Many of us know that being outside feels good.
Maybe it’s for a short walk to the store. Maybe for a hike at a nearby mountain. Or maybe spending time at the beach with loved ones for a holiday.
But did you know that a short walk in nature can improve your attention span by 20 percent? And that even fake plants have been shown to deliver health benefits?
There are real benefits to surrounding yourself with the natural world.
We sit down with the pioneer of environmental neuroscience, Marc Berman. He’s out with a new book all about the science behind the benefits spending time outside called “Nature and the Mind.”
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Audio Mises Wire - The Continental Bait-and-Switch
The Continentals and other paper monies only temporarily retained some value largely because of an initial promise of future redemption in gold and silver—a monetary “bait-and-switch.”
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/continental-bait-and-switch
Audio Poem of the Day - On form
By Josh English
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State of the World from NPR - Looking Back: Making Music from the Sounds of War
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit a story about a Ukrainian youth orchestra. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv who are marking the new sounds of their country with a sonic poem.
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WSJ What’s News - Trump Administration Broadens Corporate DEI Crackdown
Edition for Dec. 29. The Department of Justice launches investigations into companies including Google and Verizon over workplace DEI programs, using an antifraud law to try to advance the president’s political agenda. Plus, Lululemon’s founder launches a proxy fight to shake up the struggling retailer’s board. And we’ll look at the evolving security threats likely to drive defense spending in 2026 with the help of WSJ reporter Alistair MacDonald and Dragonfly’s Matt Ince. Luke Vargas hosts.
Programming note: What’s News is publishing once a day through Jan. 2.
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Global News Podcast - Zelensky: US offered Ukraine 15-year security guarantee
President Zelensky says the US has offered security guarantees for fifteen years although he wished it could be longer. Also; China conducts large-scale military exercises around Taiwan; India’s Supreme Court puts on hold an order that suspended the life sentence of a former member of the governing BJP party for raping a teenager; Israel's announcement that it will formally recognise Somalia's breakaway region, Somaliland, is condemned by regional blocs and neighbouring countries; a crackdown on bird poaching in China and Cristiano Ronaldo says he won't stop playing football until he has scored one-thousand goals.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Audio Mises Wire - Revisiting the Maidan Massacre
The Maidan Massacre of February 2014 supposedly involved Ukrainian government troops tied to President Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian ally, leading to his overthrow. But what if it was a false flag operation done to make people blame the government?
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/revisiting-maidan-massacre
Focus on Africa - Inside Nigeria’s bombed border communities
BBC reporters travel under tight security to villages near the site of Christmas Day airstrikes in north-west Nigeria, targeting camps linked to Lakurawa, a militant group affiliated with the Islamic State. Locals describe life under threat, with farmers accusing militants of seizing livestock, enforcing levies and embedding themselves in border communities where state presence is minimal.
We also turn to AFCON 2025, where belief and football often collide. From pre-match rituals to deeply rooted ideas about luck and destiny, we explore how superstition continues to shape African football, with players reflecting on why these practices persist at the continent’s biggest tournaments.
Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Chiamaka Dike, Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, Blessing Aderogba Technical Producer: Terry Chege Senior Producer: Daniel Dadzie Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla
WSJ Tech News Briefing - TNB Tech Minute: SoftBank Group to Buy Data Center Investment Firm DigitalBridge
Plus: Psychiatrists say using AI chatbots might be linked to psychosis. And some audiobooks are outselling hardcovers. Julie Chang hosts.
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Newshour - Taiwan on high alert as China holds military drills
Taiwan has put its forces on high alert after China began a live-fire rehearsal of a blockade of the island. Is Beijing responding to a recent US-Taiwan arms deal? Also in the programme: a special report from Myanmar, where some people have been voting in elections for the first time since a military coup five years ago; and how the discovery of a silver coin has excited historians in Scotland. (Photo: Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare for takeoff at an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, 29 December 2025. Reaction in Taiwan after China announces live fire drill around Taiwan - 29 Dec 2025. Credit: Photo by Ritchie B Tongo/EPA/Shutterstock)