is brimming with poverty, violence, and existential peril. In this episode, Australian rock legend Nick Cave joins Shilo Brooks to talk about one of the best-selling and most widely translated books ever written.
Together, they explore how transgression and disobedience shape character and how art thrives in defiance of conformity. Cave reflects on how the story helped him process grief after the death of his son. In examining the puppet’s journey to becoming a real boy, Cave and Brooks consider how love and suffering make all of us real.”
This is important. Make no mistake, China is our enemy. More dangerous than Cold War Russia.
On the update in Brazil. Remember, there is a Government-Cartel Syndicate that reaches the highest levels of government. The cartel is embedded in the media, and all reports should be taken with a grain of salt. Rio is in this fight by itself. Expect stories of ‘brutality.’
The silence is deafening. Civilian men, women, and children are being slaughtered in Sudan.
Estimates of over 150,000 killed & 14 million displaced since April 2023. Considered the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
No mass protests. No daily political statements/demands. No… https://t.co/cKfF2iXd4u
— John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) October 30, 2025
Tragic.
I have not listened to this one yet, but I will today or tomorrow when I am on the road. I will update this post accordingly.
🧵The Lewis & Clark Expedition lasted over 2 years, crossed 8,000+ miles of wilderness, and faced everything from grizzlies to starvation.
And yet, only one man died.
That single death, in one of history’s most dangerous journeys, is almost miraculous 👇 pic.twitter.com/0mTBUZ7JBY
— Echoes of War (@EchoesofWarYT) October 29, 2025
I have to end on a more positive note. Just some good history and an amazing accomplishment.